For those with sneakboxes...

Zach Houvener

Zach Houvener

Active member
On an average hunt day, what are your average runs to your hunting grounds? minutes, miles, hours???

Also describe your typical location, for example rivers, marsh, "open" water, etc...

Im just wondering, Thanks

Zach
 
The columbia river is about 3 miles across where I hunt with marsh islands between. MY running time is 20 to 30 min with a 15 hp and depending on the waves and wind as to how fast I can go
 
I just row it a mile or so around bays and marshes in L. Champlain and St. Lawrence Seaway. Sometimes longer down around Long Island in the salt.
(I've got a bigger boat boat for bigger water.)
I lived in Bellingham WA for a year in 94'/95'.
 
My Black Brant III is sort of a sneakbox, but with its planing hull shape it is not a true sneakbox since there is little displacement.

I typically run in a shallow lake and swamp system with low grass and slough channels. I run about 45 minutes through this into a smaller true lake with brushy grassy banks that I can hide the boat in better. The distance is about 2 miles of twisty slough after 3/4 miles of grassy lake. I use a 25HP nissan 2 stroke on a heavy duty jack lift to adjust it up or down as the water conditions require. It has completely changed how the boat handles and makes the fact that my hull-to-transom corners are round rather than square more apparent. However, I can motor slowly through 10 inches of water and get to where some of the mud motors go.

The first lake I run through has 100 to 200 yard wide grass beds out from shore and these are typically too short to hide the boat in. They also float in anywhere from 12 inches to 4 feet of water making retrieving birds without a dog impossible. So I don't hunt there due to my ethics and the fact that the boat is too hard to hide out in the open like that. A smaller one man sneakbox/pole boat would work better.
 
Mostly coastal salt marsh but also hunt a mid-sized river. I would say anywhere from one to three miles...............Kevin
 
Seems the most I run around home is 15 minutes..and that include tossing dekes. The longest around here is probably a mile or so and my BB2 will do about 22 with a half load.
 
i hunt tidal salt water bays and marshes ,depending on miss judging the time of the tide it could be hours getting to hitting it right and getting in in 20 min half hour same for open bays there are ramps everywhere so it doesnt take long ive been using a 4hp on it and i did have a 15 hp but the bow came up to high once i have that fixed ill put the 15 back on heres some of the spots i go
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i have not tried it here the 35 foot tides and waves and current tricky but id love to give it ago
tide dropin
Shermie3042.jpg

tide almost out
Shermie3031.jpg

note to self take more pictures of da boat in action and scenery to...
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We hunt mostly lakes, marshes, and streams around PA. Most of them don't allow gas motors. We probably travel a mile or so either rowing or with a trolling motor. If we hunt the Susquehanna we travel maybe 2 miles.

Here's a flooded stream that used to be a really nice marsh. The beavers left though so it's in decline.

Hunting07001.jpg


Here's a very large reservoir we hunt in western PA. It's several thousand acres, however since it's a water reservoir we're not allowed to use gas motors. We have about a 1-2 mile row, which is fun some days when there are 3' waves. This picture is on Christmas day, on a skinny little bay of the lake. Once you get down around the corner things get ugly quick.

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Thanks,
 
Zach, what kind of boat do you have?
I have both and Estuary and a Classic Barnegat. The latter is faster and uses less gas but the former is quite a bit more seaworthy in anything other than a head sea. Safe range in either boat depends more on weather and tide than hull shape or any other factor, use your judgement and err on the cautious side always.
Aaron
 
Abeck,

I have a 12ft Classic Barnegat, im excitied for the possibilites it will open up for me as well as having a "traditional" boat to hunt out of.

Thanks Shermie and Kirk for the pictures!

Zach
 
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Of the 3 places I hunt I run about 15 min average. Mostly open water, the York is about 2 miles across at the place where my blind is.
 
I use mine for Divers in the traditional way;anchor 100yds up wind and punt/drift down when birds decoy in my spread.Lakes and rivers.Usually less than 2 miles from the launching ramp.
 
One place we hunt is about 1 mile walk in the woods. Last year I found a spot that was within 50yrd of the truck and watched two 73yr and 65yr grown men act like kids with all the woodies flying.


With all the lakes I hunt it take about 20min to 3 1/2 hours to get their. The 20min lakes take about a hour from launch to setup. The longer drives about 30min to 1hour run and setup about 1 hour .

Boat 18ft with a 50hp
 
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