Flatsboat/Layout Boat

D

Dave Sharpe

New member
Has anyone used a flats fishing boat as a layout boat? Experiences, suggestions, and opinions appreciated.

Thanks, Dave
 
I have often thought the same thing, though the cockpit on a flats boat is usually not long enough to accommodate a guy laying down.
I flyfish as well as duck hunt, always have thought it would be cool if someone could design a boat that could be used for both purposes.... just take the poling platform off when duck season came, grass it over and you are ready for the marsh.
 
Ankona boats make a 14' 8" and 17' "SUV" flats skiff. Each skiff is designed with customer selected options and color. The cockpit on the 17 is 4'x11'X13 1/2". I'm trying to find the cockpit dimensions for the 14. They can be had with a removable poling platform.

The boats look like the best option I've found for an all around hunting and flats fly fishing boat. guess thats why they're named "SUV".

Price is pretty reasonable.

A search for "Ankona" will bring up their web site. There's also a lot of discussion of them on Microskiff.com.
 
Dave... it looks as though you could make that work, however you would have to special order it without the center console and steer with a tiller to save cockpit space. Depending upon how tall you are, the 4'11 inch cockpit may or may not be long enough for you to lay down in. You would also have to custom design something yourself to attach grass to the boat.
 
Guess I wasn't clear. The cock pit is 11' long and 4" wide. You can get the boat as a tiller model. I'm thinking anchor and sit so you can shoot over the bow. With the right color you might not need grass. I've used my old Sears Gamefisher tri-hull with a fabric camo cover with some success as a layout boat.
 
Sorry, my mistake... yes, that's big enough. I thought you were talking about a marsh layout boat instead of an open water layout. Keep in mind that for open water layouts things like shadows may make birds shy away... that bow and even the stern will certainly throw shadows on the water. For a marsh layout, grass it over and it would be fine as long as some grass hung over the edges.
 
I have often thought the same thing, though the cockpit on a flats boat is usually not long enough to accommodate a guy laying down.
I flyfish as well as duck hunt, always have thought it would be cool if someone could design a boat that could be used for both purposes.... just take the poling platform off when duck season came, grass it over and you are ready for the marsh.

Different concept, but a local guide here has used a 17 foot TDB to fish stripers, freshwater bass and trout, and of course for puddle and sea-ducks. I've fly-fished for stripers and trolled streamers and hardware for brown trout out of it, and it works just fine so long as you have a long-handled net to handle fish. It wouldn't be my choice to chase bonefish or redfish, and nobody would ever call it a flats skiff, but it's surprisingly versatile. It handles picnics with the family, too!
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