Hi Folks!

First time poster but been lurking for a bit. I currently have a small aluminum bass boat but am considering a mudboat style boat. I fish Caddo Lake exclusively and the salvinia and other vegetation make it a challenge to get to lots of areas on the lake with my boat.

My question is .... has anyone seen or have ideas for a buildout more like a traditional fishing boat? I have seen some but looking for thoughts from the group. I am concerned that a CC, front deck rear deck etc is gonna get pretty heavy before you even put the guys and gear in. I found a builder that makes rod boxes but they are only 7' long so keeping sides open with some horizontal rod holders might be the best option for storage.

Thanks in advance for thoughts.

Your best bet will be to contact a custom builder. I know Willet has built some stuff like what you're wanting and UncleJ is capable of it as well as are many other builders. I'd love to have a low side console mudboat with big decks like a bass boat myself. The problem is when you get all that into an already inherently heavily built and braced hull you are talking about a pretty heavy boat, before you load gear, batteries, trolling motor, electronics etc in it.... might be a candidate for one of the new Hoss motors.

You want this rig....it will be at Caddo in two weekends.

https://instagram.com/p/bkjdARkEp2/

And for the record, I bass fish more out of my GoDevil boat than most guys I know who own bass boats... it does well and can get back to where those glitter boats only dream of

I do alot of bass fishing from my rig. Not alot of bass catching though. The layout works very well, for river, creek, bayou, ect. Glass boats the ticket if your on a lake of any decent size though.

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I have mine setup for fishing, do a bit of bass fishing with it. I recommend rod boxes over the rod holders, I have the rod holders now and wish I had boxes. The holders I have are a pain to use and end up with everything tangled up. I have a cooler I built into a live well, if I need one. I have a 2' deck extension/tackle storage/speaker box that is removable. I have 8' of front deck and 3' plus 1.5' huntdeck in the rear. Its 20' and fishes 3 pretty good, 4 maybe if you have people who know what they are doing. It was running 28-30 with a 2 man fish load in deep water, 3 men slowed it down a lot but I didn't have the best prop at the time either.

Troy,
I don't like the you are getting away from the mud motor world. Your rig is bad ass. I've been in it and seen it in action

Who said I was getting away from the mud motor world?

Thanks, man. It really is a beast in the mud and thick stuff. I will stack it up against anybody out there in any mud you want. It may not be the fastest....but, four strokes are for speed. I'm needing something with a little more comfort factor about it. Wife and I fished a 23' dual console bay boat the other day and she really enjoyed it...said we needed something like that...and can't have two boats with two kids in college. So, gonna make the leap now for the bigger hull. Then, in a couple years, may be ready to spend some $$ on another mud rig.