Jon Boat on the Hooch

[franklinholmes]

I have a 16ft Jon boat with an outboard and trolling motor and was thinking of moving it from the lake to Atlanta to take on the river. The parts that we go to are in buckhead/dunwoody like akers mill or island ford. I know that these two areas are much to rocky to take a boat of this size so it would be pointless to go there. I was just wondering if anyone knew of more accessible places outside of the city where I could put in and hopefully catch some striper. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for me.

 

[1eyefishing]

All the close striper fishing would be below Morgan falls dam.
It's a good time to look above Lake Lanier for striper in the river.
Bull sluice impoundment would provide some fishing for you, but no stripers. Learn the sandbars or you'll be parked on one.

 

[HuntinJake_23]

For trout fishing we always put in at medlock bridge park(Fulton/Gwinnett lime). We always found some decent bass and bluegill/shell cracker in some of the feeder creeks. We’ve run our 14ft vhull with a 25hp on it for a long time, just don’t go fast until you know where the rocks are.

 

[MattKelley]

I launch from Johnson ferry or paces mill from February through October with a 15ft and a 25 prop. You can fish a whole lot of water people say you cant with a prop. Just need to be good at reading the river and not being scared of dings in a stainless prop. Of course NPS has closed there ramps for now so I have been launching elsewhere.

 

[castanea]

I have a 16ft Jon boat with an outboard and trolling motor and was thinking of moving it from the lake to Atlanta to take on the river. The parts that we go to are in buckhead/dunwoody like akers mill or island ford. I know that these two areas are much to rocky to take a boat of this size so it would be pointless to go there. I was just wondering if anyone knew of more accessible places outside of the city where I could put in and hopefully catch some striper. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for me.

 

[castanea]

You can put in at Johnson Ferry when they open if back up after this virus goes away. there is plenty of water both upstream to Morgan Falls and down stream about a mile to fish before you get into Cochran Shoals just above I285. However, you need to be careful reading the river with a outboard. My suggesting is that you ditch the stainless steel prop and get an aluminum one. Then it is less expensive to have it repaired with you hit something. Any prop repair business can repair a aluminum prop.

 

[Browniez]

Short or long shaft prop/lower?

That’s a big variable no one is asking.

Long shaft prop is gonna be a long day. Short shaft a lot of water is available.

Watch the releases in those stretches or you could get “stranded” if it falls out.

It’s doable in those areas though.

 

[MattKelley]

You can put in at Johnson Ferry when they open if back up after this virus goes away. there is plenty of water both upstream to Morgan Falls and down stream about a mile to fish before you get into Cochran Shoals just above I285. However, you need to be careful reading the river with a outboard. My suggesting is that you ditch the stainless steel prop and get an aluminum one. Then it is less expensive to have it repaired with you hit something. Any prop repair business can repair a aluminum prop.

This is a curious question bc I've never trusted them. How easy do the aluminum blades fold or twist? Sometimes climbing shoals the motor is bouncing and prop is grinding on rocks. Was always scared to use an aluminum prop bc I didn't want to be stuck down river.

 

[Dennis]

When river fishing always go up stream no mater what happens you can float back to the ramp

 

[franklinholmes]

This is a curious question bc I've never trusted them. How easy do the aluminum blades fold or twist? Sometimes climbing shoals the motor is bouncing and prop is grinding on rocks. Was always scared to use an aluminum prop bc I didn't want to be stuck down river.

Thanks so much I will check out an aluminum one.

 

[Philhutch80]

This is a curious question bc I've never trusted them. How easy do the aluminum blades fold or twist? Sometimes climbing shoals the motor is bouncing and prop is grinding on rocks. Was always scared to use an aluminum prop bc I didn't want to be stuck down river.

Just get a prop guard. It will allow you to run more types of water with obstructions but you still have to be careful not to suck sand up into your motor and also realize that a prop guard may sacrifice some speed. Well worth the investment as that is what I ran on my 1236 jon that had a 9.8hp motor on it. I could easily run any section as a result.

 

[615groundpounder]

Just get a prop guard. It will allow you to run more types of water with obstructions but you still have to be careful not to suck sand up into your motor and also realize that a prop guard may sacrifice some speed. Well worth the investment as that is what I ran on my 1236 jon that had a 9.8hp motor on it. I could easily run any section as a result.

What brand/type prop guard were you running?

 

[Philhutch80]

What brand/type prop guard were you running?

Todd, the guy I got the boat and motor from had welded it together himself as he is a mechanic by profession. It was an incredibly simple construction too. The toughest part would be bending the steel but other than that it was maybe $5-7 in material in total.

 

[franklinholmes]

Todd, the guy I got the boat and motor from had welded it together himself as he is a mechanic by profession. It was an incredibly simple construction too. The toughest part would be bending the steel but other than that it was maybe $5-7 in material in total.

Sorry for the late response, but could you send me a picture of what your prop guard looks like? I have been looking in to different ones and want to make sure I make the right choice. Thanks.

 

[weagle]

I've fished all over the Hooch from the dam down to the perimeter in both a Kayak just paddling and a 1548 jon boat with a 4 stroke, air cooled honda outboard. Up stream is a slow go picking through some areas. Next year I'm going to try one of these mud motors so I can easily blast up stream to the stretches the guides frequent and float back down to the launch. You can get one of these new for around $700.

 

[Wire Nut]

I've fished all over the Hooch from the dam down to the perimeter in both a Kayak just paddling and a 1548 jon boat with a 4 stroke, air cooled honda outboard. Up stream is a slow go picking through some areas. Next year I'm going to try one of these mud motors so I can easily blast up stream to the stretches the guides frequent and float back down to the launch. You can get one of these new for around $700. View attachment 1110799

I run from Duluth to Buford in a jet drive and have for the past 20 years. I also had a Mudbuddy on a Godevil boat. Never once would I have taken my mud motor up that river. There’s no mud there. The prop will get worn down FAST. They are not made for rocky waters. If you go thru with this make sure you take tools with you and have a trolling motor. You don’t want to spend the night on the river.

 

[weagle]

I run from Duluth to Buford in a jet drive and have for the past 20 years. I also had a Mudbuddy on a Godevil boat. Never once would I have taken my mud motor up that river. There’s no mud there. The prop will get worn down FAST. They are not made for rocky waters. If you go thru with this make sure you take tools with you and have a trolling motor. You don’t want to spend the night on the river.

I'm not too worried about spending the night on the river when it's an hour or 2 float max to the next landing on the Hooch all the way down to Morgan falls.

This particular twister design is designed for shallow rocky rivers like the Hooch. There are tons of youtubes of guys running these through shoals.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="

" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'll be the Hooch Guinea pig and report back.