For those of you who choose to fish from sit-insides and canoes, what models are you using and why ? I’m not trying to start a “my boat is better than your boat” discussion, just curious about what the popular models are.
Thanks !
fair question
I’ve never figured out why which boat we choose to fish from generates any heat at all. Who cares. But it does draw a LOT of complexes out of posters.
That said, I paddle two SINKs and fish from the Sun Velocity mainly. Why? Main reason, personal preference. As to logical reasons, it is cold, both in air and water temps where I fish most of the time, WA and BC. A SINK is just a lot warmer with spray skirt in place, without having to wear a wet suit. Also, it rains a LOT where I fish, adding cold and more wet, hence I often wear light rain gear as well as the spray skirt.
I am often a long ways from a vehicle, up to three day trips at times, and take all of my gear and equipment. All of this is possible with a SOT but I prefer the SINK and its storage holds.
I’m not positive but I think my boats are considerably lighter in weight than the SOTs. The Velocity weighs 42 lbs. and the Cascade about 30 lbs. I sometime portage them, like one time nearly a mile up a switchback mountain trail at the end of a long wilderness paddle, to get to a road.
Also, as I fish steelhead rivers, I paddle through Class II rapids fairly regularly, and just like the handling of the SINK’s. If I need to paddle upstream, which I do sometimes, the SINK is considerably faster/easier to acclerate through fast chutes from one eddy to another, working from easy water to easy water to get to a great fishing spot a mile upriver from a river access.
For fishing or diving in warm waters, especially with no overnight camping, and minimal rapids, I’d be using a SOT.
Mad River Malecite
Great fishing boat. Very stable, plenty efficient and quite low to the wind. (The low depth of it also makes it easy to hoist fish up over the side or reach down and grab 'em.)
Lots of folks here
– Last Updated: May-11-06 10:32 AM EST –
use an Old Town Loon. Mine is the 138. They have been tried, tested, and proven over many years. I chose mine based on that and because I found an incredible deal on it. My other boat is a SOT.
consider the pirogue
I no longer fish, but for 20+ years I fished out of any boat I could get my hands on. Usually, it was a wide, fat, slow Coleman barge of a canoe that was so stable that standing, or even walking forward was possible. It was a pig to steer and a bear to wrestle onto the truck, but it worked. Prior to that I used an even worse aluminum Grumman monstrosity. But, somewhere in there, I came upon a sweet little 8.5’ fiberglass pirogue. A pirogue, in case you’re not familiar with them, is a flat bottomed, shallow draft Cajun boat made popular in the bayous. The longer ones can be poled or paddled. Mine was a bit too small to comfortably stand in to pole, but it was a joy to fish from, and could glide over very, very shallow water. Best of all, it was light and easy to stick in the back of the truck, and easy to portage over to whatever pond struck my fancy. I was crushed when a tree crushed it in an ice storm.
Yep, its the Loon for me, a 138. The
sit-on-tops are more popular on the Texas Gulf Coast, but I like my Loon. Its big and roomy, also tracks like a magnet is pulling it compared to a lot of the sit-on-tops. I also have a Necky Sky 9.6 ft sit-in, my first kayak for fishing, which I let my son’s use (19 and 23) or use if I’m fising small creeks and rivers. And, then, there is my Mohawk 17ft canoe, but it doesn’t see much use these days. It’ll get into service more either this summer or next with my 3 year old grandson getting to the point that I can take him out. But, for $300 used, and in very good condition, how can you go wrong with a Loon?
Trolling
I have Chesapeake 17, and as Okanagan mentioned, I like the cozy warmth of the closed in cockpit during the cooler months, or when fishing in the rain. I added a rod holder trolling port in front of the cockpit. This I find great for back paddling and trolling. In this position when I hook up there is no need to change direction, just pick up the pole and have at it with the fish in clear view and enjoy the moment. Another added benefit to a longer touring kayak is the added speed when trolling for fish that want a fast bait to chase. Something else I enjoy when the weather gets warmer, and the fish slow down on the bite, is to just go out and paddle with the added benefit of roto cooling.
Canoe and/or Kayak
I mostly fish out of my Old Town Pack canoe these days , but I also enjoy fishing out of the Old Town Loon 138 kayak.
The kayak offers better speed, good stability and less wind resistance. However, the older I get, I find that sitting in a kayak for prolonged periods causes pain and suffering. It also limits the gear I can bring.
The canoe on the other hand offers room to move about, easier gear access, more comfortable seating, better manuverability, the option to carry a couple of different rods, a cooler and I can easily throw in enough gear to make it a weekend camping/fishing expedition. The downside is…uh, well I can’t think of one right now, that’s why I mostly fish out of the Pack.
A Loon 138 here too!!!
I did extensive research on the engineering of these, pros and cons, materials, telemetry etc… Just kidding, it was on sale and I could fit my Akita/Lab in it (not that she likes to be in it). I guess if I had it to do over, I’d still get it, lots of room, comfy for me. The biggest fish so far has been under 2 pounds, but the Chesapeake is full of big stripers. Hope this helps.
A Pygmy Arctic Tern…
Not really a dedicated fishing boat or fisherman. I usually fish only when kayak camping and the Tern is a great camping boat. The 33” cockpit is large for a sea kayak and the Tern is very stable. I’m just adding a rod holder to the front deck. Most of my yak fishing consists of trolling for Sea Trout in the 10,000 Islands of Florida.
http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pavilionfishe6xg.jpg
Nice fish, nice boat!!
EOM.
Heritage Featherlite Angler 12
I am very happy with it. It’s wide enough that I don’t really worry about flipping it (a major concern before I started.) And even with it’s width, it’s still fast enough that I can keep up with friends that I’m paddling with.
Primarily from a
Wenonah Vagabond when solo, an Old Town Penobscot when with a partner, and an Old Town Loon 138 when from a kayak. I use the kayak when I want to cover more water, when it is raining (I use a nylon skirt) or when it is cold.
Perception America
It’s rock-steady, doesn’t get pushed around much by the wind, and is easy to attain for when I don’t have a shuttle.
Plus it’s roomy, roomy, roomy and just about as close to paddling a barcalounger as I can get.
It is a bit big for the rivers that I fish, but it’s great for lakes, bays, etc. I’d like something smaller and more maneuverable for catching eddies in the rock gardens I tend to fish in the rivers near me. The Dagger Blackwater is about as close to perfect of a boat for the rivers I fish as anything I’ve paddled. Looking forward to trying a Perception (or is it Dagger?) Approach, though. It’s getting a lot of buzz among folks with similar fishing habits and needs. Lots of folks use Perception Axesses, but they’re tough to find and expensive for used when you can.
- Big D
OT Pack canoe
I only just “discovered” this canoe this morning, and don’t yet own one. (But, I will, shortly.)
But, for those considering a sit in fishing rig, you might wish to at least consider the Old Town Pack Canoe. At only 12’, 33lbs, it’d be easy to carry to your favorite fishing holes and ponds. With a capacity of 400+lbs, it would hold a lot of gear, and get into a lot of the tighter spots, such as farm ponds, and creeks and swamps. Being open, there’s plenty of room for a cooler, etc. Just a thought.
I have a Pack also
– Last Updated: May-11-06 6:53 PM EST –
or should say for a while yet. I have a buyer for it. She just hasn't picked it up and paid me yet! You are right it is light and stable. I prefer the Wenonah Vagabond for fishing because, while a bit heavier (about 9 pounds heavier in royalex) it is faster, tracks better while still manuverable, and has a bit more room for rods and tackle.
Perception Sundance
– Last Updated: May-15-06 10:33 PM EST –
With a 54" long cockpit the most room for your gear of any kayak on the market today. The new seats are more comfortable than your Granny's couch. I started in a Dagger Bayou. Nice boat but no room for rods, fly boxes etc. My Sundance (12') is on it's way now.
My new Sundance arrived today - took it out for a short time on one of my small ponds. I like it better than I thought I would. Lots of room and tracks better than the Bayou.
Loon & Sundance 12
I have a loon 120 and a sundance 120. I use the sundance almost exclusively on the slower rivers around here because of the large cockpit. Getting out and in is easy and I normally paddle from spot to spot and then get out and wade fish. On faster rivers with more serious rapids or on large lakes with wind waves I use the loon since the cockpit is small and I have a sprey skirt for it.
The Loon 111 cockpit is 55" long, the
138 the same, I believe.
Yep
The old style Loon 111 and 138 had cockpits of 18" x 55". New style is 17" x 43". I prefer a more open cockpit for ease of entry/exit. The think the Perception rec kayaks have bigger cockpit openings than the OT’s.