I have been a fairly dedicated duck hunter for some time, but have never needed a boat as I typically walk in on public land or more recently have been in hunting clubs. Unfortunately, access has become more difficult to the point that it's time to get a boat to expand my options.

I live on west Matagorda bay, so a lot of the hunting will be salt marshes/back lakes. Not something that I have much experience with, but I do have significant experience fishing the same areas and am not new to boats, so this is something I should reasonably be able to pick up.

I'm looking for advice on the boat. Set up, brand, size, etc. It would seem like an aluminum boat is the way to go. I don't love the idea of a surface drive or long tail as it would take forever to get from a to b and I'd like to be able to fish out of the boat as well. Is it reasonable have a dual purpose boat in this context?

Do you already have a fishing boat? How many people do you plan to hunt? Do you plan to cross to the south shore?

You can get twins for close to what an outboard would cost and that will solve some of your speed issues. I ran a single engine Mud Buddy for a couple of years. Mud boats are a blast

I don't currently have a fishing boat and while that's a possibility, it'd be nice to be able to get away with only one boat.

I do want something that can handle making the trip accross to the south shore

Primarily will be hunting myself and 2 boys. At most 5

Now that's definitely an interesting idea.

Pretty much any center console will do. Just stash the boat down the shoreline a little bit. Made a lot of trips in an old whaler on the south shoreline.

We used to hunt and fish out of our 14.5' Dargel Skout. Boat would get crazy shallow and fish/hunt 3 comfortably. They also make longer versions that were much faster and more comfortable for open water bay trips compared to ours. Loved that boat.

el gato18 said:

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Pretty much any center console will do. Just stash the boat down the shoreline a little bit. Made a lot of trips in an old whaler on the south shoreline.

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Agreed. Get something thats big enough to safely cross. Throw in a couple kayaks or get the biggest jet sled and walk back to where you want to hunt. Don't bother trying to hide the boat. Park it 250+ yards up wind if trying to shoot big puddlers. Less if redheads.

Regular use in salt water is rough on mud motors.

Go find yourself a Majek RFL with a TRP and get after it. I have seen what mud motors can do, and they are awesome. Same can be said for airboats. But if you want a do it all boat that can fish anywhere, and get into the back lakes, it's gonna be hard to beat the old tried and true RFL.

I use a 21 ft Lund Alaskan tiller with a 90 on a jack plate. I added sponsons and a shallow water hole shot prop from Jack Foreman. Put a Beavertail foldover blind on it. Has 6 seats right down the middle....

Big and comfortable and handles any weather you can get out in safely. I've crossed Aransas Bay in some Purdy rough conditions very confidently and have never felt unsafe. Can hunt right out of the boat or stash it down the beach.

Runs shallow enough to get nearby....then can walk it in if needed. Floats just over ankle deep.

Then I can take the blind off and fish out of it the rest of the year. I have a big bay boat so mostly fish back lakes and bass fishing out of it. It's been great. Surprisingly shallow. And best riding aluminum I have ever been in. I would have no reservations using it as a fishing boat too and would be much more confident in open water than anything else mentioned.

I've seen so many videos of air boats sinking themselves in calm waters. They look like deafening fun until that happens.

Last year I built a fan motor and added it to the back of my 1872 Jon boat. I have the tiller handle 25 Yamaha offset to the Port side and the Fan motor offset to the Starboard side. We use it for ducks and flounder during the season. I take the fan motor off and center the Yamaha for river and creek fishing.
Works great.

I'm in the same position you are. I'm shopping for a 1756 havoc with a 60-90 hp tiller. One of my hunting buddies has one and with the Jack plate and tilt and trim it will get plenty skinny to get you back deep in the marsh. They run as fast as you want to go and take the chop decently well cutting across the bay. Mud motors defiantly have their place, just not when you have kiddos and are trying to hunt and fish out of one rig.

It's insane, but 2 year old boats rigged out like I have mentioned above are going for around 25k.

For what you intend to hunt and fish, a good aluminum boat with a tunnel hull, electric jackplate, and no less than a 50-60 outboard will do what you need. I guide hunting and fishing and still run my mud motor most of the year. Running a 1954 with 40XD GTR. I run in saltwater regularly. A little slower on a big boat, but can handle whatever I throw at it. Mud boats do not like sand, rocks, concrete pillars. If where you run has a soft bottom, you can't go wrong with a mud motor. I run all over the state, form the flooded timbers of north and east texas, to the rivers and lakes, down to the skinny waters of the coastal marshes and everywhere in between.

I think for your use, an 1860 center console aluminum boat, with a tunnel hull, jackplate, and no less than a 60 horse will do what you want. If you want more space, look at similar set up but with a big tiller handle set up.