We have a five-member crew going up north through prairie portage. The question is what is the best set up for canoes? Two doubles and a single, rather than a kayak is where we stand. I have been looking into them though just in case, and it seems the ones outfitted for fishing are the open face - which I would rather not use. Can anyone shine their headlamp on this?
Thanks.

I've taken my kayak several times on odd number person trips and loved it.

Kayaks are faster that canoes, but you can't put as much stuff in them like canoes. You have to pack very smart and have others willing to paddle the stuff that won't fit into your boat.

Last year I was able to back all my gear, the food pack, and tents in my boat with some creative lashing of gear on the deck. Went fine.

Fishing from a kayak I think is better that a canoe. You can definitely troll better and easier in a kayak than canoe.

Let me know how it goes. Have fun.

Thanks airmorse, I am confident packing for the kayak - an empty Duluth sack is a must I imagine. The fishing was a concern though. Good to hear you had a good experience. Generally as a group we stink at fishing. Hopefully between now and then this forum will school us in the right way.

Omaha, I fish from my kayak often, and the biggest issue is that you have deck space rather than open hull space, and you can't move around as much. This means you have to arrange things a bit more methodically so that you can get to them easily; tackle, lip grabber or net, rod, stringer, pliers. I tether pretty much all of it to the deck riggings so it can't fall into the water and get away or sink. I've even been known to rig up a depth finder on my deck as well.

What do you mean by "open face"? Do you mean a sit-on-top, that is, no top deck? If it is, don't go that way. Get a "normal" decked kayak.

I think a kayak will work fine. You just have to have the canoes carry the bulk of the gear. I would rather fish solo out of a kayak than fish solo in a solo canoe.

Remember to get a carry yoke for the kayak. Doing the over-one-shoulder carry on those portages is not fun, especially when you consider kayaks are heavier than canoes.

Another thing to consider, switch off often if the others want to. Everyone may want to have a chance at the kayak. Maybe work out a rotation.

A concern for me is getting in and out of a kayak. If you have any old, fat guys with bad knees (I'm ugly too but that doesn't matter) it may be for them as well.

Omaha, a kayak won't help you catch anymore fish! Though catching 1 is a improvment. If you spend more time throwing your lures into the water and less time playing Frogert on your fish finder you might have better luck.

Hey LittleDancer, I am pretty sure I taught you how to fish. I will however commend you on the "one that got away". If anyone finds a large northern with a metal stringer hook in it the mouth, it's TangoWithTangles. You want me on that depth finder, you need me on that depth finder.

Paddler, would you teach me how to fish? I need a diet.

The only fishing stories you have are the ones I've giving you. You bring what ever new fangled thing you got to help you catch fish, if it's a headset with a underwater microphone that helps you hear hiding walleye, please bring it. You know I always bring my fish finder, its that thing with hooks on the end of my line. tangoswithtangles thats funny!

Omaha,I would ask the outher crew members if they would haul your gear for you before you commit to a kayak.

Depending on what kayak you chose to use the others in your party might not have to carry any of your gear. You might have to change the way you would typically pack though so your stuff will fit in any dry hatches. There will be some group gear that you will use that the others may carry though. Refrain from strapping too much on the top decks as this could create a top heavy effect. I stick to a map and a jacket for my decks. You also might want to try the kayak fishing prior to your trip. I know people that kayak that say they can not fish out of one, not sure why but they feel they are to tippy. I think it is more of a mental thing. The kayak will do better in the wind than a solo canoe would primarly due to the above water surface area. Personally I love fishing out of the kayak and find it to be very easy. Todd

Rent a two person canoe and a three person canoe and you will be set. Our group did this last year and it worked out pretty well, especially when you can ride in the middle and make the other two people paddle.

I second what Evenflow says.
We took two three-person trips last year and rented a SR 18.5 each time and it was perfect. Not necessarily easy to maneuver in a small river, but that's the way to go with an odd-numbered group.

Does anybody rent kayaks around the BW? Aren't they kind of heavy and awkward to portage?

Most of the outfitters offer them for rent, and they do get used. Maybe some of the outfitter types could provide more info on how much rental business they do with kayaks.

They are more difficult to portage than canoes, but they are often lighter than all but the kevlar canoes. Of course, it's one person to a kayak, rather than 2 or 3. Sure are nice on a windy day in a big lake though!

I use a Bell RobRoy and I carry all of my own gear. There is a fish detector on the front of the cockpit. On the nose is a cover for my paddle while portaging. I double portage. The only thing lashed to the deck is on the back and is a empty water bottle. I have added a back rest. Cut and past the address below and watch the video taken near the middle of Quetico.
http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/qpassion/?action=view¤t=100_2516.flv

MagicPaddler

I dont know why that does not work. Try this.

[URL=http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/qpassion/?action=view¤t=100_2516.flv][IMG]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/qpassion/th_100_2516.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

MagicPaddler, the links did not work for me. Thanks for trying though.

thought I'd throw a little html at it and see if it works... the link to magicpaddler's RobRoy photo

MagicPaddler in RobRoy

is a RobRoy a canoe or a kayak? I usually hear it referred to as a decked solo canoe that is typically paddled with a double bladed paddle (which sounds like the definition of a kayak)

Is that a sail rig on the deck, MagicPaddler?

I’m not much of a fisherman, but here is a picture of me landing the biggest fish I have ever caught. It was a 9lb. something pike. Fishing from a kayak can be interesting.

Bwkayak thanks there is actually a video that I tried to give the address for. I do not understand what is going on. To post the message I cut and pasted the url. So there was no chance of a typo.

http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/qpassion/?action=view¤t=100_2516.flv

The cone thing on the nose is to stick the end of the paddle under to keep brush from dragging it out of the spring clip that holds it. Looks funny but works well. It is fun to have a fish drag you out to deep water.

cut the past this off the front and past this.
pastThishttp://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/qpassion/?action=view¤t=100_2516.flv

The address gets changed when I try to post it.

MagicPaddler, the address gets changed even when I paste it directly into my browser, so I don't think I'll be able to help on the video... sorry!

Bwkayak thanks again for trying. If you want to see it try a search.
I did a Google search for
photobucket "Magic Paddler"
and it comes up as the first item.

There are several kayak fishing websites that you can check out. www.paddle-fishing.com comes to mind. These guys and gals are from Florida and fish both salt and fresh water from their boats. Both sit-in and sit-on-tops are used. The sit-on-tops seem to be real popular. The people are friendly and helpful with questions.
Granted, they don't portage for the most part. They do talk about camping out of their yaks and gear is always discussed. Just a suggestion.

Everything they said--a pain to portage, a joy on the water. I liked fishing from mine (Old Town Loon 13.5'), including flyfishing for bass. They are faster, more stable (once you're in) and fun in waves that would be scary in a canoe (I use a "skirt" to stay dry in wind and waves--also warm in cold weather). I bought and installed a bunch of deck lashings (from Spring Creek) to keep my rods, paddle, map, raingear, etc handy. Here's a shot of my son on Horse Lake in a Perception Storm (rented from Midwest Mountaineering, photo shot around 10PM in early June with the help of some flashlight "painting". He wore a fishing vest which he kept everything he needed close at hand.

Thanks to all that have repllied. Spring, that is a great photo. Our crew has not yet decided on out final boat set up yet. I can say that with all the threads from this topic I can piece together a wonderful kayak experience. However, it seems that cutomization is key so I wouldn't want to rent one. I like to trick my gear out and know how it's all going to go down. Obviously, I am from Omaha - and I am not sure if I can justify all this new gear by May, especially living here. I will get it done sometime though. My buddy, who has not chimed in on this much, just might go for the gusto.