Would anyone recommend a pram for lake fishing, or is there a better alternative? I have had multiple floattubes and pontoon boats, but I “need” to try something else.
loufly,
My Outcast float tube is the best flyfishing craft I have ever used. My hands are free to fish and my Force Fins help me control the float tube.
I’ve had boats and I spent a lot of time motoring around the lake and in the wind, fighting to control the boat while I’m fishing.
A pram would be less stable than a V bottom boat. I suppose you could be happy with different fishing crafts, for small or larger bodies of water.
Doug 
If the lake is small It would be ok but not on a large lake where you can get more than 1/4 mile or so from shore. You need to be able to get off any lake in a hurry with a pram. If you take one out on the Ocean be sure to fill out your insurance benificiary spot in my name. :shock:
Gnu Bee Flyer,
Taking a pram out in the ocean would qualify you for a free pickup by a Coast Guard Helicopter, might be exciting! Might be a good idea to tell the Coast Guard ahead of time too!
Doug
Ocean?
Coast Guard helicopters?
SE Idaho?
Was I sleeping through that geography class? :lol:
I’d think it would work fine on smaller bodies of water, loufly. The downside of prams that I’ve seen is that most are kind of heavy for car-topping compared to a canoe or kayak, but if you’re planning on trailering, it’s no big deal.
GOOD!!!
As with everything on water, some common sense (ie. wearing a PFD), rowing skills, water knowledge, and a sturdy pram, you’ll be fine.
I use an 8ft sailing pram (without sails when I FF) on lakes. Have a race with your tubin’ or ‘toon buddies you’ll get back to the beach quicker than them if bad weather blows in. My pram tracks well and I can stand in it in calm waters to cast but in a little chops I am sitting. I’m also about 1.5’ feet higher than the tubers which give casting an edge. I know friends that use them to move about in some rivers and we use them to fish the bays in the ocean here too. Oh, and it’s a great sailer as well. If anything, I’d look to a kayak to replace my pram because of it’s versatility to handle and traverse through rougher waters.
I’ve used a pram on small mountain lakes and smooth rivers like the upper Missouri for the past 10 years. They do have some advantages over the tubes and pontoon boats in that you don’t need waders and you can stand up in them if you wish. Mine is 8 feet long about 4 feet wide and weighs about 55 pounds. I either car top it, or if traveling by my self on short trips, simply slide it into the back of the minivan. My pram is aluminium but similar ones are also made of fiberglass or kevlar. I also have a float tube which I seldom use.
Ask this question on our FAOL “Paddling” section too.
DShock,
I was under the impression that flat bottom prams were more stabe, that is why I wanted to ask if anyone uses them. If they are not, then I might find something else. My pontoon boat is stabe enough to stand on the seat and cast out of.
Doug Funny you should say that. I was a Coast Guard Radio operator for 14 years. Our Station was on the Hecate strait and Queen Charlotte sound by the time we sent out the choppers it was way beyond serious. Prams on calm waters are great, but not on waters that can get up in a hurry. :lol:
loufly,
The duck hunters use prams here at Sauvie’s Island. They paint them camo so the ducks don’t see the boat.
A pram isn’t unstable because it has a flat bottom, it’s unstable because it doesn’t weigh very much.
The wind could have a bad effect on a light weight pram.
If anyone out there remembers the old rental boats from 30-40 yrs ago. Those boats were flat bottom, wood and many layers of paint on them. We never had any stability problems, because the flat bottom wood boat was very heavy.
IF! you could make a pram heavier, then that would make it more stable as a fishing platform and resist the wind better.
I’ve had a V bottom Gregor aluminum boat, a 16 ft. aluminum bass boat with a semi flat bottom, with a 50 hp outboard and the bass boat was much more stable, because the bass boat was covered with wood decking and carpet, so it was heavy.
Prams don’t need a trailer if their light weight.
I think a pram would be fine on a small lake or pond.
Boat control is always a issue, when your fishing.
When I had spent a few yrs fishing in my float tube, I realized that my float tube was easier for me to control because it didn’t have a lot of wind resistance and I used my fins to control it.
A boat is a TOOL we use for fishing, and if it’s the right tool, then you feel less distracted when your fishing.
I spent WAY too much time fooling around with my boats and not enough time fishing.
A boat and motor helps you cover a lot of water. If you stillwater flyfish, then a float tube works best because you have both hands free to flyfish.
Fly Goddess might back me up on this. Being quiet, fishing SLOW and take a mental photo of what is going on under the surface. Fish are slowly, methodically eating bugs and when they see our flies zoom by, well they aren’t going to expend the energy to chase them.
If you can be still in a pram and not do a lot of adjusting while your fishing, then it should work fine. You can be less stressed when you can devote more of your attention to fishing and not fighting with a boat.
Doug
Hello loufly, do you have Chevy, Ford or Dodge pick up with widebed/fleetside with a camper shell/topper?
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I use to have a Chevy 1/2 ton, shortbox. Now I have a Dodge Grand Caravan. I have to take the pontoons off of the frame of my pontoon boat to fit it there. I am not too worried whether I can transport it or not, just need to be sure a pram is worth the money.
lou…have you ever tried to carry it [pontoon] on the rooftop carrier…I haven’t but did put it up there and I think it’s doable…just wondering if it works well???
Doug,
It was a bit more than 40 years ago (not much) and the rental was $2 for the morning, $4 'til sunset. That got you a flat-bottomed, flat-ended scow, two oars (occasionally the same length), a bailing can (necessary), an anchor made of cement in a large coffee can… and total freedom.
Ah, the memories. What is more, once you learned to row that barge, any decent pulling boat was a dream.
Go for the pram and don’t worry about windage or weight, that’s why we have kids – if they don’t serve as ballast, use them as oarsmen.
I don’t know about the open ocean but I fished, crabbed and lobstered from a pram on Long Island Sound and the Chesapeake Bay for years. I never felt that I was in danger of being carried off shore and needing rescue. In fact, my friends and I would regularly row a mile or more off shore. Being a better than average rower, I was always able to beat threatening weather. My only negative comment would be that prams don’t offer a fly fisherman a lot of room and standing up to cast would have to be done at your own risk. Prams are a good little boat but you need some seamanship skills and some common sense. Just my 2% of a dollar. I’m sure that others will disagree. 8T
I will second 8T.
One of our family fishing trips on Lake Lahontan in Nevada was cut short when the weather picked up and we ended up towing a nice flat bottom type boat to shore so that they would not swamp in the storm. Having a flat bottom on the lake during that time is scarry. I am not a boater, but my uncle is part of the coast guard reserves and he towed it in.