Canoes and bowhunting

[NW Jamie]

How much of a part are canoes to your traditional bowhunting? Hunt out of? Use as transportation for gear to hunting camp? And if so, in what geographical areas? Thanks for your input.

[swp]

I canoe into the Irish Wilderness area here in MO. I need to use mine more but hunt around home more than anywhere else.

[olddogrib]

Canoes go well with any activity.  Think of it as a trad bass boat!

[VTer]

I use mine for bowfishing in the backwaters of Lake Champlain on the VT side.

[Covey]

This is something I would like to do alot of!! If I can scroung up the money, or find me a good used one, I'm going to try to deer hunt with one this fall! Jason

[RRock]

Theres nothing like a canvas and cedar canoe!

[donnyjack]

Here's a link you might check out.  Some good Trad Hunting pictures.

 http://***********.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=167994&category=88#2377960


DJ

[NightHawk]

LAKE CHAMPAIN?? There's a sea monster in that  lake. I seen it on the history channel.Could you imagine being out bowfishing 1 day, shooting at carp and up out of the inky black depths  of the lake rises ??????    

[NW Jamie]

Originally posted by donnyjack:
Here's a link you might check out.  Some good Trad Hunting pictures.

  http://***********.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=167994&category=88#2377960  


DJ

Man what a link, that is just what I was looking for, thanks DJ! Now I need to figure where to have some fun and find a canoe that I can afford. Thanks for the help.

[Ron LaClair]

Jamie, there are several threads and pictures right here on Trad Gang. Go to the search link at the top of the page and type in Canoes and they'll come up.

   

[Billy]

Ron, could you add some experienced prerferences in, too?

1 man, day trip vs 2 man, 3 day trip.
What size or material.
capacity vs handling type of thoughts...

Thanks.

[Ron LaClair]

You don't need much for a day trip, a lunch and drinking water. For a two man trip of 3 days or more you'll need a tent and bedroll. A small tarp also works good for a ground cloth or to make a lean to.  Cooking utensils, you can use a small kettle for a lot of things, boil coffee, or make mush out of cornmeal of dried peas. Any game you might take, squirrels or porcupine can be boiled until meat comes off the bone and then add the meat to your pea gruel.   Dried food stores easily and is easy to prepare. You won't be able to carry enough water so you'll need purification tablets. You can also boil drinking water. Don't fotget the salt and pepper.

Keep matches in a waterproof container, a flint & steel fire kit may come in handy also. I related the story in another thread about the time we capsized a canoe in mid November when I was with  an inexperienced paddler. He wasn't dressed in wool like I was and started to shake pretty bad. If I hadn't had dry matches and a thermos of hot coffee my pardner may have been in bad trouble.

[Billy]

Good stuff.
So, a 12 footer is enough for one @200 guy and gear for a weekend,then? And a 16 footer for two?

The stats show weights and all, but experience can sometimes adjust facts.

[Orion]

12-footers are generally rather tubby and don't handle very well.  I use one for flaot hunting for ducks.  A 14-footer makes a better solo boat, and it's not terribly difficult for one person to manage a 16-footer.  I usually only use my canoe(s) to get to and from hunting areas or to "pack" out a critter.  Given my experience in seeing bedded deer on river banks while duck hunting, I think it would be quite productive to float small creeks and rivers for deer as well, though I've never done it.  Have fun.

[Billy]

Thanks for the info folks.
Keep it coming. This is something that I wanna do, really bad.
Thanks, Jamie for putting it up.

[wihill]

I want a canoe so badly.  I don't really have room around the house for a boat and trailer, and I perfer the utility of the canoe over a kayak.

I've played around with a 10-11' solo canoe, but with anything more than me in the boat it started to get awkward.  14' seemed the best of compromises to me, good weight handling, tracked well and if I want to bring the Mrs or pup (why the pup I have yet to figure out - we'd both be in for a swim) it would be quite managable.  

Overall weight of the canoe wouldn't be too bad to huck around by yourself also - though I'm finding a difficult compromise between cost and features (mostly material/weight).

[Brian Krebs]

Up until I moved from Michigan to Idaho in 1985- I had a few thousand miles logged in a 21 foot Michicraft canoe. It was flat on the bottom; you could be loaded down; and float in a couple inches of water; and the width was big enough that with the flat bottom; you could stand up to shoot in it; or drag a wet duck dog in it without sweating it flipping.

 I like seats off the bottom of the canoe; because always some water makes it in while your paddling.

 What was it Henry Fondas character said about his canoe - when a child said it was 'like the indians used'? Something like - ' I think they used a different grade of aluminum'.    

 People that have canoed for lifetimes in lakes; are not qualified to go down a swift river; different experiences ! Both fun- but different. Only time I ever was in a canoe that flipped was when the 'experienced' canoe guy at the other end of the canoe panicked in a rapids.

 Canoes are really fun; but try out different canoes and lengths and widths - the ones pointy on the bottom tend to flip easy.

 And be careful if you see a kid playing a banjo on a bridge.......beware !!   :rolleyes:

[Billy]

Believe it was Skyler that posted a 12' footer, that he and a buddy were fishing out of. And, Ron posted that huge freighter looking thing.

I like the help and ideas here.

I know it's a bit pricey but it sounds like the 14' double ended Sportspal for me.

If, we make it thru this year, tax time should be a good time to head up to the factory and pick one up...it's cheaper that way!!  :D    

[Matt Quick]

I use a canoe some of the time but I really prefer a poke boat.  They handle a lot better than a canoe at least the one I got.  The only downside is there is not much extra room for your gear.  I like to locate active white oaks or persimmons tht are twenty to 30 yards from the waters edge.  Beach your boat down wind of your hunting area and walk straight to the tree you want to hunt out of.  The deer or pigs will never know you're coming.

 

[David Sapp]

The website craigslist has been a good place for me to locate canoes. I stole/bought an Old Town Guide and accessories for $125 when I was living in Cincinnati and recently bought a 14 foot solo Blue Water for $200. I'll likely make the solo boat a full time hunt/fish boat as it seems to handle a bit better overall.

One thing to consider that if you buy a longer boat and plan to solo, the plastic molded seats prevent you from paddling in the 'traditional' solo position. Generally when solo paddling, you will sit in the forward seat and face "backward" toward toward the stern, but this is only feasible if the seats are the flat style. We have a Dagger canoe with the cane seats that is a pleasure to paddle solo, but the Old Town Guide is more difficult to paddle in such a manner due to the molding.

We love our canoes, I can think of few things as useful. I've hunted a minimal amount out of a canoe, but would love to do more.