I am looking to buy my first canoe for fishing. I want to be able to take my 9 yr old son and sometimes my daughter. I am looking fo the most stable canoe and great for fishing out of. Any recommendations would be appreciated
Old Town Camper 16
is a very stable canoe for a family. It is wide (36")and has a flat bottom. I have an eight year old son and a five year old daughter and my wife and I with the kids pile into my Camper and have a blast!! I have swam and fished with the kids in mine without any trouble whatsoever. I have also been down the Eleven Point in my Camper with my son without any trouble. It is light enough at 59 lbs. to load without any trouble.
Several companies make canoes
specifically for fishing:
Bell Angler, Wenonah Fisherman, Nova Craft Angler, Old Town Osprey/Angler to name a few. If that is your sole purpose, these may be great choices. If you want a canoe for fishing as well as tripping or general paddling, there are other canoes that may suit your purpose better.
New canoe
First off I want to thank everyone for their comments! The canoe will be used primarily for fishing with my son and the solo trip every now and then. Since this will be my first canoe I want to make a choice that will last me for quite a few years but most importanly that is stable. We have lots of areas to go to in the Northern Virgina area like the Shenadoah and the Potomac.
Canoe stabilizer floats.
Might consider buying set of canoe stabilizer floats from Canoegear.com who make them. They will make any canoe almost tip proof and you can even stand up in the canoe. This would free you up to buy a more general use canoe also.