Hello I would like to start fishing tournaments but I'm not quite sure if my 14' flat bottom with a Johnson 9.9 would be able to work in a scenario like that it has just about everything a actual bass boat has like foot troller, lowrance electronics , bilge pump and it goes around 18mph you think that is enough?

Does it have a livewell that you trust to keep fish alive all day?

Check you local tournament rules to see if they have a length or HP minimum. Most local club/jackpot tournaments only require a working livewell. 

Well depends on tourney rules. But let me tell you thisMe and my buddy started fishing tournaments in high school 11 yrs ago with our 14ft camo jon boat with an 8 horse power motor. We bought a foot pedal trolling motor mounted it on front. My dad turned an old cooler into a livewell for us and we fished for a season out of it. You should have seen the ppls faces when we showed up day 1 with that boat. But We finished 9th out of 50 teams that season. Its not always about the boat but how to maximize the water your able to fish. Ya we couldn't fly 20 miles up river or whatever to fish b ut we did awesome in the areas we did fish.

Well depends on tourney rules. But let me tell you thisMe and my buddy started fishing tournaments in high school 11 yrs ago with our 14ft camo jon boat with an 8 horse power motor. We bought a foot pedal trolling motor mounted it on front. My dad turned an old cooler into a livewell for us and we fished for a season out of it. You should have seen the ppls faces when we showed up day 1 with that boat. But We finished 9th out of 50 teams that season. Its not always about the boat but how to maximize the water your able to fish. Ya we couldn't fly 20 miles up river or whatever to fish b ut we did awesome in the areas we did fish.

Good to hear that it's not unheard of to be done thanks!

Ike did it

I thought about this too as I am on a limited budget and I don't have a truck.

I can pull a flat bottom boat with my car.

My club just requires a live well, so I'd have to rig up a cooler or something like that to comply.

We fish out of a bass tracker. And I have seen a 14 foot with a 9.9 fish a Calcutta tourney and smoked the 35 boats that was in it

They just used a stringer. Didn't have a livewell. He said the lake was his live well and they had one over 5 pounds

As stated above, some tournaments have minimum motor horsepower restrictions. If you can locate the tournament director please inquire about entering with your watercraft.

Many tournaments have been won within a half-mile radius of the launch site. Smith Mountain Lake and the Pamunkey River are two I remember.

Good luck with tournament fishing.

Merry Christmas!

You should look for Jon Boat only tournaments.  You might be able to find one.  There's one around here that is "electric only jon boats".  Can't wait for it to start next year!

On 12/18/2015 at 1:03 AM, Taylor0208 said:

They just used a stringer. Didn't have a livewell. He said the lake was his live well and they had one over 5 pounds

I'm not anywhere close to a serious tourney fisherman, but I'm not aware of any reputable tournament that would allow a stringer to substitute for a livewell.

 

21 hours ago, Big C said:

You should look for Jon Boat only tournaments.  You might be able to find one.  There's one around here that is "electric only jon boats".  Can't wait for it to start next year!

Which series are you going to fish?  Seems there's typically 4-5 trails, fluctuating a bit by the year.

3 hours ago, Chris at Tech said:

Which series are you going to fish?  Seems there's typically 4-5 trails, fluctuating a bit by the year.

It's a fairly local trail, it's called the "Dixie Jonboat Anglers".  I think their "homebase" is in Athens.  So it's all an hours drive form there.

7 hours ago, Chris at Tech said:

I'm not anywhere close to a serious tourney fisherman, but I'm not aware of any reputable tournament that would allow a stringer to substitute for a livewell.

 

Which series are you going to fish?  Seems there's typically 4-5 trails, fluctuating a bit by the year.

This was a local tourney that was held for 15 years at a smallpower plant cooling lake. Had on average 40 boat but yes it is not a big knowname tourney. That's why they didn't say anything about stringer

6 hours ago, Big C said:

It's a fairly local trail, it's called the "Dixie Jonboat Anglers".  I think their "homebase" is in Athens.  So it's all an hours drive form there.

Yeah, I've not fished any of their tourneys but I'm familiar with them.  You got a custom jon?  If so, let's see some pics   Some of those boys fish with not one but two electric outboards, so it's kinda funny watching a few of those rigs getting up on plane!

As long as your boat meets the requirements, the fish don't care.

1 hour ago, Chris at Tech said:

Yeah, I've not fished any of their tourneys but I'm familiar with them.  You got a custom jon?  If so, let's see some pics   Some of those boys fish with not one but two electric outboards, so it's kinda funny watching a few of those rigs getting up on plane!

I don't have one of those "spaceship jon boats"...yet.

I am going to re-do the deck with carpeted ply-wood, get another trolling motor for the front, and hopefully get some Bluewater LED's for the front deck.  Putting in more money in accessories than the original price of the boat is half the fun. 

 

 

I've got a recommendation if you're looking to have some mods done.  Let me know if you're interested

1 hour ago, Chris at Tech said:

I've got a recommendation if you're looking to have some mods done.  Let me know if you're interested

I'm always open to suggestions, that boat is going to be a work in progress for a little while.

Fish-on Fabrications in Cartersville.  http://www.fishonfabrications.com/

He did my rig and many others.

fish dont care!

Cass lake. Biggest inland lake in my county,  Spring tournament two younger guys smoked everyone in a little row boat with a cooler rigged as a livewell. 1 Fished while the other bailed lol.  Then the last tournament of the season two guys had a flat bottom bass tracker that blew the engine at some point so they removed it. Again, they smoked all the 50k+ boats

On ‎12‎/‎22‎/‎2015 at 10:00 AM, Chris at Tech said:

Fish-on Fabrications in Cartersville.  http://www.fishonfabrications.com/

He did my rig and many others.

WOW!  They seriously know what they are doing.  Probably won't do quite that much, but it gave me some good ideas to do it myself.  Thanks for the recommendation.

As long as you have a descent working livewell you should be good.

Some tournaments require a console.