Picking The Perfect Boat For Midwest River Fishing

In Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 “Lakes,” much of the population seems not to know the state has some of the finest musky rivers in the central United States.

- Luke Swanson

A boat with a shallow, aluminum hull and powered by a jet engine is the ultimate “skinny water” ride for musky fishermen.

In most of these rivers, there is no way you can fish safely from a traditional deep-V lake boat. In the last few years I have jumped from boat to boat trying to determine the most capable rig that can get through skinny waters.

Each river is unique in its width and depth. There is no perfect boat for every river, but there are some key qualities to consider for your river boat.

It is essential to consider the size of the water you will be fishing and what the structure is in that river. In the Midwest, we have a range of small creeks that can be 30 feet wide all the way to the great Mississippi River, which expands to over 600 feet wide. In most rivers you will find structures consisting mostly of rocks and boulders. In that setting, it is not a matter of if you will collide with a rock, it is when.