Kayak/Canoe recommendations?

[johng]

So I have been looking at different canoes/kayaks to hunt out of and am still not quite sure which one I should go with.  Does anyone use or have used a Nucanoe (made in Bellingham) or a Jackson Kayak?  Ideally I would like to hunt small lakes with it and maybe the salt close to shore.  Also, a craft that could double as a fishing platform would be the best.

Nucanoes seem to be well regarded for fishing out of but the jury I think is still out on shooting out of them.   

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

Jg

[h20hunter]

Not sure of his name but check out the section in Northwest Sportsman. There is a guy that always has a segment on kayak fishing. I've emailed folks directly at NWS and have been impressed with the fact that I alwasy get a direct reply with helpfull information. I'd look up his name and shoot an email with a little about what you are wanting to accomplish and see where it takes you.

[AWS]

I have a Three  canoes and a kayak that are used for hunting.

1.  Is a 17 foot Gruman double ended.  I keep it in WI at my BinL's, it is heavy , stable and rugged.  I went to use it last summer and can't believe how heavy it has gotten in 20 yrs, maybe I'm getting olded, used to run traplines aaa, fish, harvest wild rice and deer and duck hunt out of it.  It is a dear old friend that I would bet my life on, in fact I have.

2.   Is a aluminum Beaver racing canoe, light as a feather, easy to paddle, fast and it will dump you in the drink if you don't pay attention.  I use it by myself to hunt and camp out of.

3.   A Martin square stern 15", it is the work horse of the bunch.  With a load of decoys myself and the dog it will plane with a 3hp Johnson 2 cyl.  I used it out on the potholes and the coastal estuaries for years untill I brought my duckboat out here.  It is wide, stable and works well with two guys,  I use it to float rivers with a partner.

4.   A pelican rotomolded 12 foot kayak that I sewed up a camo cover for.  It is fairly stable, I shoot out of it.  Not much room, I throw a half dozen teal decoys behind the seat.  It is a neat little rig for exploring new areas.  It is a hard to get out of unless the water is very shallow.

With fall camo, there are loops to attach grass.



Winter camo, the cover is reversable and wear snow camo.



5.   A Marshrat that I picked up.  It is a handy little rig, very stable, fits in my van, and will haul me my dog and a sack of decoys.  I tricked it out with oarlocks and transom, the 3hp Johnson is a little much, but a 38lb. thrust electric works well.



I'll post a picture of the Kayak later tonight or in the morning.

[johng]

Thanks for the tips H20Hunter and AWS.  NWS is a good magazine and I will see what their "kayak guy" has to say about waterfowling and AWS- that is quite the armada you have there!  Each one seems to have its own thing it is better suited for. 

Here are some other things to consider a coworker of mine emailed to me.  I thought they were really good points so posting here if other people are looking to kill things out of their yaks/canoes:

*         Will you be taking the dog?  A tandem system may be better for the two
of you.

*         Sit in, or sit on top.  I like SOTs myself because I can hit the salt
and not worry about getting swamped.  This may also help if you have a dog in
and out of the boat.  Sit ins might offer a little better room for mounting gun
racks.

*         What type of seat will be best for you?  There are the standard seats
you often see, but some units offer the seats that look more like a lawn
chair.

*         Some companies offer options to add camo, covers, trolling motors,
etc.

*         Keep weight in mind and how will you transport it on the road as well
as from the car to the water.  Big is nice, but it comes at a price when you
need to put it on the roof of a car or truck.  I modified a trailer to address
this, but that is added expense.

[AWS]

I hunted with an American Water Spaniel (my handle AWS) for 14 yrs and she could even lay between my legs in the Kayak.  My new GWP(long storie wht I don't have another AWS) is a little over exuberant for the kayak but will be getting him in it next month when I can wet with out freezing and get him used to it.

I tend to get involved with my hunting and when I run into a good spot I want to be able to access it and it takes some specialized gear to get to them.  There is so much public land and water in Wash. but if it is accessable with a 16 foot sled a lot of it gets hammered.  Late in the season a couple of decoys in some skinny water can provide some great shooting.  Out at the potholes I can hunt some of the backwaters for a week before the water rises enough to get a big boat in so it's like having my own hunting preserve.

Aluminum is light and easy to care for.  If your going to be paddling in rocky streams fiberglass is great, it slides over rocks while aluminum grabs and sticks.

Get a good Life Jacket and wear it.  For hunting I like the inflateable ones that look like suspenders.  I turned over a canoe in -10 F.  degree weather miles from the nearest road on a trapline in northern MN and if it weren't for my life jacket I might not be writing this.

[duckkillerclyde]

aquapod   

[Nimrod]

Aqua pod they are great and super sturdy... Aquapod.com u can't go wrong