Howdy. I'm looking into purchasing a micro skiff. Been using a cheap inflatable stand up paddle board and strapping a cooler to it but should upgrade

I've looked into the below options. If you have experience with one of them please let me know your thoughts or suggest other models (lots of options out there)

- Solo Skiff
- Gheeno Lo Tide 10
- Gheeno LT25
- Bote River Bug Slinger (solid not inflatable)

I want to be able to motor a few miles then paddle/pole marsh pond skinny water and fly fish for reds. Needs to be stable enough to stand up and fly cast in. I'm okay with getting a trailer.

Thanks y'all! Know some Ags will have knowledge on this topic

Might add Ankona to your list?

Nothing to add other than list link which you probably already know about

https://www.microskiff.com/

LRHF

Thanks you both

Either of you know if any on the list is unstable when standing? That's a deal breaker for me

Those Ankona models look fantastic but out of my price range

Came across this one

https://nanocraftboats.com/nano13/

Lots of the micros kinda suck when under power. The transoms aren't wide enough combined with under powered motors results in bad squat.

They aren't as cool but id go with a simple jon boat. There's a ton of 1436s out there for fairly cheap. A 9.9 does well on them but its still going to dig down when you get on the gas.

If you really want to start to go shallow get an alweld custom in 1636 with a jack plate and 15hp.

And even better than that is the alweld 1836 with tunnel, jack plate, and 25hp. That's the go to rig for many of the south Louisiana back water marsh boats. Its still fairly light weight, will haul butt, and floats crazy shallow.

Deus Vult said:

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Came across this one

https://nanocraftboats.com/nano13/

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That one looks great. Know the price range?

Buy a Sabine Micro

CS78 said:

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Lots of the micros kinda suck when under power. The transoms aren't wide enough combined with under powered motors results in bad squat.

They aren't as cool but id go with a simple jon boat. There's a ton of 1436s out there for fairly cheap. A 9.9 does well on them but its still going to dig down when you get on the gas.

If you really want to start to go shallow get an alweld custom in 1636 with a jack plate and 15hp.

And even better than that is the alweld 1836 with tunnel, jack plate, and 25hp. That's the go to rig for many of the south Louisiana back water marsh boats. Its still fairly light weight, will haul butt, and floats crazy shallow.

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I've never understood why people get microskiffs instead of Jon boats. Then again, I've never been on a microskiff. Seems like a Jon boat with a tunnel hull or a mud motor would get you into all the same places for significantly less money.

Only used now. Brian stopped making them after this last one, but a solid skiff

DM me and we can go fish/talk skiffs. Also consider South Dade and Simple Skiffs

Hog Island skiff

I know he did, that's my pardner. OP can just get a carbon once they are out and about. Its only money.

CS78 said:

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Lots of the micros kinda suck when under power. The transoms aren't wide enough combined with under powered motors results in bad squat.

They aren't as cool but id go with a simple jon boat. There's a ton of 1436s out there for fairly cheap. A 9.9 does well on them but its still going to dig down when you get on the gas.

If you really want to start to go shallow get an alweld custom in 1636 with a jack plate and 15hp.

And even better than that is the alweld 1836 with tunnel, jack plate, and 25hp. That's the go to rig for many of the south Louisiana back water marsh boats. Its still fairly light weight, will haul butt, and floats crazy shallow.

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Any preference or major difference between the flat or "vee" hull? Flat more room for fishing/site casting and "vee" cuts through water better?

The v cuts through chop better. The flat bottoms run skinnier. If you want to go shallow you want a flat bottom or possibly a "mod-v" which has a flat bottom that can run skinny, but a pointed nose that can cut through chop a little.

I have a Bote Rover that I got a great deal on. I personally don't think it's worth it at full price. I've had a lot of fun with it, but it's also got its issues.

What do you like and dislike about your rover? I'm considering those

Here's a couple of videos from a guy in corpus on the solo skiff.

Supposedly they are more quiet on the water. It's mostly BS though. Not entirely, but mostly in my view.

Fish don't hear what we hear. The high frequency slap of little waves on a boat hull they don't are about. They're feeling for lower frequency sounds, vibrations and movement. Now, if you are banging around in the boat when coming in close, yeah, materials could make a difference.

My guess is a lot of it is vanity. You want to look like you spent a ton of money to have the most expensive setup for your hobby, but they are nicer as in the layout is specifically optimized for specific types of fishing, fly fishing for example, or a 2 man crew and poling. You could of course modify a Jon boat for that.

Those little skiffs aren't much more difficult to build than a canoe with the epoxy stitch and glue techniques I used to build my boats, so you can actually build a quite nice skiff yourself for about $5K plus whatever outboard and accessories you want to add. There's no resin whatever those hulls should be $20-30K, IMHO. Design and materials overkill. Very nice boats, but very much a want versus a need to get the job done. That said, if you have the money and want the best, it's out there.

Yep, you don't want any V in the bottom at all. The V front can be nice though.

I'll never forget hunting a spot on black lake in Cameron parish. I had a 1648 with a very slight V in the bottom and a 40 Yamaha. Two guys in the boat. We could barely push pole around scraping the bottom. Here comes three GWs in a 2036 with a 25. They idled right up to us as if they were in 2ft of water. I had ran those boats before in the marsh canals but never done a side by side comparison.

MouthBQ98 said:

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There's no resin whatever those hulls should be $20-30K, IMHO.

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Typo approved.

I saw it but it seemed a good pun so I left it in there.

Sea Speed said:

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Buy a Sabine Micro

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Came here to post this. I have a Versatile and it's outstanding. Brian is a fantastic guy too.

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The v cuts through chop better. The flat bottoms run skinnier. If you want to go shallow you want a flat bottom or possibly a "mod-v" which has a flat bottom that can run skinny, but a pointed nose that can cut through chop a little.

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A mod V might be a little bit quieter in the water. You'll still get hull slap under the mid and stern sections of the boat but the keel at the bow might "cut he waves" a little instead of just having a flat surface for water to slap against.

Fish may not hear the hull slap on an aluminum boat, but it can drive you crazy.

That I would agree with.

For 30K you could get a https://www.prodigyboats.com/ 1754 with a 60 and fish 3 instead of going solo every time

I like how much space there is and how stable it is. I can walk all around that thing and never feel like I'm gonna fall. It will get super skinny which is nice.

It's pretty heavy with the motor and everything, you almost have to have a trailer if your by yourself. I'm not impressed with build quality at all. The "gatorshell" is very thin and scratches pretty easily. The decorative vinyl is peeling off, the rubber mats they put down are nice, but also peeling off in places.

It's not really that maneuverable paddling with the motor on. If there's a strong wind, you don't have a chance.

Like it said, it's been fun to use and I would probably buy it again at the deal I got, but for 6 grand or whatever they're going for now, I'm couldn't justify it

Thresher fishing is a YouTube guy out of corpus that had one. He's uses the hell out of it. Watch some of his videos and you'll get a feel for what it's capable of.

Maybe splitting hairs here but each of the rigs named in the OP except maybe the 2 Gheenoes are considered "nano" skiffs.

Microskiffs are generally considered 15-17' long and beam less than 70" or so. They're designed as technical poling skiffs. Something like a Hells Bay Whipray which is 16'4" with a 70" beam, light power (30-60hp) and meant for 2-3 people at the most.

Those Gheenoes are 2- man boats, maybe 3 in the LT25 if you're all pretty small dudes. The rest are 1-man rides only.

And how you plan you plan to use it matters.

I run a Sabine Versatile. The hull design of these poling skiffs is to float skinny under load, pole easily, and be quiet. They're designed to minimize hull slap and the pressure waves in the water to not spook fish. The "v" at the bow is meant for both comfort of ride and to make the skiff quieter when poling. Deadrise is highly variable from design to design.

Lightweight, minimal freeboard, minimal accessories, minimal draft and less power relative to other boats the same size.

My first boat was an Alumacraft 1648 semi-v jon boat with a 25hp Yammy tiller. Ran all over the marsh in it. Noisy as hell but redfish on most of the Texas coast aren't that spooky. I had a Yeti strapped to the rear deck as my "poling platform."

Then I had a Gheenoe NMZ with a 9.8 Tohatsu. This has been renamed the Gheenoe LT10. Great little boat but it was a 1-man rig for me and got really sketchy crossing any kind of chop.

Before I got the Sabine I had an 18' Panga Marine skiff. Outstanding all around boat but the hull was noisy, heavy, and difficult to pole. Plenty of days I wish I had a 20-22' panga.

What's your budget?

Deus Vult said:

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Came across this one

https://nanocraftboats.com/nano13/

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The Nano 13 is the old Hells Bay Skate.

IIRC, some dude bought the molds and started making these on-order. I wouldn't put a platform on the back though. Maybe stick a cooler there.

Nano skiff is probably more what I'm looking for. Friend and I plan to buy two of the same rig and take into skinny water

$10K max budget is fair. Start getting over that might as well get a real boat.

Pretty interested in that Nano 13

My vote (not that I have one) is that you buy and old jon boat like mentioned above and trick it out the way you want it. Also, post pictures of the build!

It will probably end up better suited for your needs, be roomier and cost a lot let money.

Thoughts on building one? With a $10K budget (and some time) you could get something a little bigger.

Here's a hull already started and would save a lot of time (and money). I'm building a 2nd skiff in my garage and it's not as bad as initially thought.

AgFlyGuy said:

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Thoughts on building one? With a $10K budget (and some time) you could get something a little bigger.

Here's a hull already started and would save a lot of time (and money). I'm building a 2nd skiff in my garage and it's not as bad as initially thought.

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Wish i had the time to build my own. For those interested, here's a video from a fellow Ag (don't personally know him) that built his own.