"mdk77" wrote in message
...
I had never heard of a drift boat until recently. I've never seen one
in my area of Central Illinois. I Googled drift boats and they look
like "specialty boats" for Western rivers, but I wasn't sure. Would
these be any good for the Midwest rivers and lakes (for fly fishing
out of)?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of drift boats?


Advantages:
1.) Access to the entire river, areas you might not be able to get on foot.
2.) The ability to get the fly to the fish, where if you were on shore, due
to structure, etc. you could not put a good cast into the run.
3.) My cousin and 4 buddies have drift boats, for this reason, I have never
purchased my own (almost did at a weak moment when cabin fever was bad last
year) since one or more are usually sitting home. I have never taken a
guided float trip, I have heard some real horror stories and some good
stories about guided trips. If you take a guided trip, go with a well know
guide that has referrals.
4.) While wade fishing, we might take off and not see each other for several
hours while one guy goes up river and the other down... For some, this may
be ideal. I enjoy the camaraderie of drift boat fishing with buddies.
5.) Safe and stable for family and kids.

Disadvantages:
1.) Doing or buying the shuttle. Two weekends ago, it was just my cousin and
I and we didn't have a second rig to do the shuttle. The going rate for
section A on the Green is $39.00 bucks!
2.) Being the only guy in the boat that knows how to row... Make sure you
have a fishing buddy that's proficient at rowing... ;o)

Drift boats work very well on rivers, lakes and ponds. I personally enjoy
drift boat fishing and prefer it to wade fishing in most cases. At the same
time, one of my favorite places to fish is on Kelly Creek/N.F. of the
Clearwater and it's all wade fishing.

There is relatively little maintenance, hose it out after a day on the
river, wax it up now and then and keep the bearing buddies greased.

Take the right gear for the float, a great day can turn ugly fast without
proper cold weather gear if it cold or sunscreen, a large brim hat and
plenty of beer if it's hot.

My 2 pennies,
JT