I thought it might be fun to build a plywood pirouge. Does anyone have any experiance fishing from this kind of boat. I am thinking about building a 12 footer. Are they stable enough to stand in to cast and fish. I also wandt to be able to stand up and paddle.
I remember seeing a local guy moving down the edge of the Mississippi River outside New Orleans standing and paddling barges and tow putting out wakes the whole time. Louisana natives have been hunting and fishing out of them for years. I wouldn’t try it but it can be done.
Well we will find out I ordered at kit today…Atleast when you fall out of the boat in Calif you dont have to worry about no gators…lol
A pirogue (remember the “g” is silent) is as stable as a paddle board and larger ones compare to a wide kayak or canoe (actually more stable than a canoe).
Locals very often use them like a paddle board but will use a push pole rather than a paddle. That takes more balance than I possess. I’ve seen them fish, hunt and cast a cast net from them, and “Swamp People” have hunted gators from them (wouldn’t recommend doing that). The wood construction of original models makes them perfect for duck hunts as the wood ages and becomes part of the camouflage.
Thanks Bob… There is a series of ponds near my house that become very much like a swamp by Aug or Sept. I am very much looking forward to a little Bass/Bluegill fishing and setting crawfish traps this summer.
Where did you order your kit from??
Brad
Keep us posted with pictures of the build, should be a fun boat for you
Eric
Uncle Johns…very easy to deal with so far as I have already had several questions even before ordering.
Check this out from the FAOL archives
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/nativewaters/nw052206.php
I remember reading that before.
I watched Swamp People last night on tv and there were 3 guys in one of these and one nasty gator that looked to be the size of the boat…looked like a great boat…glad there are no gators on the Miramichi…would love to see pics of your build.
Dwight
Very fitting time wise Roger has just recently checked back in to the board… a fine gentlemen and contributor to FAOL…
I look forward to following your build…
If you watched the extended trailer to the program you will notice Roger was not fishing from a pirogue but a nice wooden boat with an outboard and trolling motor. I’m headed down that way next week to see the family, might have tuck a rod and a few flies in the pickup.
My experience with pirogues is similar to Roger’s. When I lived in Louisiana, I got a sweet little cedar pirogue. We used it on our duck lease. I would paddle my teen aged son and myself out to the blind and back. The Lab was not allowed near it for obvious reasons. I would paddle very slowly and carefully and we both hoped no one coughed. The idea of fishing around in the dark for sunken shotguns was not appealing. Then one day it happened. I had let my son in the blind, the dog was in with him and I was just sitting in the pirogue thinking “this ain’t so bad after all”. No wind, no waves, no current, no nothing. I swear I didn’t move a muscle, but one minute I’m sitting there and the next I’m in 4 1/2 feet of water and my kid is laughing his butt off. Someone later stole the pirogue as we chained it to a tree in the brush; I hope it got them, too, only out in the deeper canal. Bottom line–if you intend to stand and cast there are some requirements–a life jacket and a buddy with a video camera.
Bob it isn’t balance but the Laws of Physics! Ya’ can’t be tall and wide and be stable in a small canoe or pirogue…
That’s why Big Dale gave his little Sawyer Tripper canoe to my then 12 year old son, Ian. As I remember, this little canoe is rated for about 150/160 lb.s, while Big Dale, and his friends that he tried to sell it to, were all tall (6ft.+) and very large (300+). That much mass and their high centers of gravity quickly resulted in all of these big guys quickly rolling that little canoe. Big Dale said, “That canoe’s dangerous!”. But with his skinny, little frame, Ian used to walk up and down in that little boat while fighting reds on his 6 wt. fly rod! HA!
Kyle