best canoe to fly fish....big man

hi all



what would be the best canoe to fly fishing



standing uo for long period.



for a big man,6-260pound plus.



its kind off easy to stand in most canoe but stay up casting for long period its something helse.



and you need even more stability then poling cause poling your going forword…so need less stability.



any response is apprecieted



thanks





joco

info

– Last Updated: Jan-30-11 12:54 PM EST –

by the way i already own 2 natives ultimate 14 and tarpon 140 and blue water mist canoe.

but need even more stability.
NO square back..please

joco

Why no square back?
I have an Esquif Cargo. I’m a 6’3" 250#+ man. I stand to fly fish in it. It works well. I like the square back because I can run a 2.5HP engine on it to run upcurrent and float fish back down using oars to control the drift. This allows me to operate without a shuttle, increasing the portion of time dedicated to fishing out of the total time for the day’s adventure.



Now, purists don’t like engines (stink-pots) or squarebacks, or oars, or all sorts of things. But I don’t give a rip what others want to spend their time concerning themselves with.



For my consideration, for a big man to stand in a canoe to fly fish, a big honking squareback makes a lot of sense.


  • Big D

mad river
I have a mad river duck hunter. Huge wide canoe. Its heavy and solid, and is made to shoot shotguns outa. Makes a great expedition canoe. Or take up SUP. Lots of very stable boards set up for fishing with almost no draft. Also about 1/4 the weight of a big canoe.

Best I know of…
Joco - it’s hard to make such a suggestion, because I have no idea what it feels like to be your size. But I’ll give it a try anyway…



I used to do my fly-fishing from a Wenonah Fisherman. 14’x39" (very) shallow arch hull. Very stable for standing for me, at 5’11" and 170lbs. They make a similar but larger boat, the Kingfisher, that would seem suitable for your needs - 16’x40". But I do not know if it translates to the difference in size between you and me. Worth a look though.



Oh - since I do more poling than paddling, one decent hull is almost as good as any other for standing…for me. That is one reason why when I dropped the Fisherman from my collection in favor of faster boats, I did not go with the Kingfisher. You, being significantly larger (with higher C of G), may not feel the same way.

Canoe
Hey

Could not see what part of the contry you live in

BUT

Check out the Canoe/Kayak Show in Somerset NJ

John

canoe to flyfish
I use a Indian River canoe but mine does have a squared off rear which helps stability even more…you can get the same canoe with traditional shape as well…it is 14’ and 40" wide and a tunnel hull… strong and totally stable…I guide flyfisherman on the flats with it…I easily stand and pushpole and they also stand while I push them for miles at a time…I would call that extremely stable…one of my regular customers is 70yrs old and even he does it without even thinking about it… I also stand up on a small seat for a platform when solo and it isnt even attached to the floor…never had a incident in 6yrs…I have had customers up to 270lbs standing as well

sup canoeing
thanks guys.



i see guys like that doing it in those.



but its easyer to paddle…then be dead stop and fly fishing.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6NX0YeLAnI



will keep looking



thanks aging guys and keep those response coming.



joco

best canoe
My choice is the 16’ to 20+’ with 36" wide in middle. I use one bladed paddle then I use the short sculling paddle (24"). I do want to say when the time comes to shallow water I walk the stream bed with canoe tied to PFD. After running a rapid it’s time to fish the that rapid you just run from both sides of river getting all the area under the rapid. If you get a mask and snorkel and go back under that drop you can see first hand who is under there. This is where the big dog eats, bring you lunch and stay awhile. :slight_smile:

Decked canoe for fly fishing
You may want to checkout the Raptor Kayak (decked canoe)

www.santacruzkayaks.com

2 choices to check out
The most stable canoe I have ever used is the Meyer Sportspal 14ft – Slow and ugly but you really can’t flip it. We use it for duck hunting – Our crew has 3 of these boats. 58lbs – Aircraft aluminum.

Not to be confused with the Radisson version – The Radisson is lighter but much less rigid. I use the 12” Radisson for solo bass fishing but I would not recommend it for standing and casting.

I have a 90lb Lab that can easily re-enter the Sportspal canoe with no stability issues at all. You can stand all day long if you wanted too.

You could also check out a Merrimack Osprey canoe – Wooden, Beautiful, designed for Fly Fishing – Expensive.

JJK

Merrimack Osprey
Same design as Navarro Legacy. I had one. It’s too small for a 260lb man to stand in comfortably, IMO, but it could be done. Much better to save some money and go with a Wenonah Fisherman.

fly fishing out of a canoe
many people have a problem with standing up in a canoe. If you are fishing in shallow water and want more stability and control, check out the Swivel Stick shallow water anchor. Not only is it a fast and simple way to anchor but it stabilizes your canoe as well…