RE: jon boat advice??
I also strongly encourage you to get a Deep-V hull and stay away from Jon Boats for big water hunting. Just this past season, we had two young teenagers go out on the local big water in a howling nor'easter with 3 foot whitecaps. They never returned. Their Jon Boat washed up on the opposite side of the lake about 7 miles away. It will be a grisly find when they turn up this spring. A Jon Boat would probably be just fine 99% of the time, but for the 1% where it is not, it could cost you your life on big water. Big water can turn on you in a hurry and what was enough of a rig to get you out may not be enough to get you back in safely. You should be able to pick up a decent used v-hull and motor for about the same price as a Jon-boat. I personally hunt out of a 16 3/4' Lund Deep Vee with a 90 horse motor for big water. It is more than I need most of the time, but when it turns really nasty, it is worth every penny!!!