Minnesota River Boat

I would like to get some input on my current setup. The boat is a 12 foot Alumacraft v-hull with a 9 hp outboard. It has been used on lakes, but never the river. I have been thinking of upgrading to 14 foot v or perhaps a jon boat. Before I do that I’d like to know if this isn’t already a good river boat. There would most likely be two people in the boat at all times. Is the 12 footer adequate to use on the Minnesota River or should I get something else? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

I’d be extremely careful during the high-water and fast current times we get on the rivers with that 9.9 It’s lacking just a bit in HP department IMO.

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I’m sure some other guys will chime in but I can tell you my buddy and I run a canoe with a trolling motor on the Minnesota all the time and have had no problems. We’ve even landed a few big flatheads out of it…. I’m sure your rig would be just fine.

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Yeah we run a 30 thrust trolling motor – however during high water we are limited to doing floats downstream.

We definitely stay towards the side of the river in the canoe, but we fair just fine.

If your going to run a 12 foot I would recommend waiting a week for the water levels to go down, then do a couple day runs with a gps and mark off a few good spots. Notate stuff about the river that could be dangerous and keep those notes for your night time fishing.

Good luck out there

During regular to low flow that setup should work fine. Swollen Goat and I take his 16′ V-hull with a 15HP on it out around on the stretch between New Ulm and St. Pete all the time.

With that small boat you should be able to get into a lot of nice areas as well.

years ago i started with a 14 jon. it worked fine. your boat should be good til the water gets high. on a side note i would highly recommend you make me an offer for my 16ft jon. insert your favorite greamlin here.

Heck my cousin took that boat out on Leech, Winnie and every other big lake in MN short of Superior, not that I’d recommend it(he has a touch of the crazy). A 12-14 in the mn will be great in July and August for accessing the deeper holes. The smaller boats are nice on some of the poorer landings too, It’s nice to be able to muscle them out of the water when the occasion comes up.

Your boat should be fine for almost all of the year. My concern would be the lower unit. Lots of ugly things inhabit the Minnesota River. A few day trips with a GPS are in order to keep you in safe water. That is really fine catfish water, you should have a great time.

It would work but your range would be limited. It would also be hard to have a decent bait well in that small of a rig. I fish out of a 16 ft duck boat and it works OK but I find it is too small.

The widest 12′ on the market or a doublewide 14′, I think a doublewide 14′ is all you would need for baitwell and everything unless you have a big fimily, then Id go a doublewide 16′ with a 20 horse motor.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I will probably give the current boat a try once the water level settles down and see how it goes. I will stick to fishing channel cats during the day, but I feel considerably safer after having read your replies.
RW, that is a fantastic looking boat you’re selling.