I know these get asked a ton of times, but I’ve not found one that addressed my questions.
I’m a complete novice with virtually no options to test any canoe or kayak before buying. I live in the panhandle of Oklahoma where there is little water for testing.
I’d like to buy a small portable boat for fishing small ponds and lakes in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. I’m 5’9", 195 lbs. I have a bad back and am afraid of most kayaks weight for loading on top of my car. I have had a float tube, but my back couldn’t handle the lack of support and thought maybe a canoe or kayak would be a more supportive option. Additionally, we have quite a lot of wind in most of the places I would be fishing.
Canoes are much lighter than most kayaks. If I understand correctly, kayaks are affected by the wind much less than canoes. Also, the kayaks are maybe a little more stable for a novice to stand and fish out of. Canoes offer a larger area for cargo while fishing.
I’ve looked at pack canoes, fishing kayaks, solo canoes. If you were looking for something easy to paddle for recreation and fish out of, fairly lightweight and portable with a comfortable, supportive seat that could buck some wind, what would you buy?
I looked at the Feel Free Lure 11.5 and am interested, but I’m afraid at 75 lbs, it will be too hard to put on the roof of my Expedition or Jeep.
OT Pack and others
I much prefer to fish out of a canoe than a kayak. It’s more versatile. If you are looking for a truly light weight canoe you are going to need to go with a kevlar or similar material and that will cost you. Royalex and plastic hulls are generally pretty heavy.
You don’t say if you will always be fishing alone, or if you will sometimes with a partner. That is important. You really can’t paddle a solo canoe with another person, but many tandem canoes are easy to paddle solo.
For fishing you will probably want stability over speed. As far as solo canoes, the Old Town Pack is a pretty good fishing platform. If you want more of a canoe/kayak hybrid the Old Town Next might be an option. Other solos to consider are the Wenonah Fusion, Wenonah Wilderness, Nova Craft Trapper. For stable tandems that also paddle nicely solo, look at the Wenonah Solo Plus, Wenonah Fisherman, Nova Craft Bob Special and Swift Algonquin 16
Old Town Next
Check out the Old Town Next. Solo canoe comes in 4 colors and weighs in at 59#.
Will the wind
Push a canoe around too badly? 20 mph winds are commonplace in my neck of the woods and I want what is going to give me the best chance at getting out on the water. Also, on the Next, is the seat very comfortable? That’s pretty much a deal breaker if it’s hard on a back. Lastly, on the Old Town canoes, I find the Solo and Discovery 119 listed, but not the Pack. I search for it on the website and can find the Pack and Pack Angler then. Is the Pack maybe discontinued since it was a Royalex canoe?
The Solo looks difficult to stand in and I think I would like the option to stand.
Lastly, I’m just focusing on buying a canoe/kayak for me to fish/recreate by myself.
Inflatable kayaks
Have you looked into inflatable kayaks? There are some good ones on the market today including some by Sevylor. Lightweight, sturdy (if you get the right ones), and very portable. It might be a happy medium for what you’re looking for.
Honestly
I think I would like to stay away from inflatables. Not even sure I know why.
fishing kayak
checkout the VIBE 2016 sea ghost 130. excellent for the price, you can stand in it and the vibe tribe has all kinds of mods to make it really personal for you. it has a rudder to help keep it straight in the wind and tracks straight. as far as light weight for loading that’s a tough one since the only light ones are bare bones and cost a lot of $$$$. the lighter the more $$$$ if you were to buy one of those you won’t be happy with it.
the sea ghost has a adjustable seat that is very comfortable and removable if you decide to jump out and shore fish. check them out really good deal. also Harbor freight has cheap trailers that will help you get it lower to the ground so it should be easier on your back.
Difficult combination of requirements
You won’t find the perfect boat, so you’ll have to consider your specs and make a compromise.
You are right that canoes are much more affected by wind than kayaks. I don’t think anyone paddles a canoe very well in strong wind without first having a lot of practice. That wind of 20 mph that you mention is “do-able”, but beyond what even a good paddler wants to put up with for very long. Taking out the practice element, you’ll need to use a double-blade paddle instead of a single or you’ll be helpless in that kind of wind. On that same topic, someone mentioned how easy it is to solo-paddle some tandems, but that’s not even close to being true on a windy day.
Canoes are lighter than kayaks, especially fishing kayaks which to my way of thinking are much too heavy when considering “how little boat” you get for all that weight, but to really get a light canoe you are looking at a much higher price tag, and used high-end canoes in your area are probably pretty scarce. The difference in weight between a decent plastic touring kayak and a Royalex canoe is not huge. Considering the wind factor AND the weight factor together, a small touring kayak might make sense, if you don’t take a lot of rods along (you could rig up rod holders on the rear deck). You’d have to be able to deal with an extreme lack of usable space, though.
Most canoers I’ve known or heard from with bad backs say that the best thing for back comfort is the nice, ergonomic situation you get when kneeling, but not everyone can kneel for a long time in a canoe. I know this would increase the cost, but I wonder what you think about one of the smallest aluminum boats you can buy, carried on a trailer? You could outfit it with a comfy swivel seat, and to deal with wind you could use an electric trolling motor. Here again, you probably face the problem of scarcity of supply in your area, but I think it would deal well with most of your needs once on the water, even if the transport issue would be a little more complicated.
Just more stuff to think about.
Thanks
Some great suggestions here. A friend and I bought a Sun Dolphin Journey 10 SS just to put on my little pond to fish out of. It isn’t a very well thought of kayak but both of us liked it a lot for what it is.
I think for trout fishing, I am going to want a sit inside to keep a little more of the cold water off me. Jackson Kayak Kilroy LT looks to hit most of my check boxes. It’s still a little heavier than I want but with the seat removed, it is less than 60 pounds without the seat, sounds like it handles pretty well and has some ability to stand in it after some practice.
Anyone know much about it?
Inflatable kayak
You should look at least at one of these types of kayaks as an alternative for you. For me, the Sea Eagle brand could be best for you. They have a very serious canoe:
https://www.seaeagle.com/TravelCanoe/TC16
I would also suggest you look at:
https://www.seaeagle.com/RazorLite/393rl (weighs 28 pounds) and the:
https://www.seaeagle.com/FastTrackKayaks/385ft (32 pounds).
They have a real seat for fishing as an option as well.
They have lots more for you to browse as well. Good luck.
Looking at Canoes and Kayaks
You’ve got a very good question here. I’d recommend going with a shorter, lighter kayak as opposed to a canoe, as a beginner, because they’re just so much more stable and you’ll have very little chance of spilling into the water.
The Lure 10 is 69 lbs, but I’ve seen other kayaks as light as 47 lbs. With your bad back, you may be able to heft one of these to and from your vehicle to the water and back alone - but I don’t know the nature of your back injure, so use caution.
I’d look at a few different kayak brands and some of their lighter models before making your decision.
Here is a review of many different kayaks and brands that may help you make your decision:
http://excitedoutdoors.com
Keep researching and you’ll find the right boat for you. Cheers!
You want to fish(cast…etc) sitting in a canoe…it’s easy once you get used to it and the stability in sitting is infinitely more than attempting to stand. You stand, you swim…along with trying to find all your gear in the water…it’s as simple as that. Wenonah’s Fisherman(14’ length, wide) in their Ultralight layup is 36 lbs. There is a thwart that should be removed so that you can sit in the bow seat but reverse-face. There are undoubtedly others of similar shape. A wider canoe, with high stability, will provide the bargelike feel you want with the rocking and slight rolling from fishing actions…that won’t flip the canoe. The only way to go light and have good stability is in looking for similar dimensions I think. Wenonah has great thwart ideas…two foam pads you simply attach to a midship thwart.
There are other canoes of similar shape but Wenonah’s is pretty light…although I haven’t paddled it…but it reads pretty stable…the same canoe in their “Flex-Core” layup(thicker & more rugged) would be a little more stable but with more weight. A wood/canvas is the most stable canoe…there are quite a few forsale under 15’, which would limit the weight…they’re the best fishing platforms. wcha.org has a nice forsale section.
$.01
http://wcha.org/pp-classifieds/ …features wood/canvas canoes which will be your most stable canoe to fish from. May not be as light as a Wenonah Ultralight “Fisherman”(14’, wide…36 lbs) …(http://www.wenonah.com/Canoes.aspx?id=109), however SOME nice wood/canvas boats, of lengths under 16’ are surprisingly not that heavy, but you can’t beat composite(ie kevlar) canoes in their ultralight layups like Wenonah’s Fisherman for their light weight. You want to sit when fishing from a canoe…a nice stable platform when you’re sitting. Either you sit or you will swim… Casting while sitting is easy once you’ve given it a chance. Wenonah has nice shoulder foam pads which fasten onto its middle thwart…foam pad strips which straddle your shoulders(front & back) and are pretty comfortable to carry the canoe(s) with…but the rollers(name?) that hitch onto one end let you walk the canoe in when the trail is wide enough… As always these days one has to pay the price for good, light canoes…
$.01
@panhndl said:
Thanks
Some great suggestions here. A friend and I bought a Sun Dolphin Journey 10 SS just to put on my little pond to fish out of. It isn’t a very well thought of kayak but both of us liked it a lot for what it is.I think for trout fishing, I am going to want a sit inside to keep a little more of the cold water off me. Jackson Kayak Kilroy LT looks to hit most of my check boxes. It’s still a little heavier than I want but with the seat removed, it is less than 60 pounds without the seat, sounds like it handles pretty well and has some ability to stand in it after some practice.
Anyone know much about it?
I don’t know about the Jackson Kilroy, but it looks like a great fishing kayak & Jackson has a very good reputation. I own a Necky Vector 13 @ 60 pounds (no longer made), and I just bought an Eddyline Caribbean 14 @ 50 pounds. The Caribbean 12 weighs 45 pounds and costs $1699 for the Angler model. If you are interested, you could give Eddyline a shout and see if they have dealers in your area.