Panfisher opinions

[Steve Ferendo]

I am thinking about buying a used Panfisher and would like to ask for opinions. If any of you have experience with this boat please share your observations-opinions.



Thanks in advance.



Steve

 

[TrepMan]

Steve - First question (regardless of which boat) is what type of fishing do you do, what type of water do you fish?



I looked HEAVILY at the Panfish 165 before I bought my PC 175. I have little kids and needed a safer platform to fish with them then my jonboat, and the typical bass boat decks were not safe. I was all ready to buy it and then they came out with the PC 175, and I was sold.



Pros of the Panfish are you sit up front so in river or shallow water/obstacles you have a better view, its a light easy to manuever and tow boat, easy on the gas. The large Live/Bait well is great for fish and bait and the cooler has a great location up front out of the way.



Con's is that the Panfish and the 165 (along with I think pre-1998 175/185) hulls have the traditional mod-V hull, which is not near as smooth as the Revolution hull.



Trep

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

The stick steering has pros and cons also. It's very easy to start the big motor and move to different locations if you want. BUT, riding up front is ROUGH and you better get a kidney belt.



Bill

 

[TrepMan]

good points Bill. Also, if you get a 25 hp 2 stroke or lower you will not have power Tilt/trim so if you are riding up front and SEE a large rock/tree, in order to raise the motor you have to go to the back (same with a console boat but you're 1/2 way back). If I ever went Stick Steer i'd definetly have to have power T/T.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

GREAT point by "King Tin"... Power Tilt & Trim is a MUST!



Bill

 

[Steve Ferendo]

Thanks for your replies.

Mostly I fish "electric only" reservoirs so I would be using the trolling motor when fishing there.

I occasionally would want to fish the upper Potomac River for catfish, walleye, muskie, etc. I thought the stick steer would be an advantage on the river. I have two kids that will be fishing with me on occasion and my present 14' jon boat is getting mighty crowded.



The boat I am looking at is a used 1989 model. So far, the high bid (me) is $2,000.

 

[TrepMan]

OK on the boat do you know which motor? Probably a 25 merc, which is not Power T/T, but if you primarly fish Electric might be a good boat.



And what ever boat you buy, there is a boat load (pun intended) of stuff to look for, and others will join in:



- Leaks - take it out on the water, run ALL pumps, lights, switches.... When you take it OUT of the water pull the plug and look for water in the bildge.

- Motor - have a mechanic check it out and do a compression check. Probably a manual mix oil/gas so you should check the color of the gas going into the motor (and the fuel filter) to make sure it LOOKs like a mix, that could show you if there might be any problems with the rings (running too little oil) or carbon build up (too much) and plug fouling.

- Trailer - check everything, wiring, tire wear, screws/bolts/nuts, wiring, look for rust...

- How much space does the boat have for batteries? If you are mostly fishing electric only you'll want at least 2 deep cycle plus your starting battery for when you use the gas motor. Though you CAN use deep cycle batteries to start a boat, might be an option if you don't do it too often.



Gang, what did I miss?? A LOT i'm sure!

 

[Barry Loos]

On a 15 year old boat you're going to have some problems but try to minimize them. Ask the owner if he replaced batteries lately or any other piece of equipment. Ask him if it leaks. Ask if he had the motor serviced by a mechanic that might have records of the service.



Not trying to scare you just educate you. Never worry about asking questions...just the answers.



Da Bear

 

[Jim in VA]

I've fished the Upper Potomac out of Algonkian and further up at Point of Rocks and Lander. At Algonkian I have used my PT175 with 40hp outboard. Its rough going as the deepest points heading up towards Edwards and Whites Ferry is about 5 feet if your lucky. Most times its about 2 feet. My guess is that even the PC with a 25hp will have problems. The guys that run the best up there have jet motors. At Point of Rocks, Lander and Brunswick, I've used my 16 foot Scanoe with a 5hp Briggs and Stratton. There is no way to get a bigger non-jet boat up there. Just some thoughts as you look at the Panfisher!



Good luck - Jim

 

[Steve Hutson]

An old friend of mine had that very rig. He really liked it. I drove it a few times and though that the stick steering was neat. it's a completely different feeling being up front.



I do agree that power tilt and trim would be a nice addition.

 

[Steve Ferendo]

Jim,



Have you fished the areas above and below dam # 4? Above the dam it's like a lake for 13 miles. I was wondering what the fishing was like up there for walleye? I do know there are many places no prop boat can go on the river. As I said, I mostly fish electric only reservoirs, so the opportunity, and flexibility, to get on the river once in a while is appealing.



Steve

 

[Jim in VA]

Steve - not sure where Dam #4 is located. So you can probably guess I haven't fished there! I'm based out of Northern VA so I usually head only as far north as Brunswick. If dam #4 is higher, I've not been there. Sounds interesting. If you're looking for a fishing partner for up there and would like a ride on a PT175 to see how it runs up there, I'm always willing to travel to fish! I've also run the PT175 in some of the Maryland electric-only reservoirs with a trolling motor in back as well as the bow mounted one. Worked fine although we weren't going to set any speed records!



If your seriously looking at the Panfisher, I'd think about the 175. A bit more room (vital if your fishing three - even if two are kids) and I believe a bit more versatile. You give up the front seated position for stick steering, but with a prop motor, I don't think being up front a few feet is going to give you any more warning that standing up at the console and motoring slowly. Of course, if you were bidding on a 16ft rig with stick steering in front and a jet outboard, that would be a different story. I started out by looking at the Panfisher and kind of migrated up from there while shopping. Good thing I was stopped by my budget or I would have ended up in a PT185 jet - not that that would have necessarily been a bad thing!



Good luck and feel free to ping me offline if your interested in the offer above.

 

[Gene B]

 

[TrepMan]

Steve - You didn't mention the engine (back to the power T/T issue). Just saw this on boattraderonline.com at asking price of $2500 to give you a comparison:



DESCRIPTION

1992 TRACKER 16', PANFISH, 40hp Johnson, electric trim, stick steer, live well, twin trolling motors, fish finder, stored 7yrs, $2500 586-677-4047 SHELBY TOWNSHIP


http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/5/2/79308152.htm

 

[Steve Ferendo]

TrepMan,



Thanks for the link. If my deal falls through I may give them a call. Not sure I want to travel that far to look at a boat though.



BTW the boat I am looking at has a 25hp Merc on it.



Steve

 

[TrepMan]

Steve - My choice would be the 40 due to power T/T, but if its the exception since you'll be using trolling motor/electric most of the time, then the 25 would be fine, but if you could get a 3 year newer boat (assuming same condition) i'd negotiate the guy with the 40 Merc and get a newer boat with bigger motor.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

You guys gott have tin cahonies to go out on the Potomac in them itty bitty tin rigs!!:unsure:



TOXIC

 

[Steve Ferendo]

TrepMan,



Yeah but he's way out there in Michigan!