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.

"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

"Tom Nakashima" wrote in news:e66jk1$qid$1
@news.Stanford.EDU:


"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


Thanks for that link! The canoe museum seems pretty cool, and the next
time I'm up in the great white north, I'll have to try to stop by.

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

"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)

"Stan Gula" wrote in
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
That said, I sometimes envy my
friends with their little sport kayaks.

I have some experience in kayaks - not as much fishing as straight
paddling. They are nice, but the canoe gives you the added advantage of
being higher up and being able to see the water better, and the ability to
more easily bring along a significant other/offspring/dog. I'm guessing
you could always go with a tandem, but my dog is too lazy to keep up his
end of the paddling bargain.