Susky River Rat

@ElGuapo928 this spot is about 20 yards from a parking lot and a stone portage down to it. Very easy access from the bank. Actually harder to get to from a boat stand point. kids are different. I wouldn’t give any adult the spot i’m currently catching fish.

@Mike L I think that’s just great co angler guidelines even if you are fishing with a buddy not just a co angler in a tournament. That is probably why I’d struggle to have a co angler I do not know. I am way to selective who I let on my boat. Having a jet drive though other than local stuff I can’t be the boater in anything.

@gimruis it’s a brand name of boat a few others have copied. I Kind of use it like people use fluke or senko. They are inboard tunnel jets with 3/8” or half inch bottom hulls. The 3/8” they will put another 1/4 or something of UHMW on the bottom. People beat them like demo derby cars and they are 50-60k to start I think. People still put holes in them it’s just bad publicity so no one mentions it.

I was camping out a fishing spot one time because that’s what weather conditions called for. It was an area easily fished from the bank I was in my boat. A bank fisherman showed up told me I was in his spot. I said well I was here before you and I’ll be here when you leave so I hope you like the color of my boat. If I roll up an someone’s bank fishing I won’t get in their way. If I am already there and that’s where you decide to fish sorry for your luck.

This pretty much sums up where i fish. Big rock ledges random boulders but, you’ll run 1.5’ or less for 50-100 yards then you’ll get back to that 2-4’ range. Summer pool you can wade all across the river most places and not get more than waist deep. The idea of the tunnel in my area is when you have the “big one” you can stay on plane and run straight back to the ramp. Mostly guides are running the rock proof style boats. Although more and more recreational guys are getting them.

You guys should also see the PA trout opener. Elbow to elbow getting in fist fights over fish that were put in a couple weeks before. Once they are fished out you won’t see an angler there again till next year. (Expect in lakes)

@king fisher oh I get it. I do appreciate your input and logic. I am not attacking you as far as that goes. I am just trying to come up with my own opinion using what I know and what you know. Please do not take that the wrong way. I see the value in both set ups. I live where the “rock proof style” boats were birthed. Inboard tunnel jets with UHMW bottoms or extremely thick AL bottom hulls. So a lot do the mentality here is we are going to break stuff no matter what. Welding and figuring out why welds failed is a big part of what I do for a living. It is an always learning and ever evolving field. The “ we always have done it this way or my welds haven’t broke doing it this way doesn’t mean anything you did was correct on the molecular level. It could never fail because it’s not a high stress area or could fail 3 weeks from now because it is high stress and wasn’t right. This goes way past what it looks like on the outside.

@king fisher Lowe uses 5052 - H34 for both welded and riveted boats it is known to be a very weldable alloy. If welds are cracking along the toe that means there is dissimilar materials being used. 4043 is a softer wire due to this and the vibration of the boat would likely cause cracking. It would probably work in a less abusive environment. 5356 would be the best choice for that alloy due to its its higher strength. The FAA seems to always want stuff riveted over welded.

@king fisher the jet when getting optimal trim does become flatter rather then just the point sticking down all the way. This will cause the boot to dig and break rather than hit flatter and deflect. You can gain up to an inch compared to all the way down. I also have the luxury of on the fly adjusting up and possibly gaining more just have to deal with some slight cavitation. I have drug bottom with my jet boot on plane. I broke my jet boot when I went down the wrong Shute and there was a rock in the bottom of it I saw last minute.

I fail wayyyy more then I have success. I am extremely hard on myself and do not like to take the easy way out. I guess this is some of my anti FFS attitude. if you want to pay to go to these places and hunt more power to you. If you want to go to pay lakes to fish it’s your money do it. It does not mean you did anything special to me. I fish to have fun and hopefully catch fish. I don’t need trophies. I don’t need bragging rights. I just need to have fun.

Most boats now have hydraulic trims. Why would you not want to be able to adjust to optimal motor trim while running? I would love to know what grade AL this was. 2000 series which is very uncommon is prone to hot cracking but, is still weldable. More than likely incorrect filler wire and gas was being used. Most common allows can be welded with a 4043 wire. 4145 or 2319 would be a better choice with a 100% argon or helium argon gas mixture. Now my guess is it had nothing to do with the grade of aluminum or thickness. You were trying to seal a box with no gas exit. This will cause the weld to blow out because all of the gas inside the box is trying to rush out that hole you are trying to weld. That is why a gas tank could be made because of the fill hole. Dirty aluminum is also a whole other animal but, with modern pulse and pulse on pulse has helped with this. There is a difference between being able to weld and knowing welding. I don’t think this will ever be possible. Every single boat even on plane displaces some amount water. This is interesting to me. I should have my tunnel by November and will report back. I know in my current jet I use lots of throttle manipulation to get it to turn the way I want it to. I have also seen videos of people doing the 180 turn on a dime power slide in the same boat I am getting. I just have not personally used one yet.

I found it interesting. It does confirm some of what the anti FFS guys have been saying. As much as I am anti FFS I do like his idea of half and half. I think being professional angler you should have to be well rounded. Really any angler for that matter. At the pleasure fisherman unless the agencies create something nothing will change there. I can’t tell anyone they can’t. I just refuse to use it and it will give me a great excuse of why I suck.

@A-Jay on mine it is a round spring loaded disc the kill switch clicks into. When the kill switch lanyard is pull it it goes shut. It would be near impossible to try to hold that open and operate the boat. Sure you could always rig something behind it but, spend the $10 and get the correct thing. @gimruis I think that is a USCG requirement. I do not know of any state on a boat you wouldn’t need that. Kayaks and canoes are an exception. Either way if your boat goes 100yards down stream on a river from you it’s going to be a rough go trying to catch back up to it without someone using the motor to get back to you.

This is so sad. I do hate hearing it. I cringe doing water fowl season. Once person we hear of Simone capsizing their boat full of decoys. I hook my kill switch up to my inflatable life jacket before my boat even touches the water. I have a question for you who do wear your killswitch. Do you carry a spare in the boat? If the operator gets ejected but, the passenger is in they would have no way of getting the boat over to the ejected person. It I’d also for their safety as well so they do not get into another bad situation. I give all new people in my boat this run down.

@AJ Hauser I’ll be picking up my G3 CCJ tunnel 18’ with a 115/80 jet. In a couple weeks. PM me if you would be curious in a boat that style.

Awesome job!

I see you say shallow fishing lakes the say about the Mississippi River. So, I am going to throw my two cents in and add the Susquehanna river.

@ol'crickety so 25 minutes? I think you and everyone else knows I am only teasing. You have been extremely dedicated. results like yours only come from dedication. My only jealousy is I haven’t fished since July! Keep up the stellar year. I am living through you and everyone else on BR who is out on the water.

@ol'crickety so you fished for 15 minutes and decided you caught enough huh?

@GRiver that is a great place. I go there for Jet boat info. Sounds to me he just wants your typical small OB prop Jon boat to brush, bang and scrape around.

@T-Billy she has to wait for her bass thumb to heal before she can post again

I have a few questions for you. How strong is the river current? How shallow do these water ways get? Do you have the potential to be running in less than a foot of water to get to fishing spots? Are you going to be hitting rocks? You made the pun about rock solid. That’s why I asked. How much experience do you have fishing rivers out of boats like you will be fishing? Personally, I would be looking at hulls around .100 thick. The lay out will probably be what determines your brand. It’s a work horse boat. Most are bare bones. There is not to much that changes between them. Now when you start getting package boats with jets certain manufacturers do it better. Which that’s not what you are after.

I have never used a heated vest. I do use a striker ice suit. Slightly bulky but, they will assist you in staying afloat if you’d fall in the water that time of year.

Have fun, stay safe and good luck! Can’t wait to hear the stories.

I have the same terrible catch rate all year. Season doesn’t make me better or worse.