Perfect hunting kayak

[Allegheny Tom]

It's all good. We've actually stayed pretty on topic.

@EricS, exactly. And don't forget all the time spent scouting before hunting season. I can cruise in that pungo. All day if need be. It's so easy to load that there's no voice whispering "it isn't worth the effort" at 2am on a drizzling morning. And I can cut a deer up and cram it in the hatch.

Also, I would concur that waders aren't as dangerous as people make out. I've had rubber and neoprene ones fill with water. The water inside doesn't weigh more than the water outside. It CAN make it very difficult to reenter a boat though, and I think that's where the danger come in. Treading water with them on is fine.

If you end up in the river above a strainer you must be able to swim. Ain't much speed swimming with waders full of water.

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[Vtbow]

Not to get too far off topic, but the part about becoming an “anchor” if you fall in with chest waders doesn’t seem right. Maybe for old school waders or non-neoprene ones that is true, but not for neoprene.

Back in highschool we had some local kids die while duck hunting on the lake when their jon-boat tipped over in the middle of KY Lake. Rumor was that they found a couple of the kids “standing up” at the bottom of the lake because their waders filled up sunk them. I didn’t buy that story but my poor mother was terrified for me. The following summer I put on my hunting clothes, all layers, and my hunting waders and jumped in our pool. Even with all the cotton under layers I floated like a cork. With my mother as my witness, I feel like I proved that you won’t sink in neoprene waders.

(It later came out that the boys that had died weren’t wearing waders or even life vests)

Not literally an anchor, but more like a "sea anchor" meaning if there is a current, they can act like an underwater parachute, pulling you down stream not necessarily down to the bottom(depending on currents and river features).

 

[Nutterbuster]

If you end up in the river above a strainer you must be able to swim. Ain't much speed swimming with waders full of water.

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True, and this is where regional variations and assumptions about skill levels come into play. I do not have a lot of fast moving water down here, and when we have flood conditions I am very selective about where I will and will not launch. I appreciate you pointing that out.

I'm blessed with slow, warm water. Not everybody is.

 

[KYHunter]

If you end up in the river above a strainer you must be able to swim. Ain't much speed swimming with waders full of water.

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I hunt slower, bigger bodies of water like @Nutterbuster so the thought of needing to swim quickly has never been on my mind. That’s a great point I hadn’t thought of!

 

[KYHunter]

Not literally an anchor, but more like a "sea anchor" meaning if there is a current, they can act like an underwater parachute, pulling you down stream not necessarily down to the bottom(depending on currents and river features).

Ahhh I gotcha, that makes sense!

 

[Sipsey]

I hunt/fish a stream that fluctuates wildly in the winter time and gets so low in summer that a good nights sleep and a good back are required to pull over the many downed trees. It has high water often till July. We fish limb hooks till it gets low enough to bass fish.

I use a lightweight 14’ aluminum flat bottom with a 15 HP Johnson when it’s high. I have a Coleman scanoe and use a 2 1/2 Suzuki when there’s enough water to jump the logs. When I was much younger I used a truck inner tube with a #3 washtub wedged in it and a short board for a seat. I sometimes use my cousins modified aluminum Piroque with my small outboard. Water conditions, distance, and purpose dictate what I use. No one boat is perfect for every situation.

 

[EricS]

True, and this is where regional variations and assumptions about skill levels come into play. I do not have a lot of fast moving water down here, and when we have flood conditions I am very selective about where I will and will not launch. I appreciate you pointing that out.

I'm blessed with slow, warm water. Not everybody is.

It definitely depends on the body of water. Most of our rivers you can walk across. Same way with me st of the ponds. If someone around here drowns in waders they usually were duck hunting a reservoir and fell out the boat between the launch and their hunting area.
As far as kayaks go @Nutterbuster yours just lacks the capacity for some of us full figured saddle hunters. I’m closer to a gorilla than a spider monkey. The same design in a 14 footer would be about right but that also Leaves you to rooftop carry if you have a toolbox in your pickup. I’ve never been fond of loading canoes and kayaks on rooftops. Maybe I would feel different if I was using a 40lb yak.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

The power of water should never be underestimated.
Even flat rivers can have strong current that does some crazy things.
I took a whitewater rescue class several years ago and one of the things we had to do is walk across a knee deep stream with flat, but strong current. It was nearly impossible for a lone person to do it. 2 or 3 people holding on to each other and alternating steps make stream crossing safer. What a lot of people think would be easily crossed just wasn't so.
And while we are discussing this stuff...NEVER attempt to stand in moderate current. Foot entrapment is very real. A foot gets lodged between rocks or other under water debris like some logs and the current pushes you over...drowning is almost certain even in very shallow water.
Take this stuff seriously.

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[mihunter101]

I gotta admit, if they could halve the weight on the thing, I may could be talked into it.

That's my only issue with the Nucanoe. Great, safe option for hunting, but heavy.

 

[Gator]

I have a Native FS12 that is awesome to duck and deer hunt out of, not to mention fish. It's a fairly open concept much like a canoe but handles way better plus it's extremely easy to stand up in.

 

[bowhunter15]

If the Nucanoe weighed 30lb I'd be all over it. My sit-in kayak does ok for what I need it to do most of the time and at a sub $400 price point, although a bit heavy at 50lb. I can carry it in my truck bed, which matters since most of the spots I go to are 1-1.5hrs at highway speeds, and a rig on top really tanks the mpgs.

With my fiance getting more interested in hunting and us taking BWCA trips more often, it makes sense to look into an option that can tandem. Nucanoe or regular canoe would both fit the bill. Both are similarly priced, with a good canoe being a bit more expensive actually.

Theres a reason you almost NEVER see kayaks in the BWCA. They're way easier to portage and carry a crap ton of gear. For a lot of the places we'd hunt via boat, you have a 20-200yd carry or drag just to get to the water, often with some steep terrain. That's pretty much a non starter with the Nucanoe. But at the same time, you often can't just paddle right up on shore and get out. You've got cattails or steep banks or whatever which means usually getting out of the boat in the water, which I'm certain would be easier with the primary stability of the Nucanoe. Buy both? Lol, I need a bigger garage. My ceiling and wall storage is already full as it is.


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[Nutterbuster]

If the Nucanoe weighed 30lb I'd be all over it. My sit-in kayak does ok for what I need it to do most of the time and at a sub $400 price point, although a bit heavy at 50lb. I can carry it in my truck bed, which matters since most of the spots I go to are 1-1.5hrs at highway speeds, and a rig on top really tanks the mpgs.

With my fiance getting more interested in hunting and us taking BWCA trips more often, it makes sense to look into an option that can tandem. Nucanoe or regular canoe would both fit the bill. Both are similarly priced, with a good canoe being a bit more expensive actually.

Theres a reason you almost NEVER see kayaks in the BWCA. They're way easier to portage and carry a crap ton of gear. For a lot of the places we'd hunt via boat, you have a 20-200yd carry or drag just to get to the water, often with some steep terrain. That's pretty much a non starter with the Nucanoe. But at the same time, you often can't just paddle right up on shore and get out. You've got cattails or steep banks or whatever which means usually getting out of the boat in the water, which I'm certain would be easier with the primary stability of the Nucanoe. Buy both? Lol, I need a bigger garage. My ceiling and wall storage is already full as it is.


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If you plan to canoe camp regularly, a nucanoe is not going to cut it. Two people in a 12ft boat with gear for a couple of nights would be terrible. I know, because I just sold a 12ft Creek Boat. Even after cutting out the livewell, it just didn't have the room a standard 17ft or so canoe has.

It will also not paddle nearly as well. I can paddle me, the missus, and all of our gear all day in my canoe. Not so much the creek boat.

You are right a out good canoes being pricey. Rotomolded poly is comparatively cheap, and the market right now is just bigger. I've been drooling for months now over the 20lb hornbeck boats @Vtbow turned me on to. $2,000 plus shipping is some serious cash.

 

[bowhunter15]

If you plan to canoe camp regularly, a nucanoe is not going to cut it. Two people in a 12ft boat with gear for a couple of nights would be terrible. I know, because I just sold a 12ft Creek Boat. Even after cutting out the livewell, it just didn't have the room a standard 17ft or so canoe has.

It will also not paddle nearly as well. I can paddle me, the missus, and all of our gear all day in my canoe. Not so much the creek boat.

You are right a out good canoes being pricey. Rotomolded poly is comparatively cheap, and the market right now is just bigger. I've been drooling for months now over the 20lb hornbeck boats @Vtbow turned me on to. $2,000 plus shipping is some serious cash.

The advantage of living in MN is that there is no shortage of ultralight canoe options since it is so popular up here. That leads into the other tradeoff. For canoe camping, we'd be better off with something around 17 or 18' because there's big water and tracking over long distance is important. But then on some of those creeks running through cattail sloughs theres a 90 degree turn every 50 yards it seems like lol. Where one of those little wide, flat 14 footers would be better.

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[Nutterbuster]

The advantage of living in MN is that there is no shortage of ultralight canoe options since it is so popular up here. That leads into the other tradeoff. For canoe camping, we'd be better off with something around 17 or 18' because there's big water and tracking over long distance is important. But then on some of those creeks running through cattail sloughs theres a 90 degree turn every 50 yards it seems like lol. Where one of those little wide, flat 14 footers would be better.

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I've never had much trouble turning anything in those hairpin turns but a kayak, TBH. I can spin almost 180 with a single stroke.

Wish I lived in an area that had kevlar and carbon fiber canoes up for sale on craigslist! I'd be on that like flies on a cow patty.

 

[Nomad Hunter]

The ascend boats are popular down here. I just don't care for anything shorter than 12ft. Too little capacity, and they don't track very well. I know they make a 12' model that I've kicked around buying in the past, but never did. I just don't like boats built for stability.

This is the tsunami I mentioned in the vid. Much more my speed. I tend to try and find the sleekest design I can while still packing gear. And I'd rather have less gear and more boat so to speak. I'm probably on the far end of the spectrum, but I log a LOT of miles with a paddle.

Short, wide women can be wonderful, but I like my boats long and lean.

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Hard for me to find an older WS pungo 120 in my area.

Any thoughts on the Perception Sound 105 (10.5’ long, 29.5” wide, weighs 46 lbs). The hunting public guys endorse it.

I’m looking for a light weight kayak I can paddle up a slow river (3-4 MPH) to get a mile back to public land. I’ve got to Solo portage a 100 yards or so to get to the river.

Thanks Nutterbuster! I just finished watching all your YouTube videos and they’re awesome!

 

[Nutterbuster]

Hard for me to find an older WS pungo 120 in my area.

Any thoughts on the Perception Sound 105 (10.5’ long, 29.5” wide, weighs 46 lbs). The hunting public guys endorse it.

I’m looking for a light weight kayak I can paddle up a slow river (3-4 MPH) to get a mile back to public land. I’ve got to Solo portage a 100 yards or so to get to the river.

Thanks Nutterbuster! I just finished watching all your YouTube videos and they’re awesome!

For what you describe doing, it will most likely be fine, as long as you're not a big dude. 10ft boats are really not my idea of a good time, but I've owned one before and it could get you A to B. They track horribly and don't glide at all.

Glad you liked the videos, but to be ho est, even I haven't watched all of them.

 

[EricS]

Hard for me to find an older WS pungo 120 in my area.

Any thoughts on the Perception Sound 105 (10.5’ long, 29.5” wide, weighs 46 lbs). The hunting public guys endorse it.

I’m looking for a light weight kayak I can paddle up a slow river (3-4 MPH) to get a mile back to public land. I’ve got to Solo portage a 100 yards or so to get to the river.

Thanks Nutterbuster! I just finished watching all your YouTube videos and they’re awesome!

That kayak should be fine if you are around or under 200 lbs or don’t plan on using it to haul meat. I wouldn’t expect 4mph out of it cruising. Maybe 2-2.5. I’m sure you could paddle it 4mph but it wouldn’t be an easy cruising speed. Everything else being equal the shorter the kayak the less efficient it is.

 

[Nomad Hunter]

That kayak should be fine if you are around or under 200 lbs or don’t plan on using it to haul meat. I wouldn’t expect 4mph out of it cruising. Maybe 2-2.5. I’m sure you could paddle it 4mph but it wouldn’t be an easy cruising speed. Everything else being equal the shorter the kayak the less efficient it is.

Thanks much. Exactly what I needed to know.

 

[Country]

I picked up this Old Town Pack 12 foot canoe last season. Weighs 33 pounds. Pretty nice, just with I had more spots to use it for hunting.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

That kayak should be fine if you are around or under 200 lbs or don’t plan on using it to haul meat. I wouldn’t expect 4mph out of it cruising. Maybe 2-2.5. I’m sure you could paddle it 4mph but it wouldn’t be an easy cruising speed. Everything else being equal the shorter the kayak the less efficient it is.

I think he was referring to paddling against 4 mph current, not necessarily PADDLING at 4 mph.
Paddling upstream is not just about boat design, its also about reading water and paddling technique. I know a guy that can attain class 3 rapids in a solo canoe because he is a master paddler and plays micro currents like a Stratevarious. Its amazing what a boat can do with the right operator.

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