# Ankona boats



## Wildside31T

Anyone have any good reviews, pictures or info on these skiffs. A friend of mine is in the market for one and we will be doing a lot of fishing togther heck I might even buy one of they are as good as they say.


----------



## southpaw

I fished off of 16' Shadowcast once. It was a good boat. Fit and finish weren't anything special, but it ran skinny, poled well and was reasonably dry for skiff that size. I think at that price point you'd be hard pressed to find a boat that would perform like it does. Only real downside I can think of is that they're located in Florida, so you'd have to take it there if you had any issues. A shadowcast will most likely be my next boat though.


----------



## Fishing911

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1369685090


----------



## colby6968

*Ankona - Native SUV*

I have just recently purchased an Ankona Native SUV.

I have only been out once b/c just got the title and tags. This also is my first boat but I can give you my opinion of my maiden voyage.

My boat is Extremely Lightly Used 17'ish with 40 Tohatsu (Original aluminum prop), poling tower, live well, dry/battery box, front storage with SS 12gal tank.

I set out from the dock with a ~15mph wind down the river and she handled really well. Three of us on board, myself 5'-11 240, my fiancÃ© 120, & my father 220lbs and we got her up to 32 mph. The chop of the bay wasn't enough to denture my voyage so I throttled back brought the bow up and let her eat. Me standing in the back had a super smooth semi-dry ride. My dad in the middle of the boat was dry my fiancÃ© took a bit of spray but nothing to talk bad about considering the chop and size of the boat.

I ran it skinny in about 5/6" and shut down b/c I was running out of slough that I though opened up to a larger bay. Got it stuck and drafted out. It had a bit of a problem with the hull shot but could be b/c I don't have a jack plate, cavitation plate, trim tabs or could be that I may need a cupped prop?? I tried to get my peeps to move to the front but still didn't get up like I thought she would. First Trip "not worried"

Not sure your boating experience but I have run kayaks, canoes, and flat aluminums and the boat isn't tippy for me although I can see that if your new or really heavy like me and new it could be slightly uncomfortable at first but nothing you couldn't get used to. Experience would take care of that.

There is ample amount of deck for two people to fish. I took three as mentioned and would feel comfortable running three wade fisherman or setting with bait. Two for the fly one poling and one casting.

I have run aluminum flat bottoms and I am sold on my skiff. I would recommend someone else for purchase if you are looking for a skinny running boat.

Future purchases for the boat that it doesn't have currently in the following order. 
Stiffy Push Pole (didn't come with a pole)
Chart plotter (Didn't come with one)
SS Prop (Came with Aluminum)
Jack Plate (I feel I could better my hull shot)
Trolling Motor (Maybe, I Love the clean look and less weight don't like them bouncing around and fly line getting hung, but love the ease of using a trolling motor)

Like I said I haven't owned any other fiberglass boats to compare but I would 100% purchase my boat again.

Hope this is helpful!


----------



## Wildside31T

That's awesome good looking boat that's for sure, I've got plenty of boay expiernce so I'm not too worried about that much. What's the fuel capacity on that bad boy?



colby6968 said:


> I have just recently purchased an Ankona Native SUV.
> 
> I have only been out once b/c just got the title and tags. This also is my first boat but I can give you my opinion of my maiden voyage.
> 
> My boat is Extremely Lightly Used 17'ish with 40 Tohatsu (Original aluminum prop), poling tower, live well, dry/battery box, front storage with SS 12gal tank.
> 
> I set out from the dock with a ~15mph wind down the river and she handled really well. Three of us on board, myself 5'-11 240, my fiancÃ© 120, & my father 220lbs and we got her up to 32 mph. The chop of the bay wasn't enough to denture my voyage so I throttled back brought the bow up and let her eat. Me standing in the back had a super smooth semi-dry ride. My dad in the middle of the boat was dry my fiancÃ© took a bit of spray but nothing to talk bad about considering the chop and size of the boat.
> 
> I ran it skinny in about 5/6" and shut down b/c I was running out of slough that I though opened up to a larger bay. Got it stuck and drafted out. It had a bit of a problem with the hull shot but could be b/c I don't have a jack plate, cavitation plate, trim tabs or could be that I may need a cupped prop?? I tried to get my peeps to move to the front but still didn't get up like I thought she would. First Trip "not worried"
> 
> Not sure your boating experience but I have run kayaks, canoes, and flat aluminums and the boat isn't tippy for me although I can see that if your new or really heavy like me and new it could be slightly uncomfortable at first but nothing you couldn't get used to. Experience would take care of that.
> 
> There is ample amount of deck for two people to fish. I took three as mentioned and would feel comfortable running three wade fisherman or setting with bait. Two for the fly one poling and one casting.
> 
> I have run aluminum flat bottoms and I am sold on my skiff. I would recommend someone else for purchase if you are looking for a skinny running boat.
> 
> Future purchases for the boat that it doesn't have currently in the following order.
> Stiffy Push Pole (didn't come with a pole)
> Chart plotter (Didn't come with one)
> SS Prop (Came with Aluminum)
> Jack Plate (I feel I could better my hull shot)
> Trolling Motor (Maybe, I Love the clean look and less weight don't like them bouncing around and fly line getting hung, but love the ease of using a trolling motor)
> 
> Like I said I haven't owned any other fiberglass boats to compare but I would 100% purchase my boat again.
> 
> Hope this is helpful!


----------



## colby6968

12 Gallon SS Tank tucked in the front deck


----------



## southpaw

colby6968 said:


> I ran it skinny in about 5/6" and shut down b/c I was running out of slough that I though opened up to a larger bay. Got it stuck and drafted out. It had a bit of a problem with the hull shot but could be b/c I don't have a jack plate, cavitation plate, trim tabs or could be that I may need a cupped prop?? I tried to get my peeps to move to the front but still didn't get up like I thought she would. First Trip "not worried"


It could also be that the boat isn't really designed to have a really great shallow hole shot. I've never been on one, but since it doesn't have a tunnel, you're not going to have a really great hole shot. Adding a jack plate, cupping your prop correctly, adding trim tabs, etc may help, but at the end of the day you've got a boat that can float skinny and poles well so you can always pole to deeper water. Cupping a prop for hole shot is also going to decrease your efficiency and top end speed as well so that may be something to consider

Either way, congrats on the skiff!


----------



## Demeter

I have the 16 foot Shadowcast. It's a great poling skiff. The price was right and overall I am very happy with it. You have to pick your days with such a microskiff, because it can't handle serious chop. You will find tons of reviews on microskiff to help you decide which skiff is the best fit for your needs.


----------



## Darcat12

I purchased a Copperhead with a 60 etech and love the boat. I had it in 15-20 mph winds with 1 to 1.5 ft chop with 2 of us and it handled it just fine. A little spray but not to bad at about 26 mph. Would highly recommend any of the boats Ankona makes. Ck out thier web site and call Mel , the owner, super nice people there and he can answer any questions you have. I fish mostly in the Rockport area so you know the wind is always blowing. Good luck, you will not find a better boat for the price but be ready for a long wait.


----------



## Wildside31T

Im leaving towards the copperhead myself, how does it run down in ROC? Also how does lets say the warranty or any kind of specific work Ankona does how will that do down here in Texas. I hope the waiting list isn't too long!!



Darcat12 said:


> I purchased a Copperhead with a 60 etech and love the boat. I had it in 15-20 mph winds with 1 to 1.5 ft chop with 2 of us and it handled it just fine. A little spray but not to bad at about 26 mph. Would highly recommend any of the boats Ankona makes. Ck out thier web site and call Mel , the owner, super nice people there and he can answer any questions you have. I fish mostly in the Rockport area so you know the wind is always blowing. Good luck, you will not find a better boat for the price but be ready for a long wait.


----------



## Darcat12

Runs just fine. You have to pick your days but I had to do that with my Gulfcoast. Ankona has a rep in CRP and all work would be done locally as far as I know. When I spoke to Mel about this same thing he said Just take it to someone you trust and they would speak to them and get it taken care of. Ck out the website and give them a call. They can answer all your questions. I believe its about 9 to 12 months but ck with them. My wait was a little over 8 months. Well worth it tho.


----------



## Darcat12

Ck out Microskiff.com and there are some videos on u tube under Ankona


----------



## seadave

I think for the price, its the best way to go. I researched these skiffs really hard, right up until my curlew fell in my lap. Ive heard good things.


----------



## 2thDr

If you can, find a 4 blade SS prop, with cupping. Much better hole shot, aluminum prop should be retired before you destroy it. Sand does that.


----------

