boats and bowhunting

[Covey]

I've finally found a 15&1/2 foot square stern canoe I plan on useing for hunting as well as fishing, does any of you happen to have any pics, experiance, or both I would like to see them or hear them if you do! I'm purdy excited about this!!     Jason

[Spectre]

Kewl!! I always wanted one of them sit-on-top kayaks..

[Follower]

I've used one before and they work fine on small water.  Just depends on what type of water you are traveling.  Boats add a lot of adventure to bowhunting and can get you into some places where nobody else goes.  I hunt from a boat quite bit - currently have a 16' War Eagle flat bottom boat.  Have fun.

[straitera]

Kayaks are great for fishing & bad for hunting. Canoes are hunter's ticket to solitude. Get the longest widest you can find. I've had (3) canoes all 17'. The last was a Grumman wide body perfect for hauling everything including gear, gadgets, & game. One man can handle it alone if need be. Also important is the canoe rack for the truck. It will make hauling much easier.

[pronghorn23]

I've been looking at one called nucanoe. Its a kind of hybrid betweeen a canoe and kayak. This way I could use it for fishing and duck hunting on marshes and small waters. Would like to bowhunt and bowfish with it too.

Any future hunting trips would probably be based out of a base camp with paddling each day from the base camp..not long multi-day float trips.

[Mike Spaulding]

I love square back canoes, they're stable as far as canoes go, have a pretty good weight capacity, and work equally well for both fishing and hunting.  Great thing about the square back is how easy it is to mount a motor if you so desire, but they paddle nice too.  I think you'll have a ton of fun with it!

[Bill Watts II]

I personally prefer the kayak myself.  I use a 16' extended cockpit 2man kayak that allows me to lay flat in it for ducks.  

It's also great for bowfishing once you get the hang of it.

The thing I like best about the kayak over the canoe is that it is much more manueverable, and not affected by the wind.  I've had days in my old canoe where navigation was almost impossible due to heavy winds which kept blowing the front of the canoe off course.

The square back canoe is great if you are using a motor or carrying alot of weight.  Either way, using a boat for hunting is a blast.  Good luckk,

Bill

[Blackstick]

My first canoe was an old flat back and I did a lot of learning in that boat. About 35 years ago I went bow fishing down a river, got caught up in some swift current and dump it. I never did recover the bow and at the time it was an expensive lesson, but then it was only a compound.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

I boated into my stand in Iowa last year for this guy (10 ft jonboat with electric motor):

 

The boating had less to do with access or getting away from folks and more to do with being sneaky (getting in the backdoor to the bedding area).  Here's the boat eye view. I park the boat by the big oak on the right and the stand is in a big oak at the back of the cove to the left.

 

Deer eye view of the stand (you'll see it peeping out from behind the cedar tree).

 

This is one of those rare setups that worked out as planned.  Killed the buck within the first hour of the first morning I sat this stand.

I've also spent quite a bit of time boating into public areas in IN (gettting away from other folks) using a canoe, or my favorite, our plastic 8 ft pontoon "bassboat".

Ryan

[sou-pawbowhunter]

Jason,
I just used my canoe to go hunting for the first time this year.  Bill Watts already brought up the effect wind can have on handling your canoe, and he is spot on.  
Since we usually hunt in cooler weather, be mindful of safety, buy a "dry bag" to carry extra clothing. When something goes wrong' don't try to tough it out in wet clothes, strip down and get into dry duds fast.
Transport of your canoe can be made very easy with a device Cabelas' sells, Called a canoe caddy, it fits in your hitch receiver, and allows for easy loading and unloading when you are alone.
Have fun

Don

[Bobby Urban]

I have a sweet 16' Michicraft square stern with a 6 horse motor available for sale if someone is interested.  It is a very stable alluminum boat that has been a great carper.
PM me
Bob Urban

[bluegill]

They are the ticket when in comes to getting in away from other hunters. I hunt public ground most of the time and they are very useful. I have a 15 foot canoe/kayak hybrid that has served me well over the years.  Dry bags are a good idea. I also use plastic containers that they ship 2 liter bottles of pop in, they are light weight and keep my equipment dry up off the hull.

I use Google earth to look for pinch points along the rivers and stream. Then do ground truthing during the spring and summer.

The best advice I can give you is get to know your canoe. Take your canoe out and load it down with gear, they will handle differently than they do empty.

Have fun


 

[bornagainbowhunter]

I have used a 10' flatbottom.  Works great.  I bet the kayak would be alot easier to steer.

[Morning Star]

My TG handle "Morning Star" is actually the model of canoe that I use for hunting / fishing.  Ya can't beat paddling in....in the dark and paddling out in the dark.  Many of my favorite hunts have taken place because of my canoe.

It's made by Bell Canoe Works. It is very stable, great load capacity, easy to paddle, solo or tandem, and is only 58lbs.  You can't find just one canoe design that'll do everything, but the Morning Star is about as versitile as I've come across.

[boznarras]

You're gonna love having the canoe.
I live on an island, so boats are part of life. I have had canoes, a 17 footer worked well for 2 guys and a quartered moose. By wearing hip waders we were able to walk the canoe in right to the moose, dragging it over beaver dams both ways. Saved us a lot of work.
I have a 2 horse motor that putt putts along on longer trips, when it is worth the bother to use it. Weighs about 25 lbs. This would work great on a square stern rig, I have to use a side bracket on a double ender.
Seems like deer tolerate you getting a lot closer in a canoe or kayak, if you just coast up with no paddling or maybe a sneaky sculling stroke.
I am using a kayak now, which is better and worse for reasons already stated. It is dryer and warmer in the rain when I use the spray skirt. But for just hunting and hauling large loads what you have is the ticket.
If you are going against current, learn how to line a canoe upstream by making a continuous loop from bow to stern with 30 to 40 ft of rope. You shift where you are holding the line until the bow catches the current to stay away from the bank, and just walk along the bank pulling it through swift water. Attach as low as possible to minimize tipping.
Various dry bags are handing for camp gear or lay a tarp in the canoe, load things in and fold the ends over and tuck to surround the load with the tarp.
Have fun, and wear your PFD.

[ISP 5353]

I love my canoe!!!

[hayslope]

Used to have a fiberglass/wood flyfishing canoe made in Stowe, VT.  It was a bit heavy (especially loading and unloading from atop a suburban), but it sure was stable.

I used it quite a bit to bowhunt in New Hampshire when I lived there.  I had a mill pond between the house and property that I had permission to hunt.  Certainly was convenient.  I regret selling that canoe!  Would love to use one like it again.

[lpcjon2]

What the $#%& now I have to find a canoe,Thanks guys real nice,way to spark my interest,and send me on another quest.

[John Kennedy]

I used to hunt with boats a lot to access remote areas to get away from the crowds at public hunting land.I used my fishing boat,cut some old carpet to put in the bottm to shield from the mud and blood,took all the seats out for room,wear knee-high boots, and keep your life jacket on,it's tuff to see those stumps in the dark, and sometimes it's tough to get the deer in the boat!

[Covey]

This one is 42" wide 15'5" old town predator the fella has a canoe rental buisness and this one was an extra, sold it for cost! that's about half the price it retails for. I went to another buddies tonight and he just happened to have an aluminum ladder rack that fit my little truck perfect! I'm just gonna buy a short shaft trolling motor for now! this spring come turkey season it's gonna be game on!! can't wait, Jason