Inflatable vs. McKenzie Drift Boat.

This is a question a person would ask when looking to purchase a high quality fishing boat. This style of watercraft is designed to drift/float a river with no need for a motor. In my opinion there is really only one choice for the fisherman who has a limited budget but still desires high quality in a boat. I was at the boat and sportsman’s show two weekends ago in search of a high quality boat that was not going to cost me 10,000$ plus.

I have always known Zodiac to be a very reputable company with high quality at an affordable price. I went into their booth and took a look around. I was probably there for ten minutes and found nothing I was looking for. I never once saw a sales rep that could answer my questions and left their display area without any of their product information.

I was not really there to see the Zodiac display anyhow; I was there to see the people at Zebec. Now here is a company that puts the customer first. Here is an example, I walked into their display area and was immediately greeted by their sales rep and exchanged handshakes with him. I informed him why I was going to be using the boat and he provided me with some excellent information as to what boat would be geared towards my application.

He showed me three different boats and then described in detail what each boat was designed to do. He really went out of his way to be helpful to me, and to properly inform me of all their products that best suited me and my applications. He then provided me with a brochure with all their accessories and a card with his name and telephone number, website address and store location. To say the very least I was very impressed, so impressed in fact that I went to their office here in Calgary and picked out which boat I was going to purchase.

I chose to buy an inflatable for many different reasons I will now list off for you. Accessibility is the number one reason for choosing an inflatable; you do not need a boat launch for an inflatable whereas you do for a McKenzie Drift Boat. Inflatables can also access many parts of a river a drift boat cannot access. Then there is the cost factor between the two different styles of boats. I priced out the Zebec and the total cost including the boat which is 13 Feet constructed of high quality PVC, three bucket seats which mount on a aluminum rack system, two sleeved rowing oars, two aluminum mounted floor boards that also mount to the racking system so your client or buddy can stand up while he fishes, a patch kit that comes with patches, glue and a wrench in case of a minor accident; for a total price of 6000.00 $$ CDN which can all fold up and fit in the trunk of my car.

Than you look at the McKenzie Drift Boat, the boat alone is 10- 15,000 $$. You cannot pull a McKenzie Drift Boat with a car and expect a car to last very long; you need a truck to pull it properly. So the truck will run say 20,000- 60,000 if you buy used, or 60 if you buy brand new. Grand total for everything to go the McKenzie Drift Boat way is 35,000- 75,000 dollars. So for this fisherman there is really only one choice and that choice is the inflatable Zebec Bug for affordability and the versatility that I look for in a high quality fishing boat. View Zebec’s website here for all their high quality fishing and rafting boats.

In Canada where I live we have some dreaded word called winter. In the Southwestern States like California, the winter months are usually not that cold and snow is rarely seen. We here in Calgary cannot be so lucky. We are however turning the corner and winter will soon be gone, the sooner the better for me. I was fishing on the weekend with my brother-in-law and I saw the same old thing I quite often see while fishing in the winter. There is always that one or two guys fishing that same spot they were catching fish in the summer months.

I would like to inform the reader of the fact that fish do not, and I highly emphasize the words (do not) occupy the same water in the winter. Here on the Bow River or any place where that winter word is used, fish go to over winter in deep holes; pools if you will. Food slowly enters the pool and the fish do not have to exert too much energy to have a meal. I look for pools with weeds on the bottom where fish like to sit for cover and also feed off the larvae of insects that cling to the weeds. Fish will not be in spots they normally are in the summer months, it’s that simple or is it?

I will be fishing this weekend and will be looking for the trout in these slow deep pools. I will shoot some video and describe in detail exactly what I am trying to convey here. The Rainbow Trout will be moving south down the river now and will prepare for their annual spring spawn which will create some excellent opportunities for some awesome Brown Trout fishing in the next two months. If you know where you can catch the Rainbow at the staging spot on the river and hammer out 15-20 fish in 2 hours or less depending on how many fish have moved in. The time I choose to arrive at this location is usually in the third week of March. Look at your lunar cycle and pick the 4th day before or after the full moon. Bring along some A5-35 as your arm will feel like it’s going to fall off. These staging fish will do everything in their power to get off your line.

If you enjoy wading rivers, you need to try the best way I’ve ever seen to do just that. Provided your river is large enough, the best way to fish many rivers is a personal pontoon boat. The go by many different names but basically they are a personal boat and are perfect for exploring your favorite river. I do la lot of wading rivers and because of brush on the banks of the river and deep water; I can only walk most rivers for two or three miles at the most. With a personal pontoon boat, this problem is solved. Miles of river can be covered on a few hours.

With the help of this “personal boat”, if you will, you’ll gain access to new water. Much of which will experience much less fishing pressure that the rest of the river. Less fishing pressure means more bites and catching more fish, it’s as simple as that. Who could argue with that? A personal pontoon boat is the best way to fish a river.

When you’re fishing the river on a personal pontoon boat, it’s also nice just to float down the river and enjoy nature from time to time. Actually, the more time that you spend fishing in this manner, the more time you will spend doing just that. Just talking time along your trip to stop and enjoy nature and everything it has to offer.

Once you try fishing from your own personal pontoon boat, you’ll be hooked. You’ll find that it really is the best way to fish a river. You’ll find that you catch more fish as well. As I mentioned earlier, just the fact that you can access area’s that receive much less fishing pressure than many area’s on the river is a huge advantage to you. This is especially true in the west. Most anglers won’t hike more than a mile from where they park their vehicle, so this leaves vast stretches of river that only get fished by anglers with canoes, rafts, or personal pontoon boats, and a personal pontoon boat is much easier to transport than a bulky raft or canoe.

Trevor Kugler – Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country….Montana.