Can you canoe and catch fish, too?
By Dan Small - Contributing Editor
Wisconsin Outdoor News - Date: Friday, April 09, 2004

Most anglers have a canoe somewhere in their boating history, usually as a first boat. When they move on to a bigger boat with an outboard motor, their canoe often leans against the garage wall, all but forgotten.
For a handful of anglers, though, a canoe remains the watercraft of choice in many fishing situations.
My first canoe was an 11-foot custom-made, super-wide aluminum job with oar locks. I paid $100 for it at a yard sale back in 1976. It came with two paddles, two cushions and a pair of oars. Painted camo green, it made a great sneak boat for jump-shooting ducks, but I used it more for fishing than hunting. A small electric motor pushed it along at a good clip.
With that little canoe on the roof of our compact wagon, my son and I explored a bunch of streams and little lakes in the Chequamegon National Forest. It was light enough for me to portage it into lakes that had no road access. If we kept our gear to a minimum, we could make two trips from the car and be fishing in minutes. The motor, paddles and oars gave us all the options we needed for making it go in still or moving water.
Its width made it stable. Its short length and lack of keel made it easy to turn in tight quarters. Its light weight let a good wind blow it around, but otherwise, we loved it.
At the age of 21/2, Jon caught his first fish from that canoe, a 9-inch bass. A couple years later, I caught a 6-pound largemouth that towed me and the canoe around a small wilderness lake before I managed to boat it.
That little canoe was perfect for one adult or a dad and youngster, but we eventually outgrew it. Twenty years after I bought it, I sold it for the same price I paid for it.
I still have my second canoe, a 15-foot fiberglass double-ended Sawyer, with a square stern above the water line to accommodate an electric motor. This one has a “water keel,” a concave tunnel molded into the bottom that grips the water, yet allows the stern paddler to turn it with the flick of a paddle.
I do most of my river fishing nowadays by wading and most of my lake fishing from a motor boat, but there are still situations where a canoe is the perfect craft. When I want to fish a small lake with no boat launch, or paddle up a marshy river to catch the hex hatch, I’m glad I have a canoe. Simply put, it gives me more options.
“Fishing from a canoe allows you to reach areas where you don’t have any competition,” said Bill Plantan, president of River Ridge Custom Canoes, of Rochester, Minn. Plantan displayed his canoes last month at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show, where their suitability as a fishing craft attracted a lot of attention.
An angler first, and canoeist second, Plantan designed a canoe to fish the small rivers of southeastern Minnesota. His canoes are well suited to Wisconsin’s small rivers, too. He has canoed and fished the Chippewa, Flambeau, St. Croix, and Eau Claire, among others, with good success. On many waters, he says, the best fishing lies far from the nearest landing.
“There are so many people out on the water, especially on weekends, that popular stretches of stream are packed with wading anglers, and boat landings are crowded with people trying to launch,” Plantan said. “A canoe lets you get into areas that are inaccessible to anglers restricted to wading or big, trailered boats.”
Set up properly, Plantan said, a canoe can put anglers on those special waters efficiently, safely and comfortably, and allow them to fish without worrying about paddling. Like my old Sawyer, Plantan’s canoes are pointed at both ends, with a square stern above the water for a trolling motor.
Unlike mine, his canoes have a built-in wiring harness so a solo angler seated in the stern can balance his weight with a battery in the bow. Swivel seats allow two anglers to fish from either side. Detachable tackle boxes, rod holders and accessory bag hold gear where you can reach it. Optional equipment includes a solar battery charger, umbrellas and mounts, an accessory tray and a nifty landing net that pops out of a back-up paddle.
Not every canoe works as a fishing craft. A fishing canoe must have some sort of keel to make it controllable. Unless one person is willing to be the designated paddler, a trolling motor is another must in most situations. A stern-mounted motor allows you to fish on a windy lake or control your speed as you “slip” downstream on rivers. It also allows you to stay in one place or move back upstream as you fight a fish, so you don’t drift into the next good hole before you’re ready to fish it.
Johnboats are fine for big rivers, but they’re hard to control in tight quarters. Deep-V boats work well on big lakes, but they can’t turn on a dime, and they often hang up on snags and sandbars in rivers.
A canoe lets you slide silently downstream or along a lake shore. Moving with the current, you can cover many miles of river in a day, stopping to fish the best holes and moving quickly through unproductive water. If you want, you can pull it up on a sandbar to wade and fish or stretch your legs. Best of all, you’ll have plenty of water all to yourself.
You’ll enjoy your outdoor activities much more if you choose the right tools for the job. In many fishing situations, the right tool is a canoe.
For more information on River Ridge canoes, log onto www.riverridgecustomcanoes.com , or call (507) 288-2750.