17' too small??

[rfed32]

Im a PA guy who loves to fish New York, a friend of mine is selling a 1989 17' sea nymph fish and ski that was at his families lake house for years. my question is a 17 footer to small or will this be ok weather permitting. its only me and another guy who would be fishing on it and on occasion a 3rd all taking turns on the rod and reels. thanks for any info. 

Edited October 9, 2019 by rfede32

[bluegiller]

That boat is fine most days ..if it's too rough for that boat it's not fun on any boat. I fish a 18 foot alumicraft all the time. Watch the weather pick good days and catch tons of fish. I think smaller boats actually catch more fish some days. The nice thing about smaller boats is you get more use out of them because you can trailer and launch them easy..of all your going to do is fish lake Ontario then get a bigger boat bit if you want an all around fishing boat 17 and 18 footers are great

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[rfed32]

I fish Lake Ontario a few times a year, I fish my local lake for stripers and hybrids most of the year along with parts of thew Delaware for shad, also target walleye. I do a lot of all around fishing and trolling, I run a 15 foot aluminum bass boat right now and its good for 1 guy on most days but gets tight with my fishing partner on board. 

[MCF]

Pick your days, keep an eye on the weather and you will be fine.  Sea Nymphs are great boats.

 

I concur that if it is too rough for a 17ft, it is either already too rough for a bigger boat or it will be very shortly.  

[whaler1]

And have a plan if things go south, just like any other boat.


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[O4fish]

Im a PA guy who loves to fish New York, a friend of mine is selling a 1989 17' sea nymph fish and ski that was at his families lake house for years. my question is a 17 footer to small or will this be ok weather permitting. its only me and another guy who would be fishing on it and on occasion a 3rd all taking turns on the rod and reels. thanks for any info. 

When the big O rears her head you should ha e a bigger boat

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[tuffishooker]

I have fished Lake Ontario for 35 years in a 16 ft. StarCraft and at times Lake Erie : Pick your days get a weather forecast and watch the sky . What engine and how many engines ? My main engine is a 70 hp 2 cycle Evinrude with a 9.9 Yamaha 4 stoke kicker which is great !

Once it gets scary it stops being fun , don't take risks and you will be fine !

how deep are your pockets ?

[rfed32]

pockets aren't that deep lol. and it has a 2 stork 70 hp tohatsu outboard, ill be putting a 9.9 Yamaha two stroke with remote steer and taking the 9.9 hand tiller off. have a couple older cannon manual down riggers I was given. and I have brand new folbe jr rod holders I was gonna put on my other boat but will prob throw on the sea nymph if I get it

[Ric66]

2 hours ago, bluegiller said:

That boat is fine most days ..if it's too rough for that boat it's not fun on any boat. I fish a 18 foot alumicraft all the time. Watch the weather pick good days and catch tons of fish. I think smaller boats actually catch more fish some days. The nice thing about smaller boats is you get more use out of them because you can trailer and launch them easy..of all your going to do is fish lake Ontario then get a bigger boat bit if you want an all around fishing boat 17 and 18 footers are great

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X2- couldn't have said it better. I have 17ft deep V. Pick your days. Mornings and late afternoons the wind often calms down

[sstout]

I fish all over out of a 16ft starcraft. It's usually just me, but sometimes my dad or a buddy comes. This year I've been on Cayuga, skaneatles, oneida, and ontario. Same as above. Pick your days. Its doable, but always have a back up plan and dont be afraid to run in if its pushing your limits. I have a 60hp merc two stroke and an 8 hp tohatsu kicker with a control king for the throttle and an ez steer off the main motor. Great setup for just about anything you want to do. Biggest thing with a smaller boat is really paying attention to the weather forcast and wind direction

[1lastweekend]

Check the deadrise of that Sea Nymph hull.  If it's above 23-25 degrees, you will get a smoother ride at higher speeds, but will flop around more at trolling speeds.  Google how to measure deadrise at the transom and up the hull if you're not sure.  I have a 17' open bow fiberglass runabout I use as a fishing boat, and it has a variable deadrise stepped hull (angle gets less from back to front) its pretty deep in the back, and anything under 3 foot rollers I don't get pounded too bad...Anything bigger than that and I'm off the lake for safety's sake.  

 

I also agree with the posters above on having a backup plan- I usually fish out of Irondequoit Bay or Sodus Bay, so I have somewhere to go for bass or pan fish if Lake O is too rough.

[sherman brown]

i've fished in smaller. but its best to fish the weather. I fished the western basin of erie for yre in a 18' Cherokee open bow. wasnt many days we couldn't fish. it was more about comfort or storms that kept us in.

[Ric66]

You might also want to get splash guards for your transom. I feel a lot safer now that I have them as I don't have to worry about taking a wave over the transom. Here's a video on how to install them.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=corKMIjGWzE

[Firechief48]

On 10/9/2019 at 6:02 PM, bluegiller said:

That boat is fine most days ..if it's too rough for that boat it's not fun on any boat. I fish a 18 foot alumicraft all the time. Watch the weather pick good days and catch tons of fish. I think smaller boats actually catch more fish some days. The nice thing about smaller boats is you get more use out of them because you can trailer and launch them easy..of all your going to do is fish lake Ontario then get a bigger boat bit if you want an all around fishing boat 17 and 18 footers are great

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X2 however I like the comfort of a bigger boat so I'll keep mine.

[J.D.]

I started fishing Ontario in 1989 in this 16ft. Sea nymph, with a 40 hp Mariner.

 

In 1996, I moved up to this 17ft. Starcraft with a 90hp. Merc. This year was season #23 for this rig, I can launch and recover alone with ease, it fits in the garage, has all the bells and whistles now including autopilot.  I'll keep her running until my fishing days are over..

 

 

[sstout]

J.D Nice rig. Looks like mine, just 20 years newer. I like the full enclosure

[littlemack01]

Since 1984 I've fished out of Oswego with the same boat , a 17 ft great lake special. 15 to 600 feet depth about 15 days a season . Watch weather , stay under 3 foot waves , and decide that some trips the boat will stay on the trailer ! Mine has a 60 hp Yamaha on it .

[Hachimo]

I started fishing Lake Ontario 20 years ago in my grandfathers 14 smokercraft when i was 12. We trailered it from scranton,Pa and sometimes the boat wouldnt leave the trailer, sometimes only get a few hrs of fishing in the AM, seldom get to fish all day. 
now in my 30’s i bought a 25ft boat and still trailer back and forth from Scranton PA, and it’s the same thing. Theres been a few days this year the boat didnt leave the trailer. Big boat,Small boat, gotta pick ur days  

[tuffishooker]

Quote

" pockets aren't that deep " 1

Salmon fishing aain"t cheep be prepared ! Iprobably have as much money in gear and tackle as in the boat !

[HB2]

Imperative that it is set up correctly . 

 

Use small boat tactics 

 

Use caution out there 

 

It can be as expensive as you want it to be 

 

You don't have to spend a lot to catch these fish 

 

Where and when is most important . 

[rfed32]

Thanks for the advice guys...going to pick it up Thursday and all post some pics and what my plans on for the build. The advice really helps as always and I look forward to the advice to come...great group of guys on here


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[jth21usa]

My opinion- if it’s too rough in a 17 it’s too rough in a 23, and a pain in a 32. I’ve run everything in between and my general rule is don’t go out in rough weather and frankly the wave height that I don’t go out in didn’t change that much with the size of the boat. Another thing to consider is the age of the boat and how deep you want to go with just one engine. 12 miles put on a Sunday morning is different than 12 miles out on a Tuesday evening, if you use good judgment the size of the craft isn’t as important as the captain who pilots it.

[rfed32]

So just picked the old soul...floors will need replacement this winter. But here’s a pic also anyone put the wise captain chairs in boat has one thinking about adding another last pic was the owner before me photo also added motorguide xi5 to the front this weekend. Thinking about adding a bait tank to the back for striper fishing.




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[sstout]

That'll be a nice rig with a little work. Floors aren't too bad to do. I just gutted mine and re-did the floors this spring. One word of advice, no matter what you do with the floor (carpet or vinyl) coat the wood with epoxy first, both sides. And use marine grade wood. The epoxy will make it much more waterproof. I covered it with vinyl but that's just my preference. Here's a few pics from mine. Goodluck

[jpsaxman]

Thanks for sharing! I have a 17' Glaspar Citation (oldie but goodie) with a 80hp Merc on the back. Have considered taking it up and going out of the Salmon River inlet, and thanks to all your stories on this thread I very well may give it a go!