I fish this area frequently as a Branson resident. If fishing from a boat, I recommend trolling the Berkley flicker shad lure. My favorite color is slick purple Bengal and firetail ghost glitter. I have a buddy who lives in Forsyth, owns a really nice boat and fishes Taneycomo frequently, and always gets his limit with the Berkley flicker shad lure. I use an ultralight rod and reel, with 10 pound braid and 6 pound floral carbon leader. But it should be noted that I’ve also caught trout and largemouth bass on a bait casting rod with 12 pound monofilament. Line weight doesn’t seem to matter all that much if you’re trolling. Just my opinion. Sorry, I don’t have any experience with bank fishing or fishing off of any of the docks. I will attach a photo of the lure and a recent catch which included walleye and largemouth bass on Bull Creek which is right at Rockaway Beach, Taneycomo.

Hello sir! I can sure identify with your desire to have a motorized kayak. I also own a lifetime 100 kayak that I purchased at Walmart. I upgraded it until it was comfortable and fishable for me.

I never did consider adding a trolling motor to it. I always felt like a motorized kayak should be a much nicer, bigger and more stable kayak than the lifetime 100. I purchased mine for about $200 from Walmart at the end of season. I’m not sure that a kayak of this nature justifies a trolling motor. I was considering the purchase of a $1500 kayak and that one I would certainly consider motorizing or I would just purchase a kayak that came standard as a motorized kayak which would push me close to the $4000 price range.

I’ve always felt like the lifetime 100 was an entry-level kayak that would get me into the sport and teach me what I needed to know before I got really serious about it and purchased something that was a real fishing machine.

I’m just speaking of my experience. I have no idea how you look at things and I certainly applaud you for taking on the challenge of adding a little trolling motor too your tamarack 100. I hope it works out wonderful for you. There are some YouTube videos available that show how to add a trolling motor to a small kayak. I’m sure if you’re handy, you will be able to do it without too much trouble. Let us know how your project turns out. Best of the day to you!

PS – I should probably add that right when I was ready to pop for a $4000 motorized kayak, I changed my mind and bought a small 12’ John boat, with a Mercury 9.9hp motor and added a Motor Guide 55 lbs thrust XI3 GPS/Spot lock trolling motor. I still have my kayak, but I don’t use it nearest much because it is so wonderful to have a motor on the back of my boat.

$1100. Here's the whole story...Grab a cup of coffee...

I made the decision that I would purchase the Motor Guide XI3 with GPS and Spot Lock. It is Amazing and I do not regret the purchase. It is everything I had hoped for. All I have to do is hit that little "anchor" button on the remote control and the boat stops and stays in position until I hit another function key. I can stay glued to a spot to change a lure, dig out a backlash, retrieve a stuck lure from a brush pile, take a fish off the hook. I had hoped that I would be thrilled with the GPS/Spot Lock function and I am...totally thrilled...completely satisfied.

I have a Lowe 1240...that's a tiny boat. All the Minn Kota's had huge housings that I would have to fit to this tiny little boat. I wanted something much smaller and compact. The Motor Guide has a XI3 that is made for kayaks so it has a 36" shaft and a very compact housing/body that must be mounted to the boat somewhere. It was perfect for my application. I talked with the Motor Guide Rep at the Bass Pro World Fishing Festival back in March and made my decision that day to make the purchase. I put it on my Bass Pro Credit Card which offered a 12 month, no interest charge. As long as I make the required minimum monthly payment of $27.00, I can take up to 12 months to pay for it with no interest. I too could not afford the $1100.00, but I knew I could swing it if I had some time, so that is how I approached this boat modification.

Of course, you are not finished spending money with the purchase of the Trolling Motor...you must have a battery---I went with a Lithium 55 AH which was big enough for my usage (Weize from Amazon that had outstanding reviews and cost only $212, as apposed to nearly $500) that weights only 12 lbs, which is great for my little rig. Then I had to have a Lithium battery charger (Noco 10- $100) and then the cables and fittings and Motor Guide plug receptacles and circuit breaker...on and on...(about another $100.00). I also installed a quick release bracket, because I did not want the motor permanently mounted to my boat and I did not want to trailer the troller motor...I wanted to slip it in the rear of my SUV. The quick release bracket was about $80.00. I have a good story about the quick release bracket. I hit it off with the Motor Guide Factory Rep and he sent me a quick release bracket for FREE, just because we made a connection at the BP World Fishing Festival. What a blessing!

So, when I was all said and done, I had about $1600 into the project, but that was nearly $500 less than the Minn Kota which I did NOT really want because it was enormous...way too big and heavy for my little boat.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy your new motor and it serves you well over the years!

I recently bought my MOTOR GUIDE XI3, with GPS / Spotlock with hand held remote from Bass Pro in Springfield, MO and I am extremely satisfied! I think you made a good choice by purchasing from Bass Pro. I looked around for other options as well but came back to Bass Pro as the best choice at the best price with the needed availability. Beavertooth

My boat came with the clamp on, plastic swivel seats that you see in the photos. I put a flotation cushion in the seat to provide the needed seat padding.

The swivel clamp-on style mount simply clamps on to the John boat bench seat. This type of mount will move and I found it necessary to install a stainless steel “corner bracket” that is used in mounting shelving. The following is the description from amazon.com. Anything like this will work as long as it’s thick enough to handle a little stress and strain. Each bracket required me to drill two holes and then insert a self tapping stainless steel screw. Now the seat is secure and will not move. However, should I desire to remove the seat I can do so by loosening the clamp on seat mount. Since these items came with the boat I decided to continue to use them rather than invest in really nice bass boat seats at this time. At some point I may upgrade but I will probably continue to use the very same clamp on mount because it works great and did not require me to take a saw and cut holes in my bench seat.

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If you justsearch. amazon.com for stainless steel corner brackets, several choices will emerge.

Hope this helps to explain. Once again, in answer to your question, all I had to do to install my seats was drill two holes in my bench seat to secure the corner brackets. That is for drilled holes per seat. I am not a handyman and I’m not particularly good at doing modifications on a boat. What you see in the photos was my finished product, after a lot of thinking on the subject and working very slow at each individual item. If I can do it, anybody can do it. Have a great day and I hope that you heal up quickly! BeaverTooth

I put them on my boat! I own the exact same boat with a mercury 9.9 HP outboard and a motor guide trolling motor with GPS and spot lock. Absolutely no problems whatsoever in attaching the seats. I can’t imagine using this boat without some sort of a swivel seat with a back on it. It makes life so much more comfortable and the boat so much more usable. Notice the little bracket I made to keep the seat-clamp on seat from moving. Works great! I will attach a photo.

I have never in my entire life had a day like that nor have I ever been at a place where something like that was a possibility. You have been uniquely blessed! Congratulations on your great success!

I like your style. You always have helpful responses.

So sorry, but I did not take a photo. It was only after returning home that I realized I took very few photos that day. It was a good looking boat. I would love to own it. It seemed like it was just last year that the entry-level boat at Bass Pro was $15,000. It’s jumped a lot in the last year but it’s a nice boat.

Just musing…

About a week ago I attended the Bass Pro World Fishing Fair in Springfield, Missouri. It was an amazing experience as I had never seen so much product targeted at the fishing community located in one place.

Bass Pro was spotlighting their 50th anniversary aluminum boat. It looks very much like the original bass tracker that came out on the market decades ago. It came outfitted with an entry-level Minnkota foot control trolling motor and a mercury 50 hp outboard. It cost $17,000 before tax which is about 9% in Missouri.

I was disheartened to see that boat prices had morphed to an all-time high, putting an entry-level bass tracker, plain Jane, aluminum boat at a price tag of $17,000. This nice little 16 foot, 50th anniversary special was parked next to 22 foot Nitro bass boat priced at $92,000. Not too many years ago, I sold a house in Springfield, Missouri for $91,000. Nowadays, a really nice bass boat cost as much as I used to pay for a house. Some will say that that is a ridiculous comparison, but it is the sort of thing that pops into my mind when I consider a price tag of $92,000.

I know that there will be some who will take issue with my critical view concerning boat prices, but if someone were to ask me if I thought that the boats I saw at the Fishing Fair were worth the price, I would have to say “no.” “No!” A fishing boat will never be worth that kind of money to me. Never! The answer may be yes to a professional fisherman, but for an ordinary, every day, common man who is looking to get out on the water, I would say that today’s boats are outrageously over priced.

Of course, it is always a matter of perspective and certainly financial ability. I am a senior citizen, living on a fixed income and simply do not have the kind of discretionary money that is necessary to purchase an expensive fishing boat. Would I like one? I could probably feel comfortable in a boat that I saw priced between $30K and $40K. Anything more expensive than that and I would probably feel so nervous about having it on the water that it may suck all of the joy out of the fishing experience. I am merely speculating.

Now, I will admit this… I would love to have a well-to-do friend, who owned a $90,000 bass boat, who loved to take me out on his boat for a day of fishing. That would be the best of all worlds!

What are your thoughts on today’s boat and motor prices?

Yeah, thanks so much for the answer. I assumed with a town as large as Springfield, the lake would be quite busy. I believe it also has a small horsepower limit, doesn’t it? That fits me fine since I have a modded johnboat with a mercury 9.9.

Now that I am older, 71, my biggest dread concerning a day of fishing is launching and loading my boat. I bought a brand “new” 12 foot Lowe John boat and trailer and a mercury 9.9. Since everything is new it should give me no problem for quite a while. It’s very small and light, so it is easy to deal with, but still I dread hooking it up and trailering it to the lake, and launching it in places without a boat dock…and then reloading it again especially if it’s windy. It’s funny how the things that bother me now would’ve never bothered me when I was younger. I love to fish because I love being in a boat on the water. How much more of a fisherman than I am a catcher of fish. It’s not a science for me, it’s just a pleasurable past time. Best wishes!

So if you don’t mind, what is the story on Fellows Lake in Springfield, Missouri? Is there a decent fishing at Fellows Lake?

I went to college in Springfield back in the 1970s and Fellows Lake was where you would take your girlfriend on a date. I never knew that it was actually a decent fishing lake. My question is sincere. What is the story on fishing at Fellows Lake? I live in Branson so the information would be helpful. Thank you! BeaverTooth

I’m so concerned about having some sort of problem when launching, that I wait until the ramp is completely clear. I absolutely never become impatient or crowd anyone on a boat ramp. I pull into the parking area and get my boat completely ready for the launch before I back into the water. I have a very small boat (12’ Jon), but I am still exceedingly careful and considerate of others. My bigger concern is reloading my boat onto the trailer after my days fishing. The ramp I use on Bull Shoals in the Ozarks does not have a dock, so you must pull your boat up onto the ramp and then walk to the parking lot to fetch your car. Since my boat is so small I always pull it to one side of the ramp to allow someone else to share the ramp with me if they so choose. It’s just the way I was raised. I usually try to greet other boaters and complement people on their rigs. Occasionally I will find an old grump that doesn’t want to return a greeting and so I leave him alone. The last place that I want to feel rushed or late for an appointment, is on the lake. The lake is my time to chill… Relax… Enjoy. I wish the same fir everyone.

I have two excellent fishing contacts in the Branson area…Guys who always catch fish! Lots of fish. They both state that the WHITE BASS are beginning on Bull Shoals Lake, at the Forsyth Bridge, at the mouth of Swan Creek. Additionally, WALLEYE are being caught at night from the Forsyth bridge up to the Taneycomo Dam. I have no information on methodology, only on general location. Pictured is a 3 pounder.

Thanks so much for your advice! I just looked over your comment again just now.