What Type of Canoe Do You Prefer

[Rick]

What type of canoeing do you do and what type of canoe do you think works best for it?

[Ralph Wiggum]

I'm just a recreational canoer. I have an old (1965) Grumman 17 footer that is absolutely indestructible. We like piddling around in the shallows spotting turtles and carp and dogfish. I also use it for some fishing on the Mississippi and such. I plan on shooting carp from it soon, too.

[sightfisher]

For long trips, like in the BWCA, a like a light kevlar canoe. Around the metro I use an older 1965 15' alumacraft. It is a bit heavy, but paddles fine. I have a motor mount, and put a 36# endura on it. It pushes along just fine. It is stable enough that I don't worry about losing my gear. It's perfect for small lakes around the metro. It can hold everything I need: extra rods, tackle, motor, portable finder, anchor, a little cooler, just can't move around much.

[jonny_redhorse]

primarily all I've ever done is canoe! :shocked:....been canoeing since 69"...and enjoy it more now then back then!...since I primarily use the canoe on lone week-end jaunts,all that I've really required is a smaller solo type canoe...I've owned many through the years, 17'ers,various 15'ers...14's and my favorite is a small composite 12footer...I purchased it in New Hampshire while living there years ago(an Arundle....made in Arundle, Maine)..super stable being 42" wide.just a sweet little canoe(and light!)as we all know,Maine makes some nice canoes also...I've also liked the "old towne" series...having owned a few of those through the years...jonny

[MNice]

I usually canoe solo and had an old town that weighed in at 85# which is to dang heavy!! I bought a souris river quetico 16 from an outfitter a few years back and love it. Weighs around 45# handles much better solo and stable enough for fishing & hunting.

[Indiana Mike]

I know what you mean. I have an Old Town Kingfisher. A great canoe for fishing. Very stable. But too heavy to easily manhandle when going solo. as a result I don't use it as much as I would like to.

Indiana Mike

[Cyberfish]

Cool new forum Rick!!

I do a trip to the BWCA every year, and use alumacraft and Grumman 17ft (I think). They work good, and are heavy, but we always bring younger and stronger campers along to do the portaging

When paddling solo, I prefer kayaks. I got 2 Feelfree nomad sit-on-top Kayaks for cheap this summer that are fun little boats and can go anywhere. anything from calm lakes, to huge waves, to rapids. they are nice to fish from too, though they don't have tons of room for lots of gear. I might upgrade to something bigger next year. Ocean Kayak makes some nice yaks for fishing.

[Cyberfish]

Post deleted by Cyberfish

[ghotierman]

We have a 17 foot Grumman. Good for all around use...BWCA, home lake...and the Mississippi.

Last fall we started trekking on the Mississippi....paddled 18.5 miles from the Lake Itasca boat launch to Coffed Pot landing. Then put in there in June and paddled another 22 miles to the Pine Point landing. Don't know if we can get another leg in this summer or fall, low water makes part of the mighty miss a mere trickle and hard to navigate.

When I had my shop, we dealt with Old Town quite a bit. Their Predator series of canoes and kayaks are designed for hunting and fishing...they come with work decks/map pockets/ anchor systems / rod holders / camo finish ...some good extras.

I have an Old Town Adventure 140 kayak that I fish from occasionally. 3 years ago I was fishing light tackle for bass and hooked what I thought was a monster bass...5-6 lbs at least. As the line turned for deeper water and my kayak was towed following it....I looked over the side as I worked it to the surface and found a HUGE northern pike with the ten inch bass I'd hooked sideways in its mouth. We battled for over 15 minutes...she'd dive down and I could feel her head shaking and chopping on the bass...I thought maybe I'd land her if I let her swallow the meal....then I considered how I could possibly do that...hold her in my lap?!!! She eventually released her grip and swam off. It was one of the greatest fishing memories I'll ever have (short of seeing the looks in each of my kids eyes as they caught there first fish..)

Kayak and canoe fishing is a fantastic way to go!

Good luck and good paddling!

[Cyberfish]

Cool story ghotier! I have had a few fish I have caught accidently become bait too, even one already on a stringer! fun stuff.

I was just between montecello and elk river in the kayaks yesterday, wow is it low. had no problems in the yak, rubbed a few rocks, also saw a plastic or glass canoe make it through. Don't know about an alumy though, with that keel sticking to every rock you touch it could make for an interesting day!

[Cyberfish]