I grew up fishing. Every weekend during the school year and all throughout the summer. We would go out early in the morning and stay until got too hot. On the weekends we would go out all night and let the party people and skiers have their fun during the day. I miss that.

Over the years I've tried fishing from the shore. I don't like it. I grew up fishing on a boat, shore fishing is just not the same. I've done very little fishing since I've reached adulthood and it's time I changed that.

I live within a half hour from two medium sized lakes. I need a boat.

Problem is space. I have none. I've got a single car driveway and a single car garage. The bike lives in the garage and the wife's car lives in the driveway. I'm looking for something that will fit through the gate into the backyard and have came up with two feasible options.

A.

Canoe.

Pros and cons of the canoe.

Pros; It's lightweight, easy to carry and easy to store. Should have enough room to carry essentials and to fish from. Can transport it on the civic with the roof racks I already have.

Cons; The big drawback is stability. Especially out on these decent sized lakes with real boats. Could easily loose the craft and all my gear if it goes upside down.

B.

Pelican bass raider 10e

Pros and cons of the mini pontoon.

Pros; Every review or ownership account I've read from the people that own them, love them. Stability, these things are very stable and are positive flotation so even if the thing does manage to get upside down it'll still float. Plenty of fishing room for two people. Seems to be durable.

Cons; Will not fit on the roof rack of the Civic. I would need to either add a hitch to the Civic and get the small harbor freight trailer or trade it for a truck. It will fit in the bed of a truck.

Most times It'll either be me solo fishing or out with my soon to be 10yo. My wife likes to fish as well but we don't have the room for a vessel that will comfortably fish three people at this time. Either option will be used with an electric trolling motor.

So A? Or B? Or C?

C is the option I haven't thought of yet.

Following. I haven't drowned worms since a very young age.

What we, meaning mostly my buddy, did as he has no room for a boat but wanted one, was buy an inflatable pontoon. Fits in the trunk of his girlfriend's Sonata, but also on top of his Ford whatever weird SUV thing.

A couple small squares of plywood for a better floor that also fit in the vehicles, a pvc motor mount for an electric trolling motor.

It carries us (my 300lbs and his 180) and gear, and easily handles him and his 2 boys (8 and 10).

Fills up in less than 5 minutes, most expensive part was the electric trolling motor and battery.

We've stepped on lures in it without puncturing, used it in both lakes and rivers, and it's been pretty nice.

Or you could do like my dad did in the 80s. He made a 2x4 roof rack for his Subaru wagon and tossed the John boat on top. The John boat was longer and wider than the Subaru, but it worked and the boat just laid against the house when not in use.

Edit: not pontoon. Think white water rafting style raft crossed with a pontoon. I got a text sent his way asking about the brand.

Have a pickup? Jon boat will fit in the back. Canoe fishing isn't all bad.

Actually, if you have room for a canoe, you probable have room for a jon boat leaned up against the side of garage. Small outboard fits just about anywhere. Throw the jon on a HF folding trailer that also can be stored anywhere, and bobs your uncle.

In reply to mtn:

I don't have a pickup. I would have to try and trade the Civic for one.

Edit: I'm not looking to get an outboard engine. Texas laws require both the boat and a ICE outboard to be titled. They are too expensive new and the cheap used ones have no title and therefore can not be titled. There is no process in which you can title a boat or outboard that isn't currently titled. Thankfully trolling motors do not have to be titled.

Kayak....the rage along the Texas coast for a few years now and there are those with trolling motor setups.....google

In reply to 759NRNG:

I really want to take the boy with me. Need at least two person capability.

two peoples exist ain't cheap, but can be put on a Civic

Small Jon boat I used to put one on my 85 and 87 vw gti's using a Yakima bike rack. I put a ratchet strap on each corner and it travels fine. I believe it was 12' long and 40" wide. 2 people was safe, 3 in a pinch was ok. I will look for photos. I currently have a 14' by 42" Jon boat, it is a bit awkward to get on a roof solo but 1 man and a boy can handle it.

2 person kayaks are common. A good friend on mine has one he and his wife use for fishing and he loves it.

Really think a jon with a strong trolling motor is the answer. Or a new Chinese outboard (~$500).

I'm not a fan of cartopping boats though, and would recommend a HF trailer with extended removable tongue instead.

Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: In reply to mtn: I don't have a pickup. I would have to try and trade the Civic for one. Edit: I'm not looking to get an outboard engine. Texas laws require both the boat and a ICE outboard to be titled. They are too expensive new and the cheap used ones have no title and therefore can not be titled. There is no process in which you can title a boat or outboard that isn't currently titled. Thankfully trolling motors do not have to be titled.

Texas does have a bonded title process for boats/motors now. So if it had been titled at one point it can be done.

Option C:

Do these lakes rent boats?

Find an old square back canoe on Craigslist - something like an old Grumman - or a Gheenoe ( river boat canoe hybrid) and throw on the biggest trolling you can find. Then make your own version of the Wingman Cooler outriggers (https://wingmanoutfitter.com/) to keep it from rolling. Tie off any critical items like the kayak folks do so if it rolls you get your stuff back. Get a long skinny single canoe trailer and tow it so it's easier to launch. Some of those will still hand roll through a decent sized gate.

I suspect the hours and places you want to fish will minimize your exposure to heavy wake boats.

In reply to Strizzo:

From what I've seen the requirements are such that in practice it's virtually impossible without having the last titled owner standing there with you.

Jon boat V. Bass raider. I'm not seeing any real benefits of a Jon boat. The bass raider will be more stable.

Kayak V. Canoe. I don't believe I'll be happy in a kayak. The boy is not the most graceful person in the world and I could see it being too much of a hassle trying to teach him to fish while being in a kayak. Solo sure, might be worth considering. But I really want to get him out there with me so he can have some of the experiences I did as a kid.

Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: Jon boat V. Bass raider. I'm not seeing any real benefits of a Jon boat. The bass raider will be more stable.

Jon boat will last forever. Bass raider will eventually crack, and they often will leak before that too. Other than that, probably not much difference--unless you want to customize the jon boat and throw a floor with storage in it.

I would be more confident with a non graceful kid in a kayak than a canoe. Lower CG and such.

mtn wrote:

Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: Jon boat V. Bass raider. I'm not seeing any real benefits of a Jon boat. The bass raider will be more stable.

Jon boat will last forever. Bass raider will eventually crack, and they often will leak before that too. Other than that, probably not much difference--unless you want to customize the jon boat and throw a floor with storage in it.

I've been watching a lot of videos and have been a member of the tiny boat nation group on FB. I would love to be able to rig one out. It would be a fun little project. The problem is I wouldn't feel comfortable pulling it with the Civic. And I don't think I could get a boat on a trailer through the gate into the backyard. The gate is 66" wide but with the supports for the covered car port and back deck it would be a challenge. There is a hate on the other side of the house from the front yard but it's only 48" wide.

I would like a Jon boat. I just don't know how feasible it is.

Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote:

mtn wrote:

Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: Jon boat V. Bass raider. I'm not seeing any real benefits of a Jon boat. The bass raider will be more stable.

Jon boat will last forever. Bass raider will eventually crack, and they often will leak before that too. Other than that, probably not much difference--unless you want to customize the jon boat and throw a floor with storage in it.

I've been watching a lot of videos and have been a member of the tiny boat nation group on FB. I would love to be able to rig one out. It would be a fun little project. The problem is I wouldn't feel comfortable pulling it with the Civic. And I don't think I could get a boat on a trailer through the gate into the backyard. The gate is 66" wide but with the supports for the covered car port and back deck it would be a challenge. There is a hate on the other side of the house from the front yard but it's only 48" wide. I would like a Jon boat. I just don't know how feasible it is.

HF trailer, with a 15 foot jon boat (15!!!) is still going to be under 500 or 600 pounds. That is nothing--would you have any problem with two fat guys in your back seat? The smaller ones will be lighter.

Also, the 15 foot jon boat (make sure a car-topper model) is only going to have a 60" beam. That is narrower than almost any Civic, so if the civic fits in the carport the boat and trailer should too.

The wife and I just snagged some inflatable kayaks and they work great!

Hopefully she spots this thread and chimes in with more info since I'm getting ready for work and don't have any time for specific model specs, price, etc.

(The_Jed wife speaking) We have Intex Challenger K1s (sit-in) and they're great. We haven't fished from them, but I know of others who have, I've even seen hacks where people have mounted trolling motors to them, which blows my mind a little bit. As for kayaking with wiggly kids, we thought about that and researched it and decided to get 6-foot plastic sit-on kayaks for the kids (next year) as they're easier to re-board if you do come out than a sit-in kayak. I grew up canoeing and rafting and I much prefer the kayaks to any canoe.

Also, the inflatable aspect of our kayaks has not been a problem. It takes less than 15 minutes to get the both inflated, packed and in the water.

A civic will have no problems with something like this.

make a beautiful one. These could all be great for lake fishing..

CLC Wood Duck Double

CLC Sea Island Sport

CLC Mill Creek 13

Start small with two fishing floats. Under $100, basically waders with an inflatable collar. Texas weather should be fine year-round. You'll be sticking relatively close to shore with either of your other options anyway, these can get you to the same places.