Intro and paddle boat review

Fishing Paddling
1

Hi Folks,

 I've been paddling since 1968 when I built my first kayak out of

plywood. It was a plan out of Mechanics Illustrated called the Plyak.
Great boat at the time and logged a lot of miles on it. I’ve continued
to paddle over the years and for at least a decade, made a good living
at it. Most recently as Paddle Trails Coordinator for Berkeley County,
South Carolina. Got paid to explore all of the waters in the county,
map the streams, and write a paddle trails book as well as create a
website for the county. You can see it here: www.berkeleyblueways.com

 My current kayak is a Walden Adirondack.  It is one of the rotomolded

poly Yaks, about 12’ in length, with a huge cockpit and one of the most
comfortable seats in the industry. It is a sit inside Yak which I prefer for
paddling all seasons. Extremely stable, tracks very well with almost no
tendancy to weathervane in contrary winds. Has more than adequate
dry storage aft for a nice shore lunch or an overnight trip. I’ve really
enjoyed this boat and would recommend it highly.

Warm regards, Jim

2

I began paddle fishing in the early 90’s in a canoe, before I started fly fishing. When I started the fly fishing, I joined the Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club and was introduced with a “Phil is here because he wants to catch bass on a flyrod from his canoe.” What followed is the addiction :wink: .

After fly fishing the Tampa Bay area for 10 years in both salt and fresh, I moved to Orlando and switched to kayaks. I have a 16’ Wilderness Systems Tarpon T160 and Hertiage Featherlite (9.5’).

Here is a picture of the WS Tarpon:

And my [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=11122:e39d9] Featherlite[/url:e39d9].

-Phil

3

I started paddling when I was about 16. A friend of mine had a canoe and we had access to a “wild” lake that was still full of stumps and trees. We’d spend hours on that little lake and I’m proud to say, we never had a quarrel about paddling technique. He liked the front, I liked the back and it worked. :slight_smile:

I bought a fiberglass canoe from a co-worker in about 1995 for $50 because his wife was kicking him out (too drunk too often). We used it a little bit over the years ands I even bought a trolling motor for it, but it was far too heavy to load all the time and it’s sitting in the back yard chained to a fence post.

About a month ago I bought a SIK (sit-in kayak) after reading about many people who enjoy flyangling from them. Mine is an America 11.0 by Perception. It’s a discontinued model, but that didn’t seem to drop the price much. :frowning: I built outriggers for it last week because my son dumped over in it about 2 weeks ago. He did a great job getting out, but he was a little shaken by it.

The outriggers are homemade and can be seen at [url=http://www.lunceford.org/fishing/yakrig.html:011be]My Yakrig Page[/url:011be] I tried them out today and they work great. Only one minor addition to them, but it was no surprise. I left the floats bars loosely attached to the ourigger arms and they rotate above the bar when in the water. One screw through the bar and “tee” fitting will stop that from happening.

My next little project will be building a cart so I can haul my gear to the water inside the yak. I’m really enjoying flyyaking and am looking forwards to adding a fishfinder and rodholder one of these days.

4

Hi, I’m Budd and it has been 5 weeks since I have been paddling. (Crowd yells "Hi Budd!!)

Some of you will understand that, and some won’t. If you don’t you are in good company.

I have had a canoe or kayak since the late 70’s because I like sneaking into the skinny water where the fish live. The 'yak pictured below is my newest. It is a Perception Sundance 12. Chosen for it’s huge cockpit. It tracks wonderfully and is easy to handle and I am looking forward to being able to use it again once my Cardioligist says I can. I recently had Heart Bypass surgery and am limited to picking up a maximum of 5 lbs. The picture is the day I got it but I will update it with a lake shot as soon as possible.

My fish of choice is the Bluegill and I have made a sport of finding the big ones. Here in Western Kentucky it is easy to find Bluegill water, but harder to find BIG Bluegills. I have a few spots in the back of the bays on Kentucky Lake that lend themselves to big BG and LMB. I fish these spots during the week, owing to when I work, I work retail and seldom have weekends off. This is really a good thing given that any boat around here with less than 300 HP is rare and the weekends are scary on the Big Lake.


Clint (aka Bluegill Budd) in Western Kentucky

5

Hi, i think i’m going to like this paddling forum… i’ve always had some kind of canoe. some weighing more than they should. after hitting a few bridges shooting the spring high waters through town. anyway, the other day i found a used yak (sot) ocean yak -scrambler-
i’ve only had it out a few times, once on the pond so my wife could give it a try. and exploreing more of one of my favorite rivers.
So after letting my brother and his son do a quick lap in the yak, He (they) went out and bought two new yaks today. So now i have some paddleing partners untill i can upgrade and pass the scrambler on to my wife :smiley:

6

:smiley: I went flyfishing with my neighbor and son to the Lower Mountain Fork River in SE Oklahoma about 11 or 12 years ago. This was in July and the weather was, as usual for this time of year, really hot. The fishing really sucked and we saw some people shooting rapids in canoes. On a day with the temperature in the 90’s, that looked like more fun than anything else we could do, so we rented some kayaks. After being dunked a couple of times going over small waterfalls, I just had to have some type of paddle craft. After doing a lot of research and weighing all the pros and cons, I decided on a canoe as being the most practical for my needs. I bought a Wenonah Adirondack in Royalex. I have used it on several rivers here in Oklahoma and also in Arkansas and Missouri. I have tried to fish from it , but as I am usually by myself in the canoe, I find it a little difficult to hold my position in the current and cast and retrieve at the same time. Thusly, I usually just use my canoe to move from place to place, park the canoe, and get out and wade while fishing. A couple of years ago, I purchased an inflatable pontoon craft, and have also found this a pleasant way to go down river. At this time I am not using the canoe nearly as much as I used to, probably no more than twice a year. This is primarily because I am not getting any younger, and it’s just getting harder to lift the canoe on top of my truck, and while I am not getting any younger, I am definitely getting more lazy. I still, however, enjoy my time messing about in boats. I may yet get a kayak.

Larry Compton

7

Hi all I am dennis and I’ve been fishing a canoe off and on for 27yrs,OH MY GOD,( I just added that up) I started in the Air Force with base rentals the old grummans.Now I have a Pelican roto molded plastic (same company makes colman).15.5 ft with outriggers from canoe gear,wished turk had of made his before I BOUGHT mine. :oops:
Those dern things were the cost of a good rod!!!.I fish southern Illinois.Mostly gills and a few bass or crappie but havn’t been much this season as hernia sugery will definately stop the loading issue till FALL!!!

BTW Thanks Jim For this forum!!!

Dennis

8

I fish from my Creek Company ODC 816 inflateable pontoon boat during the cooler months of the year mostly but I also fish more often from my fishing buddy’s motorized (2.5hp 4stroke Yamaha) 17 foot square stern Grumann aluminum canoe (yes, we do paddle even though its motorized). I fish from the ODC 816 and the canoe mostly on the rivers, creeks, and canals but sometimes on the lakes. I occasionally fish from my sister and brother-in-law’s 20 foot Bentley aluminum pontoon boat on Lake Jackson (right now the water is too low under the US 27 bridge to get from Little Lake Jackson to Big Lake Jackson). Water levels on the lakes here are pretty low right now.

BTW, I am currently searching for an affordable 14ft. square stern canoe.

9

Pelican offers a square stern ramx(rotomolded) plastic canoe. Most places offer them for 700 but you might find them cheaper. Canoes prices seem to have gone up in price with the cost of gas.People in my town have been selling thier boats and buying canoes right and left.Last yr we were 1 of about 6 canoes in town now they seem to be coming out of the woodwork!!! :? Go figure we have one family that sold a big pontoon boat and now have 3 canoes.They use the cost of gas as thier reason BUT they still drive a HUMMER to the grocery store. :shock: :shock: :shock:

Dennis

10

been Putsky-ing about in a canoe for … 19ish years (fly rodding for 17 of them) - just about quit as I couldn’t keep the damned thing straight. Never added one and one to get flyfishing outta a canoe until a local FFer mentioned it. Never thought it stable enough - but thought to give it a go a couple years back. Now in a 17.5ft Coleman (RAMXX), a couple drouge chutes, 3 gallon jug, and knee pads it’s great (ok, add the fishin buddy 1200, dual rock anchors, bla, bla, bla and more toys).
Forget sitting on the seat - straddle the 3gal jug, and you get a comfy sit, and a means to control stability with knees about 2 ft apart. I had thought I’d need an outrigger - nah - only in windy conditions - and by that time - it’s too windy to cast.
I still tube it most times, but every now and then, there’s time to paddle and glide :slight_smile:

darrell,

11

Pelican offers a square stern ramx(rotomolded) plastic canoe.

It also weighs 114lb.s :shock: and is a 16 footer :(.

I think I’ll try to find a used Indian River fiberglass (Eagle model).

12

I just realized I’ve been paddling for 34 years. Good lord. I started in Girl Scout camp in the Adirondacks in aluminum Grummans in the 70’s and moved on to leading trips on the Mississippi River (also in Grummans) in the 80’s. Ah, the sound of ice breaking against an aluminum bow! We’d paddle for 8 days from near the headwaters down to Saint Paul. Great fun. In the 90’s I borrowed friends canoes once in a while while I spent way too much time in school and not nearly enough time on the water. Then I went to the darkside… had a sailboat and then a speedboat. I dabbled in kayaks for a while… first a Ocean Kayak Drifter, then a Folbot, then a Pungo 140. Last year I decided I missed single-blading simplicity. And I wasn’t having fun lifting the heavy boats onto my car rack. So I regressed and bought an old fiberglass hull tandem canoe and rebuilt it. It was a great project and now I’ve got a great tandem fishing canoe. I also bought a kevlar Hemlock Peregrine solo canoe which is my joy. It only weighs 32 lbs. and is a fantastic solo fishing platform. I’ve had it out locally and up in the Adirondacks and I’m hoping to let it drift on the Ausable during the August fish-in. Meet Amelia…

If you want to see some more, including the tandem restoration, have a look at this [url=http://dmaluso.photosite.com/Album14/?page=1:ee237]photo album[/url:ee237].

13

Jim, great new forum.

My wife and I bought our first canoe only in 2001 so we are relative newcomers. We wanted a big stable tandem boat so we could both fly fish at the same time. Found the Old Town Discovery Sport 15 and it fits the bill very well. A tad on the heavy side, but hey, now we don’t need the gym membership. 8)

Jim

14

Hey Folks,

Great replys! Keep them coming. Love to know more about who is
paddling, what and where. :smiley: Warm regards, Jim

15

Great postings so far. Let me introduce myself to this board.

Name; Jim Smith

Location: Conyers, Georgia ? about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta

Paddling: Off and on since I was a kid, as a primary fishing transportations 2 years

Boat: Hobie Outback (I love it)

Primary fishing: Warmwater lakes and ponds

Customization: Anchor/drag system - The only additions I?ve made to my kayak so far is to add a chain drag/anchor. This is simply a 24 inch piece of heavy chain that I cut into two pieces; one 18 inches long and the other 6 inches long. I have the 6 in long piece tied to my floating nylon anchor rope and the 18 inch piece clipped to the 6 inch piece with a heavy duty carabiner. That way, if I only want to slow the drift rather than anchor my boat, I unclip the 18 inch chain and the 6 inch piece acts as a drag.

Future changes ? I want to add a rod holder that allows me to take two rods without risking the tip of the spare rod if I get near brush etc.

Jim Smith

16

Jim,
I?ll borrow your format.

Name: Jim Wilkening

Location: Sanford, FL

Paddling: Since 1965 when I was 16 yrs. old

Boat: Mohawk 16 foot tandem, and Mohawk 14 foot solo canoes

Primary fishing: Saltwater Flats (Indian River Lagoon System), St. John?s River, and various lakes throughout central Florida

.

17

I just bought a Hobie Outback. I have had a Perception Swifty for about 5 years andl love to fly fish out of it. I fly fish in the mid Atlantic area western PA up to Cape Cod. I just got the Hobie last Thursday and have not yet put it in the water. I hope to get it in at Lake Arthur (Moraine State Park) within a week or so.

I tried the Hobie out at test day earlier this spring and fell in love with it. At first I thought it was a little too radical, peddling a kayak, but once I tried it, oh my :smiley: . What have folks added to their hobies for fly fishing? I still have my other kayaks for the kids.

18

John Mundinger, Helena, MT
I have been paddling a canoe for as long as I can remember. My grandfather introduced me to a canoe when I was pretty young. I think of him just about every time that I get on the water.

My current boat is a 16 ft. Nova Craft Prospector in the Royalite layup. In my opinion, that hull and in that construction is well suited for paddling on running water.

19

Been paddling for around 12 years, Started off in an Old Town Discovery 16.
Sold that before it killed my fishing with the bro in-law…

Own two Hobie’s these days, a Float Cat 75 Expedition and my greatest investment to date The Hobie Mirage Outback. Hands down the best piece of equipment I’ve bought for my fishing in the past 10 years… :!:

Just hope for more opportunities to get it wet… :!:

Soon as I find a Pentax dealer I’ll get some pics posted.

20

Above: FlyFishing Santa Monica Bay in a Wave Witch Horizon

Howdy. FlyMaker2 here. I have been fishing from kayaks since the mid-70’s when I built a Folboat from a kit. I fished the mountain west in it and enjoyed the boost to my freshwater catches in that neat boat. Built another Folboat 10 years later and had a partner in it who loved to paddle-troll for trout. We would even fish opening day, Jan. 1st, at Topaz Lake in Northern Nevada in the Sierra. It was very cold and we dressed like Eskimos. We sure did catch a lot of trout limits from our kayak then. I remember the shore anglers cheering us on as we would land a fish, because they didn’t enjoy powerboaters very much :smiley:

Many moons have past and now I am located on the shore of the mighty Eastern Pacific Ocean and have fished many places along the coast on the inshore fishery. I have kayak fished in Baja Mexico and that is kayak fishing heaven. The family owns 5 kayaks at the moment and all are sit-on-tops. Two yaks are rigged for fishing and three are liesure craft for fun in the sun and water play.

I have what I feel is the ultimate sit-on-top. It was custom built by Hunt Johnson for me and it is ultra light and ultra fast. Expensive? Yes indeed. Hunt Johnsom makes the Wave Witch series and he has plans to make a Fish Witch-which would be bigger than the Horizon Model that I have now.

My custom has built-in through-the-hull sonar with Wet cell transduecer, a Vexilar Fish Finder, and a Garmin GPS. It is a real pleasure to paddle and is easily 2 MPH faster than the rotomolded sit-on-top designs (I’ve owned a bunch) due to Hunt’s superior hull designs and his craftsmanship.

I’ve done some really fun things with kayaks, such as building the rack above and sticking it on a dive ship and filling it with fishermen’s kayaks. We went out to the backside of Catalina Island for an overnight fishing adventure. The rack is in my backyard and still serves as yak tender.

My best catches off kayaks include Stripers, Trout, LMB, panfish and about 2 dozen saltwater species (not a lot by any means). The fish that gave me the biggest battle - by far- was a large Black Skipjack Tuna on 10# test. They are particularly tough fishes. My most glorious catch in the salt was a 35# Roosterfish. Both of those prizes were caught on conventional gear. However, one of my fodest kayak angling memories is fishing in Lake Mead’s Overton Arm with my younger brother in the Folboat and filling an icechest with plump Bluegill. What a feast that was!

I have many mentors to thank along the way. You know Eskimos started this yak fishing. I flyfish more than not nowadays.

[url=http://www.flymaker.com/bbGallery/Blacktuna.jpg:21423]Poor Image of Black Tuna In Baja[/url:21423]

Anyways-I like kayaks, obviously. I was more into it a few years back. Planning some more trips to the mountain lakes soon, so still have the bug after all of these years. Oh Yeah-Almost forgot; we have a Spring Creek Hopper II Pram and that counts as a paddling Craft too. Planning to use it more in the future years on stillwaters.

Rich