If you decide that you want to spend your time fishing in skinny water, and are directing your boat purchase in that direction, you have several options.  There are of course the high end and even mid ranged flats boats, that come pre rigged with just about everything a fisherman could want in a flats boat, including dry storage, cushioned seats, walk around gunnels, electronics, poling and casting platforms and more.  Then there is the budget rout.  There are very few craft that can actually be poled in shallower water than a flat-bottomed johnboat.  Johnboats are light, often proportionally wide and, by nature of their flat bottom, draft very little water at rest.

 

Often, after having gazed lovingly at a high end flats boat, an angler may return home wanting to throw rocks at his aluminum or fiberglass flat bottomed boat.  Don't fall into this trap; there are a few simple steps you can take to convert that old johnboat into an awesome fishing machine. 

 

First you need to consider some of the options available to you in flat bottomed Johnboats.  There are many manufacturers offering well built, inexpensive boats in a variety of lengths, in both fiberglass and aluminum.  For the purposes of illustrating this article we have pictures of 2 such options.  Ty Southerland's 14" aluminum Johnboat that he has rigged for the flats.  And my fiberglass Carolina Skiff J16.  Surprisingly enough, when I was shopping boats, I found there to be very little difference in weight and cost of the Carolina Skiff J16 I ended up purchasing, and most quality welded aluminum boats of a similar size.  So which to choose?  Each material offers it's advantages.  Fiberglass tends to be a little quieter in the water, while a flat bottomed Johnboat will have some hull slap regardless of what it's made of, the fiberglass reverberates less than aluminum.  A light colored fiberglass boat is also much cooler and less likely to fry your thighs when you sit on the seat after a day in the hot sun.  Aluminum on the other hand tends to be rugged, and is more easily and affordably repaired than fiberglass. 

 

Perhaps the most important thing to bear in mind when rigging a boat for shallow water is weight.  If you don't need it, don't add it.  If you do need it, ad the lightest one you can find.  There are several other important factors to keep in mind when rigging your flats boat, one of which is layout.  When rigging a boat for fly-fishing large decks are a plus.  You want a decent sized casting deck that is clean with nothing protruding up from it that your fly line can foul on.  Several things that aid in keeping the deck clean are lights, cleats, and push pole holders that pop up, and trolling motor mounts, and other accessories that are removable or flush mounted.   Unfortunately most accessories of the "Pop Up" type aren't cheap, but they may be well worth the money.  Often if accessories are located far enough to the sides or back of the deck they may be less likely to encounter your fly line.  If you think that most people fishing in your boat will be right handed, moving objects to the right side of the deck make them less likely to catch your line because right handers strip line to their left side.  A large rear deck can also come in handy if you are fishing by yourself from the poling platform, or for those times when 2 people are fishing and using a trolling motor.   

 

The one feature that defines the classic look of a flats boat is the Poling Platform.  While not an absolute necessity, once you get comfortable and adept at poling a boat from a platform, you'll never want to do without.  The first and most obvious of advantage of the poling platform is visibility.  You can see much more of the marsh you are fishing from the elevated vantage point.  You can also see into the water better because your elevated position cuts down on glare.  Poling from a platform is also easier than from on the deck.  When you are elevated on the platform, you are much less likely to knock or bang the engine or rear of the boat with your push pole, potentially scarring fish.  Your elevated position on the platform also reduces the leverage of the poles length working against you so it is less tiring than poling from the rear seat or deck.  Many manufacturers offer platforms for the boats they make, in fact Carolina Skiff makes one that is designed to fit the transom of my boat.  After doing a little research however I found a good welder who was able to build me a platform for about half of what Carolina Skiff wanted for theirs, and I prefer the design of the one I had built.  On Ty's aluminum boat, he was able to get a welder to build one out of scrap materials for only $150, that's about a fourth of what pre-manufactured platforms sell for.

 

 

My platform is built out of 11/4 inch aluminum pipe with a platform of 1/8 inch aluminum plate with the edges folded up for extra rigidity.  My platform bolts onto the rolled edges of my boat, with the bolts going through pieces of aluminum plate placed under the rolled edges for strength.