DuckSouth.com

Looking to put together a duck hunting rig and wanted everyone’s opinion on what type of motor to get?

Well, they both have their place. I had a brace fabricated so I could run an outboard in flooded fields... it was quiet effective. But, for my money, you just can't beat the ole go devil. It wouldn't do you much good in the Mississippi River though. I hope this helps.

it depends on what kind of area you will be using it...what kind of terrain will you most likely be hunting....flooded timber, sloughs, big lakes etc?

i have kicked around the idea of a mud motor but i honestly cant find the reasons to.. i hunt around the river and need more power from an outboard than a mud motor. no mud in sight for me. granted there are a couple times when i could of used one, but 99% of the time i am pushing close to 600-800 pounds of gear and people around in high water. i can run 20 miles one way. a mud motor isnt for me. they are cool ass hell, dont get me wrong, but just not my cup of tea.

Paper vs. Plastic

Real vs. Fake

Ford vs. Chebby

Dark Meat vs. White Meat

Beretta vs. Bennelli

Bottom Line....Just depends on your Needs vs. Wants.

9 out 10 ......i say Mudmotor


1. depends on your Boat first.........Mud Motors optimize performance on wide flat bottoms 48"+
Do Not put a Shallow Drive Mud Motor on a Vstyle or modified V style boat.....it will not push a load over 1 person and gear.

2. if you have a flat bottom......16' and under ...(my choice)Prodrive 27 (full power reverse) will be great for anything you want it to do here in Mississippi except the Mississippi River which first of all your boat is really too small

3. if you run the Mississippi River..............NO MudMotor.........buy 40hp+ outboardwith jack plate on 1852 minimum....22" sides or higher

4. If You do not run the Ms River............I like a 1752 or bigger with a 36 Prodrive Full power reverse (my choice)...


other choices i like are Gatortails and MudBuddys..........I'm running a 1852 Phowler Extreme with a 36Prodrive FPR
I would stay clear of any Longtails....harder to operate that short shallow shaft drive and really provide no additional benefit.

Only Con of Mudmotor (my Prodrive) ...not to swift against a current like Ms River....i'm 2 man or less on that.
And...not the smoothest tiller ride unless you have it perfectly balanced load....and loud!

Pro's
1.Air cooled..dam lawn mower engine..maintance is a breeze if you keep it stock..love cranking it up out of the water and then launching.
2. Plow through anything...worry about running over decoy line?...it eats its!..brush buster..screw it ..lay hammer down
3. shallow water or mudd.....get about 50 hours of stick time and you really start to learn how to run it
4. Blow ice out of a hole in a jiffy
5. bowfishing friendly
6. service yourself or any lawn mower shade tree can fix it.
7. built like a tank.
8. run on gas ( no oil mixing)


in closing ......choose your boat first for what water you mainly run and then work on the motor.......if you go a mud boat type hull......ask the builder can you add extras and sorts...for example this is a list of extras i added to my Phowler..some were stock and others i invented
1. removable Winch platform
2. removable trolling motor platform
3. Spud poles front and back
4. foldable dog platform
5. oversize gun box (7')
6.double batterys
7. over size 2-1 3/8" drain plugs in rear
8. hydroturf foam floors and seats
9. bilge pump
10. 4' extended deck (for bow fishing)

Thanks for all the advice guys! I'm still not sure what type of boat im going to get yet, but i know i want something that I can use for duck hunting and a little fishing. I will be doing most of my hunting along or off of the Tenn-Tom.

Personally I don't care for mud motors, loud and in most places I hunt are not needed. Everywhere I hunt if its to shallow for a regular outboard, I can get to it by 4-wheeler. But in lousiana and old bottomless sloughs they are a nessecity(sp?), some of those places will swallow a 4- wheeler.

I would think the gator tail reverse or GTR in a 35 could be matched up w a boat sufficient for running the river, in a tall transom model. I know some guys running them on 20 footers down river in venice.

IMHO a mud motor is not needed for the ten tomm, I havent spent a great amount of time on it but just going off the location in the state I would say mud is probably not a big problem when getting around. My suggestion is the outboard since you will be fishing also and possibly look into a pirogue holder mounted on the side so u can use the pirogues to get away from the boat. For the price of a good 25-35 hp mud motor you can get a good sized outboard, If i did recomend a "mud motor" it would be a long tail since they work better around trees and stumps.

i feel most guys you see around these parts have mud motors because they WANTED one, not because they NEEDED one. of course they love to says "i own a mud motor and it cost blah blah blah"... dont fool yourself, unless your in the bottoms of LA, an outboard will get you 98% of the places you want to be..

Any type of river running will be done with an outboard.

Listen to the ROOTER!! he knows what he speaks of. His boat was throwing ice chunks 20feet in the air last week. It could not be stopped. But it all depends on what you are using it for I guess.

MaggieDog.......i'll sell it to you,...i just cleaned out a box of your hulls!

We ran ice last week and I was glad that I had a mud motor. Pro drive. Ice didn't slow me down.

The rest of the season, I've been thinking about how much I really don't need a mud motor.

A properly setup outboard will run just about anywhere a mud motor will run outside of a Louisiana swamp. All the guys in Louisiana don't have mud motors. A lot of them have a 40 horse on a jack plate and they'll run that most of the places a mud motor will go.

If you hunt one place, you don't have far to go, and it is full of stumps. Get a mud motor.

If you are hunting a river get an outboard with a CMC break away plate and you can skip driving around a lawnmower.

Its kind of like having mud tires on your truck. If u got them you dont worry about getting stuck if you dont have them you wish you did. Go get a outboard motor and try to go the places a mud motor can go. I can go anywhere your outboard can go, but you cant go where i can go. The ROOTER'S boat is the shizzle my nizzle!!!!