Boat advice

wildnorthern

We are looking to relocate somewhere between fort meyers-port Charlotte or crystal river area.  Not looking to take my boat offshore.  To fish port Charlotte flats type water and mangroves what maximum draft boat should I be looking at.  Any boat model suggestions?  Yellowfin prices are out of my league but boats in the teir below it aren’t: hells bay etc….  I won’t be poling and using a trolling motor

Ashcraft14

Impossible to answer because the areas are pretty different.  Once you move I suggest you hire a couple of guides and see what kind of fishing you want to do.  Then you can decide on a boat.     

Captjames

First you have to decide between bay boat or flats boat.  I have a 20' Lake And Bay Backwater that I like a lot.  However, a stand up console boat like a 22' Pathfinder would be nice sometimes. 

Salty Dawg44

Any single boat will be a compromise. Here in the Homosassa and Crystal River area there are endless very shallow areas where you will want a light boat with a very shallow draft if you ONLY want to fish there. 



But only slightly farther out in 10' -15' of water there is excellent shallow water Grouper fishing in the fall and early winter. So a smaller bay boat would give you more options. This one was on a Pathfinder.



As posted above, since each area is very different, Move first and go out with a few different guides before deciding on what boat you will buy.