Rocky, first off, you have a beautiful place, great photo of it!
Here is the low down on the Max IV. They are perfectly capable of going into water however I would not consider it a replacement for a boat. The reason that I say this is that is they are not as maneuverable as a boat. The Max uses a skid-steer system whereby you disengage power to one side (three of the six wheels) in order to turn in that direction. That works great on land but is slow to turn in the water. That being said people do fish from them. Some people have even mounted an electric trolling motor to them for fishing.
Even with this limitation I absolutely love my Max. It is very powerful and gets great traction in mud, or bogs or forging streams or wetland areas. During the spring on the east side of my pond I have an area that is fed by a stream. When the stream is running it creates a large wet marshy area, the water is 2 feet deep in many places and gets full of reeds, etc. I take my Max in there all the time with no problems what so ever. For utility purposes I use the Max to tow a brush mower, drag tree limbs that I have cut, etc. My Max has a winch mounted on the front that I use for all kinds of stuff.
I also have a 14ft Gregor Aluminum Boat and a kayak. Personally I enjoy fishing from the kayak the most. I have a two person kayak but I often fish in it by myself. It's quiet, easy to paddle, and is light enough for one person to drag around. You could easily drag a kayak from one pond to the other. If you get a good kayak they are not tippy like a canoe.
My suggestion is that you by both a Max and a kayak. Every time I drive the Max I feel like a kid again. I take it all over the ranch, over logs and rocks, up and down steep inclines, through the marsh, etc. It takes a while to learn how to drive it well so you must practice quite a bit ("stick time" to use the AATV lingo). I order to ensure maximum efficiency I "practice" all the time.
For more info on AATV's go to...
http://www.route6x6.com/ You will find some great info there.
