I am glad i found this site and look forward to help others and be helped!

I have a question concerning buying a small boat to fish larger ponds,small

lakes and creeks in larger lakes.I am first looking to buy a new outboard

a johnson 9.9 4 stroke at my local boat dealer at a good price for 1299.00.

I know i shouldn't buy the motor first then the boat,but the HP is about what

i need.Now on to the boat,i'm looking at a aluminum boat,choices are a

lowe 1440 with a modified v,weldcraft 1436aw with a front deck but flat bottom,both rated for a 20 hp max.I plan on installing a foot control trolling

motor on the bow and two seats with pedestal bases.Will the 9.9 push either of

these and get them on plane with me alone,and maybe the wife from time to time,i weigh 220 she 150.

Welcome to the board  8-), also, where are you at, I may have just the ticket for you.

I live in north carolina,looking for the package to be around 3000.00

if i can only use it every now and then,hate to have alot of money

tied up in a boat just sitting around,i also flyfish for trout so i

don't want that time taken up much either.

I'd recomend going 15' and up. 14' and under aluminum (jon boats if I'm correct from your description) can be rather unstable.  Usually the price difference isn't that great to buy yourself a few extra feet.

I think ethier boat would go well with your motor.  It will plain ethier boat as long as you dont loud it down to much with tons of gear or people.  As far as which boat to choose I would go with the weld craft because it has a little heavier aluminum and is all welded.  I also like that it has the front deck already build in.  That nice and the only company I know of that dose that in a boat this size.  However, if you plan to fish larger lakes with more boat traffice the flat bottom may not be the way to go.  You could always build a front deck on the lowe later on if you wanted.  A lot of the guys on this site have done that to their jon boats and can give you a lot of pointer and ideas on how to do it.