Solo Canoe Set-up

[Al Agnew]

RSBreth saw the post I made on this subject on another board, and suggested I repeat it here...

The solo canoe, in my opinion, is the best solo paddlecraft for fishing Ozark streams. But canoes do have their drawbacks. Having fished from canoes for close to 50 years, I've encountered all the problems, and being an inveterate tinkerer who is always looking for a better mousetrap, I've given a lot of thought and effort to designing tackle systems and ways of carrying rods in the canoe. After a lot of evolution, I think I've come up with something as close to perfect as I'm probably going to get for myself. It may work for others, or at least give them ideas on how to figure out their own set-up.

I'm still out here in Montana, and I don't have my usual solo out here, nor do I have all my rods, but I do have one of my old solo canoes that works the same way, so I took photos of the various things I've figured out on it the other day.

Here is the basic set-up. It includes the seat and back, the two tackle containers, and three rods. I usually carry five rods in the canoe, and I'll have a small cooler that goes ahead of the thwart in front of me, although sometimes I'll put it just behind my seat. The cooler will hold all my food and beverages for the day. I don't carry much else on day trips--a small, waterproof camera goes in my pocket along with a small set of binoculars. My life jacket, if not being worn, drapes over the seat back.

Here is a better view of the way the rods lie in the canoe, along with the tackle containers. You want the rods to be within easy reach, quick to get into action, but you also want them to have their tips inside the gunwales of the canoe so you don't snag them on brush or tangle your line around the end of a protruding rod. My canoes are 14 footers, and my rods are all 6 feet long or less, so I can lay them on the bench seat supports, and the tips will either be under the rear end cap on the rods pointing backwards, or under the front end cap or alongside the gunwales near the front. As I said, I carry five rods...two with tips pointing rearwards, two on the bench seat support with tips pointing forward, and usually one with rod handle lying on the thwart in front of me, and the tip beneath the front end cap. That one will be a short rod, 5 feet long. I like the short rod for playing walk-the-dog type topwater lures--the shortness allows you to get the rod at the right angle to the water while sitting in the canoe.

Here's a close-up of the rods lying on the bench seat supports. You could strap them down to the bench seat, but I don't do that. I do make sure the reels are hanging downwards inside the gunwales, because I've accidentally knocked rods overboard by bumping the reel when it was up above the gunwales.

Here's a close-up of one of my two tackle containers. This is a cheap, plastic auto battery box from the discount store. Just by pure luck, it snugly holds five Plano 3701 boxes full of lures. It straps beneath my seat, and as you can see I added a velcro strap from the bottom of the box up to a buckle on the front of the seat, which holds the Plano boxes in when I'm dragging the canoe over a downed tree or something. Otherwise I keep it unstrapped. I cut little slits in the "bottom" of the box, and ran double sided velcro straps through them and out the front of the box, as shown here.

Here is the other container. This one was the most difficult to come up with. I tried to find a rigid plastic box that held 3600 Planos, but the only thing I could find was the soft bag shown. So I made a rigid liner out of an old cutting board from my wife's sewing room and lined the bag with it. The container straps to the thwart in front of me as shown.

The beauty of these containers, besides the fact that they are close to hand, is that they keep the Plano boxes off the bottom of the canoe, and also keep them lying flat. Anybody who has ever fished from a canoe knows that it'll get some water in the bottom during the day, and if your tackle is lying on the bottom of the canoe it'll probably get wet. Also, if you have any container that holds the Plano boxes on edge, rain or even just drips from the paddle will trickle into them and get stuff wet. This is the only way I've found to keep my tackle dry.

Finally, I added a carrying strap to the battery box as shown. The other container has handles already.

So there you have it. Space for five 3701 boxes and four 3600 boxes, keeping them flat and off the bottom of the canoe. Room for five rods, all easy to hand like the tackle containers. The seat is a Sit-backer, which is pretty comfortable--you really NEED something with a good backrest.

Of course, you must have a bench seat in your canoe for the battery box idea. Rotomolded seats won't work, obviously. But I hate rotomolded seats anyway, and would replace them with bench seats on any canoe I owned. You can get bench seats from Piragis Northwoods. I also had to raise the seat an inch or so on one of my canoes in order for the battery box to fit under it. Raising the seat makes the canoe feel a bit less stable, but I quickly got used to it.

You can do the same tackle system on a tandem canoe. I made a short, removable thwart for my tandems that goes in front of the front seat, to strap the thwart container onto. If you're in the back of the canoe, you can strap it to the thwart in front of you. Rod placement is a bit more problematical, and takes some experimentation to figure out the best way to stow rods for both front and back angler without them getting tangled. You might not be able to carry five rods APIECE!

[Danoinark]

Excellent report Al. What brand is that solo? Weight?

Thanks

Dano

[Fishhand]

It would get ugly in a hurry if I took five rods in a canoe...nice set up!

Do you use anchors or do you just keep getting flushed and recycled in the eddies?

[Al Agnew]

Dano, the canoe pictured is an old Oscoda Coda fiberglass, 14 ft. long, weighs in the neighborhood of 44 pounds. I've had it since the mid-1980s. It's a fast, great-tracking little boat, not real easy to turn and maneuver. I used to use it a lot on slow rivers where I knew I'd be paddling through a lot of dead water, such as the Bourbeuse and the lower Gasconade. Fiberglass isn't as bad on Ozark streams as one would think, but it's noisy. I recently bought a couple more Oscodas just to take out here and leave at the cabin, but one of them was in better shape than the one pictured, so I kept it at home for my wife to use there. My preferred solo canoe for Ozark streams these days is a Wenonah Vagabond, Royalex, 14'3", 43 pounds.

Jim, I have an anchor set-up, but seldom use it except in the winter. I tend to use the eddies a lot, and also use any obstructions like rocks and logs to stop myself to fish. I stick my leg out and hold myself in shallow water or against logs or rocks. Also, with all the experience I've had in canoes, I can slow myself down enough to fish just with a few one-handed paddle strokes as I'm drifting downstream in moderate current.

[RSBreth]

My Old Town Pack, with worn off camo. Ugly, but functional. 7-foot rods fit easily, the handles off to the side of the seat.

I usually have a small foam pad on the seat, but removed it for drying. I like the Plano box set up, but I do take the tackle bag out to portage, and carry lots of plastics, so you can't see the closed-cell foam pad the tackle bag is sitting on, it's about 3/4-inch high and keeps the bag out of any bilge water, it also keeps the bag from sliding around. I have a Sit-Backer, but use the old Coleman seat back because it's quicker to remove and put back, and lighter, too.

I messed around with a kayak for a little bit, but finally got the Old Town Pack solo. Couldn't be happier. Al ranks it lower than I do, but I've only paddled a couple other solo canoes. It is small, but I like its light weight, as I've mentioned before I often paddle and portage up, then float back.

If I was looking for a solo for SW Ozark rivers, I would start with this one.

[Guest]

I love these pics man.

Great ideas for customizing your canoes.

I might add a lightweight swivel boat seat to my canoe.

I really dig Al's ingenuity with the battery box. Thats genius.

I want to retire and fish forever. LOL

[grizwilson]

Has anyone used the double ended Kayak type paddles in one of these solo canoes? I was thinking of getting a Kayak, looks like get wet and can not carry enough stuff, especially for overnight, plus I am getting old not sure I could get out of a kayak after I sit a while. I use a 14'9" old town and sit backwards in the front seat to solo, thought the lighter weight Pack might be better for me? But like the looks of those paddles?

[ness]

Al,

Great post. I love the ingenuity and use of battery box, etc to accomplish something other than what it was designed for.

Woodman: Al's info is very good re: the keel. I'll just add that 'tracking' is generally not an issue with a well-designed canoe. The front-to-back curve or 'rocker' of a canoe coupled with the curve side-to-side a well-designed craft will strike the right balance between the canoe going the direction you want it to and allowing you to change directions when you want too. Keels are generally added to provide rigidity, especially in very wide, flat-bottomed canoes. They also add material to provide protection from rocks, gravel or reduce wear when the canoe is dragged over stuff.

Of course, the wider, flat boats have a lot of initial stability, and give a sense of comfort and allow you to stand up if you want. But, put one of those past the tipping point, and there's no turning back. A rounder-bottomed canoe may feel less stable, but the point of no return is farther up the side.

Grizwilson: You and Al have hit on what I think is one of the major advantages of a canoe: the ability to hold multiple fully-rigged rods. Kayaks have their plusses, and you see more and more of them out on the water these days. They're more maneuverable, so if you're the type that zig-zags across streams, or changes your mind frequently requiring frequent u-turns , a kayak may be best. And, like you suggest - getting out of one of those is a tad more challenging the older I get. For me, the storage capacity, comfort and versatility of a solo canoe are ideal for stream fishing.

[Gavin]

Griz, you might want to check out the Wenonah Vagabond.(14.5' long and approx 45lbs in Royalex)..Al floats one, so do I...I like it a lot better than my former solo (an OT Pack)..works well with a 230-240cm yak paddle when going upstream..but I use a single blade for fishing and downstream travel.

[Al Agnew]

Yep, what Gavin said. A double blade is very nice for paddling upstream, but I never use one when I'm doing a downstream float trip. The problems with double blades is that it isn't as easy to do the minor course and positioning corrections you need to make while fishing, and they don't do well when floating small streams where you'll encounter narrow, brushy riffles with overhanging trees. But if I'm putting in and paddling upstream, I always carry a double blade.