Any other kayak fishing members in this group? I picked up a kayak (Hobie) earlier this summer and have had an absolute blast fishing out of it. Fighting big fish in a kayak takes the experience to a whole new level.

Plan to portage into Basswood in September using the wheels.

Rant over - just wondering if any others in the group fish out of kayaks.

quote jneuman: "...just wondering if any others in the group fish out of kayaks. "

You won't find many kayak anglers in this group, and you'll find even fewer portage wheels. They're not allowed in the BW or Q.

I've seen and met a bunch of people kayak fishing on my local lakes this year. It certainly has become the new thing. Whatever floats your boat!

i kayak fish at home-CT, long island sound, also in a small lake we have a cottage on in Quebec. but- besides weight, Hobie pedal mechanism also a no go in terms of BWCA regs by my understanding, and portages?

I have tripped with a sit in kayak that weighed 48# and I'll be back next year with a 39# kayak better suited to carrying a Duluth pack if i don't change my mind by then.

Picking an entry point lake to base camp and fish has been on my list. I would probably do snowbank and hit Lakers plus side trips to boot and disappointment.

I fish from a WS Tarpon 140 quite a bit. Mostly in Florida, but some on rivers near home. Love it!

I've looked and picking up a fishing kayak but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Right now I prefer to put my money on something more versatile. The Hobie kayaks are really nice but they can't be used in the BWCA so that makes them a no go for me.

There are some good basecamp options that you could do with a kayak that would have little to no portaging. On trips like that I think a kayak could be a lot of fun and great for fishing. However, beyond that I think they are too limited for my purposes at least for now.

Shocked and disappointed to learn today that Hobies aren't allowed in the BW. They'll let motorboats in, but not a kayak powered by fins. Smh

It was a fun thought while it lasted.

Motorboats? Not really in the BWCA and only First Nation in a handful of lakes in the Q

quote jneuman: "Shocked and disappointed to learn today that Hobies aren't allowed in the BW. They'll let motorboats in, but not a kayak powered by fins. Smh


It was a fun thought while it lasted."

I don't think you'd want to deal with portaging it anyways. Fully rigged their website says they weight in at roughly 145 pounds. Since portage carts/wheels are also banned and frankly would be virtually useless to you anyways given the terrain I think you'd find yourself cursing the idea of portaging one of these kayaks over even a relatively short portage.

quote mapsguy1955: "Motorboats? Not really in the BWCA and only First Nation in a handful of lakes in the Q"

Yes, I am pretty sure I was in a motorboat on Basswood last week which I am pretty sure was in the BW.

Fully rigged mine is 95lbs and I would at least like to be able to take the portages that allow motorboats which allow wheels to their entrance.

quote jneuman: "

quote mapsguy1955: "Motorboats? Not really in the BWCA and only First Nation in a handful of lakes in the Q"

Yes, I am pretty sure I was in a motorboat on Basswood last week which I am pretty sure was in the BW.


Fully rigged mine is 95lbs and I would at least like to be able to take the portages that allow motorboats which allow wheels to their entrance."

um....I would call the Ranger station, ask the question, and then take down the name and number of the Ranger you get to give you the answer that you want. I would be surprised if you could not bring that in the same area where there are motors allowed...do you know your HP rating...;-)

quote jneuman: "

quote mapsguy1955: "Motorboats? Not really in the BWCA and only First Nation in a handful of lakes in the Q"

Yes, I am pretty sure I was in a motorboat on Basswood last week which I am pretty sure was in the BW.


Fully rigged mine is 95lbs and I would at least like to be able to take the portages that allow motorboats which allow wheels to their entrance."

Another thing to consider if you are arguing equivalency with motorboats is that you would then need a motor permit. Most of those are snapped up early in the reservation process.

A paddle-only permit will not allow you to use the Hobie with a Mirage Drive. That is clearly a mechanical aid for propulsion and prohibited in the non-motor areas of the BWCA.

I've used a crappy Old Town 12' for the last 6 or 7 years. I like it a lot for checking out smaller hard to reach places. Or when I don't want to get the boat hooked up and deal w/ all that.

I've been wanting to get either a fishing kayak or solo canoe.hope two check out both at the qc wing nite. I'm a big guy 6'4"260 lbs. New left knee and fused Rt ankle.. my friends do not call me grace.

I fished out of our group's 13' or so sit in kayak with no problems. It has no rod holders. For fishing, it's as if you're solo canoeing. We have a yoke for it, and while not light weight, it's comparable to the non-kevlar canoes we take. For us, soon to depart on another trip, it's just another boat to use by the odd man. We rotate using it, because it's fun.

I took my Current Designs 17 ft. 7 in. 54 lb. fiberglass kayak from Prairie Portage into Agnes and Kawnipi on my 1st solo back in 1995.

I was on Kawnipi bobbing up and down fishing for walleyes during the 1995 fire that ravaged the area. It was crazy fishing with the brush and trees burning all around you. I remember going through Bird Lake and the ash on the forest floor was still hot when I was heading toward Agnes.

Kayaks can handle rough water rather well and I really enjoyed being able to fish for walleyes on Kawnipi when no one else could on very windy days. I usually would be limited to hanging around the calmer waters of McKenzie or Kawa Bays during windy days when I paddle my MN II.

Some Boyscouts from Oklahoma base camping on Kawnipi thought I was crazy to be out in such rough water and walleye fishing, but you can handle some pretty big white cap water rather easily. I remember that I donated quite a few walleye for their fish fry that night. I enjoyed seeing the smiles on those boys and their scoutmaster that afternoon when I made a couple of trips over to their campsite with some nice dinner eyes. It seems that these boys from Oklahoma had never fished for walleyes before up north and came up empty several days ... they were throwing surface bass spinnerbaits in 45 ft of water and catching nothing.

Portaging with a kayak was a bit more of a hassle than with a canoe. You have to cram your supplies in the kayak cockpit holes and then take your supplies out and put them into a pack when you want to head to the next lake. It is manageable to portage but I wouldn't want to do that many portages when kayaking Quetico lakes.

Additionally, there is a lot less room for fishing equipment and camping and food supplies when using a kayak vs. a solo canoe as well. You really need to be a minimalist with supplies if you are going the way of a kayak.

4lbs 8 ounces - kayak fishing.

Before we got our canoe - we'd always bring our Kayak when we would go "car camping" - and I've fished in it plenty - including Voyagers. Its a great deal of fun. Fishing deep "off the bottom" seems to be the easiest if you don't want to pull around too much - but to me that's half the fun.

quote yogi59weedr: "I've been wanting to get either a fishing kayak or solo canoe.hope two check out both at the qc wing nite. I'm a big guy 6'4"260 lbs. New left knee and fused Rt ankle.. my friends do not call me grace."

Yo Yogi
Give the Yak some quality time before you commit is my advice. I have a sit inside Kayak and I love fishing out of it but about 3 or 4 hours is all I can handle before my bum wants out. Something about sitting with your legs extended straight out gets to me after a while.

On the other hand if money is not a huge roadblock then you can do no wrong with the canoe Kayak hybrid called a Superior Expedition made by the Sawyer canoe company in Michigan. Excellent boat and a riot to paddle........comes in at 65 lbs which isn't bad at all for an 18ft rudder boat. The foot control rudder system makes corrective strokes a thing of the past. Want to go for 2 weeks? No problem with the Expedition AND you sit much like an ordinary canoe except its a decked boat. Nice boat for a big guy. I have had it 9 days on Basswood and loved it. The trip and the boat pics are written up somewhere on my blog.

Not sure if Scott Smith is still making them or not but they are/were 1/2 the price of the rival "Sea wind" which is very close in style.