Canoe Ideas

[yellahunter]

Hi there mate, could you please send the pics of your canoe and tell me the specs. Is it plastic or fibreglass
thanks mate

[goodoo]

i hav owned a few canoes and used a few otherswhat i found is that poly canoes are softer and more flexable they do scratch underneath but they are easyto portage[carry or drag] over rocks or other ground due to them being lightand because they flex dont crack or split when droped or ramed into rocks or logs as well as being uv stable fiberglass will crack split it is brittle over time will break down with uv it is easy to damage and is heavyto portage but can be easily repaired witha fiberglass repair kit whic can be carried with you or for onsite bandaids a tube of silicon will seal cracks and when you get home clean it off and repair it properly silicon will also bandaid poly if it ever does wear through but needs to be plasticwelded as silicon will eventualy lift free whish ever way you go canoes and unfished water go together [GOODOO]

[AussieMozzie]

Also have a look on ebay as their is usually a few canoes on their.

[yellahunter]

no one seen any canoes for sale

poly only wana avoid fibreglass, just see it cracking on a rock or something

[Fitzy]

I've had fibreglass & plastic canoes before but am starting to lean towards inflatables.
Can get into far less accesable country with inflatables, lighter & easier to portage up & down rapids/cliffs etc.
Lighter & more responsive to paddle.
Lower centre of gravity than hard canoes/kayaks = better stability.
More comfortable.

Also fold down to nothing so I dont need roof racks or trailer to carry them. All fits into a carry bag that you can walk through the bush with.
Had a loaner of a Zambezzi z2 earlier this year & was impressed. Am leaning towards getting a Sevylor River X k2 (2 person) or k1 (1 person) after having a paddle of one more recently. Better keel with straighter tracking + a cheeper option but just as good.

Cheers,

Fitzy..

Here's a rat bass I caught on the Albert river from an inflatable.

[yellahunter]

thanks mate i might have to have a look at them as well,

what does everyone think of fibreglass vs plastice canoes, ive been looking around and theres a lot of fibreglass ones for sale even new for around the $500 mark, a mate of mine has a coleman and said dont go near a fibreglass?? im unsure as ive never had either. do fibreglass break easily??

i would wana deck it out i guess with electric and sounder so i could troll etc, electrics are pretty cheap arnet they?? maybe $4-500 ??

any ideas much appreciated
thanks
Ben

[Kilkenny]

Only problem with blow ups, is they dont like the look a hooks and there aint much protection there when a bull shark wants to mate with it....Give me a Hobie yak any day.....
Every day a Kilkenny

[Gigantor]

Ben,

Re Fibreglass v Plastic. Fibreglass can easily be repaired at home etc. The plastic canoes aren't so easy. You need to take them to a specialist poly repairer. Though you'd have to really drop the plastic canoe hard to make a hole in it.

Each material has it's own pluses and minuses. Fibreglass is a harder material than plastic and virtually has no flexibility (or are very low flex). Plastic have more flexibility and are a softer material. It depends on what you need?

In terms of setting it up for fishing. I've bought a Humminbird Pmax10 portable fishfinder for around $280. It is totally portable and waterproof and can be used on any boat, which is good when I go somewhere and hire a boat. It runs on 8 x AA batteries. It uses a suction-cup to hold the transducer on the canoe. The only real issue is that this unit has a 20-degree beam, which essentially means that if I'm in 3 metres of water, then beam is only covering an area under the canoe of about 1.5 metres in diameter. The next upgrade would be for a sounder with a wider beam.

In terms of an electric outboard. Minimum cost would be around $600 new (checked this out at the recent Brisbane Boat Show - about $200 for the motor, about $100 to $200 for a decent deep cycle battery, and about $200 for a quality deep cycle battery charger). I haven't seen many second hand electric motors around. You also need to work out whether the electric motor will be used in fresh and/or salt water. Min Kota's cheapest electric is a "freshwater only" model. If you want to use it in the salt as well then the model changes and so does the price (upwards).

The only other items I've added to my canoe are rod holders and an anchor. I've put the rod holders onto the crossbars. This makes for good trolling and also a rod holder when stationary. The rod holders are also very useful as umbrella holder, particularly when it's hot and the sun is beating down.

The anchor is a very small collapsible head type. I use this when bait fishing or casting in a current. If we spot a good snag, we drop the anchor to hold our position and cast to the snag. Works very well.

Cheers,

Gigantor

[yellahunter]

ok thanks mate that sounds really good. is trolling able to be done with paddle power with a degree of success or really only once i get an electric? would i be confined to bait and casting at structure with lures until i got an electric,
reason i ask i may have a canoe lined up but wouldnt be able to afford the electric straight away

what do u think?
cheers

[yellahunter]

ok thanks mate that sounds really good. is trolling able to be done with paddle power with a degree of success or really only once i get an electric? would i be confined to bait and casting at structure with lures until i got an electric,
reason i ask i may have a canoe lined up but wouldnt be able to afford the electric straight away

what do u think?
cheers

[Gigantor]

Ben,

I still don't have an electric motor myself and have been trolling under paddle-power to date without any major problems. Just need to be quiet with the paddling that's all.

I've had my canoe since 2001 and have been able to troll, flick lures at snags and bait fish without any problems.

The only issue with canoes is the affect of the wind, which pushes the canoe around a bit at times. It's really only when the wind is up around the 20 knots mark and higher that the canoe gets pushed around. I always try and go canoeing when the tide and wind work with me (ie. head up-river with the incoming tide and then head back to the boat ramp with the outgoing tide). Generally you get the best results trolling with the tide anyway. Trolling against the tide can spook the fish, as the bait usually moves with the tide not against it.

Paddling is good exercise anyway. My golf game has improved considerably since the purchase of the canoe. Good upper body strength.

Cheers, Gigantor

[Kilkenny]

Hey Gigantor,
Your 20 degree view from that pertable sounder, is that a 50khz model,? Others I am looking at are 200khz which has a far wider beam.
Kilkenny

[yellahunter]

ok sounds good, do you fish many of the impoundments in your canoe? most of the larger impoundments do get quite windy dont they particularly the more open ones. are they easily fished?? even with an electric. are they just as fishable in impoundments such as leslie or sommerset with an electric??

cheers
Ben

[Gigantor]

Killkenny,

My P-Max portable 10 is 200khz. The following is the info sheet for it:

http://www.bla.com.au/product_group.cfm?id=2577&s=2

The P-Max portable 15 have a dual beam technology (20 degree + side beam of 60 degree) but can be less powerfull and less accurate than the P-Max10.

So far the P-Max10 portable has served me very well. I got a good deal from Mick Gregory @ Sundown Marine, Redcliffe.

Cheers, Gigantor

[Gigantor]

Yellahunter,

To date I have fished both Lake Wivenhoe (Big W) and North Pine Dam (Petrie) - in terms of freshwater impoundments. I have fished salt water at Nundah Creek & Cabbage Tree Creek (both down Shorncliffe way), Upper Maroochy River (near Yandina), Coochin Creek (Glasshouse mountains way), North Pine River (Petrie), Kedron Brook (runs in from Nudgee Beach) to name a few.

Fishing on Big W can be windy at times, though you can usually find many bays to hide in when the wind is blowing. The same can be said for North Pine Dam (Lake Samsonvale).

Haven't fished Leslie or Sommerset yet.

An electric motor will be a definite advantage in the wind, though you'll use more battery power. I know some canoe fishos with electric motors that tend to paddle as much as they can and then use the electric to troll with. Batteries have their limitations. Particularly if you use them at high-speed. There are battery maximisers out there that you can add to your electric that will increase or double the life of the battery. The other thing worth considering, if you intend to buy an electric motor, is spending the money on a good deep cycle charger. You can use the standard battery charger from an auto store, but these may not fully charge your battery.

Cheers,

Gigantor