Carrying a 12 or 13 foot canoe in a
small pickup is no problem. My Old Town Loon is almost 14 ft long. I put it in the bed of a pickup sometimes and tie the stern pull rope to tie downs, with bed down. Some states, if it sticks out more than 4 ft, you may have to rig a light, but that’s not too difficult. I’ve carried my 17 foot tandem in my old pickup, an S-10 by running the bow up over the cab, cusioned the cab with and old blanket, and resting the stern on the tail gate in the up position. Tied down, it didn’t moved. Its been carried that way up to 30 miles.
Of course, if you have the bucks, you can buy nice rack set ups. Some folk make a rack out of PVC, 1 1/2", or the same size electrical conduit, thin wall variety.
Freshwater creek fishing
Big_D, TY so much for all the info. It will be very helpful if I make my mind up to get a YAK. I will eventually do that I’m sure. I will visit the web site you mentioned too. I have a feeling that most of the fishing I will do with a YAK will be on very still water, in the spring and summer, so only lite clothing will be necessary. Unless another boater sends his wake across me, I should stay dry anyway. I do have one more questtion regarding the sun. What would you wear out in the sun on one of our sweltering, humid, hot days here in the south?
Freshwater creek fishing
beachcamper, I will research the Old Town Pack further. TY so much for your info. Snakes are abundant here in easter NC. It is not unusual at all to se several in one trip. Most are not poisonous, but they are all poisonous to me. So far, I have never had one to get in the boat with me. They are seen hanging from limbs a lot, and I have seen them fall in the water. i am very careful when I’m under limbs, but you know how a fisherman can be.
Frwshwater creek fishing
Jerlfletcher,
You have given me some great ideas. I do not have a lot of mad money to blow, so I have to look for ways to save if possible. I may give the conduit a try. I could make something to put in the back rack hoders and use the top of my truck cab. Most of the fishing I do is not more then 30 miles away fro me. If you have any other ides I am open to them.
A couple comments
Dress for the water temperature, not the air temperature. In the summer in NC, definitely not a problem. Wear anything. In the Spring, it’s amazing how quickly you can get yourself in a heap of trouble with 70 degree air and 45 degree water.
Warm days, I just wear light wind pants or swim trunks (with sun screen), a wicking t-shirt, mesh top PFD, and have a “flats” shirt along for extra sun protection. I’m bald, so a hat is a must for me. In cool temps, I usually wear a wool ball cap and in warm temps I usually wear a straw plantation hat.
- Big D
another suggestion
If you have a pickup with a receiver hitch:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?xsell=true&storeId=6970&catalogId=4006970&langId=-1&productId=19670&R=19670
under $150 and easy way to transport the canoe or kayak.
Harbor Freight and Northern Tools
often put bed extenders on sale for less than $40. Fogdog sells this to convert a ball hitch to a receiver hitch:
bury the hatchet in the donkey
However, with a canoe, its not needed. The gunnels serve the same purpose of supporting the canoe on the bed and tail gate. Or, just toss it in right side up if it looks like its going to be clear.
You can also use 2x3’s or 4’s to build a rack for the boat. If you have stake holes, its not difficult to build a rack out of lumber or something like conduit.
I don’t have pictures, but the way I made my racks was with conduit. the uprights rest in the stake holes. I used right angle conduit to stabilize the uprights…did drill into the bed side rail. I had Yakima cross bars so used them. My cross bars are attached to the uprights with U-bolts. I drilled holes for the U-bolts in the uprights and ran the cross bars through the U bolts. To further stabilize the rack, I used the galvanized bridging for floors. The are thin, so I doubled them. I was lazy and didn’t dril. They are attached at an angle to the uprights and cross bars with hose clamps.
For the cab, you may want to try what a friend does with his Cobra Expolore and Triple…not at the same time. He ran web straps through pool noodle…the large diameter type. The web straps wrap under the roof inside the car. Then he uses web straps to go on top of the kayak and again inside the car. He takes it 250 miles to the bay like that.
stable sit-in
Pungos and Loons are popular stable fishing platforms that you can be completely dry in.
Freshwater creek fishing
Big_D, Thanks again for the clothing tips. In the summer, exposure to the sun is can be a problem. IO was thinking about my legs which, in a YAK, would be exxposed all the time I’m fishing to the sun. I’ll have to check out the clothing you suggested for that. I am not very bald yet, but I’m getting there. I do wear a hat when I’m fishing. I also use sun blocker.
receiver hitch extender
Beachcamper, I have seen these before. I don’t have a receiver hitch on my Ranger, but it is a good idea if a truck has one. It is another way for me to think about. TY so much for the info.
Rack
Jerlfletcher,
I went over what you were saying about making a rack to fit my truck bed. I can use what you’ve said to help me build one with what i have available, My wife was just going to throw some pool noodle away. I’ll save that for future use.
Inexpensive convertor for ball hitch
to accept an extender:
http://www.fogdog.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2512161
Receiver hitch
jerlfletcher, I am saving your web page for the receiver hitch and making a hard copy of the page. It may come in handy.
There’s another type, same concept,
but it was more expensive so didn’t book mark it. I was getting tired of lifting my Loon on and off my truck rack 6.5’ high. But, my 39 lb solo canoe I bought helps there, so didn’t spring for the fake receiver.
Hitch
jerlfletcher, I will look into the hitch extender when I can. It could be a good idea. I am sure it will be a good idea. Right now, I am thinking about making a wood rack that would just go into the rear rack holders. I would just use them to put the posts in and build it to just go from there onto my tailgate and a little beyond. I’d make it an even height with my tool box so I’d get the extra length. I am also in the process of arranging a demo with the sporting goods store in Greenville NC. I asked to trey out the Ride 135, Manta Ray 12, Hobie Quest, and a Huricane Phoenix 130. I’ll let you know when I’ll do that and feed back to you. By the way, the young clerk I talked with was active in helping design the manta Rays. There is a web site for NC also he told me about. It is ncwaterman.com You may want to vist it. It has all sorts of info, so you’ll have to look down the list until you see somethiong about Kayaks. The young man also told me that he was in a fishing contest and used his Yak. He said there was one other yak in the contest. he came in 2nd place in that one.
Dressing for fishing
Big_D, I was just reading over your suggestions for clothing again. I had gotten so entangles with a decision on which Yak, I was forgetting about this. All you told me was very informative. Thank you again. I will have to check out nrs.
Kayak fishing tournaments are
popular along the Texas Gulf Coast. But, the biggest saltwater tournament, one operated by Coastal Conservation, runs all summer long and anyone can enter, have an opportunity to win, and not have to worry about the pressures of one and two day tournaments. Its ideal for kayak fishermen to compete against the power boaters.
Supplex nylon pants
Even lighter than cotton pants, dry in a flash. I wear them all the time here on the hot, humid Texas coast.
Pants
Reefmonkey, thanks for the info on the pants. I am familiar with supplex.
Fishing tournaments
jerlfletcher, the fishing tourney I was referring to was in NC. I don’t think I’d much care for those tourneys. I am a much more casual fisherman than that. I love the relaxation of just fishing for whatever strikes my fancy.