Canoe Fishing?

[fishyfingers]

Hey all,

 

I got a canoe last year, haven't used it much yet but planning on fishing out of it a lot this year.. I was just wondering if anyone here also uses a canoe or if you all have big bass boats?

 

Any tips on fishing from canoe? I am thinking I will try trolling while paddling.. I am also debating buying a small trolling motor to mount to it. maybe pick up a fish finder for it too. Anybody here tried mounting a trolling motor to a canoe? I am worried it might be too tippy and I will end up going for a swim.

 

comments/tips/ideas?

Edited February 15, 2010 by fishyfingers

[redneck666]

welli fish outta my canoe ALOT! i troll while i paddle and have caught lots of fish that way. well, i dont paddle i get someone else to . if you can rig something up for a trolling motor on you canoe then good, but i dont think it will be possible to fit a trolling motor on a canoe that doesnt have a square stern. i've had a few idea's to rig up a motor to my canoe which isnt a square stern.... none of them will work though haha. fish finder would be a great thing to have in a canoe.

 

just lean more towards the way your turning with the trolling motor, kinda like riding a sled or quad.

 

my canoe has went through hell over the years! its in need of a couple repairs. but the 14' tinner is still good! haha.

 

good luck,

 

JP

[ChrisK]

Lots of folks here fishin from canoes and kayaks. I for one have a kayak and enjoy fishing out of it..Gets me into spots I wouldn't regularily be able to access with a larger boat. I used to have a canoe but found it a lot easier to go out on my own with the yak...

 

Cheers !

[trevy727]

i've fished out of a canoe for years. i recently upgrated to a small boat but still get out in the canoe in the spring and fall doing some portaging trips. i had both a portable fishfinder and an electric trolling motor on my canoe. you can buy a mounting bracket for the motor and the fishfinder has a suction cup mounted transducer. i bought my mount when i bought my canoe. it's been about 15 years since i bought it new in mississauga somewhere. don't remember excatley where. i may be interested in selling the mount, electric motor and battery if the price is right as i don't use them much now that i have the boat. pm me if you're interested.

[purekgw]

i have never liked the feel of canoe fishing so i end up buying a kayak i find them a lot more stable and easier to paddle alone

[TDunn]

motor mount

 

example of a mounting bracket for ya....

 

 

TDunn

[MrChamp]

Fished from a canoe for years.Caught lots of fish. Still fishing, trolling,portable downriggers,fishfinder you name it,it can be done lots of fun.I have a new fish finder and an old electric motor if interested.

[fishyfingers]

thanks for the comments guys!

I am thinking that mount would work pretty good for a trolling motor, I know you can get stabalizers for canoes too.. think it would be needed? I think I am gonna do some shopping around, decide what I need.

[redneck666]

i dont really think stabilizers are necessary on a canoe. but thats completely up to you..... i only ever flipped a canoe once... and that was right at shore

[EC1]

I am pretty much in the same position as you! Fished my canoe like 4 times all of last year, and I plan on fishing the hell out of it this year!

 

I have a 12' flatback, so it mounted the motor quite easy, but if you don't have a flatback, you will have to make a mount for it yourself.

I have a trolling motor, that's honestly the first investment you should make. It will help you get to spots that are a little bit further much quicker, and save your arms for fishing if you do go to a spot that's 20 minutes away from your launching spot.

 

I'm also in the market for a fishfinder too! Was thinking about going cheap for that, but at the same time I have this feeling if I go cheap, I will have to replace it in the near future again. Not too sure where I'm gonna go with that yet.

 

I find with my canoe, there's not much of a chance to stand without a stabilizer, but hell, sitting and fishing on a canoe still beats standing on shore with a bunch of people in the same spot.

[fishyfingers]

I don't have a flat back, its just a regular 2 person type canoe. Should still be ok tho, looks like the mount that TDunn posted should work for me.

[holdfast]

[jediangler]

Had this Sportspal with electric motor for fishing for 15yrs before I sold it to OFC member frozen-fire.

I attached the transducer for my fishfinder right to the bottom of the motor with a bracket made by Eagle that you can buy or order at any dealer.

This way when you get into shallow water and you lift your motor, you are also protecting the transducer from damage. With the display mounted on a frisbee you can move it anywhere in the boat for either fisherman to see.

Two quick release, swivel, padded backrest seats and you can fish in comfort for 8 hrs easy. Add two 33lb sealed gell cell batteries from a wheelchair supply store and you can run the motor for the whole 8 hrs if you want.

 

Of course, as soon as you add the trolling motor to your canoe, you will have to go out and get an operators card in order to avoid being fined.

That is why I sold my set up and now I fish out of a kayak only.

"Operators Cards?...We don't need no stinking Operators Cards"

Edited February 16, 2010 by jediangler

[waterwolf]

canoe fishing is great for me as it opens the door to some of the smaller lakes in s. ontario where gas is not permitted. forget gettin' way in the back of the huge weed flats with my aluminum w\15hp merc. but the canoe gets me in and out of the slop , and with less of a impact on small eco's.

fishing solo with trailered boats can be tough with launching \ loading in windy conditions and requires a fair bit more planning than firin' the canoe and some gear in the truck in under 15 minutes and launching in even less.

i sometimes troll for trout with portable downriggers or cast the weed edges with spinnerbaits for pike , but really favor throwin' top-water baits in the slop for buckets. my sports pal canoe is so wide that i can stand and throw large baits confidently when alone in the canoe even though it's only 13 1\2 ft long .

oh i love my aluminum too but for other reasons,, but the canoe is one awesome little raft and will probably see more water than the alum. again this year.

[cram]

 

I advise not doing this in a canoe. You want your weight and balance LOW in the center of the boat. Sitting on a seat like that is asking for trouble in anything other than a sportspal (wide, flat, ridged, with floatation bars on the side), and even then kind of risky...

Edited February 16, 2010 by cram

[jediangler]

Cram is right about doing this with other kinds of canoes, it's just dangerous. In our case we never had a close call in 15yrs and that is 445lbs of fishermen in that pic without including the gear, motor, and 66lbs of batteries. The more you weigh a Sportspal down the more stable it gets. And as you see in the pic, we always wear our PFD's.

[cram]

Cram is right about doing this with other kinds of canoes, it's just dangerous. In our case we never had a close call in 15yrs and that is 445lbs of fishermen in that pic without including the gear, motor, and 66lbs of batteries. The more you weigh a Sportspal down the more stable it gets. And as you see in the pic, we always wear our PFD's.

 

Sorry - didn't mean to derail the thread. Just that sportspals are so different from other canoes.

[waterwolf]

I advise not doing this in a canoe. You want your weight and balance LOW in the center of the boat. Sitting on a seat like that is asking for trouble in anything other than a sportspal (wide, flat, ridged, with floatation bars on the side), and even then kind of risky...

 

i agree , seats in my canoe are a bit clumsy. i choose to either kneel and paddle or when it's flat stand and throw.

 

ofcourse ,, pfd all the way.

[splashhopper]

Sorry - didn't mean to derail the thread. Just that sportspals are so different from other canoes.

 

 

yEP... THAT's why I bought one too.... so i don;t flip it.... even when "nature calls" and I am in the middle of the lake

 

I also have a side mount for my 36lb thrust electric motor... works great.... lasts all weekend if I don;t run it on the two highest speeds as well

 

Nothing like setting off first thing in the morning and NO NOISE to ruin it.

[CLofchik]

Pick up a copy of Backroads Mapbooks for whatever area you're interested. Lot's of fishing info on out of the way lakes and alot of them the only way to access is with a traditional canoe.

 

 

Pick your weather right and there's no limit to the size of water you can fish out of a canoe.

 

 

 

The golden rule to fishing out of a canoe....

 

NEVER EVER PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE GUNNELS!

 

That's how you flip them, weight one gunnel and you can flip even a Sportspal.

[spinnerbaitking]

I've been Canoeing a lot of local rivers for the last 30+ years & the most helpful thing I used would be a Fishing rod holder, especially if you want to be trolling & get 2 so your partner has 1 too, nothing like a youngster that's bored trolling a floating Rapala or a spinnerbait & having a 2-4 lb smallie hit their lure & be jumping behind the canoe to get them fired up, I always kneel while canoeing & only had a trolling motor on the canoe once & just mounted right on the gunnels no bracket needed, accidents happen quickly keep your center of gravity as low as possible & if you want to catch more fish drift down backwards as your bait is presented more naturally if your casting, can't wait to get out this spring with my grand daughter

Richard

[Oeey3109]

I fish out of my kayak all the time and have a fish finder mounted to it. Works out great. Can definitely get into alot of places the big boats can't!

[MuskyGreenHorn]

I have fished out of canoes my whole life. When i was just a guppie my dad had a 17' square stern springbock with a 50's 6hp johson on it. I crew up canoeing in algonquin. I always fish with my knees down on teh bottom where they should be, but with the right canoe (some are incredibly well balanced) I have been known to show off and fish standing up. I think the biggest advantage to a canoe is how steath they are. Staying low in the canoe adds even more to the stealth factor. I use an anchor as well to hold on a good spot when the fish are really biting. As for trolling. It works damn well out of a canoe. I just stick the rod in bewteen my legs or use a pack or something to wedge it in. Since you never track in a straight line and the canoe is also surging when you are paddling, it makes trolling much more affective than using the constant speed of a trolling motor. You can't duplicate the erratic action paddling imparts. Just make sure you eat your wheaties. I love portaging a conoe into back lakes. Nothing better. Gotta love when a big one starts pulling you around.

[mason05]

Fishing out of a canoe is great for many reasons. You can get in some tight areas, you're stealth, very portable (overland), note the salty rod holder.....12 volt battery under the seat hooked to a minkota not a problem.