Thinking of buying a raft

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Flyordie

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paulie!69
hey everyone.

So I have had some big changes in responsibilities over the past year and my ability to travel around the country has been limited to short weekend or day trips. I am considering getting a raft for fly fishing in PA. I guess I more just wanted to ask if this makes sense. I know we don’t have much in the way of floatable water, but I could be wrong. I was looking to get a Flycraft because I have heard great things about it. I live in Conshohocken and have the Schuykill down the street and would love take fish it for small mouth. Any input would be greatly appreciated I just want to make sure I am not dumping a bunch of money. I drive all over to wade fish I think floating a river or lake could really add to the experience.
 
Are you planning to use it solo?
Is fishing from the raft important to you?

If you are planning on solo use, and just looking for transportation, a pontoon or even kayak may be a more practical choice.

If you buy a raft and only use it for personal transportation to get from one wading spot to another, you're throwing money down the drain. If you don't have a buddy to row while you fish, the raft is probably overkill and may be more trouble than it's worth.

I love the fly craft style rafts, I've rented them on western rivers. They are a fantastic alternative to drift boats. But IMO, it takes a two man effort to use them to their true potential. They do well in smaller water than drift boats, but again, it can be a lot for one person.I know several PA'ers that own them and none use them as often as they would like, because it's tough to coordinate a fishing buddy to share rowing duty and it can be tough to sort out the shuttle situation on a solo trip. Commercial shuttles are limited to rivers that are already popular for recreation.
 
Then go for it and use the raft as tool for covering water and going places no one else is.
 
I love my Flycraft Stealth X. My buddy and I just took it down the bottom of the upper East Branch of the D with the flow around 175 cfs. We had to get out and drag it a few feet 2x in 5 miles. That's some pretty skinny water with minimal floating issues.

It can be a pain to use solo on moving water or on flat water in the wind. I added a trolling motor and a 2.3 hp Honda outboard for such situations.

PM me if you want more in-depth info.
 
I have the Flycraft 2-person raft and love it! I can stand and fish, no problem. I have taken it out alone and with a buddy. I can set it up, launch and manage it no problem. I transport it in the back of a compact SUV. I inflate and assemble each time. I don't take the frame down to individual components though. I break it down into three pieces for transport. Buy an electronic pump. I recommend the shark II. Don't skimp on the pump. Get a good one since you have to get the floor to ~7.5 PSI. The shark has a two stage pump, also a good idea. I inflate and assemble the frame at the launch ramp, but you could drag it assembled if you'd like or need to. It takes me 15 to 20 minutes to assemble alone.
Fishing alone. The only drag (pun intended) is that it rides low in the back when alone. This is only a problem if you row upstream to drift back down. A few things I found reduces this problem. I place gear and a few rocks in the front. You can place the rocks in a bucket. While rowing upstream, placing the anchor up front helps too.
The new flycraft stealth has a front lean bar, nice addition. Although I have had no troubles standing and fishing without it.
 
I don't own a boat (I should but I'm broke) so I have no advice on what boat to get or if it is worth buying a raft. I will however say that you should probably avoid floating the Skook unless catching 8 inch smallmouth bass and redbreasts excites you. I will however float it with you and row and gladly catch those small smallmouth and redbreasts.
 
I am a big fan of my Flycraft. I fish the Lehigh the most with it. That's just over an hour from you. And there is a bike path that parallels the whole easily floated section. (You can use a bike for shuttling.) I fish solo with it pretty often. No, you can't really fish while drifting, but it has a good anchor system, so you can set up next to prime spots where you could never wade.
I have a small flat-bed trailer that makes it especially easy to deploy - I don't have to assemble and inflate, though there are some folks who do, as you heard above.
I used a one-man pontoon one time and it was much less functional. For one thing, you can't stand up on the ones I've seen. Also, there was no anchor system - I tried carrying a small anchor in the back and tossing it in when I wanted to stop. yeah - not great. (ymmv - I only tried it once with a borrowed craft.) And a kayak is much better for covering distance if you think you may want to do that. But I like being able to stand up and stretch my legs, plus the seats swivel so it seems like it must be more comfortable than a kayak.
My experience with assembling/disassembling it is different than Nympho. It takes me more like 35-40 minutes, but I don't have an electric pump. And I don't do it that often because I usually trailer it.
PM me if you want more info.
 
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If I were looking for a boat to fish solo from, I would strongly consider a Star Slice with an oar frame. They are smaller than a raft, faster, way more maneuverable, easier to make it through more difficult rapids...
Last October a friend and I paddled his Slice for the mega release on the Lehigh. Friday was like 4500cfs. Coming through triple drop on the upper gorge 2 rafts full of people who have been rafting the Lehigh since the early 80s both flipped. We didn't flip. We've both been rafting the Lehigh for less than 10 years. Side note: we did get stuck in a hole and surfed for a long time until someone threw us a throw bag and pulled us out.

So yeah, especially solo, slice over raft.
 
I’d also recommend getting ahold of Steve at Saturn Rafts. I was able to purchase a 3 man raft with a fully custom NRS frame for cheaper than any of the the competitor brands. I’m able to fit it in the bed of my truck fully inflated, if needed and the NRS frame means I can tailor it to my needs. It has been an amazing raft for 2 and 3 full grown men.
 
Something that's pretty important: The Flycraft optional rod holders, as of 2 years ago, are too short (IMO). They are barely long enough to cover the tip of a 9' rod. If you have a 9.5' or 10' rod, you better be careful or DIY your rod holders. I broke the tip on a 9' rod this weekend b/c it slid just a bit out of the end of the tube. For how much the rod holders cost, couldn't they make them a foot longer to better protect rod tips?

I am not happy about that.
 
Agreed on the rod holders, main reason I haven't bought one yet and very surprised they haven't offered something longer. However, I just kinda lay mine next to me and that has worked for now.
 
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