Fishing From A Canoe

These are things I've learned along the way (sometimes painfully).  I'm not an expert at paddling a canoe, I'm not an expert fisherman and I'm not an expert parent.  I do think I'm slowly becoming an expert at fishing in a canoe with kids.

Use common sense.
If you are not at least average at fishing AND average at canoeing, don't put the two together with kids involved.  It's too easy to get hurt with the hooks or tip the canoe and lose a bunch of gear.  There are also strainers and hydrolics to look out for.  Become at least average at both before putting the two together.

When you start out, never cast from the canoe while in current.
Park the boat on a gravel bar and cast above, below, and into current from the bank.  Fish slack water sections from the boat to get used to casting from the canoe.  Over time, the angles you are able to cast will become second nature and you won't have to think before each cast about how to avoid hooking your partner or slapping them in the head with the tip of your rod on your cast follow through.


Take extra care not to get snagged, especially in current.
Getting snagged in current means that your line might break due to the weight of the boat pulling at the lure snagged on the bottom.  Getting snagged also means that the boat will be whipped around with the lure acting as a grapple trying to hold the boat still in the current.  Ideally, the line won't break and the drag will feed line out until you have time to work the canoe over to the bank to free the snag.

Use really heavy line.
Fishing from a canoe and fishing streams in general is often about current.  Fish are usually in the current immediately above the current, or immediately below the current especially when feeding.  The turbulent water adds oxygen giving the fish energy to pursue prey.   Usually we cast a couple times from the canoe above the rapids, in the rapids, and below the rapids.  If we have any action we usually pull off at a gravel bar to cast above, into, and below the rapids where we find fish.  Sometimes we paddle back above the current and drift through multiple times casting from the boat.  If the rapids are heavy or there are any strainers or obstructions in or below the rapids, I only steer from the back while the person in front casts.  If the person casting gets snagged it is critically important to have heavy line.  When we started we were using 8lb mono which is fine for fishing from the bank in little current.  Fishing 8lb mono while floating rapids in a canoe means you lose 20 yards of line and a lure almost every time you get snagged.  We now use 30lb braid with the drag set such that the snag will pull the canoe around and the lure will act as a grapple.  Many times the lure will pull free due to the weight of the boat.  If not, the drag will let line off slowly while we work our way to the bank where we can get out and try to free the lure.  Braided line has very little "stretch".  This is really important when you get snagged in rapids from a canoe.  It means that the lure won't slingshot back at you as fast if it pulls free from the weight of the boat.


Paddle over to the bank to remove lures from trees.
It's easy when fishing from a canoe to cast into overhanging tree branches or tree roots at the edge of the water.  When you become snagged, take the time to paddle over and retrieve the lure rather than trying to jerk it free.  Jerking the lure free means the lure will hurtle back directly at you and you won't be able to move.  You're in a canoe, remember!  One of the first times we went out I managed to get two barbs of a crankbait embedded in my leg when jerking a crankbait out of an overhanging branch while in the canoe.  I had to paddle three miles to our pick up spot with the crankbait hanging out of my leg.  Not fun.

Take a really big net. 

There are monster fish in many rivers.  In some cases, monster fish with TEETH.  If you have ever hoisted a 4' gar into a canoe with your 10 year old, you'll wish you had brought a net big enough to hold the gar.  When you hook a large fish, you'll want to get a picture of it and you'll have a much better chance of getting the picture if you can bring it into the boat using a net and then paddle to shore for pictures.

Secure any gear to the canoe.
If you tip, you'll want a tackle box with a shoulder strap that can be used to tie the tackle box to the inside of the canoe.  Otherwise, all your expensive tackle will be floating down the river if you tip.

Clean up after others.
It's impossible to fish a river from a canoe and never lose gear.  The way to make up for lost gear is to clean up the trash you see while floating downstream.  Some of the tips above have greatly reduced the amount of gear we lose but we'll never be perfect.  To make up for our imperfections we clean up far more of other people's messes than we create ourselves.  It's not "leave no trace", it's "erase any trace".

Don't take super expensive reels and poles.
You tip, they sink.