I am going to start looking for a boat that me and my son can get out on the water in and fish small lakes. I don't need a full blown bass boat. I am use to fishing out of my kayak. A tackle bag and even vertical rod storage is fine. I mainly want stability and I do not like to go fast on the water. As long as I can get a few mph faster than it takes to get on plane I am good. 

With that said. Looking at a $3-5000 cash budget or about $10,000 if i go finance one which would you choose?

Deck space and stability are my 2 main wants.

 

Was looking to extend the deck back on something like this....

https://beaumont.craigslist.org/boa/d/2000-j16-carolina-skiff-with/6231053505.html

Not sure how you would extend the deck on a fiberglass boat. Jons are easy to extend a deck. Lots of vids out there about how to do that. Also jons are very stable and for $5k you can get one with a good motor. 

I would also recommend an aluminum jon boat. A 14' or 16' with at least a 48" wide floor. I had a 1648 jon boat and it was unbelievably stable.

After looking some more on Craigslist it looks like there are some decent options in the $6000 range for aluminum boats.

you can get a brand new 1652 for right around $3k, but of course the motor and other options would be added cost. 

36 minutes ago, mllrtm79 said:

you can get a brand new 1652 for right around $3k, but of course the motor and other options would be added cost. 

 

I might go that route.

How much of a pain is not having a console / steering wheel?

Lots of local guys in my club fish out of a Skiff because we have a ton of limited HP lakes around here. My tournament partner being one of those, so I've logged quite a few hours on a Skiff in the last 3-4 years. He has modified the decks on his to make it better suited for bass fishing. 

1 minute ago, bholtzinger14 said:

How much of a pain is not having a console / steering wheel?

It will depend on your area, I looked at the tiller ones just because I planned to use it for ponds mainly. If I was running the river I would want something a bit heavier, with the larger motor and a console. I found that my buddy's 16' tracker could get into smaller water than the big boys and we did well on ponds that we were the only boat in areas. On the river he's at a disadvantage because the 40 hp just doesn't get him to spots that the bigger boats can get to in time to fish and get back. 

May not be your cup of tea but check out a Gheenoe. At first glance you will say no way. I said the same. Pickled up a used one cheap and after getting it rigged out I wouldn't trade it for any boat. Actually sold the full size bass boat, 18', 150 hp because I realized that I had only used it twice in 18 months. 

 

If if you are not on large bodies of water it is great. Can be customized to your liking. Mine is 15'6", 55 lb. footcontolled trolling motor, stick steering, 25 hp electric start 2 stroke Merc, CMC tilt and trim, lights, bilge pump, depth finder etc.. Runs 32 mph in 4 inches of water and so stable you can stand on the gunnel and pee over the side.

 

Google Custom Gheenoe. These boats have a cult following here in Florida with good reason. Terrific fishing boats and you get a lot of bang for the buck.