Old Town Guide 147 Canoe

 

This is my primary fishing canoe.  As you can see, it’s a two man.  Old Town also makes a Guide 119 which I would love to try out, but I have never seen one locally.  This canoe is 38″ wide and has chines on the side which enhance its stability.  My version doesn’t have the chairbacks.  I hate the chairbacks; if you buy one with chairbacks take them out before they hurt you.

Why? Because you need to stand to fish solo out of a canoe effectively.  The best setup would be to use a shorter standup paddle board (SUP) paddle, so you don’t shred your low back muscles.  I stand immediately in front of the rear seat, and use the front area for storage.  My canoe cart wheels and axle go up under the front seat.  Typically I have a small soft-sided cooler, my fly box, and a dry bag full of tools and carry ropes, etc., in the front-middle compartment.  In the rear area I keep a section of climbing rope tied to a bundle of chains, as an anchor, and my life jacket for easy access.  That’s my entire setup.  I just lay my rod across the central thwart and take it easy.

What I like most about the Guide is its very flat layout and forgiving nature.  It is slow, terrible to paddle upstream, and somewhat cumbersome compared to a kayak.  But in that boat, *I* am much more agile than my friends in their kayaks.  Because I don’t have to worry about boat stability as much, I can rotate if the boat starts a slow spin and simply keep fishing, sometimes even facing backwards.  I don’t need outriggers or complicated storage solutions.  Car-topping is easy.  And best of all, I bought this boat on Craiglist for $350 with paddles.  There are lots of deals like that out there if you look.

Rating:  4.5 Stars out of 5 (could be lighter)

Suggestion for Old Town : Make the 119 model with chines and a wider bottom for stand up fishing.

Price: $650 MSRP