What do I need to start fishing out of my canoe. I have all the tackle but what about anchor, pole holder etc. Any help appreciated
canoe gear
A nice rod holder is handled by Piragis.com. a portable fishfinder is nice. If you are really lazy or want to concentrate more on fishing rather than paddling, get an electric trolling motor, mount, and a gel battery (no leak if it tips) and a battery box- graphite rods easily short a battery if they fall across the terminals. even the smallest trolling motors move a canoe well. It won’t take much of an anchor to hold a canoe. If in the wilderness, a rope and a large rock works pretty good.
re
Depends on where and how you fish. I bass fish so I am always moving. An anchor is a good idea to have though I have not used one in a few years. I do have a brush hook to grab onto branches. When I fish I usually paddle into the wind and drift with it casting. I also stand a great deal. I have a long paddle to reach the water with one hand (with the rod in the other) while standing.
canoe fishing
ditto. you could also check out a Cabelas “type” of catalog to get ideas of some of the gear available to outfit a boat to meet your needs. A homemade anchor is the esy way to go (you should be able to find an old “thread” on this site to give you some more ideas. good luck and leave afew of the big ones for us!!
Get the basics for your boat too.
Bailing Sponge and bucket. PFD of course. Tie a painter onto the bow and/or stern for tying up to branches, etc. and for basic use. Spare paddle. GPS is great for fishing as you can plug in the bearings to your fishing holes and find them easily when you know a lot of holes. I use a 10 pound "Walmart" mushroom anchor. Works great. Buy a couple of new clean 5 gallon buckets. Invaluable for a myriad of reasons when fishing/canoeing. Get the snap on lids too and you can use them for camping trip storage/seats. Rig a few lanyards. 3 foot lengths and 6 foot lengths are useful. 1/4 inch line and tie a swivel snap (like a dog leash has) to each end. Very handy for lashing loose items into the boat in case you take a spill. Old towel. Water bottle. Small dry-bag for keys/tobacco/wallet/cellphone. Lash it to the boat or snap it shut around a yoke. Good hat. Sunscreen..............
Have a blast!
just like
It is just like fishing out of any boat. Rod holders are optional. I don’t use one. An anchor can be handy. I made one with rocks and a basketball net (I don’t use it much). Rope/cord about 6 feet long to tie onto stumps (I do this often). A shorter paddle to make small corrections on your course if drifting (casting or trolling). Bailer - never used one. Rope/cord to tie your t-box onto a twart just in case (make sure it is long enough to open the box. I always take a smaal can to throw a couple of lures or hooks and bobbers or jigs and tails in so I don’t have to mess with the t-box (just my thing). If I am using crawlers the box I have them in has the couple of hooks and spare bobber or lures. Sometimes I take a back reat (Crazy Creek chair). Maybe a small bag (grocery) to hold a water bottle and food in. A small garbage bag to throw my jacket, etc. in when the day warms up so it will not get wet. Tie the bags to a twart. A longer rope/cord to line on a river or to tie up if you get out on the shore for whatever.
Keep it simple
I only added a couple of things for fishing out of a canoe. An anchor is nice to hold you in place once you find the fish. I use 3 different types. A drift anchor (looks like a parachute) that I use for drift fishing. A brush anchor for clipping onto trees, brush, weeds, etc. and a “coffee can” anchor that I made by pouring Quickcrete into a coffee can with a large eye bolt stuck in the middle.
Easy rod holders can be made out of pvc couplers. Use the 2" ones and secure them to the thwart and seat of your canoe with cable ties. Keeps your rods out of the bilge and you won’t be stepping on them. I also use pvc pipe to make “rocket launchers” to hold my poles if I’m trolling.
A 5 gallon bucket is handy as a live bait well, if you fish with live bait. You can get simple aerators that run on D-cell batteries pretty cheap. Or you can just use it to keep your catch in.
fishing
I will also have my 8 yr old with me. I’m looking forward to getting out this year. If anyone knows of some good lakes in south nj let me know. Also has anyone used a canoe for crabbing? I would love to get out on the bays and marshes for some crabbing. Any advice on this would be appreciated.
Again thanks everyone for your help
John
anyone
anyone crab out of a canoe?
One more type of anchor…
Add one more anchor to kayakangler’s list.
A 10-12’ piece of pvc sharpened on one end and witha ‘T’ added on the other end. It can be used as a stake IF the water you’ll be fishing is shallow enough. Very handy in the right situations.
Never crabbed from a paddle craft though we have done a lot of it from shore with ring nets and hookless lines.
If you get an electric motor, be sure to
get the battery box as was stated above, and then be sure to tie it down somehow. Coast guard regs require this, and if the sheriff or game warden sees your unsecured battery box, you’ll have to pay a substantial fine!!!