What do you paddle?

[Guest airbornemike]

I'm wondering what members prefer to paddle are local rivers in? I been play'n around in a tank of an old town canoe and would like to get a kayak as second craft.

[Mike G]

Great idea. There are too many models out there to try them all, $350 to $2000+ depending on your wallet. I have experience with Heritage Featherlite and Old Town brands. The first at 9.5 ft is easy to carry around but does not carry a lot of gear. The Old Town Loon 100 at 10 ft is heavier, wider, and better for carrying gear but then the paddling is more of a chore. When you get more opinions, try going to a place like Rootabaga near Madison, WI where you can try some out on their nearby lake. There is also usually an event in Palatine in June where you can doo the same.

[Scott Ferguson]

I have a couple of personal pontoons that I favor. Being old, I like the stability and how easy they are to get in and out of. Nice comfy seat, easy on the legs and back. The big drawback to some guys is it's one way transportation. There is no paddling back upstream to your put in place. You must arrange some sort of shuttle.

I find them a great platform to fish from.

[Kevin Dells]

I run a 14 foot Phoenix poke boat and if you don't know what that is i"ll explain. It is pretty much a Kevlar Kayak with a larger opening, it's very stable for fishing,and because it is longer i can paddle up river without a problem.(at least the Kishwaukee)So no need for a shuttle where im at.

 

Average price is a whole lot more! Kevlar means money, my boat is about 20 years old but in awesome shape, but to replace her would run me 2800$ for the same model now.

Oh yeah and it weighs about 15 pounds so very easy to portage!

[chrisserafin]

I use 2 low end 9.5 ft models made by Perception. for flat water and the DuPage they work perfect and start at $300 + $100+ paddle. Until I use them more and REALLY see a difference, I'm sticking to them. Especially since you can outfit you kayak with rod holders by yourself, instead of paying $1K+ for one 'made' for fishing. The fishing kayaks have some extra features, but at this time, I can't justify the price.

[Jonn Graham]

2 canoes

 

One is the Old Town Pack. 12 foot 33 pounds (solo)

 

 

My other boat is my "guide" boat. It is a two seater, 14 foot Wenonah "fisherman". Love them both. The Wenonah weighs only 55 pounds.

[Rob G]

John's other boat is my main boat, a 14 ft. Wenonah Fisherman model, 10 yrs old now but made from Royalex and right at 53 lbs. Also for the bigger rivers, an 18' 60" Big John, but I let a 50 hp Merc paddle that

[eugene f collins]

When time allows i float a 14' old town, not the stablest. But shes caught her share of Fox, Rock, Kish, Dupe, smallies.

Also have The Blue Bath Tub, a 15' kingfisher

with a ten horse. 56 pounds of thrust trolling motor, hauls you up river when needed.

Not the prettiest but that boat Loves catching fish.. My newest toy was purchased at a garage sale.

A 9' bass buddy. a garage sale. what a find. Thanks Mom!!! Look out busse!

 

Also If you folks are interested. In July, ( July 31)! The I S A is going to have a Outing so that everyone

can bring their canoes, Yaks, PWC. A chance to showcase your fishing machines & compare yours against

the likes of Eric, RobG or Kevin Dells. Sorry wasnt trying to call you out, Just interested in your vessels.

I hope this will be a big showing of fish catching machines. as well as some different styles of fishing from

them.

[Mike G]

I use 2 low end 9.5 ft models made by Perception. for flat water and the DuPage they work perfect and start at $300 + $100+ paddle. Until I use them more and REALLY see a difference, I'm sticking to them. Especially since you can outfit you kayak with rod holders by yourself, instead of paying $1K+ for one 'made' for fishing. The fishing kayaks have some extra features, but at this time, I can't justify the price.

 

100% agreement on the low priced boats! For thew most part they are all you need. Two thumbs up!

[Steve Butler]

I use a 16-ft Dagger for big water. It's fast and I can cover a heck of a lot of water. I also enjoy being able to paddle upstream or against the wind with ease. For small creeks I have a cheap 10-ft Pelican. I also have an old aluminum Gruman canoe for whenever the wife goes fishing with me.

 

Long boats are great if you are concerned about speed, distance, or upstream paddling. Small boats are awesome for whenever the water is not right next to the parking lot, or for playing in small streams. They also tend to be a lot cheaper.

 

I think the kayak shop in Geneva also holds regular events where you can try boats out. Or if you have some time and like doing things yourself, check out http://www.clcboats.com/shop/kayak-kits/.

 

-SB

[gordon p]

12' 6" Cranberry Creek canoe ( now Cedar Ridge http://crcfiberglass.com/cranberrycreekcanoes.aspx ) 62 pounds, I can car top it meself, stable enough to stand in, I added a middle seat and I use a kayak paddle. Not as fast as a 'yak but I prefer the higher perspective you get above the water. Easier to see structure/fish.

[Guest airbornemike]

Paddle and Trail in Rockford is having a demo day on saturday at 10am, they have wilderness system and Ocean Kayak that you can test paddle. I talked to someone there and they said there will be a number of "fishing models" available to test paddle.

[SKollmann]

As a member of Prairie State Canoeists as well as ISA, I have a 17' shallow arch, kevlar, 40-pound Wenonah Spirit II canoe which satisfies my paddling and float fishing needs quite nicely.

 

With less hull on the water than a flat bottom canoe, it paddles quite gracefully and fast . . . especially when my wife and I use our carbon bent-shaft paddles weighing in a 8 ounces each. Same as those used in the Summer Olympics.

 

Now when it coming to floating fishing a river, I bring along my Minnkota trolling motor which permits a fishing buddy and me to bring only one car. We simply put-in, motor upriver a mile or two, and float fish back to the car. That said, when fishing on a lake, I also bring along my 4-foot sponses which create a tri-hull fishing craft for added stability.

[SKollmann]

I'm really interested about those carbon bent-shaft paddles Steve. Who makes them?

 

Thanks,

 

Don

 

 

 

Get the Frabill!

 

Don . . . mine were manufactured by ZRE (Zaveral Racing Equipment). They ran me $200+ each. You can check their website at www.zre.com. Also purchased a case for our two paddles from Wenonah Canoes. I retained my initial straight-shaft wooden paddle for shoving off from shore so I wouldn't damage our good paddles.

 

Steve

[jude]

$400 is a lot of money for two paddles! I bet you could find someone to paddle you for less.

 

I think there are laws against that.

[SKollmann]

Remember . . . my wife and I are members of Prairie State Canoeists. Translation . . . we paddle a lot. Amortize the number of strokes we've made into $400 and the appearance of extravagance diminishes with each mile paddled. Just don't ask me what I paid for our 17' kevlar canoe.

[Mike Clifford]

Prairie Rivers Network has a presentation from a guy that paddled the entire length of the Mississippi River.

I read about it in their newsletter, then found him on Facebook and started discussing it with him.

 

This is really good stuff here.

 

I wonder what kind of paddle he used?

 

Visual Tour Down the Mississippi River - June 22 Seven Saints Restaurant, Champaign

Join PRN for dinner and a tour down the Mississippi River. Andy Borbely and a friend canoed the vast majority of the Mighty Mississippi by canoe. Andy is a great storyteller and has put together a photo presentation of his adventure. You must register for this event.Contact Steph for more info on these events at sadams@prairierivers.org and look for details on our website soon

[WILLIAM C.]

As if I don't spend enough time in and on the water,I added this to my collection.I built a PVC carrier so I can pull it

into some distant spots and remote ponds.Now I have to figure out the best way to outfit it.

[Terry Dodge]

There is no paddling back upstream to your put in place.

 

I put mine in Kilbuck once just to see if I could paddle upstream. Nothin' doin'!

I'll bet I paddled for 20 minutes in the same place. Man was I tired. I did this early in the morning so no-one would see me.

I will say this.....I see a lot of yaks on the Kish but none of them are going upstream.

I love my 'toon.

 

 

[mannym]

I have a 16 foot ( Roylex) Old Town Penobscot. It has been from the Vermillion to the BWCA. I can paddle it solo or tandem. It weighs in at a stocky but manageable 58 pounds. I thought about a kevlar but I would be too worried on rock infested rivers. I had no issues portaging up to 100 rods with much elevation changes.

 

I had a few whitewater yaks with one I converted to a fishing yak and didn't like to be in them for too long. Plus they are hard to portage any distance.

[Ed Buric]

It would have been nice to have seen some of these boats at the Float Your Boat event held at Silver lake last weekend.

 

Ed B

[seanf]

I have a 12 old town voyager (budget version of the loon) loved it until I bought a old town discovery 119 solo canoe. the 12' canoe carries more gear, much more comfy, and much easier to get in and out of. Since the waters I fish are small, I ofter step out to fish from shore or need to portage. the canoe is like stepping out of a pickup truck and the kayak is like getting up and out of kids snow sled.

[klrbaer]

I LOVE my WATERMASTER!!!!!!

Hands down the best thing I've fished from. From class IV to flat water. I've only done moving flat water and flat water. Butt this is awsome.

 

 

Single person, but will haul 750lbs.

No floor up front, so you can use kick fins. Or stand up to fish.

This boat is the ultimate for fly fishing by yourself. The boat only weighs about 30 lbs and It packs into a backpack for easy portability.

I get it setup and load my stuff onto it, put on my wading boots or booties, then step into it and face the rear of the boat. Bend over, grab the two handles, lift it to my waste and walk into the water. Carefully.

 

Check out the website.

http://www.bigskyinflatables.com/