Guys, I am looking to buy a pond boat. I have seen a few models, the Pelican, Coleman Crawdad, etc. Can anyone tell me which are the best buy, or if one is quite a bit nicer then the others? I would like one in the 10-12 ft range as opposed to the little 8 footers. I am pretty lost as far as info so any help would be appreciated,               NRA

I fish out of a Pelican Canoe and I love it.  Their little pond pontoons are fun too.

I had a great pond boat when I was in Ga, it was a bass hunter 8 ft it was only good for one person though.

I have a Coleman Crawdad 11 ft and it is perfect.  Not too big, stable and economical.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Everyone knows what I'm gonna say:  Pelican Bass Raider 10 ft.

I own it and love it!  I have taken it on anything from small ponds to large Alabama Power impoundments and have never had any problem.  If the day is very windy, you'll wanna stay off of open water....other than that one exception, I take it everywhere and have caught quite a few fish out of it.  I can sit or stand and it can easily fit two people (even larger people).

I have a 55# TM on it and it gets me where I want to go.

My two cents anyway....good luck in your search!

Another option: 10' NuCanoe with PVC outriggers/stablizers that I made out of PVC and Ram Mounts.

I have a Coleman Crawdad 11 ft and it is perfect. Not too big, stable and economical. Let me know if you have any questions.

Do they still make the Crawdads? How much are they going for?

I have a 9' pond prowler.  It fishes me and a buddy okay.  It fishes just me beautifully.  I love it.  I have acess to limitless small lakes and ponds so it fits the bill nicely.  They are extremely simple to own, just make sure your battery has a full charge before you go and all you have to worry about is fishing not gas prices or crowded ramps or whatever..My advice is buy with confidence and don't look back, you really can't go wrong with any of them....

I have a Bass Hound 10.2 and I absolutely love this boat. My wife and I fish out of it at least 3 times a week.  Very Stable and plenty of room.

Harshman

also the bass hounds and prowlers etc have a little more weight capacity than some of the plastic jon type boats that i have seen.

I have a 9'6" basshunter and love it. It is easy to put in and out by yourself and it has plenty of room. I am 6'3 250 and have no problem, even with my wife in the rear seat. Get yourself a good trolling motor and you are set for most lakes, especially here in N. Illinois. Good luck in your search.

Jon

this one is sweet for a plastic boat, but it is pricey.

http://www.sundolphinboats.com/oz/4/com/fish/pro/pro.html

you can also buy this from cabelas.

check out sun dolphins website, they have quite a few other options

I have a Coleman Crawdad 11 ft and it is perfect.  Not too big, stable and economical.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Do they still make the Crawdads? How much are they going for?

They are actually made by Pelican now.  I think they are called pelican gators.  Same thing as the Crawdads.  

http://www.directboats.com/boats.html

You can look at specs and pricing

You can still find Crawdads. I got mine for free from a neighbor. Actually, my buddy Rick just got one for free too!  Search the want ads, classifieds etc. Sometimes people just want to get rid of an eye sore!  

I saw a really nice small boat at Academy... you might check it out... called a Pelican Predator 10'3 2 man boat.. livewells, storage, etc... real nice... they had it priced at $799

sorry I forgot to mention the Alumnacraft jon boat 12 ft... really light.. fished in a buddy's and caught a ton of bass... real nice boat... I think they are about $550 at Academy....

Check these out!!!

They cost a little more, but they are built to last.

http://www.pondking.com/mini_pontoon_boats_mini_pontoon_boat.asp

Shaun