The drawbacks of a canoe.

[padlin]

Sounds like a 3 seater, not something I'd want to solo in given a choice. 

[Way2slow]

When I was younger, I would have been hard pressed to want to get rid of my canoe.  Mine is a 17' aluminum, Grumman wide bottom cargo canoe and is actually quite stable (once you're in it) and is square backed for a small motor.  The 4HP Merc I have for it now is scary fast, you don't want to make making any sudden turns.  My dad and I went in on halves for it back in 1962.  It came with a Sail, and out riggers and we paid $40, that would be like $500 today.  For a number of years, the only time it came off the top of a 1948 Ford (I bought that one for $10) I used for my fishing vehicle was when it was going in the water, which was quite often.  I still have it and haven't used it but a couple of times in the past 30 years, and I also have no intentions of putting my butt back in it now, but no amount of money could buy it.   Way too many good memories associated with that boat.  

[The Baron]

My canoe is a 17ft. Springbok aluminum.  Broad beam, very stable, bomb proof and 75 pounds.  So, about as good as a canoe gets… until it’s on my shoulders and I’m headed uphill.

 

It’s stable enough I can stand to stretch my legs and even fish a little if it’s calm, but I can’t forget where I am on a hookset.  As has been mentioned, banging anything hard on the canoe likely makes a loud enough noise to likely spook everything nearby.  My canoe does also skate across the water like a hot curling stone on a windy day, but I’ve learned to manage that with an anchor.   With some rod holders and a basic fish finder, I’ve got a pretty decent setup for smaller water.  That said, I’ve also had a few great outings on Lake Ontario (calm day, and fishing close to where we put in).
 

I went into this season cursing my situation of still only having a canoe, but I came around and learned to leverage its advantages.  I have a growing list of places with limited access (and therefore no crowds), and are getting those spots dialled in pretty well.  Unlike a kayak, I can take one of my kids or a friend and enjoy time on the water together.  It’s great on gas, easy to winterize and we can pull ashore for a stretch or snooze whenever we like.  Do I still want a bass boat?  I sure do!  But, the HMCS Poverty had been good to me and I’ve really come to realize I’m lucky to have it vs. being just a shore fisherman.

[Swamp Girl]

You bet your sweet bippie, Baron! I don't just agree with what you wrote. I agree with pom-poms. 

[TheSwearingAngler]

Fishing from a canoe is a compromise for sure.. I have a Radisson P14. I can stand in it but the price I pay for that stability is it’s awful to paddle. It’s super light, but I think that makes it even more susceptible to being pushed around by the wind. It was $100 secondhand though and it gets me off the bank.

[Swamp Girl]

Quote

skate across the water like a hot curling stone

Quote

HMCS Poverty

^I love these.^

 

[MN Fisher]

8 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

then come thru the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi,

They have to trailer it or something....there's no direct connection between those.

[Swamp Girl]

6 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

They have to trailer it or something....there's no direct connection between those.

The Chicago River and the Illinois River connect Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. 

[TnRiver46]

On 10/31/2022 at 10:54 PM, MN Fisher said:

They have to trailer it or something....there's no direct connection between those.

 

On 11/1/2022 at 5:45 AM, ol'crickety said:

The Chicago River and the Illinois River connect Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. 

What she said……. If memory serves a mythical lumberjack and his blue ox dug it with a maddock and a shovel 

 

but seriously they complete it with no trailer and huge vessels 

 

I’ve got some friends wanting to paddle the Mississippi in canoes from “source to sea”, it’s becoming a common trip 

 

for some related listening concerning the Illinois river and to completely hijack the thread 

It always makes me want a fruit jar full of iced tea

[MN Fisher]

On 11/1/2022 at 4:45 AM, ol'crickety said:

The Chicago River and the Illinois River connect Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. 

 

9 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

What she said……. If memory serves a mythical lumberjack and his blue ox dug it with a maddock and a shovel 

All this time living here ('74-'80, '84-present) and I did not know this...learn something new all the time.

 

BTW: The lake I lived by in the 70s, Lake Bemidji, looks kind of like a bootprint and has the motto "Paul Bunyan stepped here." with statues of Paul and Babe by the lakeshore.

[gim]

On 11/1/2022 at 4:45 AM, ol'crickety said:

The Chicago River and the Illinois River connect Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. 

The Illinois River is completely over run with those silver jumping carp.  The Army Corp of Engineers and the Dept of the Interior have erected an electrified fish barrier near the mouth of the Illinois River to prevent these fish from entering the Great Lakes.  So far, its been effective.

 

[redmexican5081]

Love my canoe, love my boat too. Different tools for different jobs. If I can't launch the boat I can carry in the canoe.  Stability is remedied with some PVC and Mt. Dew bottles.  My weight is offset with a bucket of water in the front if I can't get one or more of my kids to come with.

[Swamp Girl]

You guys could start a tv show called, "I Tricked Out my Canoe!"

[MN Fisher]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

You guys could start a tv show called, "I Tricked Out my Canoe!"

I took my inspiration from a couple 'older' guys here...one is Goose52, and here's his rig

[Swamp Girl]

18 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I took my inspiration from a couple 'older' guys here...one is Goose52, and here's his rig

Hey, where is the heli-pad?

[TnRiver46]

I like to keep my canoe as empty as possible for ease of transport 

Jig heads, few plastics, few offset worm hooks, few plugs in a cigar box . One spinning rig one baitcasting rig

[Deephaven]

I use a canoe where I won't be changing baits often, want stealth, skinny water, or now mostly for the bwca.  Kevlar, Eugene Jensen hull that I am totally willing to bang into whatever is necessary to catch fish.  Filling scratches is easy. Bring a primary non stable boat it isn't easy to stand in, but I do it all the time.  The wind pushes it around and that sucks, but wind sucks pretty much always for fishing.  Wake boats are nasty if they are close and you don't turn into the waves.  For certain situations and areas there is nothing better than a canoe....but most of the time I would prefer to be in the Ranger.

 

[volzfan59]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

 

Love the boat and especially the hat!

GO VOLS!

[Swamp Girl]

3 hours ago, Deephaven said:

I use a canoe where I won't be changing baits often, want stealth, skinny water, or now mostly for the bwca.  Kevlar, Eugene Jensen hull that I am totally willing to bang into whatever is necessary to catch fish.  Filling scratches is easy. Bring a primary non stable boat it isn't easy to stand in, but I do it all the time.  The wind pushes it around and that sucks, but wind sucks pretty much always for fishing.  Wake boats are nasty if they are close and you don't turn into the waves.  For certain situations and areas there is nothing better than a canoe....but most of the time I would prefer to be in the Ranger.

 

 

^My kinda guy^

[flyfisher]

On 10/30/2022 at 2:26 PM, Deleted account said:

Canoes suck for fishing almost as much as yaks...

I am just curious as to why you go out of your way to bash kayaks every chance you get.  Did one steal your girlfriend or something?  I mean its funny but then it does make me wonder if you need some counseling to get through the trauma a plastic boat put you through......

[TnRiver46]

5 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

I am just curious as to why you go out of your way to bash kayaks every chance you get.  Did one steal your girlfriend or something?  I mean its funny but then it does make me wonder if you need some counseling to get through the trauma a plastic boat put you through......

It’s not just kayaks, he’s an equal opportunity basher haha

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, flyfisher said:

I am just curious as to why you go out of your way to bash kayaks every chance you get.  

I dunno, just too easy not to maybe?...

 

[TnRiver46]

40 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

I dunno, just too easy not to maybe?...

 

My wife hung a framed photo of some horses in the same spot as that kayak with command strips once, it awoke me at 2 am by landing on my face 

[flyfisher]

definitely took his girl based on the chosen picture.....thanks for clarifying

 

[PaulVE64]

17 ft Coleman Craft Canoe.

 

And it's not the "Coleman" everyone thinks it is. These were made by this crazy coot of a guy.

The kind of characters that build dragon castles in Colorado's woods.