Mid/Upper Delaware river question

[barrike 189]

I grew up fishing the Susquehanna River with flat bottom jon boats.  I love river smallmouth fishing and would love to get back into it.  I've never been on the Delaware, but I hear it's just as shallow and rocky if not more so.  I recently bought a 2001 BassTracker ProTeam 175 with a 50hp 2 stroke for reservoir fishing.  It has a mod V hull.   Would this boat would be adequate for the Delaware river (Phillipsburg Area and North) if I re-powered it with a  60/40hp jet, or would it not be worth the trouble?   Any advice would be appreciated.

Edited August 5, 2019 by barrike

[hunterbob1 2,898]

Very good smallmouth fishing.You could run her all the way to NY.

[JHbowhunter 11,005]

there are not too many stretches of river where you can run more than 1/2 a  mile and wish you had a jet.   I have never owned a jet and put my 15' Polar Craft with 25hp tiller Merc through many tight spots while seeking summer smallmouths.   The river is very dangerous overall - but if you read the water and use caution you can get prop boats where they really don't belong.   A 50HP prop - highly unlikely though.  

[Farmshine 1,170]

I’ve run Pburg to Shawnee on the Delaware and you can absolutely do it as long as a 60/40 jet gets ya on plane. That being said it’s very dangerous if you don’t know the river.


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[nb6624 2,187]

I spent the weekend bow fishing the pburg to frenchtown stretch.  Great fishing and alot of big rocks that come outta no where. Fast water and rapids. You gotta stay on point. The water is perfect now.

[barrike 189]

Thanks for the info guys.

nb6624,

Nice carp!  The biggest I ever shot out of the Susquehanna was in the mid 30# range.  That one looks like it's at least 40#!  Are there a lot more like that in the Delaware?  If so, I might have to start entering tournaments again.

[_X7 1,472]

I have a 16' Alumacraft with a semi modified v carrying a 60/45 Mercury Jet. It does well in the river. However, you still need to know where the rocks can jump up and bite you. There are many areas where you need to be careful. The river's flow is not a constant. Sure you can run the river all the way to wherever, but it better be high enough to do so. The best thing to do is take a tubing or kayaking trip and check out the depths and channels as you go. Also, a semi V does not have the same draft as a tunnel jet boat which means it will ride a little deeper in the water. You shouldn't just hold onto your jewels and go. Although there are times when you'll need to.

[hammer4reel 5,711]

11 minutes ago, _X7 said:

I have a 16' Alumacraft with a semi modified v carrying a 60/45 Mercury Jet. It does well in the river. However, you still need to know where the rocks can jump up and bite you. There are many areas where you need to be careful. The river's flow is not a constant. Sure you can run the river all the way to wherever, but it better be high enough to do so. The best thing to do is take a tubing or kayaking trip and check out the depths and channels as you go. Also, a semi V does not have the same draft as a tunnel jet boat which means it will ride a little deeper in the water. You shouldn't just hold onto your jewels and go. Although there are times when you'll need to.

I can run in just a few inches on plane with my tunnel hull . Motor is actually 2 inches above the bottom of the boat  .

I still hate going through new areas.  Seen too many spots where big rocks don't have a typical read on the top of the water especially if wind is chopping up the top a little.

Wish there was a good chart to put in the GPS. For the big D.

Be worth alot jyst due to peace of mind 

[_X7 1,472]

35 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

Wish there was a good chart to put in the GPS. For the big D.

Be worth a lot just due to peace of mind 

I'd like to see that, too. In a lot of places the rocks ae obvious. In others, not so much. Those little boils you see are made by boulders just under the surface. You also need to be aware of any trees or debris that have landed in the holes. Any ripples other than rapids on the surface tell you something.

[Bucksnbows 4,844]

47 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

I can run in just a few inches on plane with my tunnel hull . Motor is actually 2 inches above the bottom of the boat  .

I still hate going through new areas.  Seen too many spots where big rocks don't have a typical read on the top of the water especially if wind is chopping up the top a little.

Wish there was a good chart to put in the GPS. For the big D.

Be worth alot jyst due to peace of mind 

That river's bedload moves too easily and too frequently for accurate charts.  It can change each decent storm event.  Ocean channels change much more slowly for the most part and lakes slower yet.  

I floated the Milford access to the Dingman's access last week in my sit on top kayak and was surprised at how often I hit bottom and we had decent flows for the time of year.  I was totally unfamiliar with the river in that section, so that didn't help.