# New to Fly fishing. Looking for skif recommendations for NE FL/Jax area



## mpk1996

Hey guys, I'm new to fly fishing and am looking for an skif that will do me well here in NE FL. I am unsure on exactly what to look for and am looking for recommendations. My wife and I want to be able to fish the reds and what not locally, but it may be fun to have a boat we can take to the keys or other areas (trailer down) and fish there as well. what do you recommend as far as size/draft/etc or even make model for the local area. thanks.

What say you?


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## Bertbot

I just posted a Ankona shadowcast 16. I’ve lived in Jax and live in south Florida. Perfect boat for NE FL and a great boat for fishing the flats in the keys without spending a arm and a leg


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## Terry

mpk1996 said:


> Hey guys, I'm new to fly fishing and am looking for an skif that will do me well here in NE FL. I am unsure on exactly what to look for and am looking for recommendations. My wife and I want to be able to fish the reds and what not locally, but it may be fun to have a boat we can take to the keys or other areas (trailer down) and fish there as well. what do you recommend as far as size/draft/etc or even make model for the local area. thanks.
> 
> What say you?


Budget is key. NE Florida tide swings can catch any boat regardless of draft. I’d suggest a skiff in the 18’ range. Ideal draft would be +/- 8”. Something that you can fish skinny (while keeping an eye on the tide) and run off the beach for Tarpon and Cobia. Something along these line would also make a great Keys boat. A boat like the Eastcape EVO/Vantage, Beavertail Stirke/Air or Comparable models from Ankona, Hell’s Bay, Etc...


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## Liam Nissan

I fish out of my Mitzi 15 all over NE and central FL. Perfect skiff to me; runs shallow, takes chop well and is very stable for what it is. Like bertbot mentioned, a shadowcast would also be a sick boat and I sawe his listing a little while ago; made me drool a little


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## Bertbot

Liam Nissan said:


> I fish out of my Mitzi 15 all over NE and central FL. Perfect skiff to me; runs shallow, takes chop well and is very stable for what it is. Like bertbot mentioned, a shadowcast would also be a sick boat and I sawe his listing a little while ago; made me drool a little


Haha thanks man. If you wanna catch reds in Jax it’s hard to beat a shadowcast. Easiest boat to pole and runs and stupid skinny while being silent. It almost gets too shallow


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## Liam Nissan

Bertbot said:


> Haha thanks man. If you wanna catch reds in Jax it’s hard to beat a shadowcast. Easiest boat to pole and runs and stupid skinny while being silent. It almost gets too shallow


For sure. If I was in the market for a new skiff right now the shadowcast would definitely top that list. Sick skiffs


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## Bertbot

Liam Nissan said:


> For sure. If I was in the market for a new skiff right now the shadowcast would definitely top that list. Sick skiffs


Oh yea


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## mpk1996

Bertbot said:


> I just posted a Ankona shadowcast 16. I’ve lived in Jax and live in south Florida. Perfect boat for NE FL and a great boat for fishing the flats in the keys without spending a arm and a leg


thanks for the info. looks like you just sold it.


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## mpk1996

Terry said:


> Budget is key. NE Florida tide swings can catch any boat regardless of draft. I’d suggest a skiff in the 18’ range. Ideal draft would be +/- 8”. Something that you can fish skinny (while keeping an eye on the tide) and run off the beach for Tarpon and Cobia. Something along these line would also make a great Keys boat. A boat like the Eastcape EVO/Vantage, Beavertail Stirke/Air or Comparable models from Ankona, Hell’s Bay, Etc...



not sure what the budget is to be honest. if i can get what i need/want for 15k thats great. if i have to spend 30-40k or more, well i'm a buy once, cry once kinda guy. Ive played these games before and its always been better and more enjoyable to get the right equipment.


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## rummya87

IMO you can't beat an HB professional in our area for a skiff. I live in Jax and run it here, from low tides to flood tides to beach fishing. Been out of St. Augustine inlet, Nassau Sound, and all over Florida Bay and the Everglades (as far out as Sandy Key from Islamorada and from Choko to Highlands Beach), the lower keys, Tampa, Mosquito Lagoon, Jupitet Inlet, Stuart, Tomoka Basin, Homosassa, Cedar Key, Steinhatchee, St. Marks and the rest of the panhandle all the way to Cape San Blas. Also run it out of Jekyll for tripletail, Charleston, and from Hopedale, LA all over the marsh. I've fished it as far out as 10 miles offshore of St. Augustine (not advised, was VERY flat). I will say though - I do not run it out of Mayport. Been caught by some bad stuff in Mayport in bigger boats that i wouldn't want to experience in my skiff. St. Augustine has also gotten more sketchy in recent years. My skiff has seen everything from mangrove snapper to sailfish. 

In any skiff, you have to pick your days to go out of the inlet, but the HB pro is pretty capable as a boat that can go from poling in 6" of water for backing reds on the mud, to floating spartina flats, to fishing the beach for tarpon and still be able to travel with it to bigger, more wide open places. You can also get a used one in the 30-40k range pretty readily.


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## flyclimber

All good suggestions here. I have the devilray, its nice for the shallow stuff with two people. I am also dabbling with the idea of picking up a larger boat for the nearshore stuff.


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## Viking1

Others have given great recommendations on boats so won't repeat that. If you have never fished this area before we have a lot of oysters in our creeks. So be prepared if you buy a nice new shinny boat it is going to get some oyster rash pretty quickly. The other advice I would give is not to get a boat that is over 16 to 18 feet. At certain times of the year you have to go way up in the creeks to find reds and the longer your boat is the more difficult it will be to turn around. In NE Fl I would get a push pole no shorter than 21 feet. Where creeks intersect it can get deep and many of our waters have very muddy bottoms that can make a shorter pole useless. I would also recommend getting a boat with a bow mounted trolling motor. The TM will get you out and back on days when the tides and the NE winds are blowing. The last piece of advice is that no boat can do it all so when you select a boat make sure it fits the type of fishing you like best. I own 6 boats and water craft to cover all the fishing I like to do in NE Florida. All of them I bought used except for 1. If I could only keep one I would go with my Gheenoe LT25 for fishing around here but I would not recommend it if you usually fish it with another person for fly fishing. I like the LT25 because it runs and drifts very shallow, well built for the price and I don't get heart palpitations when I hit oysters. By the way any skiff that you buy for use in the creeks of NE FL will work in any other area of the state just fine. The only exception to this is that in some areas around Florida you have to make long runs to get where you want to fish, for areas like this you want a boat that has a good enough "V" in the front to cut through waves (trim tabs can help you here to but I will let the salespeople explain that to you) and enough horsepower to get you to the destination quickly. In NE Florida we have lots of ramps so travel distance is not really an issue. Good luck in finding the right boat for your needs!


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## Dan983

mpk1996 said:


> Hey guys, I'm new to fly fishing and am looking for an skif that will do me well here in NE FL. I am unsure on exactly what to look for and am looking for recommendations. My wife and I want to be able to fish the reds and what not locally, but it may be fun to have a boat we can take to the keys or other areas (trailer down) and fish there as well. what do you recommend as far as size/draft/etc or even make model for the local area. thanks.
> 
> What say you?


Mitzi Skiff 17–The front casting deck is huge, hull is light, runs beautifully in choppy water and runs shallow. They are very affordable compared to the big names. I’ve had one for 11 years, although far from a Hells Bay, less than 1/2 cost new and very capable.


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## Bertbot

mpk1996 said:


> thanks for the info. looks like you just sold it.


Yea it sold almost too quick lol


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## mpk1996

Thanks for all the input guys. still looking. swung through the East Cape factory yesterday and really liked those guys. The Evo X seems like a great boat. need to try and get on the water in one.


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