# Tracker Jon Boat fly fishing



## Coffeyonthefly

Welcome and great post. Your poling platform looks awesome, agree that you need to redo it in aluminum but good lines.


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## Marshdweller08

Welcome! Great story on your progression into SW fly fishing and your boat fab. Nice work btw. Looking forward to seeing more updates.


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## HenryTinSkiff

Cool platform. Mines a 1448


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## Nathan yow

TXredchaser said:


> Hey everybody 👋 I am new to the site and still pretty new to salt water fly fishing but I have loved it from day one. I have fished the coast in the past but didnt really do it much and had no idea what I was doing. A year and a half ish ago me and my friends rented a house on the coast and it got me hooked pretty good. My wife was super happy to hear I was starting another expensive hobby. So I bounced around my friends boats and did a decent amount of wade fishing but for some reason it just felt like I could get a little more joy and a lot more frustration out of the trips and thats when I realized I wanted to fly fish. Bought a fly rod and caught a small red(maybe 16") with a lucky toss in front of a small push in some skinny water, it was an incredible feeling. Next thing I know I had my wife rolling her eyes at me while I was handing over cash for a jon boat I found on facebook market place. Me and my brother took it out and did the old stand on a cooler deal and I used a 16ft aluminum pole he got from the jobsite. It was so awesome being in the back water poling around throwing a fly at every mullet swirl we saw. Exploring some water we never knew could be so full of life, we just happen to pole right into a couple of pods going crazy tailing and picking at the bottom, my nervous pole smacking the motor and splashing around made no difference to them. My brother tossed a fly to the side of all the blue tipped tails just wagging in the air and hooked up almost immediately and it was pure adrenaline, joy, excitement, and those over joyous giggles like I was a kid again. After the first couple fish hit the net and a rod was busted from not know how to fight a fish with a fly rod, I started to feel like we accomplished something and I realized I wanted to make the boat better at chasing my new found love in redfish.
> (Me and my brother with our first two fish on the boat)
> View attachment 175883
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> I decided I needed a poling platform and I started looking around at what other jon boaters have done and there really was nothing out there (really kind of my reason for this post). I found a couple posts of just stand on a cooler or use an aluminum bed extender or small scaffolding but that wasnt doing it for me. I have a decent background in welding and fabrication so I decide to make one. I decided to do it on the cheap and make one out of conduit first so I can get something usable and see if I really like my design before I spent a good chunk of change on aluminum. With $80 in materials and a tube roller this is what I came up with. Simple, cheap and usable.
> 
> View attachment 175886
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> 
> View attachment 175887
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> The platform has been good for the past 8 ish months but I just got some float pods to weld on the back and I figure while I got the tig welder running might as well build a new aluminum platform with some design changes. I know that was a lot for an introduction post but I hope it can help someone else out and at least give yall something to read while bored at work. Oh ya almost forgot to say what the boat is its a 1754 Tracker with 60 Mercury and I just put a spitfire 4 blade on it and it is a different animal now. Cut the holeshot by atleast half. The stock 3 blade I could get 37mph out of it new 4 blade I get 35mph wot, but really worth it to me.





TXredchaser said:


> Hey everybody 👋 I am new to the site and still pretty new to salt water fly fishing but I have loved it from day one. I have fished the coast in the past but didnt really do it much and had no idea what I was doing. A year and a half ish ago me and my friends rented a house on the coast and it got me hooked pretty good. My wife was super happy to hear I was starting another expensive hobby. So I bounced around my friends boats and did a decent amount of wade fishing but for some reason it just felt like I could get a little more joy and a lot more frustration out of the trips and thats when I realized I wanted to fly fish. Bought a fly rod and caught a small red(maybe 16") with a lucky toss in front of a small push in some skinny water, it was an incredible feeling. Next thing I know I had my wife rolling her eyes at me while I was handing over cash for a jon boat I found on facebook market place. Me and my brother took it out and did the old stand on a cooler deal and I used a 16ft aluminum pole he got from the jobsite. It was so awesome being in the back water poling around throwing a fly at every mullet swirl we saw. Exploring some water we never knew could be so full of life, we just happen to pole right into a couple of pods going crazy tailing and picking at the bottom, my nervous pole smacking the motor and splashing around made no difference to them. My brother tossed a fly to the side of all the blue tipped tails just wagging in the air and hooked up almost immediately and it was pure adrenaline, joy, excitement, and those over joyous giggles like I was a kid again. After the first couple fish hit the net and a rod was busted from not know how to fight a fish with a fly rod, I started to feel like we accomplished something and I realized I wanted to make the boat better at chasing my new found love in redfish.
> (Me and my brother with our first two fish on the boat)
> View attachment 175883
> View attachment 175884
> 
> I decided I needed a poling platform and I started looking around at what other jon boaters have done and there really was nothing out there (really kind of my reason for this post). I found a couple posts of just stand on a cooler or use an aluminum bed extender or small scaffolding but that wasnt doing it for me. I have a decent background in welding and fabrication so I decide to make one. I decided to do it on the cheap and make one out of conduit first so I can get something usable and see if I really like my design before I spent a good chunk of change on aluminum. With $80 in materials and a tube roller this is what I came up with. Simple, cheap and usable.
> 
> View attachment 175886
> View attachment 175888
> 
> 
> View attachment 175887
> 
> The platform has been good for the past 8 ish months but I just got some float pods to weld on the back and I figure while I got the tig welder running might as well build a new aluminum platform with some design changes. I know that was a lot for an introduction post but I hope it can help someone else out and at least give yall something to read while bored at work. Oh ya almost forgot to say what the boat is its a 1754 Tracker with 60 Mercury and I just put a spitfire 4 blade on it and it is a different animal now. Cut the holeshot by atleast half. The stock 3 blade I could get 37mph out of it new 4 blade I get 35mph wot, but really worth it to me.


what’s up man! Great post. I just recently bought the same boat and am looking to turn it into a boat to fish the skinny water with. How much water does your boat draft? I can’t seem to find the draft of this boat anywhere


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## TXredchaser

Well I haven't put a tape on it but I think around 8ish" loaded down with me poling and a buddy on the front. The water is just under that middle rib or bump on the side of the boat in the back. If I have a bigger friend up front I can get another inch or so. Definitely try to get as much weight forward as you can. Most of the time I am on soft mud so I can push through the real skinny stuff. If the weather holds up and I can go this weekend I will get some actual numbers in the water.


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## Moscateer

Welcome! Great job on the platform, definitely post some pics of the finished aluminum version!


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## vaninkc

Nice Work, Really like the polling platform!! Having one built for my Alumacraft 14' jon boat that I've converted to a skiff to chase Carp here in the Midwest. I need to learn how to weld! Please show the final aluminum version once completed. Thanks


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