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Thanks. He came on a Puglisi Mullet.

Sorry I misspoke in my reply. This fish took a small twitch bait with single in line hooks: Rapala Twichin Mullet I think.

One of the nice things about a jet-powered boat is there's no prop.

Yeah there are a lot of places that FMT tracks don’t take you. However you can see the hard bottom on the satellite imagery and check it out at higher tides.

It’s more about the information that you overlay onto the chartplotter than the unit itself. You want a mapping data set that shows satellite imagery at low water so you can see structure. Something like Navionics, at minimum (just Google it). Back when I ran a prop motor around Chaz I used to use Google earth to draw tracks that avoided structure, then load those onto my GPS. A few years ago I purchased Florida Marine Tracks and I would strongly recommend that for anyone boating in the Nature Coast area. That will get you out the Chaz River as well as many, many more places. Even if they don’t have a track for a location, the imagery is top notch. The catch is it only runs on Lowrance and Simrad due to other brands blocking access.

@@NatureCoastFisher Thanks for the reply Mark. I do appreciate it.

@@NatureCoastFisher How about the Lowrance Elite FS 9 Fish Finder/Chartplotter Combo at BassPro? Will that work?

@@theLandJackal looks like that one would work. See floridamarinetracks.com/units-accessories/

Yes, this boat is a 2019 and it’s the last year that they made it. I didn’t want anything bigger personally, certainly not the bigger engine.

Yep, same thing they said to me when I started shopping for a jet in spring 2020 :-). This is a mantra that’s repeated generally in this area where few people have direct experience with jets. If anyone tells you’re going to get rocks and shells in the intake running around Chaz / Homosassa / Ozello / Yankeetown, it’s an indication that they are just repeating the mantra an have no real experience running a jet around here. I was pretty familiar with jets from fishing in the rocky VA, MD, PA rivers when I decided to try a jet. I’d never operated one but had ridden as a passenger and knew quite a few who had them. The only issues I’ve had are surface weeds which can be an issue especially in spring and again in fall when they die back and develop clumps on the surface. With a little experience you learn to avoid them and to clear them quickly when they get sucked onto the intake grate. I’ll gladly deal with the weeds for the ability to run around the backcountry without worrying about a prop drive. I ran a G3 1860 tunnel hull prop drive with jack plate around here for three years and that’s a good option … just not as good for the backcountry as a jet. The ”poor performance” claim is misleading: jets get poor gas mileage relative to prop drives. You’re running I guess about 1/3 less efficiently than a prop boat. So if that’s a problem, a jet might not be for you. I’m on the trolling motor a lot more hours than the main motor. There is a another option called a surface drive or “mud boat” offered around here. I checked them out and decided it wasn’t for me but it’s worth looking into before taking the plunge. Hope this helps.

Chris I've been running a jet in Homosassa for 5 yrs now best boat I've ever had. I only fish inshore though definitely not made for long distance runs in chop.

Seen a plenty towed in dragging their goodies lol

About 80 trips so far and no issues with salt. Typical trip for me starts and ends in fresh and runs through brackish and salt. Hose it down after the trip, especially the trailer.

Yes and I highly recommend it, especially for prop boats. In this boat I spend most of my time in these little creeks, but for getting from point A to point B in my bay boat, FMT is great. I swap the same Lowrance unit between the two boats. The satellite imagery is great for locating structure for fishing as well as navigation.

@@NatureCoastFisher Cool thank you

At the moment, Wes, I wish I knew. Water in the marsh and jungle is quite tannic and I’m not seeing redfish at all. Dragged spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and spoons around for an hour in an attempt to get their attention. They’re probably off some point on the outside 🤷‍♂️

For what I do with this boat, the jet has worked out well. I drove a G3 1860 tunnel hull with a Yamaha 70 prop for four years around the area and got pretty good with it, but you could never really relax. With the jet, you don't have to worry about the random, out-of-place chunk of rock or oysters. The main nemesis is surface weeds. As long as you can avoid surface weeds or large floating clumps of dead grass, it's smooth sailing. Worst case, I have an 80-lb thrust trolling motor on the bow (Minn Kota Riptide Ulterra) that will pull you through a lot of weeds. Gravel, shells and other bottom debris are not an issue. None of the dealers around the Nature Coast wanted to order me a jet. I ended up finding the model I wanted in Pennsytucky (where they use these boats in the rocky rivers) and having it transported here in spring 2020. The boat itself handles beyond expectations. It holds so well in corners that you're likely to feel oversteer before the boat slides out of the corner. If you catch the oversteer a little too hard you'll do a 180. It's a useful maneuver to practice.

The engine model is Yamaha F60 T JR. I have never calculated fuel usage for the boat so I don’t want to estimate and give you bad information. Both the boat and engine were manufactured by Yamaha so I would consult them. In general, jet propulsion is less fuel-efficient than propeller-driven boats.

U got hell house waters tho sacred waters

25 MPH with just me in it.

Technically yes, however even in a jet drive craft you need to know the location of oyster bars, which can be only a n inch or two below the surface. GPS device with satellite imagery is critical unless you have local knowledge and experience.

🤣

Thanks Wes. I really enjoy your videos of outings in the Chaz.