Float Boat?

[brittsnbirds]

Thinking that I need to get something to float with. Thought about a canoe or a kyak also those inflatable units. Want something easy to transport and handle. For fly fishing for trout and smally's.

Any suggestions.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Now you've done it!. That's tough to answer because all have their place. The inflatables are the most stable and easiest to transport.

The kayak is easy to transport car top and is the most maneuverable. The canoe is the fastest, and will carry the biggest load in terms of bulk and can be a tandem.

It kind of depends on your needs and where you will use it most often. for the Niangua and as a solo, I would go with the inflatable or the kayak. The inflatable would probably be my first choice because it's easy to use it as transportation and wade to fish, something that I think works well on the Niangua.

[Lancer09]

If it will just be you I'd look at inflatable for ease of transport. A low profile pontoon system would give you something stable to fish out of but not carry a ton of stuff.

[Gavin]

I'd like a jet, a drifter, a toon, a sit on top kayak, solo canoe, white river jon, and a tandem canoe to do what you want to do. I own two of the aforementioned. A solo canoe, and a tandem canoe. Works fine, but I want one of the others occasionally. Want a bass boat, and Mississippi rig too!

[Krazo]

i own a yak thats a sit-inside....sometimes i think id like a sit-on-top one for a better perspective when flyfishing from the boat, but i sight fish a lot. other times i think an inflatable pontoon is the way to go, seems like it would be easier to flyfish out of when trying to turn your body for casting or even positioning the boat with the oars . but if you dont like to go solo, you better get a canoe.

[Greasy B]

I'd like a jet, a drifter, a toon, a sit on top kayak, solo canoe, white river jon, and a tandem canoe to do what you want to do. I own two of the aforementioned. A solo canoe, and a tandem canoe. Works fine, but I want one of the others occasionally. Want a bass boat, and Mississippi rig too!

Yep and a pole barn to store them in.

[ScottK]

[rumrunner]

i just bought a sot kayak.the inflateables look great for flyfishing but i was worried about manuevering them on the niangia.around downed trees in the current, for example.i figure i'll probably beach the yak and wade alot.i got one of the cheap ones aimed at beginners that's extra wide.

[Al Agnew]

Flyfishing presents challenges that aren't nearly as significant with spinning or casting, if you are wanting to actually fish from the boat rather than just using it to get you to the spots you want to fish. Basically it's a matter of boat control, with the added problem of managing your fly line. Canoes are not good for it because you must have your paddle handy to keep the boat under control, you have to take one hand off your rod and line to make the strokes necessary to keep the canoe in position which leaves all your loose fly line lying in the canoe or in the water, and when you lay the paddle down it will invariably snag your loose line. Kayaks aren't any better, since they have the same problems.

What you really need for flyfishing is a craft that you can control without using your hands. Some pontoon craft work well if you can dangle your feet in the water and wear swim fins, but the best I've ever used for this is the Water Master personal raft. It's a small one person raft, shaped like an oblong doughnut, with a platform covering about half of the opening in the middle, which serves as your seat and cargo space. It has attached oars for running fast water and covering long, dead pools, but when fishing your legs dangle in the water and you control it with swim fins. The thing only weighs around 30 pounds and fits well in the back of pick-up fully inflated. If you have less room than that, it deflates and folds into a large, waterproof dry bag, oars and all.

I use mine out in Montana on the Yellowstone and other big western rivers, and it's by far the best solo craft I've ever found for flyfishing these waters. For Ozark streams, the biggest disadvantage to it is when you have to get out and drag it over shallow riffles; the swim fins make this an awkward proposition. I'm thinking about buying another one for the Ozarks, and modifying a pair of swim fins so that there is only a very short section of fin, so they don't flop around when you're trying to walk. Unlike the big water and powerful currents of the western rivers where you need the power of full size swim fins to slow the boat enough to fish, in the gentler currents of Ozark streams I think you could get by with fins only three or four inches out past your toes.

They are pretty expensive at $1500-1600, but I highly recommend them.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Al I started tube fishing with a pair of these, the Fishmaster fins. They should work about as well as anything where wading is concerned. I think they are more effective then fins overall because the motion is natural. It's about the same as walking.