drifting a canoe

ampersat · 01-22-2001, 08:43 PM

i picked up a canoe this fall and am interested in drifting the clack and sandy come summertime for steelhead. it's a 14'7" old town with plenty of beam (38") and 13" high sides. i'm not stupid enough to take on the rivers when it's cold out or when the rivers are running high. i read the 'stupid boat tricks' thread and i'm bright enough to learn from the mistakes of others (you don't have enough time or luck in life to make them all by yourself). anyone out there have any advice or funny stories regarding fishing out of a canoe?

lippee · 01-22-2001, 09:40 PM

I seen a guy do it on the slack wilson, What a ******* idiot.

[This message has been edited by LIPPEE (edited 01-23-2001).]

RW · 01-22-2001, 10:46 PM

Last week fishing the Wilson, here comes some doughball in a canoe. He almost rammed into the back end of my drift boat. Scared the crap out of me and them, but I wasn't worried for me though..... He really only missed me by inches, no *****. So when you talk canoe, be careful and know what you are doing. Take it from someone who put the a$$ end of a drift boat in the black berry bushes, in the middle of an eddy in the Wilson on her first trip down the river..... This ain't no $H!T. RW

lippee · 01-22-2001, 10:58 PM

Sounds like the same moron I seen last year.

[This message has been edited by LIPPEE (edited 01-23-2001).]

01-22-2001, 11:18 PM

I'm not a canoe fan, ask SalmonShark why. But if I were, I would only consider running the lower ends of those 2 rivers. And use the foam inserts and/or the canvas enclosers to help keep water out thru bigger rapids. Wear a life jacket of course (your Mother speaking

). - RT

Phish_on · 01-23-2001, 07:47 AM

When you get snagged, and you are turning around to paddle upstream, don't hold your rod tip up in the air.

Wear a helmet. I wouldn't take a canoe through any kind of white water. I just wouldn't.

Hoosier Daddy · 01-23-2001, 07:47 AM

Summer time would probably not be a problem, but my biggest concern might be jet boat wake. Not a floater though.

Artwo · 01-23-2001, 08:01 AM

I do most of my fishing on the Sandy in the spring and early summer from my driftboat. I see allot of people in canoes on the lower section of the river for recreational floats from Dabney to Lewis and Clark park. Have not seen any problems with them floating. There are only a few places with fast water and it's not that fast at all. I would agree with the jet boat wake statement though, can be rough sometimes. I have only seen a couple canoes from Oxbow down, that water gets a little rougher in a couple spots.

JK

Bait O' Eggs · 01-23-2001, 08:20 AM

Last year shad fishing up by the falls on the Willamette a young couple had rented a canoe at Sportcraft Marina and they row up river right to the boat boundry below the falls. They looked like a young couple on a date. When they attempted to turn the boat around in the middle of the river, they rolled it over. They were almost to the OC bridge before several boats got all the gear pulled into other boats. The girl still had the paddle in her hand, with white knuckles

She wasnt letting go of that paddle for some reason. I dont know how many flowers he had to buy for that experience, but I bet it wasnt cheap.

I havent got much use for canoes. Would like to see the indians using them for pulling nets.

wiser · 01-23-2001, 09:03 AM

Unless you're extremely experienced and well equipped in the event of a spill, I would advise against it. The Rangers at Oxbow don't call a particular rock, about one mile into the park, "Canoe Rock" because it looks like a canoe.
If you do choose to do it you should have someone else along, preferably in a more stable vessel. Safety gear should be worn.
Handling a canoe on a moving river is entirely different than an a lake or calm water. Water conditions change dramatically under different flow conditions and hazards can appear without warning.

ampersat · 01-23-2001, 09:34 AM

thanks for all the good info, folks. i've got some experience running rivers in a canoe but most of the folks that i would have with me don't. i might try it one day this summer with no fishing gear aboard and probably with helmets on for good measure. i'll stick to fishing with it in the lakes and dream of the day when i can buy a drift boat and run with the big boys. first i have to get a truck i can haul it with though. guess i'll be stuck on the bank for a few more years.

ps: i was going to put an ifish decal on the canoe but i think i'll pass. i don't want to be identified as 'that idiot' should i be seen in the river swimming after my canoe with gear floating all over the place.

[This message has been edited by ampersat (edited 01-23-2001).]

Phish_on · 01-23-2001, 10:41 AM

The gear factor gets expensive ... as a result of my "stupid boat trick" the Deschutes river contains my favorite fly rod & reel, the legendary Zebco, new winter boots, and a vest full of tackle and an ice cold sierra nevada pale ale.

Having two people in a canoe adds a certain unpredictability. When "stuff happens" in a canoe, it happens really fast. These are among my observations. Wear your PFD.

Gizmo Man · 01-23-2001, 10:54 AM

Amp: I float several SW WAsh rivers with my 16' old town camper canoe. I have modified the canoe to be rowed like a driftboat. I have an anchor system and a rod holder on it also. YOu have great stability when you sit on the floor and not high in the canoe seats. You also have great leverage while rowing and can stop the canoe similar to a d/b. I have 50' of rope to rope through areas I don't want to risk.

If you get an inflatable seat with the back rest and place it on the floor, put some oar locks and get some 5' oars you can do more than when you use it as a conventional canoe.

I do not run it in heavy winter flows, but when the water is low like it is now, I do use it. (haven't this year due to back problems.)

There are times when I like to run the canoe over my 8' outcast. (Real low water. The canoe can take a better beating on the rocks.)

I also have 2 driftboats and have floated these rivers for 20 years and know them well.

If you want to see how I have it set up, email me.

Giz...

rob · 01-23-2001, 02:02 PM

get a pontoon boat.

Steelheader69 · 01-23-2001, 08:35 PM

I have a funny story about canoes. Back around the late 70's my Dad and I were plunking the lower Puyallup just below Clark's Creek Bridge. This was back in the days when you had 16 fish days and could easily land a Steelie in the upper teens on a regular basis (I'd love to see those days again on the Puy). Well the tide was high and on it's way down. No nets were in the river and low and behold down comes a canoe with two guys fishing in it. I couldn't tell what they were using for gear, but sure enough, the paddler hooked into a monster. I'd guestimate it was at least 18+lbs. Well, here comes the dilema. Paddler in back of canoe, and the paddle was BEHIND him. His buddy up front couldn't reach the paddle and the paddler wouldn't let him hold the rod while he reached the paddle (for some unknown reason this guy was holding rod with both hands trying to control this fish). Well, sure enough the boat starts turning around. As the canoe hits the current of the creek, cross current from the Puyallup, and the pull of the fish all S*&# hits the fan. The whole canoe just topples over. All their gear sunk to bottom with the canoe. They salvaged the canoe and barely got the paddle back, but fish and rods were gone. My Dad and I laughed our butts off. Couldn't tell you much about canoe or lenght, just remember it was a wooden one.

------------------
You haven't lived til you've rowed a cataraft. Friends don't let friends run Outcasts.

Buds_4 · 01-24-2001, 08:21 AM

I took up canoeing in the early 90's after becoming bored with fishing for no fish. At the risk of making some enemies here, I'd rather see loads of canoes than sleds on the rivers. I've run plenty of moving water, and I usually have better control of my vessel than most of the drift boaters out there these days.

That said, be warned that all canoes are not created equal. A nice flatwater boat will be a real slug on a class 2 river. A well made tripping canoe will be very responsive to the paddle, but you've gotta know how to make it do what you want. Canoeing skills take time to develop, and it takes lots of experience to make it look easy. Look around for books by Bill and Paul Mason if you want to learn more about how to handle a canoe and canoe safety.

Forget about fishing from the boat. You can't put the paddle down long enough to make a cast in moving water. Running the river is enough excitement. Get out and fish if that's what you want.

Don't take on water that you are not sure you can handle, and never try anything above class 1 unless you know what you are doing and have the proper equipment. Don't even think about anchoring a canoe in any kind of water.

Never take anyone that doesn't know as much as you along for the float. If there are 2 in the canoe, there are 2 paddlers- and they have to know how to work together or they will swim together.

I could go on for a long time here, but the main point is that there's nothing wrong with running the rivers in canoes, but know what you are doing if you want to have a good time and not p.o, other river users.

Gizmo Man · 01-24-2001, 12:41 PM

Buds.. Good points. I have converted two canoes to rowing boats as opposed to paddling boats that you sit at an end.

If you put oar locks on them and sit in the center on the floor (using a seat) you can have a craft that is much stablier than when sitting high on the seats that come with them. You are then able to use a small anchor and fish from them.

Give it a try. I think you will like it.

I also agree that they are not to be used in certain water that exceeds the users skill level...much like any boat.

Giz...

jawbreaker · 01-24-2001, 04:51 PM

Just think about how Lewis and Clark made it
down the Columbia in class 4 and 5 rapids in
dugout canoes fully loaded with gear......
YIKES! Not me brother.