Looking for opinions on poling skiffs. Looking for a 16-18ft skiff that can manage short rough water crossings to get to barrier island flats.

How much do you want to spend?

Check out Hells Bay and Egret for top end.
Maverick and Hewes are great boats.

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boats-sale-wanted/644858-2008-egret-189-a.html

Get a used Hewes with the lapped hull and re power and restore. It will be cheaper and they are built like tanks.

My brother had a 16' skiff (can't recall the manuf.) that was great in shallow water but bobbed and rolled like a cork in light-moderate seas. Then he had a 20 or 21' Hewes Redfisher, better with the seas and a great fishing platform that rode ok. Has since upgraded to a 2200 Pathfinder, decked out but no polling platform these days.

That is a tall order. technical poling skiffs are not well suited for rough crossings and passes. I have a HB Whipray 16 and I have been shit scared crossing from barrier islands back to the mainland in strong afternoon sea breeze conditions. The solution, launch from barrier island and fish the beaches in the AM till it gets too rough, then run around and fish the bayside till you run out of tide. Or, launch from mainland and go early so you can haul ass after lunch.

The low sides on the little skiffs don't like the big chop. I've punched my whipray into a big wave and didn't think I was going to recover, luckily, that was the last big wave in a set that allowed me to climb the next wave and run the water out. The cockpit was full of water, all my crap was floating around in it. I wasn't running hard either. I had the trim tabs backed way up and the bow was riding high and she was just banging down into a following sea, when it just ran right down a big wave into another one , it happened fast and I was swamped. Sucked. I changed my game after that to one of the above and haven't had a problem since.

My brother has a newer 16' Hewes with the slick sides and it is a totally different skiff than mine. It will take some big water crossings and very rough chop. It's got a big bow and is a very nice fishing boat. It will pole, but it's slow to pole and it won't go much shallower than 1'. It's a trade-off. If you have to cross big water, you need a bigger skiff, it won't pole easy or skinny.

This....

 

I've been talking to the guys at East Cape Skiffs. I'm interested in their Fury model. I've looked at Hell's Bay, Beaver Tail, Young, FlyBoatworks, East Cape, and Egret.


I'm 90% of the time behind a fly rod, and rarely break out my Saltiga for casting gulps. Eastern Shore of Virginia barrier islands hold a ton of Red Drum and Stripers throughout the year, these are my main targets, along with the Tarpon run late July through Mid August. We're talking a substantial distance to be covered and when things get ripping it can get choppy in the open bays and inlet waters. Basically fishing the flats between Fisherman's Island and Assateague Island in Maryland. I spend the majority of my time sight fishing for Reds and Stripers, but do plan on towing the skiff down to Florida to do some DIY trips in the glades and Islamorada.

Hell's Bay seemed more like this is what you get unless you're a guide or TV personality when I talked to them, Beavertail and East Cape build solid skiffs and offer a lot of personalized options, and Egret seems to be top of the line as far as fit and finish.

Price Range is 65k and lower.

I would second Maverick. Yellowfin makes a hell of a skiff now too. ($$$$$$)
I had a Sterling 18' about 8 years ago and was honestly unimpressed. Quite honestly though for what you describe I would almost lean toward a bay boat, but it all depends how skinny of water you want to get in.

I just signed the papers on this thing, Pathfinder 2400TRS. Its going to spend as much time as a beer drinking craft as a fishing vessel though .


Plus where can you put the FLIR without a T -top?

The honey hole areas where I've seen Tarpon at high tide on the flats I need to draw less than 10in of water. There's some back bay areas that hold a good number of Stripers, Red, and Tarpon that most VA and MD guys can't access with their bay boats. So skiff is really what I'm looking for. My dad has a 22FT CC for bay fishing and his best friend has the Offshore boat. I'm just rounding out our collection with a skinny water boat.

Flats skiff with rough water capabilities are gonna be tough to find I think! I had a Key West 15 for a while and it would be a real wet ride with anything over one or two foot seas.

I'm going to look at the Beavertail options again, but it will most likely come down to the Fury or a BT skiff. They've got enough spray rail and flare to keep me relatively dry, as far as the rough water goes, I'm young and my life insurance is paid up. Just have to be smart about paying attention to the weather and holing up and waiting things out if weather gets sketchy.

El Pescador out of Victoria Texas makes a 24 footer that will suit your needs.   It is a bit bigger than your 18 foot max, but it is a shallow runner that withstands rough seas.

Cool looking boat.

Sounds like you need a bigger boat than a skinny water poling skiff. You're saying you need to cross "substantial distances".  That is going to be a bitch in a little technical skiff. I would look at the bigger options, HB Marquesa,  EC Vantage, Hewe's Redfisher 16' like I described above. (Not the lapped sided one, it's a nice boat, but you will need a mustang cold water immersion suit if you cross big water in a chop, they are wet as shit).  Look at the bigger sided skiffs and get a good bow mount trolling motor, you can chase schools of reds with it and if they aren't too spooky, get some shots with a fly. We do it all the time in my brothers Hewe's on the outside of our barrier islands. We can fish all day and make the 6 mile run back to the hill in the afternoon without worrying about death.  My skiff is a poling machine, but if it's not an excellent day with <10 kts it is no fun to cross big open water.  I've ridden in about every skiff made and they all do something pretty well, some better than others. But few of them do many things well, like open water crossing s and poling in 8". It's a trade-off.

hewes light tackle, or redfisher, ftw!!

I lurk over at microskiff and customgheenoe more than I do here!
For my needs, my first choice would be a Custom Gheenoe Low Tide 25. I'd jump on a nice classic in a heartbeat too.
One boat that has caught my eye recently is Wingmaster.

I drool over Hells Bay, Hewes, and the like but they are just a tad out of my price range!

ETA: I wouldn't dare be out in heavy boat traffic much high seas in a Custom Gheenoe!

http://www.americanmarinesports.com/sterling/tr7/tr7-gallery/

I'm fishing 400+/- square miles of water all protected by barrier islands. Essentially from Fisherman's Island to Wallop's Island. On any given day we could be snugged up in a number of coves or drainages casting at Reds, Stripers, and Tarpon.

Going to take a couple guide trips this spring and summer and get a better feel for just how bad things can get north of my usual grounds.

I still think an ECS Fury would do fine for what I need and could even get away with something smaller if I was willing to hang it up on days with enough wind.


I'd love a Custom Gheenoe, but you're talking some seriously dangerous shit if the weather turns on you and I have to navigate the point.

Ankona

I got a 16" Hewes Redfisher, love it.