Hunting from a canoe?

[Jagermeister]

The best times I had on moving waters was with a driftboat. Mine was a Willy wide guide 17’ aluminum model. Sawyer counter-balanced 9’ oars. Boat was capable of carrying three and gear. With the counter-balanced oars you could row all day long. And it was no slouch on flat
water either. Sold it to a fellow in Taylor who intended to use it to hunt elk on the Pine.
Way safer than a canoe

[mike31154]

I've been canoeing since my teens and to me it's a great way to access spots otherwise inaccessible. Haven't done a lot of hunting out of a canoe, but have in the past and will in the future. Common sense & preparation are key as with most outdoor activities, especially involving firearms. Plenty of folks die on the water in canoes that are not hunting, simply recreating. Several years ago while deer hunting in the Monashees I had brought my shotgun along and decided to walk down to a small shallow lake. Found a canoe stashed in the trees and bagged a Goldeneye with it. Was a real clunker, Clipper, but it served its purpose well, getting me off the shore to where the birds were.

I brought my cedar strip canoe along for a shared LEH moose hunt in September and it was great to have along since we scored a lakeside campground. Went for a paddle to the south end of the lake fishing with the 12 ga in the boat, had a crack at some ducks I snuck up on but missed. Explored up a creek from the lake into territory that would have taken some knarly hiking to get to. Later in the week we met up with a hunter known to one of my buddies and he related how more than one hunting party had bagged a moose just offshore by canoe. To each his own, but if you're game, (or after game!) go for it.

One of 3 short portages over beaver dams on a creek off the lake took me into an area I hiked close to a day or so before. I was able to push the canoe over without removing gear.


Not many watercraft are capable of getting one into spots like this. The lake was very shallow leading up the mouth of the creek. I was able to push the canoe through the sandy bottom. It only needs a few inches of water to float.



Hard to beat a paddle on a day like this. Fly rod, shotgun, dry bag. My hunting buddies watched me catch a trout at the far end of the lake with the spotting scope. They also heard the shot from the 12 ga & I had to take the flak for only bringing back a measly fish but no duck for dinner.


On yet another combined fishing/hunting foray, this time early season with my bow, I found a tree stand paddling up a shallow creek that would have stopped other watercraft long before where I did.

[RackStar]

Nice pics mike

fun adventures

[MRP]

Years ago but good fun in the back yard pond.

[mike31154]

Ha, ha, clearly the pooch is captain of the ship!

[Visle]

Hunted lots from a canoe and offer some thoughts from experience. Found aluminum too noisy and glass noisy enough that we used foam insulation , the kind that is split and goes around pipes around the gunnel (sp) to be very effective. Found the flat stern perfect for an electric motor for travelling or fishing .Found a flat bottomed canoe useless on lakes whenever a breeze came up when I was the solo paddler.In addition to tying our rifles to the boat I fiber glassed two 1" capped pvc pipes about 6 inches long about rifle length away from the seats to acomadate the rifle muzzles and a u-shaped bracket on the seat to make it so that the rifles were both secure and easy to access.Learn in the summer months how to bail the canoe from the outside while in the water (rocking it back and forth). Always wear life jackets and stay away from rough water or weather. Keep the shooter in the bough and approach the moose bow on so that recoil is rearward rather than sideways. Be aware that you can't shoot from a boat under power nor at a swimming moose.

[Arctic Lake]

Albravo2. Just wondering how the Pakboat would stand up to a carcass bone ? Might puncture too easily
Arctic Lake

[albravo2]

Mike, that is a really good looking canoe. I'd be afraid to strap that one to the side of a float plane.

Arctic, I've heard from a guy that used to use them for his F&W crews in Alaska and he says they are bomb-proof. Whatever route I go I will also have the means to repair the boat. If plans unfold as I wish we'll be long way from the nearest Canadian Tire.

I've also had a recommendation for alpacka rafts (www.alpackarafts.com). They are ridiculously light and packable (good for a float plane) but they wouldn't be as good at tracking and cutting through any chop.

Everything is a tradeoff... it is fun to plan a hunt like this and hope you make the right tradeoffs for the situation you end up in.

[Awishanew]

As others have said, always wear a life jacket but be sure you can shoot with the one you choose as some make it hard to get the proper eye relief. As for the swimming with all your hunting gear and big boots on, I had to do it once for about 10 feet and I never go without a life jacket now. nuf said

[mpotzold]

Did some hunting from canoe back in the 60’s & early 70’s. Great for swampy areas & small lakes. Never did the rapids like the Deliverance boys did.

Was caught in a sudden storm in the middle of Birkenhead Lake & the waves were higher than the canoe. Somehow we managed to make it back to shore.
So watch the weather carefully.

If planning to canoe in lakes be careful if the lake is glacier fed.

See the following.
See post#5
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showth...e-fishing-tips