Good canoes for fishing.

[Spinner1]

I intend to buy a canoe for fishing this fall. Any suggestions? I would like to stay in the 14-16 foot range. Anyone ever tried a Mad River Adventure 14?

[DigitalFisherman]

Have never paddled a Mad River so I cant speak to that. I bought an Old Town Camper (special edition, camo finish) and it is alot of fun to fish out of. It is 16', aprox 65# and made of Royalex so it is pretty much bomb proof. I have taken it on fish spotting adventures with my 4 year old, weekend fishing trips and into the BWCA and while it's not the fastest boat in the drink, it has performed pretty well. Might be worth checking out.

[Duffman]

Spinner1....

I checked out the Mad River Adventure 14 online, it looks like a great canoe for fishing. Looks plenty stable, which is nice for fishing out of. It is heavy at 75lbs, it might not be the fastest thing to paddle, but with the center seat on it, a solo guy could use a kayak paddle to get around. What types of water would you be fishing? And what other uses for the canoe would there be, camping, hunting?

[Spinner1]

Thanks for the advice so far guys. I have several uses in mind for it. No hunting.

I will be throwing it in the back of the truck, and using it in some smaller lakes in Itasca county. 100 acre lakes with no decent access.

On breezy days, I will take it for a drag across a larger lake with my Alumacraft 17' to get to some feeder creeks, to access some lakes with very difficult access. (As in have somebody drop me off in the boat, and return half a day later).

What I don't need is another boat. I have a 17 foot Alumacraft with all the comforts. Too large for unimproved lake accesses.

A 14 foot canoe would sit in the back of my Walleye boat and travel well with little effort. A 16 footer is not out of the question, but would require significantly more design effort for a hauling rack of sorts.

I wouldn't mind something that could handle a little rough water on occasion. Not the primary use though. I know a whitewater solo and a fishing canoe are NOT the same thing.

A friend of mine just bought the Adventurer 14, and used it once so far. She was impressed with the stability. (Her and two friends) She is a novice though. Stable compared to what I do not know?

[Cyberfish]

If you are going to fish alone, I would reccommend getting a kayak, they are nice to fish from, and easier to handle in rough water.

I take mine out on waconia with wind and 3 ft rollers and never capsize, unless I want to . I couldn't do that solo in a canoe.

I can fit it in my small van, or in my small pickup.

I love canoeing with someone else, but when alone, give me a kayak!

[hunt fish repeat]

Spinner1...

First you have to decide what you really want, do you want a canoe that you can occasionally fish from, or do you want something exclusively for fishing hard to get to areas. Also how much over land portaging you intend to do and what distances you want to cover once your on our target lake. I have a 14' alumacraft that is indesructable and good for rivers or short distance trips. I have an Old Town Loon 16' 2 man kayak for long distances the two man is harder to handle solo, but when alone there is room enough for fishing and camping gear for a week and still allow plenty of space to fish. I would not choose a 1 man kayak for fishing just because of the limited space. The Kayak is far easier to handle solo than a canoe especially in wind. My main choice however for just fishing hard to reach areas is my Coleman Ram x canoe with a flat back. I have a 5 hp air cooled motor on back and can cover large amounts of water easily it is extremely wide and the most stable canoe you could ever want. I also use this boat to fish lakes where no motors are allowed, it however is not good to paddle long distances. Hope this helps, good luck.

[CNY Tim]

The old town discovery sport 15 with the chopped back was perfect for the 4.h.p. Minn Kota. We fished out of that set-up with outriggers for 3 years and absolutely loved it. Very stable. Mike weighed about 180 pounds and he fished in the back with a good sized trolling motor battery back there and I 230 pounds fished out of the front., those were some good times fishing out of the way places that don't allow gas motors. I fish out a 16' Tracker Deep V now but I do miss those days in the canoe with Mike. If you own a minivan you can put the canoe on top take the seats out of the van and stow all your gear and rods inside.

[Spinner1]

A lot of valid points to consider. This has been one of toughest sporting gear decisions ever. I guess I failed to mention I do have a 50# trolling motor I will use sometimes. I have been told the square backs don't paddle well. I would like to paddle sometimes. The canoe will be used exclusively for getting to difficult access water. And I would like to haul it in/on my 17' Alumacraft.

[Duffman]

Spinner....

I use a trolling motor on my canoe most of the time, and when I'm solo in the canoe I sit in the front seat and face towards the stern. The trolling motor is mounted to the side of the canoe just behind the front seat, so it is actually in front of me when I face backwards in the canoe. It's hard to get the canoe to go exactly what you want it to go with a TM, so I usually turn it on and use the paddle to steer with when traveling a distance. You do not need a square stern to be able to use a trolling motor.

I think the most important part of your decision is how hard it will be to get the canoe in and out of both your truck and boat. My canoe is a pig and probably weighs around 70 lbs, so it can be a pain to deal with out of the water at times. I would suggest one of the smaller Old Town models, they will be pretty managable weight wise, and they also seem to be somewhat industructable. If you are going to be fishing out of the way spots, chances are you'll be dragging the thing over beaver dams and rocks at times, so you'll want something that will stand up to some abuse.

[big musk411]

I have a Old Town Discovery 174. It paddles real well and is virtually indestructable. It is very heavy at 84lbs. It is a very good lake canoe, but a little long for rapids [it usually makes it though ]. I just let a buddie borrow it to the Bdubs, all the other people in his group rented kevlars. He had a lot of fun on the 360 rod portage they did.

[Spinner1]

Glad you guys brought up the issue of weight. A 35# kevlar canoe would be nice, but I can't afford one. I am 5'10, 180 pounds and in pretty good shape for a 40+ guy. Not real strong guy. But I do run about 10 miles per week etc. And you are correct about dragging this canoe over beaver dams etc. How heavy of a canoe will I think is heavy? No BWCA adventures. Just heading back in tiny creeks for a 1/4 mile or so.

[big musk411]

If you run 10 miles a week portaging shouldn't be an issue. I think it is more endurance than strength. Lifting a conoe is all about the technique. You probably don't want a 120lb wooden canoe, but any others should be OK. If you are looking at a canoe 16ft or less, the weight should be less than 70lbs.

[SportFishin']

Spinner1,

You won't go wrong with the Madriver. We picked up the Madriver 17' w/32" Beam 2 years ago & love it. They are fast & easy to paddle. I can easily carry my 17' & I'm 5'11" 180 with a slightly bad back.

We did a trip on the Rum from Princeton to Cambridge & the boat paddled like a dream & was really stable for fishing on that trip.

Regards,

Chris

[NorthWoodsGuy]

I have an Old Town Discovery Sport 15 with a Honda 2HP Four Stroke and trailer (bit on the heavy side for solo) and love it for smaller river fishing.

[fishane]

i have two canoes that i use for fishing, a mad river explorer in 16ft and an old town discovery 17. they are both great river or small lake craft, although a bit on the heavy side at 79 and 83 pounds respectively. my advice is to go with plastic, as aluminum sticks to rocks like crazy, and this can be a huge factor in small rivers especially in late summer and dry years like this one. I have an old town trolling motor bracket that i use with a 30# thrust trolling motor. this works great on small lakes and rivers in the flat parts. I would say that i use this set up more than my boat even, as it is great for getting down small streams and lakes without improved accesses. I also have a portage yoke from spring creek outfitters that doubles as a middle seat that i absolutley love. It makes a huge difference when portaging a heavier canoe like mine. if you are not worried about having a pristine looking canoe these models are available used from canoe outfitters for a very reasonable price. i got my mad river last year for 300 bucks. just thought i'd add my two cents.

[Flaco651]

I have a River Ridge Custom Canoe and love it. They have a few different packages to choose from. They are built right here in MN, down in Rochester. Check out their HSOforum and see what ya think of them. riverridgecustomcanoes.com

[swamptiger]

I did a search on the Mad River Adventure 14, and actually came up with two different boats called the Adventure 14 by Mad River. One is molded plastic, and weighs about 75 pounds - the other is Royalex, and weighs 56 pounds. The Royalex model looks really good to me. This is a double end model. I have had both square stern and double end canoes, and I prefer the double end models for all around use. If you need to mount a motor on it, just get a side mount for the motor and the canoe will balance the weight better - especially if you fish alone. The River Ridge canoes look almost identical to the Cranberry Creek canoes which are built over in Wisconsin - must be using some of the same molds.

It's hard to beat a 15' Alumacraft for all around use and portaging if you can find one.

[Spinner1]

I am back from my year long Middle East tour so I can finally put the touchie feelie to these canoes. The Adventure 14 that is widely marketed at the retail fishing store chains is a plastic molded canoe. It has a kayak look to it. I don't consider it a real canoe, but it does look very good for the money. The ones that have laid on the rack all summer at my local Gander MT appear to have distorteed just a tad. (Too hot in an asphalt parking lot in Iowa I suppose) I think the Explorer 14TT is the least expensive model I will consider. Same model in Royalax is also tempting me because it weighs about 10# less as I recall. My wife wants the Adventure 14 because it has molded in cup holders LOL.

Also, I found two people that actually own the Adventure 14. One says it is very stable. The other said it scared him when he uses it.

[Cyberfish]

Spinner1, Welcome back to MN and thankyou for your service over seas!

Whatever canoe you get I'm sure you will have tons of fun with it!

[uffdapete]

Google up and check out a River Ridge Custom Canoe. It is designed specifically for fishing. They cost more than the average canoe but are as comfy to fish from as a boat and quite stable too.

[omni]

I have the rotomolded Adventure 16 (last years model). I just purchased it last week and took it out on 3 lakes this weekend. Caught 1 bass, 2 walleye, 7 million sunfish out on wabasso/owasso/johanna. I went solo and the front of the canoe was a bit in the air since my passenger (wife) was working. Once I weight down the front it will be perfect.

If I (230 lbs) can balance it while cutting a cigar, casting a line, drinking a beer, smoking a cigar, drinking a beer, reeling in, changing baid, smoking a cigar, move too the middle to get a flopping sunfish, then back, anybody can! I also lift it and lower it myself onto a tall element and I've had knee and shoulder surgery, so it's not to bad really.

I give it 2 thumbs up for fishing. Oh and Gander mountain in Blaine has a lot of tan 2006 model Adventure 14's for $500. That's a good price (I got the 2006 A16 for 550 @ REI, sorry last one!) The 2007 model has butt pad though, get that if you have few more buckaroos.