The Canoe is Finished

The canoe is finished. Except for minor tweaks. And I took it out and caught some fish from it!

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The weather at the beginning of the week didn’t make anyone want to go fishing. I went to Publix and got a copy of this year’s “Kayak Fishing Fun.” There was an article in there by John Kumiski about a dog who goes fishing. Cute.

The boat before coating with polyurethane.

I worked on the canoe, enough that I could water-test it and then go fishing. That was after I spent a couple hours casting flies at my local retention pond, catching several big bluegills and small bass.

The water test.

I water-tested the canoe in the same place, with both single-blade and double-blade paddles. It’s tippier than my kayaks, but oh, so much easier to carry when it’s out of the water! It paddles very nicely, and is faster than the kayaks, too. And it looks fantastic.

I took it out on the Econ Thursday afternoon. I had a bass within five minutes. Several bass (no big ones) and stumpknockers were fooled by my bugs. The new canoe performed well- I think I’ll keep it!

The first fish from the new boat! You can see the frame reflected in my sunglasses.

I’ll be using it some more over the next few days.

Friday Dean Altenhofen came by. We spent the afternoon in kayaks on the Indian River Lagoon, where this snook met up with a black-and-purple streamer:

A man and his snook.

Dean had never caught a largemouth bass before (they are not common nor desirable in Oregon, apparently) so we paddled (and dragged) the Econ on Saturday. It was not a hot bite.

The new boat, ready for its first real test.

We saw fish the whole way but had a heck of a time getting any bites. Dean, however did get the bass.

Hooked up.

Not huge, but respectable.

As I type this, Dean is winging his way home. Bon voyage, Dean, and thanks for coming!

The canoe got stuck on submerged stumps, and had other misadventures. If you examined it now, you would never know it. To say I’m pleased with the way it came out would be a massive understatement.

And that’s the canoe is finished report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

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