[McKivergan]

Great thread. Glad it popped up again.

 

[freestoneangler]

Ask yourself what you want the raft to do. What is the percentage of whitewater to fishing?

Diminished tube rafts are less impacted by wind, easier to fish from, have more room inside and it's easier to see and navigate boney waters, or obstacles.

My take, diminished tube designs are more suited for fishing.

All fishing and river fun floats... no high adventure water planned. Was just looking at a 13' Maravia Spider listing but its floor width looks a bit narrower (like the Super Puma) and the floor space in the rear looks a bit more cramped than the Otter I've been fishing out of and rowing this past season.

@Jonathan Tachell - nice ride! I also just saw a listing for an Outcast in Boise... was already spoken for when I inquired.

 

[Robert Engleheart]

Have you checked classifieds on Mountain Buzz & NRS Community pages? Used rafts come up, at times can be a deal if you are patient. Like what you're doing, take your time, try as many as you can to confirm your minimum requirements. Frames are easy to customize to suit your needs.

 

[freestoneangler]

Have you checked classifieds on Mountain Buzz & NRS Community pages? Used rafts come up, at times can be a deal if you are patient. Like what you're doing, take your time, try as many as you can to confirm your minimum requirements. Frames are easy to customize to suit your needs.

No, but another WFF member sent me a PM today about the Mountain Buzz site - will check them out. Thanks!

 

[RJCTJ]

Now, do you want to fish on the fly, or use the raft to get to a fishing spot? Or what percentage of the two?

Do you want to be able to do overnight trips? Think about how much room you want/need inside? Cooler, dog, number of people?

 

[dfg]

I just bought a Streamtech. The raft itself is made by Maravia. The frame doesn't require tools to assembly, like the NRS frames. The array of options is amazing, and it rows better than any other raft I've used. It also comes with a 10 year warranty (unless you're guiding in it, in which case it's 5 years.). You will pay a premium, but IMO its a much better deal in the long run.

 

[Ben Martinelli]

I have the 13' Outcast (made by Aire) with an NRS frame and it is an amazing raft. The thinner width is ideal for the technical, boulder strewn high gradient steelhead rivers out here on the OP. There is a reason why most of the top local guides out there fish the same raft.
View attachment 138272

I realize this is an old post... Just curious, do you ever feel cramped in the 13 footer with 3 people?

I'm thinking about buying this same setup, thanks for any feedback.

Ben
Idaho

 

[Jonathan Tachell]

Not at all. Best raft on the market for one on the sticks and two fishing. Especially if your rowing technical stuff.

 

[cms829]

I have a 13 foot NRS outlaw with fishing frame and its been one of , if not the best things I've ever purchased. No need for additional floors to stand on with the drop stitch floor. No problem at all fishing while moving. Heck, I stand up in the stern of the thing while rafting as a paddle boat in class 3 waters. I've never found the need for the thigh braces....maybe when I get a bit older and loose some of my mind/balance. lol. It is perfect for three people like Jonathan said above.

It has opened up a whole new world of fishing and fun for us. The quality it terrific. The PVC is a little heavier than a hypalon raft, but unless your carrying it a ways in. its no problem. Havent flipped it yet (whitewater), but I assume this will be the year. Wooohooooo!

 

[802flyfish]

I moved to Montana last year with the intentions of buying a boat. Eventually my girlfriend and I decided on getting a raft is it would be more versatile then a drift boat. We looked at NRS, Maravia, RMR, Hyde, AIRE, and finally Sotar.

If your on a budget, I would highly recommend AIRE. They have the best warrenty in the business, no questions asked. RMR is a fairly new company, They are very durable and have a lot of good reviews already. I don't know to much about NRS, but I thought there were better options when looking at the higher end models (Otter/E-series). Saw a lot of them in Colorado...

If money isn't an issue. I would reccomend Maravia or Sotar. Maravia uses a PVC base fabric and encapsulated in polyurethane. Super durable, probably one of the most durable boats on the market. Drop stitch floors, great if you plan on casting while standing. Only down side with Maravia is they don't track well. Sotar is the oldest Raft company, great reputation. Boats are highly customizable, durable and are made with Urethane.

I looked at the Sotar Strike. The Strike was designed by a Montana fly fishing guide, for Montana water. It has 2 chambers and has fairly little rocker. My only concern was it being a little on the smaller side, especially width wise. I wanted extra chambers incase anything went wrong on an extended trip.

After more research, I found a Sotar design by Montana Raft Frames. It's pretty much a beefier Sotar Strike. It has extra chambers, more rocker, bigger diminished tubes, and more width. I thought it was the perfect combination of features. I really like the rod dog holder, which carries two rods. The seats are extremely comfortable and are elevated slightly, which makes it super easy to fish while sitting. The anchor rope runs through the frame, which I thought was pretty cool as it reduces clutter. The boat and frame run about 9k. Plus another 2.5k for a trailer.
The pictures below are from Montana Raft Frames website and show the boat and frame. The bottom picture is the exact color scheme and set up that I have.