# Canoe Questions



## Rembis50 (May 28, 2013)

So I'm thinking about getting a canoe this spring/summer and I have a couple questions. What are some advantages from using a canoe rather than a kayak? Can I use a canoe on a large lake such as Indian lake or a large reservoir? And what are some modifications you can do to a canoe to make it more fishing friendly?


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## catmando (Aug 21, 2006)

I have had both and a kayak is more stable on big water, but a canoe will allow you to carry more gear. It also depends on you and if you have a partner/passengers knowledge on handling the canoe or kayak.

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## Rembis50 (May 28, 2013)

I want a canoe due to all that it can carry and I can have multiple people in it

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## catmando (Aug 21, 2006)

Will you be going solo or with a partner? If you plan on doing a lot of solo paddling go with a kayak!

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## BigFoot158 (Jan 14, 2012)

Some yaks like mine can haul single or tandem, can haul lots of gear. Just like a canoe but no bailing water lol.


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## Rembis50 (May 28, 2013)

Buuuuuut tandem kayaks are way out of my price range lol

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## Bowhunter57 (Feb 9, 2011)

catmando said:


> I have had both and a kayak is more stable on big water, but a canoe will allow you to carry more gear. It also depends on you and if you have a partner/passengers knowledge on handling the canoe or kayak.


Rembis50,
What catmando is saying is true/accurate.

3 years ago I started out with an Old Town Saranac 146 that weighed 80 lbs. It had cup holders, rod holders, very nice seats and I enjoyed fishing out it. Why did I sell it?
* It was nearly impossible to load/unload it by myself. 80 lbs. in a 14' 6" canoe was more than I could handle without doing damage to my vehicle getting it loaded and unloaded.
* Fishing with another person in a canoe presents problems that you won't have in a kayak. Such as, swinging hooks from the person in the front, they want to fish over there and you want to fish here and of course there's the balance issues between both people in the same watercraft.
* A canoe is no where near as stable as a kayak. Flipping one with all your fishing gear...not to mention yourself, is NO fun.

A classic example of this was fishing with my brother. EVERYONE in the canoe MUST obey the 3 rules of being in a canoe!
1. Keep your butt on the seat at all times.
2. Watch which way you're swinging those fish hooks.
3. Keep your butt on the seat at all times.
I owned this canoe for 2 months, went fishing a half dozen times and my brother fell in twice. Fortunately neither one if us got into any fish hooks. I made some outriggers for it and it greatly improved the stability, but it was a giant pain in the keester to get in and out of the canoe.

END RESULT: I sold it, used the money to purchase two kayaks (Old Town Vapor 10XTs), gave one to my brother and we lived happily ever. We go to the same farm pond, lake, etc. and he fishes over there and I fish over here. No tipping the boat over, no fish hooking issues and we both have fun and catch fish. 



Rembis50 said:


> I want a canoe due to all that it can carry and I can have multiple people in it.


Two kayaks will easily solve your multiple angler issues and plenty of other issues, listed in the above statement.

Bowhunter57


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## Bowhunter57 (Feb 9, 2011)

Rembis50 said:


> Can I use a canoe on a large lake such as Indian lake or a large reservoir?


Yes...by all means!  I've been on Indian Lake, Lake Lorame, all of the Lima reservoirs, Kiser Lake, Findlay Res. #2 and countless farm ponds.

Kayaks will allow you to access waters that are restrictive to smaller watercraft and that's where kayaks shine. No need for a boat launch/ramp.

The only thing that you have to be aware of on a lake with motorized boats, is that most of them do NOT look out for you. So, it's best to fish the backwaters or the edges of the main body of the lake.  This is especially true with larger bodies of water...like Lake Erie.

Bowhunter57


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## RJohnson442 (May 14, 2013)

I got a 14ft scanoe and love it. Like you i like to bring everything with me and stay out all day on the water. It has a 3ft beam so its pretty stable. I can stand in it all day no problem but two people you always have to work in sync. Ive never tipped it once. Got caught in 3ft whitcaps on nimi once and didnt even get a drop of water in the boat. Max cap is 760 or 800 pounds. Weight is 90 pounds empty. I can load and unload it myself and i weigh 130 at 6'2. 

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## RJohnson442 (May 14, 2013)

This is with the center seat removed. I was cooking breakfast on shore one morning with the campstove i brought with me.







Ps anyone with a yak loves a guy with a canoe because you can carry all the gear they cant. 

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## Fishingisfun (Jul 19, 2012)

I fish out of a Old Town 12 ft Still water. It is 41" wide and very stable. Very light for the size 56 pounds. Taking newbie's fishing it is easy to keep an eye on them and coach their fishing. The statement about the front person being careless about how they cast is true. The back paddler does have to keep a look out for the forgetful front caster. If they don't learn to side cast then it is time to stop taking them in your canoe. 
Canoes have capacity to transport a good amount of gear. 
If I could find an aluminum Radison 12 ft canoe I would upgrade to that in a minute. Aluminum can be stored outside without damage if you need to. Take your time and finding a light weight wide canoe you will like it much more than the heavy chain store models. Weight of 70 or 80 pounds is ok for two but not for me solo fishing. Finding a good used one is difficult ask around your friends or someone else make have a stored gem they no longer use. 

Kayaks look like they are very durable and easy to transport. Many positive reports here in OGF so the numbers favor them. They are lighter then the average canoe but if you find a higher end canoe used I think you will like it a lot. Test drive paddle anything before you buy. If you cannot lift it empty then don't but it.


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## FishermanMurph (Jan 29, 2012)

I fished from a Old Town Saranac 146 for a year but now I'm all kayak and will be selling it this year. Here are the differences I've noticed between the two: 

Canoe:
-Less stable, keep that butt center. I've never tipped it but came close few times. 
- Store more gear 
- Hard has heck to solo paddle, I've done it before but not easy
- heavy and hard to store if you don't have the room. I had room when I first bought it but moved, the canoe is up at my parents now sitting unused. 

Kayak: 
-More stable. Can still be tipsy but if you have one built for fishing, should not have an issue. 

-"Less" storage but I always have enough room for my fishing gear. 

-Easier to store in a small space and lighter and easier to handle. 

In the end, I'll go with the yak. If you still want the canoe, I highly suggest the Old Town Saranac 146. It's pretty much rigged already, do need to add rod holders if you wanna troll. I've taken it out on large lakes but I highly suggest to sticking to backwaters and coves. Like someone mentioned, boaters won't be looking out for ya. Like I mentioned, I will be selling mine but it's over in Erie Pa right now and really don't feel like hauling it back down here.  But it is a tandem canoe. I know old town makes some nice solo canoes worth checking out (least they did).


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## catmando (Aug 21, 2006)

I go solo in my 16' canoe all the time. Just sit backwards in the front seat and add a little weight to the front.

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## capt j-rod (Feb 14, 2008)

I have a wenonah solo 16' canoe. They make a boat called a canak. It is the same hull. Now for the differences...
-The height of the hull determines how much the wind blows you around.
-An accomplished paddler that throws a mean j-stroke rarely switches sides with the paddle on a canoe thus not getting the inside wet.
-A narrow solo canoe with lower sides allows you to paddle with a kayak paddle 
(I have both and alternate to use different muscles)
-weight is directly tied to cost. My kevlar weave 16' canoe weighs 39#

Read up on initial vs secondary stability... A boat with an engineered hull tracks beautifully, is incredibly fast and efficient, but amazingly stable in rough conditions. Cruise the used market and save your money. An extra couple hundred bucks goes a LONG way on the canoe kayak world.

FWIW, the canoe goes 3 times as many trips as my kayak.


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## Atwood (Sep 6, 2005)

I love a big plastic canoe, they're not heavy and they are very durable. You can pack a ton of stuff if you want or go light and with good length make it through waters that only some kayaks make it through. The only way I would own a Kayak is if I always went solo or the river was really rough. I hate canoeing in lakes, get a boat for lake fishing.


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## Zachthebear (Feb 5, 2013)

I got a canoe at first for many of the same reasons that have already been stated (capacity, taking a friend, etc.) but I figured somethings out. Sometimes it is hard to get someone to go with you, canoes are a little cumbersome to load/unload by yourself and fishing out of a canoe with others can be tricky/frustrating. 
I sold the canoe and picked up a couple of sit on top kayaks and could not have been happier. Easier to load and unload, I can go by myself if I want, don't have to worry about getting hit with a fishing lure, don't have to worry about another paddler's strength/weakness and I can go wherever I want to go.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

capt j-rod said:


> I have a wenonah solo 16' canoe. They make a boat called a canak. It is the same hull. Now for the differences...
> -The height of the hull determines how much the wind blows you around.
> -An accomplished paddler that throws a mean j-stroke rarely switches sides with the paddle on a canoe thus not getting the inside wet.
> -A narrow solo canoe with lower sides allows you to paddle with a kayak paddle
> ...


Finally, an informed response.

The guys who said canoes are not as stable as kayaks are giving you really bad advice. Canoes and kayaks all have different hull designs and your initial and secondary stability will be dependent on the hull of the boat. There are lots of "tippy" canoes and lots of very stable canoes. Same goes for kayaks.


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## JignPig Guide (Aug 3, 2007)

Rembis50 said:


> What are some advantages from using a canoe rather than a kayak? And what are some modifications you can do to a canoe to make it more fishing friendly?


I can't comment on Kayaks. But I have owned five canoes over the years. And I can certainly make a few suggestions on canoe fishing.

1 - Get the widest and lightest one you can afford. 
2 - Get a trolling motor. Then add about 12ft. of 8-guage (or larger) wire to the trolling motor harness in order to make it longer.
3 - Put your deep cycle battery in the front and hook your newly lengthened trolling motor wires to it.
4 - Take three or four rod & reel set-ups and a small catch-all tackle bag loaded with your lures.
5 - If you are by yourself, you're ready to go. If you're taking someone else. They'll still have enough room for a small catch-all bag and a few rod & reel set-ups as well.

I am in my fifties. And I fish out of my 12ft. Sportspal Canoe either alone, or with another angler, several times per season. We get out and stretch about every other hour. Otherwise, we're good for a full 8-hour day on the water.

This is my Sportspal Canoe. It only weighs 48lb.. And because of it's width, it is as stable in the water as a small jon boat.


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## catmando (Aug 21, 2006)

Bubbagon said:


> Finally, an informed response.
> 
> The guys who said canoes are not as stable as kayaks are giving you really bad advice. Canoes and kayaks all have different hull designs and your initial and secondary stability will be dependent on the hull of the boat. There are lots of "tippy" canoes and lots of very stable canoes. Same goes for kayaks.


This guy is a know it all! I was speaking in general terms and the bottom line is the higher your ass is from the water the more "tippy" your small craft becomes. The best advice would be to not listen to any of the comments and rent different canoes a or kayaks and see what works best for you!

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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

catmando said:


> This guy is a know it all! I was speaking in general terms and the bottom line is the higher your ass is from the water the more "tippy" your small craft becomes. The best advice would be to not listen to any of the comments and rent different canoes a or kayaks and see what works best for you!
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L710 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


No need for the name calling. But I absolutely stand by what I said.
Anyone who makes blanket statements like "kayaks are more stable than canoes" is giving BAD advice. Period.
It's like saying cars are faster than motorcycles. It's just not universally true.

Again, it ALL has to do with hull design. Some kayaks are designed to be stable, others are designed to be rolled over. Some canoes are designed to be stable, others designed to be rolled.
It's a fact.


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

Bubbagon said:


> No need for the name calling. But I absolutely stand by what I said.
> Anyone who makes blanket statements like "kayaks are more stable than canoes" is giving BAD advice. Period.
> It's like saying cars are faster than motorcycles. It's just not universally true.
> 
> ...


You're just a big meanie pants!


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## catmando (Aug 21, 2006)

Did I call you any names? You are totally correct in your assesment, but most beginners dont have a clue of what you're talking about. Btw I consider myself a know it all at times and would take it as a complement. 

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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

I'd rather get advice that leads to more questions myself.

Hey Mr. Know-it-all, you forgot one fact. SOME canoes are designed to stick on rocks like velcro!  That's why I stay the heck away from them!


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## jaximus (Jun 30, 2013)

i own both canoes and kayaks. i use my canoe for our trip to the canadian wilderness for the gear capacity and for the 2 people application. i fished it for many years solo, 14.5' aluminum canoe, weighs 65lbs, and i have it rigged up with the best of them, rod holders, rod storage tubes, fish finder, led rope lights, anchor (dog leash), velcro in tackle trays/cup holders/lights, pliers, etc... i can toss in on the car by myself easily as it has a nice yoke set up.

my kayak fits INSIDE my car, and its also rigged up really fancy with the same stuff, so i take that when i go solo fishing now.

i like both and i use both, a lot. 'tippy' is such a relative term. i can stand in both the kayak and canoe without any issues. you just have to be comfortable with your boat.


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## StuckAtHome (Apr 29, 2004)

Both have their place, you can't generalize stability between kayak and canoe , that's down to width and hull shape. 

I use my Wenonah prospector for overnight camping, or a day with the lab in the water or my little girl, I do use it for fishing solo but the kayak s I own work better for that. Mine was designed as a down River canoe, wide stable with loads of rocker, more stable than most kayaks. 

Test paddle, more than likely what you think you want isn't, and you'll be looking again next year

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