Canoe

W

wsender

Active member
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Messages
1,678
I want to get a canoe for fly fishing lakes and float trips. But had some questions (Where has Jake been, haven't seen him around in a bit). Mostly, what should I look for in a canoe. I have no real knowledge about them so I'm not quite sure what to get.

Is there a canoe that would do well in still water and moving water, or are we talking about two different beasts here? Is it even practical to have these on float trips on places like the D or am I flirting with disaster potentially?

Any info would be great. I found a 15 foot Coleman on craigslist for about 200 and that seems to be as good of a deal as any that I've seen and I'm trying to figure out weather or not to pick it up.
 
I have owned canoes and kayaks.
The latter is less likely to dump you in the drink-I canoed the Madison,Yellowstone,Missouri in Montana but only to get into out of the way places to fish or hunt.
I think kayaks have pretty much replaced canoes-you are lower [closer] to the water so more stable.
Go to a shop that sells both and talk to the people.Avoid the toys they sell at many places-if it looks too good to be true price wise be leery.
 
I haven't been in either, but plan on canoeing either the Juniata R or the Main Stem of the Delaware for a few days. I figure I'll be mainly using spinning gear out of the boat and fly when we stop. The canoe is an old town so I'll let you know how it is. He uses it on lakes and even uses a trolling motor...

It's amazing that I've rowed drift boats and pontoons quite a few times, but have yet to row a canoe or yak...
 
Dear wsender,

You need to pay attention to your local canoe and kayak outfitters to see if and when they offer a "Demo" day and then get out and try some boats. They aren't exactly right around the corner from you, but Oak Orchard Canoe is within a couple hours of Skaneateles, and they are one of the largest canoe and kayak outfitters in the NE.

The first thing you'll learn is that one boat probably won't do everything that you want it to do. The ideal boat for fishing a cove in a lake is probably not the boat you want to paddle 8 or 10 miles a day downriver. Canoes, when kept bottom side down, are dryer than kayaks which may be important to you.

I'm going to post a couple of links for you to look at. The first is Paddling.net and they offer reviews of many different boats as well as links to all the major manufacturers. Keep in mind that many of the people who review these boats purchased the boat for a specific purpose that may not suit your needs. Ex, one guy might claim a particular model is slow and barge-like when trying to paddle across a 2 mile wide bay in a quartering wind and three reviews down a guy will say that he and his dog can sit in the boat for hours duck hunting or fishing.

http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/

These next two links are for boats that I have my eyes on to use as fishing vessels.

Nu-Canoe
http://www.nucanoe.com/

Native Watercraft
http://www.nativewatercraft.com/index.cfm

There are tons of boats out there to chose from so happy hunting!

Regards,

Tim Murphy :)
 
The main thing with canoes is there are two types. Ones with a keel and ones without a keel. People who use canoes strictly on moving water prefer ones without as the currents don't move the vessal in undesirable directions I. E. pushing on the keel. I have used a canoe with a keel on both lakes and to a lesser extent moving water and my opinion is that unless you are on fast turbulent rivers I do not see the need for keel less. I would not be afraid to take mine on the Aligheny River and I have floted French Creek in Crawford county offten. As for keel less canoes I have never owned or used one so I don't know if there is any drawbacks to them on still waters. maybe someone else will way in on that subject.

Hope this helped.

Jeff
 
IMO a canoe is great for stillwater, but from experience I wouldn't want to be trying to guide a canoe all by my lonesome down any river that has any amount of riffle/rapids/boulders/shallows/etc.

I've canoed (with a partner) the yough many times from Confluence down to the takeout before the falls. I've dumped at least 5 times in that stretch. It's a lot more work when you're battling currents and dodging obstacles - almost to the point where even if you were successful in keeping afloat you wouldn't have the time or energy to fish.

If there weren't obstacles though - somewhere like the D for example - I don't see why you couldn't canoe as a means of covering more water and getting yourself in position on the bank. I still don't think fishing from the canoe is going to be an option unless you've got a helper with an orr in hand instead of a rod.
 
When floating a river, anchoring is very important. Take it from me, anchoring a kayak or a canoe is very difficult, and can be dangerous. Dropping an anchor can bury the stern quickly.

I sold a kayak that I really enjoyed (native ultimate) and purchased a pontoon craft. I floated the delaware last week when the west branch was over 5000 cfs, which is really ripping. Large standing waves and such. It was like sitting in a lawn chair. Dumping in the water would have been very dangerous, but I bobbed through like on a cork.

JG
 
I've always used a good old coleman. best thing about it is it still floats. lots of other, better, options out there today. lots of "crossover" types. kayaks that are open like a canoe. you have your choice how you want to paddle, single canoe style, or double kayak style. I'm gonna get something new maybe next year and have been checking all these out. figure spending at least 4-500 for a cheap one. they can go way up from there. of course, if you get a coleman cheap, it will serve you for many years and you'll be amazed when you get to paddle a newer one!
one more thing, a canoe is a truck, a kayak is a sports car.
 
I'm pleased with my Mad River Adventure 14.
 
I have a Native manta ray, (s.o.t.) 12 ft for rivers, if you paddle flat water get a 14 ft or more. They track better. Like the other poster stated, watch if you anchor. I don't! Above all wear a PFD. KAYAK FISHING STUFF .COM a wealth of info. I have two boats and my yak, I''ll take my kayak 90 % of the time. Do the demo thing, good advice.
 
Dear wsender,

Jerseygeorge mentioned a pontoon boat so I figured I'd add my take based on my pontoon.

First things first, I want to point out that with a kayak or canoe you have the opportunity to put in to moving water and paddle upstream and fish back. That's a nice option for a couple of hours in the evening. With a pontoon it's pretty much downstream or nothing else unless you have a motor or you are on slow moving water.

Regardless of the boat if you are on the oars or on the paddle you ain't gonna be fishing. In that regard it's much easier to float downstream in a pontoon and fish while you float. In a large pool you can even move across the pool with fin power and fish all the time.

You really need to try some boats to narrow down your choices. Maybe if you can't make a demo day you might be able to meet up with a board member somewhere and try their boat?

Regards,

Tim Murphy :)
 
jerseygeorge wrote:
When floating a river, anchoring is very important. Take it from me, anchoring a kayak or a canoe is very difficult, and can be dangerous. Dropping an anchor can bury the stern quickly.

I sold a kayak that I really enjoyed (native ultimate) and purchased a pontoon craft. I floated the delaware last week when the west branch was over 5000 cfs, which is really ripping. Large standing waves and such. It was like sitting in a lawn chair. Dumping in the water would have been very dangerous, but I bobbed through like on a cork.

JG

Ya, there is an identical model to JG's toon in the swap forum right now. Taking offers. I would steal that thing!
 
Wsender wrote:

Where has Jake been, haven't seen him around in a bit

Wsender,

Jake is laying low. Jake is currently working most of the time and dealing with certain domestic issues while working on some other priorities.

Do not fret, for Jake will be back to amuse, annoy, enlighten or possibly just completely dumb down the conversation here on Paflyfish.

As for the canoe, I no longer own one. Sadly I had to sell the old Scanoe and motor and I am down to just a kayak. A kayak, in my opinion, while very portable, sits too low in the water and is far too uncomfortable to accomodate for a long day of fly fishing.

Thanks for your concern,

Jake Bush
 
I own an Old Town 14" guide and have used it on some lakes to fly fish from and find that this model completely fits my needs. I also use a canoe in the summertime to transport me from place to place (island, weed patch, or ledge) on the Susqy river, north of Harrisburg, to only then get out and wet wade.

I enjoy canoe's alot and feel while they might be the best or the ideal craft at anything, they are very good a lot of different things.

 
JakesLeakyWaders wrote:
Wsender wrote:

Where has Jake been, haven't seen him around in a bit

Wsender,

Jake is laying low. Jake is currently working most of the time and dealing with certain domestic issues while working on some other priorities.

Do not fret, for Jake will be back to amuse, annoy, enlighten or possibly just completely dumb down the conversation here on Paflyfish.

As for the canoe, I no longer own one. Sadly I had to sell the old Scanoe and motor and I am down to just a kayak. A kayak, in my opinion, while very portable, sits too low in the water and is far too uncomfortable to accomodate for a long day of fly fishing.

Thanks for your concern,

Jake Bush

Ya but are you going to the jam?
 
Jake, good to hear your still around, I was wondering about ya also.
hope you sort through all your issues and get out fishing soon! we all have things we have to deal with that aren't always fun, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
 
Back
Top