Fly Fishing Canoe

I'm saving my nickels for a canoe to fly fish from. I'm hoping, God-
willing, to be able to buy one over the Winter, or early Spring. Do
many of you fish from canoes? I'm thinking a canoe would be a simple
way to get onto the many ponds, rivers and lakes around here, without
the hassle of having to trailer a bigger boat. My brother-in-law in
Oregon has had a canoe for years, and it sure seems peaceful and
hassle-free.

I'm looking at a 17 footer that is stable, light and capable of being
a tandem OR a solo canoe. Have any of you had experience (or heard
good or bad) about the Souris River Canoes? I'm looking at the
"Quetico 17". Here's a link to what I'm considering:

http://www.redrockstore.com/quetico17.html

I think this canoe would be great for the places I fish around here in
Central Illinois -- and be easy to take on trips out-of-state.

Let me know if there is something else worth considering in a fly
fishing canoe. Thanks.

- Dave K.

mdk77 wrote:
snip
Let me know if there is something else worth considering in a fly
fishing canoe. Thanks.

Wenonah Adirondack.

--
Ken Fortenberry

"mdk77" wrote in message
ups.com...

I'm thinking a canoe would be a simple
way to get onto the many ponds, rivers and lakes around here, without
the hassle of having to trailer a bigger boat. My brother-in-law in
Oregon has had a canoe for years, and it sure seems peaceful and
hassle-free.

"Years" is the important point. People already skilled in
handling a canoe can fish from them enjoyably. Most
experienced anglers new to canoes find them far too
unstable. The built-in advantages of the canoe (speed,
manoeuvrability, load-carrying capacity) require experienced
piloting and contribute little to fishing comfort or performance.

Before spending your money, you should perhaps compare
other types of man-portable boat that may be slower but more
stable.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Hi Dave,

I flyfish from canoe quite a bit and can easily say the most important
thing I think about when looking at canoes is: How many things are
sticking up. I swear I am never really sure if I'm fishing if there
isn't something tangled up, but fewer tangles are better.

I have been fishing out of a little aluminum type canoe for a while
and like it a lot for my solo excursions. Its VERY light and easy to
handle in a wind. The bottom is wide and flat. I feel very stable with
a foot on each side when I stand. I used to have a long lake style
canoe, but it was too narrow to feel stable when standing.

My 2 cents.

Lloyd
http://www.mainetackle.com

Listen to what Fortenberry sez about canoes. He knows them well and I
trust his judgement/word.

Old Town makes a canoe specifically for fishing. Can't recall the
model, but I have friends who swear by it.

Dave

Sprattoo wrote:
Hi Dave,

I flyfish from canoe quite a bit and can easily say the most important
thing I think about when looking at canoes is: How many things are
sticking up. I swear I am never really sure if I'm fishing if there
isn't something tangled up, but fewer tangles are better.

I have been fishing out of a little aluminum type canoe for a while
and like it a lot for my solo excursions. Its VERY light and easy to
handle in a wind. The bottom is wide and flat. I feel very stable with
a foot on each side when I stand. I used to have a long lake style
canoe, but it was too narrow to feel stable when standing.

My 2 cents.

Lloyd
http://www.mainetackle.com



I hate the idea of fishing in a canoe by myself, without another paddler
to keep it in place and oriented in the wind to where I want to cast. I
far prefer a pontoon boat that I can control with both oars AND fins.
The oars get you to where you want to go and the fins keep you where you
want to be and facing in the direction you want to face.

I've fished in one-man kayaks in the Florida Keys and in Belize. Same
problem. Hated it.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:02:31 -0000, mdk77
wrote:

I'm saving my nickels for a canoe to fly fish from. I'm hoping, God-
willing, to be able to buy one over the Winter, or early Spring. Do
many of you fish from canoes? I'm thinking a canoe would be a simple
way to get onto the many ponds, rivers and lakes around here, without
the hassle of having to trailer a bigger boat. My brother-in-law in
Oregon has had a canoe for years, and it sure seems peaceful and
hassle-free.

I'm looking at a 17 footer that is stable, light and capable of being
a tandem OR a solo canoe. Have any of you had experience (or heard
good or bad) about the Souris River Canoes? I'm looking at the
"Quetico 17". Here's a link to what I'm considering:

http://www.redrockstore.com/quetico17.html

I think this canoe would be great for the places I fish around here in
Central Illinois -- and be easy to take on trips out-of-state.

Let me know if there is something else worth considering in a fly
fishing canoe. Thanks.

- Dave K.

I've enjoyed one of these for years of lake fly fishing in the Sierra:
http://www.pokeboat.com/

Bob Weiske, long time lurker

On Oct 14, 10:02 pm, mdk77 wrote:
I'm saving my nickels for a canoe to fly fish from. I'm hoping, God-
willing, to be able to buy one over the Winter, or early Spring. Do
many of you fish from canoes? I'm thinking a canoe would be a simple
way to get onto the many ponds, rivers and lakes around here, without
the hassle of having to trailer a bigger boat. My brother-in-law in
Oregon has had a canoe for years, and it sure seems peaceful and
hassle-free.

I'm looking at a 17 footer that is stable, light and capable of being
a tandem OR a solo canoe. Have any of you had experience (or heard
good or bad) about the Souris River Canoes? I'm looking at the
"Quetico 17". Here's a link to what I'm considering:

http://www.redrockstore.com/quetico17.html

I think this canoe would be great for the places I fish around here in
Central Illinois -- and be easy to take on trips out-of-state.

Let me know if there is something else worth considering in a fly
fishing canoe. Thanks.

- Dave K.

All the advice you have been given is good.

In a nutshell, the very things that make a canoe good on the water
(responsive, quick, etc) make them scary to stand and cast in. And if
they turn easily when you paddle, they can twist all around when you
cast. If you have an excellent sense of balance, then you could stand
and cast in almost any canoe...including a whitewater boat with a
curved bottom (tippy), but its far from relaxing.

For the intermediate caster/paddler, then you will need to compromise
somewhere....something flat bottomed (so it won't tilt side to side),
with little rocker (so it won't twist around), fairly long, in the 17
foot range (anything longer is a bear to paddle, anything shorter is
skittish to stand in), and BEAMY (that means wide...makes it more
stable). A flat-bottomed, rockerless, beamy 17 foot boat won't be a
Maserati on the water, but it will satisfy your 'peaceful flycasting'
requirement and still be paddleable.

Look at the WeNoNah website http://tinyurl.com/2p5pyn and look at
their 'Fisherman". Its made for fishing ONLY, so its properties are a
bit over the top, but notice that its flat lengthwise, flat in cross
section, and beamy as all get out. The Adirondack that Fortenberry
recommended is an excellent choice: it also is flat bottomed with no
rocker and quite beamy. The Boundary Water 17' is another good choice.

I think as long as you avoid boats with rocker greater than 1 or 1.5
inches, keep to boats with as flat a bottom as possible, and ones with
at least a 35 or 36" width, you'll be fine.

Your selection of the Quetico is not bad, but probably right on the
limit as far as rocker, width and length go. I don't know what the
hull shape is, but if its rounded at all, I'd avoid it.

Good luck, WEAR A LIFEJACKET.

--riverman

riverman wrote:
wrote:
...
I'm looking at a 17 footer that is stable, light and capable of being
a tandem OR a solo canoe. Have any of you had experience (or heard
good or bad) about the Souris River Canoes? I'm looking at the
"Quetico 17". ...

...
For the intermediate caster/paddler, then you will need to compromise
somewhere....something flat bottomed (so it won't tilt side to side),
with little rocker (so it won't twist around), fairly long, in the 17
foot range (anything longer is a bear to paddle, anything shorter is
skittish to stand in), and BEAMY (that means wide...makes it more
stable). A flat-bottomed, rockerless, beamy 17 foot boat won't be a
Maserati on the water, but it will satisfy your 'peaceful flycasting'
requirement and still be paddleable. ...

I agree with everything except the 17' length. A 17' tandem
is more canoe than I care to paddle solo, I wouldn't buy a
tandem canoe much over 16' for solo paddling/fishing. Souris
River makes nice boats and if you have to have a foreign-made
boat instead of a better quality boat made in Winona, Minnesota
USA then I'd go with the Quetico 16 instead of the Quetico 17.

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Oct 15, 8:40 am, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:
riverman wrote:

Ken Fortenberry

Do a google search of roff for Fortenberry and Riverman- they've
hashed this out before and I think there are some very detailed posts
floating around.

I used an Old Town Guide, 14'-7". It is a little too tippy to stand
in, but being tall and top heavy, I tend to move the center of gravity
too far above the water. My wife gets really nervous when I stand up.
I haven't tried it by myself - we usually go together, pack a picnic
lunch and make an excursion rather than just a fishing trip. I find
that a longer rod helps with line control while sitting - I usually
use a 9' nine or a 9' five, though I just got a 10' seven that I think
will work much better than either for largemouth and carp on a lake or
smallmouth on the Lower Delaware. She paddles in the back, I fish or
paddle in the front. It works out well. I have a clamp-on rod holder I
bought from L.L. Bean that I use to troll a streamer when we want to
canoe more than we want to fish. A tan and olive over grizzly olive
half-and-half, say #6 or #8 trolled through a riffle was very
productive this summer on a bright day in low water.

Steve