I have been fishing in a canoe and a kayak for a few years. I think being able to stand is a big advantage. I can stand in a 17 ft (34 width, shallow-V) and 15 ft (36 in width, flat-bottom) canoes without any problem. How difficult is it to stand in a solo canoe like Vagabond or Solo 14?
what’s the benefit?
I fish from my canoe frequently - all sitting or kneeling.
I just don’t understand. What benefit fo you get from standing?
Thanks
I stand in mine
I bought a Vagabond last spring.It is my first venture into the solo world. I am a rather serious fisherman as well. I used to solo in a wenonah echo at 16.5 feet and about 34 across. I could dance in that thing compared to the vagabond. See, I grew up paddling in the echo so I know her in and out. The vagabond is new to me still. I will stand in calm bays to zip a spinnerbait about but not like how I used to stand and let main lake wind blow mw down the shoreline in the echo. It is really rather stable but I am still learning the ins and outs of the solo craft. Isn’t the look on people’s face’s great when you float past them standing and fishing out of a canoe?
The benefit of standing
I have fished from a sit-in kayak, a canoe, and a motor boat. The higher you are, the more and better you see. It is a huge advantage in sightcasting. In a sit-in kayak, I can only see a few feet around yak. In a canoe, I can see much more. It is the reason why flat boats have a platform.
Also, I can only cast to the front within a certain angle (less than 180 degrees). I find myself spending too much time on positioning the bow so that I am not sideway or back to the target. If I can stand up, my casting angle will be expanded (ie. spend less time on correcting the boat position and have more time fishing!).
Standing…
If you are accustomed to standing while fishing, it is going to seem undesirable to sit. But there are as many benefits to sitting and fishing from a canoe as there are benefits to standing. For one thing, you are a LOT less visible to the fish, and can approach them much more closely in clear water. For another thing, when fishing solo, your paddle is always within easy reach to make those minor course and positioning corrections. If you are standing, you have bend down to reach the paddle, and actually using the paddle while standing isn’t all that easy.
I do a LOT of fishing from a solo canoe (Vagabond, mostly), and very seldom stand except to stretch my back and for a change of pace during a long day of floating and fishing. I think that if I wanted to do more standing, I’d get a pole and learn a little more about poling a canoe. With a paddle, I find it awkward.
yep
Paddling standing up is awkward. I normally only do it when the wind is pushing me where I want to go or I am in a bay with lots of cover and I let the spinerbait or crankbait pull me. Often when I go for a flat water trip I will carry a bent shaft for cruising and a 60 inch beavertail for fishing because I can stand and reach the water with it. The other way I do it is to bring a short light straight shaft an one hand it to make small adjustments. Most of my time is spent sitting or kneeling though. That is what I really like about canoes for fishing: one can move a good deal in them.
trolling motor
I don’t usually stand and paddle. But I stand to fish. I have a trolling motor to adjust the boat and my hands are free to fish.