Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

"rw" wrote

.. Last year I took my kick boat down
the Salmon in high water. It's very nimble, so I could avoid the holes.
But then I got complacent and starting looking at the scenery. Suddenly,
the biggest hole on the stretch was in front of me. I went forward right
into it -- no other choice. I went upside down, ass over elbows, and
floated a quarter mile downstream until my kayaking buddy rescued me. It
was quite an experience.

No one, and I mean no one, ever takes a canoe on that stretch of water.
You'd have to be nearly insane even to take a kick boat. :-)

your best post in months. and for all the right reasons.

yfitons
wayno

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

"Pete Knox" wrote in message
...
I've been a spinner fisherman for a bit of a while, and would like to get
started in flyfishing. I will be moving back to NJ in about a month, and
will mostly be fishing medium to large sized lakes. I have a free canoe,
that was given to my dad. I believe it is about 14', but I'm not 100%
sure. I have experience spin fishing from a canoe, but wonder how
practical it is to flyfish from one. Do I need to go up/down in line
weight and/or rod length/action to accomodate sitting down? I do also
plan
on doing some stream fishing for trout(where I'll wade) and was planning
on
a 5 or 6 wt, 8.5 to 9' medium-fast action rod. I was hoping I could use
the same rod on the lake in the canoe - where I would go after trout,
smallmouth, and the occasional other species (if lucky :) ). Is that
possible? Will it be harder as a beginner to learn to cast from the boat?

Lots of questions, I know.

Thanks in advance,

Pete Knox

I've done a fair amount of canoeing on trout streams here in Missouri and
once canoed down the Smith River in Montana. The best thing about using a
canoe for fly fishing is that it gets you to good places to get out and
fish.

As somebody else pointed out, the best way to fly fish from a canoe is if
somebody else is doing the paddling. You have to keep your center of gravity
low. Playing a large fish is a challenge - particularly if you're sitting in
the stern and he makes a run around and under the bow. If the bow is 12 - 14
feet away from you, and you're kneeling in the stern of the canoe, it can
look like a keystone kops scene as you try to keep control of the fish.

IMHO, the low center of gravity and lack of stability suggests a light rod.

Bob

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

Don Phillipson wrote:
"Pete Knox" wrote in message
...

I've been a spinner fisherman for a bit of a while, and would like to get
started in flyfishing. I will be moving back to NJ in about a month, and
will mostly be fishing medium to large sized lakes. I have a free canoe,
that was given to my dad. I believe it is about 14', but I'm not 100%
sure. I have experience spin fishing from a canoe, but wonder how
practical it is to flyfish from one.

In any sort of a wind, a canoe requires a second person
to control it while the first person fishes. Only in a flat
calm and on still water is a canoe a pleasurable platform
for fly fishing.

This year get to know your fly tackle before you take
it out in a canoe. You will find rivers easier to learn on
than still water (because the current will sooner or later
straighten the line for you.) In the first months you will
get more fish with waders than with the canoe.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)


Well, yes and no.


Its all about trim. If you can somehow keep the stern and bow level the
wind will not push you around as much. If you are paddling solo in a
tandem canoe you should almost always be paddling from the bow seat but
facing back towards the stern. The main reason to paddle as close to
the middle of a canoe is that it keeps your canoe better in trim. The
bow seat is set closer to the center to give the bow paddler more leg
room. The canoe will be wider at that seat meaning it is more stable,
albeit somewhat harder to paddle due to the width there. The wind will
blow the high end of a canoe downwind, the higher it is the worse it
will be. This is called weathervaning. So that is your enemy. Get the
front of your canoe down as parralell to the water as possible. If you
have an anchor you can actually use the wind to help position your
canoe advantageously although Don is right, in a wind its much easier
to fish with two paddlers.

Here's a pic of Bill Mason paddling solo in a tandem boat:

http://www.canoemuseum.net/heritage/images/mason_lg.jpg


He is paddling the canoe "backwards" i.e. from the bow seat. He is also
kneeling on the bow seat which not only keeps his center of gravity
lower but puts him even closer to the center of the boat. He overcomes
the width between the gunnels by healing the canoe slighly to make it
easier to reach the water. In fact you could do no better than to buy
his instructional videos "Path of the Paddle". The Canadian Film Board
has just re-released all four parts of it in one DVD. For $30 its a
steal.


hth

g.c.

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

Pete Knox wondered if he could use the same rod on the lake in the
canoe - where I would go after trout, smallmouth, and the occasional
other species (if lucky :) ). Is that
possible? Will it be harder as a beginner to learn to cast from the
boat?
-------------- snipped --------------
Peter, I remember taking my canoe out on the first day of trout season,
a few years back to enjoy a nice day of fly fishing. With my plastic
Coleman canoe, I head out towards some promising water near a log pile
in a gin clear Pacific NW lake. The lake water was about 40 degrees F
and as I came up to my spot I hit an underwater branch from one of the
down logs and rolled my boat. I lost my glasses but saved my fly rod
and damn near lost my life to the cold water. I don't do the canoe fly
fishing thing anymore, but I do have a wonderful pontoon boat immune to
roll over that I enjoy immensely. I recommend trading in your canoe
for a nice high quality pontoon boat and I think you will be a happier
and safer fly fisherman in the long run.

My 2cents anyway, Padishar Creel

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

"asadi" wrote in message Oh, and
watch JR's video on how to remove a hook from someone's skin. :-)

Yeah, once you learn to cast while standing, get a stool that will put you
at the same height above the ground as your canoe seat does above the
water....you can practice in your yard for an afternoon. You will find
that in the canoe, sitting, your cast needs to be just a little higher and
cleaner than when you are standing on the ground.

You're fixin to have fun.....

john
Indian Joe adds--and when sitting in a canoe or kayak casting a six weight
plan on having a sore shoulder the following day after the first few
trips-----but you're fixing to have fun.....

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

On Tue, 06 Jun 2006 19:39:43 -0600, rw
wrote:

Ken Fortenberry wrote:


I have seen them used and while they may be somewhat
utilitarian for the clumsy and graceless they'd be a
death trap on moving water.

You have that approximately right.

I can hardly wait to read Frank's kick boat trip report, albeit I'm sure
he could manage a certain unique state of grace amid the
gracelessness...add a machete and kite and it would just ooze grace
right all over the carpets...

As to the OP -

Pete, you can easily flyfish from a canoe for a whole range of species,
including tarpon (yes, I have personal experience with it). And a 8.5-9
ft, 5-6 weight is perfectly fine if species-appropriate. If you are
nervous about dumping, get a set of sponsons (essentially float chambers
that run the length of the gunwale, attached to the side of the canoe -
they are not "outrigger" type affairs, ala "Hawaiian" outrigger canoes,
but those are available, too).

Note, however, that "easily" does not mean that a weak swimmer with no
canoe experience or life jacket should go grab a boat, load up, head
out, and stand up and start casting. OTOH, get a reasonable amount of
canoe experience and have a life jacket on-board, and you should be good
to go. I have been using canoes for 35 years, and am a fourth
generation canoeing (fly)fisher. I've never had a rollover because of
fishing, fly or otherwise, and I've never heard a family story of one.

As to the wind, you will need an anchor, but depending on location, a
homemade "river" anchor (which holds by weight rather than "hooking"
something) can be easily made for a canoe. Take a big coffee or
tomato juice can, fill with concrete, and insert an appropriate
eye-bolt. A roller fairlead can be rigged on the bow/stern if you want
to get all nautical-like, but it isn't necessary. A small yacht cleat
or other attachment point (such as carry handles) at bow and stern is
necessary (DO NOT USE THE RIBS AS ANCHOR CLEATS!!), and rubrail or
similar protection may be desirable. Don't use an anchor that might
require driving-off or ringing, like a Danforth or a grapple, unless
you're both a world-class paddler AND prepared to lose it.

TC,
R

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

"George Cleveland" wrote in message
ups.com...

Here's a pic of Bill Mason paddling solo in a tandem boat:

http://www.canoemuseum.net/heritage/images/mason_lg.jpg


Nice photo!
-tom

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

George Cleveland wrote:
Its all about trim. If you can somehow keep the stern and bow level
the wind will not push you around as much.

Exactly.

snip
The wind will blow the high end of a canoe downwind, the
higher it is the worse it will be. This is called weathervaning.
snip

I've been fishing from canoes for about 40 years and haven't really thought
it was a problem. What I like about it is the ability to quickly and
comfortably get where you're going and then having a nice stable (yes,
stable, despite what people who have experience in Coleman 'canoes' might
say) platform. That said, I sometimes envy my friends with their little
sport kayaks.

To add to what George says, you need to know how to handle weathervaning.
When I used to go tandem a lot this was an issue because, well, as the big
guy, I'm usually in the stern. That raises the bow and makes it weatervane.
This is good if you're running downwind, bad when facing into the wind. You
can solve the problem easily by using some moveable ballast, like a 5 gallon
water container. Move it fore or aft to adjust the balance and you can get
a nice even trim, or whatever kind of weathervaning is useful. In my solo
boat I can do trim adjustment with my little cooler.
--
Stan Gula
http://gula.org/roffswaps

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

"Stan Gula" wrote in message
news:UHAhg.16555$SM3.4099@trndny08...
George Cleveland wrote:
Its all about trim. If you can somehow keep the stern and bow level
the wind will not push you around as much.

Exactly.

snip
The wind will blow the high end of a canoe downwind, the
higher it is the worse it will be. This is called weathervaning.
snip

I've been fishing from canoes for about 40 years and haven't really
thought
it was a problem. What I like about it is the ability to quickly and
comfortably get where you're going and then having a nice stable (yes,
stable, despite what people who have experience in Coleman 'canoes' might
say) platform. That said, I sometimes envy my friends with their little
sport kayaks.

To add to what George says, you need to know how to handle weathervaning.
When I used to go tandem a lot this was an issue because, well, as the big
guy, I'm usually in the stern. That raises the bow and makes it
weatervane.
This is good if you're running downwind, bad when facing into the wind.
You
can solve the problem easily by using some moveable ballast, like a 5
gallon
water container. Move it fore or aft to adjust the balance and you can
get
a nice even trim, or whatever kind of weathervaning is useful. In my solo
boat I can do trim adjustment with my little cooler.
--


I just sit on the bow seat, backwards, which puts me almost midship. When
casting, I walk out to the middle of the boat.

--riverman
(who thinks flyfishing and canoeing go together like...well, anything that
goes together well)

Fly fishing from a canoe?
 

On 6 Jun 2006 22:53:52 -0700, "Padishar Creel"
wrote:


Pete Knox wondered if he could use the same rod on the lake in the
canoe - where I would go after trout, smallmouth, and the occasional
other species (if lucky :) ). Is that
possible? Will it be harder as a beginner to learn to cast from the
boat?
-------------- snipped --------------
Peter, I remember taking my canoe out on the first day of trout season,
a few years back to enjoy a nice day of fly fishing. With my plastic
Coleman canoe, I head out towards some promising water near a log pile
in a gin clear Pacific NW lake. The lake water was about 40 degrees F
and as I came up to my spot I hit an underwater branch from one of the
down logs and rolled my boat. I lost my glasses but saved my fly rod
and damn near lost my life to the cold water. I don't do the canoe fly
fishing thing anymore,

Um, you rolled your boat (in what sounds like a novice mistake/panic),
didn't get back in the saddle, and now, suggest that this is evidence
that canoes are not good for FFing? Please. I've used canoes on
everything from fast rivers to choppy lakes to inland blue/green/brown
water, and never dumped it in anything remotely approaching fishing
water. And it isn't a particularly uncommon feat. IMO, canoes are
among the most versatile small craft around as long as the operator
matches their ability and experience with conditions.

but I do have a wonderful pontoon boat immune to
roll over that I enjoy immensely. I recommend trading in your canoe
for a nice high quality pontoon boat and I think you will be a happier
and safer fly fisherman in the long run.

And that's why there's chocolate and vanilla. Glad you found a craft
you like.

TC,
R

My 2cents anyway, Padishar Creel