boat question

[bassmaster4]

Last weekend i bought a 12 foot princecraft ungava. It's a fairly wide and deep boat, just wondering if it will be suitable for great lakes fishing? (erie smallies, boq walleye). Or should i not do it. It is a deep and wide boat.

Thanks in advance

[chuckymcd]

I Dont think I would feel safe on the great lakes in a 12 foot boat, but thats just me.

 

Good Luck

[Rich Nelson]

Last weekend i bought a 12 foot princecraft ungava. It's a fairly wide and deep boat, just wondering if it will be suitable for great lakes fishing? (erie smallies, boq walleye). Or should i not do it. It is a deep and wide boat.

Thanks in advance

 

Not a great idea. If it flat calm, Im sure you could get out in the shallows for some bass, but remember that Erie gets nasty really quick, and has claimed a lot of lives.

[bassmaster4]

Yep, thanks alot guys. Thats not what i bought the boat for, more for small northern lakes but since i live so close to the Great Lakes just wanted to know if i could maybe have a crack at them while im not up north.

Thanks again

[Lunker777]

I have a 17ft w/ 78" beam.... I pick my days on Erie! It can pick up QUICK

 

12ft ... I wouldn't even consider it an option.

[Joeytier]

It would suitable for most of Quinte, except the deepwater trolling stretches closer to the main lake.

 

Main body of any great lake is a whole other story...wouldn't even consider it.

[DRIFTER_016]

My first boat was a 12 footer with 5 1/2 Johnson on the back.

I used it occasionally on Lake O off Pt. Credit and the Stacks but never over 1 mile off shore and only when the weather was calling for calm and no chance of T-Storms.

 

It did work ok for early and late season shoreline trolling though.

[fishnsled]

I've got a 17fter and been caught on what was to be a calm day. Made it back thru 5 to 7 footers OK but wouldn't want to do it in a smaller boat that far out. I do not recommend it but you could consider it in late summer and fall when the fish are tighter to shore and when the weather allows. I've done Lake Ontario in a 12ft tinny and a Coleman Crawdad before but we were very close to shore (less than a mile - more like a 1/2 mile out) and the conditions were good. You've got to watch for the boat wakes as well from the big cruisers. Pick and choose your days although it is tough to believe what the weather man says. Long Point on a good day would be fine.

 

Get to know your boat and what it can handle, your skill level and your comfort level. Things can change in a heartbeat. Spend lots of time on the smaller lakes and larger in land lakes to find your abilities - don't push it. You'll be face with enough without even trying.

 

As for Quinte, there is always calm water somewhere to fish - the problem is getting there some days. I saw some crazy's out there this weekend in their tinnies and wondered why they would even do it.

 

Most of all - be safe and enjoy the new ride!

[BillM]

If you had a north wind, the north shore of Lake O would be fine for ya.. but you'd really have to keep an eye on the weather.

[davey buoy]

I had a 12' for years with a 10hp merc Keiphifer or something like that,lol. Used it in Georgian Bay for years as well as Simcoe off big Bay Point. As mentioned listen to the weather and keep your eyes open and you should be fine. As what Bill said north wind on Lake O means calm. Just don't venture to far and you'll be fine.

[krixxer]

Small boat and big water is a recipe for adventure!

 

Back in the day I canoed out of the credit and fished Texaco point a few times.

 

 

[bassmaster4]

Once again, thanks for all the input guys you've helped a great deal!

[danc]

You can fish the ocean in a 12'canoe if conditions are right. My home lake is 70 x 40 miles and I've fished it many times in a 14' tinny. Common sense and weather watching are imperative though. Be safe out there.

[chris.brock]

You can fish the ocean in a 12'canoe if conditions are right. My home lake is 70 x 40 miles and I've fished it many times in a 14' tinny. Common sense and weather watching are imperative though. Be safe out there.

X2

 

water temp is another factor to consider

worse case scenario, you capsize, dump, if the water's 75 degrees and there's lots of boats around, you're fine

- if the water's 40 degrees, there's not many boats around, maybe an offshore breeze, a dump could mean death

 

I was going for splake last week in a 12 foot, tippy canoe, portaging, nobody around, I had a dry bag with dry cloths, a lighter etc, but a dump in the middle of the lake still would have been big trouble

[wallacio]

You can fish the ocean in a 12'canoe if conditions are right. My home lake is 70 x 40 miles and I've fished it many times in a 14' tinny. Common sense and weather watching are imperative though. Be safe out there.

 

^ X3. We've had the same boat (Ungava with a 20hp Merc 2-stroke) at our cottage on Lake Huron (Point Clark area) for 20 years and it has served us well for a variety of uses from water skiing/tubing for kids to fishing for Bass and Perch. As you mentioned it has a much wider beam than most boats that size and as a result it is a very stable boat and can handle conditions that other boats of that size could not.

 

As many others have said, be mindful of the weather and be safe.