by Bob Johansen, January 08, 2008

CANOES ARE LIGHT WEIGHT, CAN BE CARRIED ON CAR TOPS AND EASILY TRANSPORTED SHORT DISTANCES TO SMALL, PRODUCTIVE BASS LAKES

Washington State has scores of great bass fishing lakes on both sides of the Cascade Range. This seems to come as a surprise to many of Washington's dedicated trout, salmon and steelhead anglers – And, also to many of our transplanted bass fishermen from the southern and mid-western states.

Some of my favorite bass fishing lakes are those little lakes that are inaccessible to the big boat crowd. These small, shallow lakes are the first to warm up in early spring. Many are open year around and can provide exciting bass fishing as early as March. My favorite bass fishing boat for these small waters is a sixteen foot, fiberglass canoe. Why a fiberglass canoe?

First, they are light weight and very tough. I fish alone a lot, so having a light boat has an obvious advantage for loading and unloading. My canoe weighs only 70 pounds. Toughness is a must for any craft that is launched and beached more than a hundred times a year. Fiberglass is also much quieter than aluminum and molds easily into more exotic shapes. They can be quite handsome.

Secondly, most canoes have a built-in carrying yoke, making it easy for one person to carry it for short distances, which is often necessary to reach some of the best waters.

Third: Most canoes are fast and quite safe and have the capacity to carry two fishermen and all their gear. They can handle almost any water you can find on small lakes – And, larger lakes too, if they are without water skiers, hot rodders and others in similar pursuits of seemingly exiguous value. In well over a thousand trips, I have never even come close to tipping over. I knock on wood as I write this -- And, I also recommend wearing a life jacket, especially early in the season when the lake water is very cold.

Aesthetics are a part of the total outdoor experience and any fishing trip is enhanced by beautiful surroundings. Small, remote lakes are often more scenic than the larger ones. Some are even remote enough to have no shoreline homes.

Many of these small lakes often produce bigger bas than the larger, more popular waters. It is not unusual to catch bass of five or six pounds from lakes with less than a hundred surface acres. Son Donald boated an eight pound, six ounce beauty while fishing a small lake from his canoe. I sometimes tease him about that fish -- accusing him of catching the nice six pound, eight ounce, post-spawn bass I had released into that lake the year before. Donald agrees it could be the same fish.

Some small, private lakes are accessible by asking permission. It almost seems like a canoe is so inoffensive, it sometimes persuades a lake shore homeowner to let you fish. My favorite line to gain access is, "I don't litter, I don't vandalize and I don't kill the fish."

Releasing most of your bass is even more important on small lakes than it is in larger bodies of water. One skilled bass fisherman can completely ruin a small lake for fishing by killing his catch every time out. A nice bass is much too valuable of a resource to enjoy catching only once.

Stealth is an important factor to the success of fishing small waters. Bass raised in that environment are especially aware of what is happening around them. They are aware of the blue heron as he waits silently in the shallows or the mink or otter frolicking along the shoreline.

They are also aware of the ducks and more than one baby duck has ended up a tasty meal for "Ol Jaws." One of the things I look for, when fishing in the spring, is how many babies are following mama duck. If she has a large brood, it could indicate that not many large bass are living in the lake. A small brood, of only one or two babies, could suggest the presence of at least a few "ponderous, pot bellied, pole benders."

I never use an electric motor on my canoe. I think the intermittent running of a motor can be alarming to these "small town bass." Besides, I personally think a canoe was meant to be maneuvered by paddle power. It is somewhat amazing how easy they are to maneuver when you become totally familiar with them.

To me, being on one of my favorite lakes at the crack of dawn is nearing the ultimate in solitude. Early summer mornings are often windless and the water surface is mirror smooth. Generally you share the lake with only the early rising ducks. You cast your floating Rapala, wait a few seconds for the splash down rings to dissipate, twitch the lure -- KA-BAM! What a great way to start the day!

If this story inspires you to buy a canoe, be sure to shop around and compare. All canoes are not created equal. Prices vary widely and so does the quality and stability. A broad, flat bottomed canoe is stable and carries a great load. A narrow canoe, with a sharply curved bottom will be fast but tipsy and the load carrying capacity will be sharply reduced. A keel on the canoe also helps keeping it stable and improves the tracking ability.

If you plan to fish alone some of the time, be sure to buy one that you can sit on the front seat and canoe backwards. By doing this, you create a much better center of gravity. Even good canoes can get a little squirrelly when you paddle alone from the back seat. Weight of the canoe, its carrying capacity and the type of carrying yoke are other things to consider before you buy.

So, it you're tired of crowded launch ramps and water skiers, but want to catch a few nice bass -- maybe even a lunker, think small, -- small lakes -- small boats -- maybe a canoe.

Note: This story is part of an article I sold to a magazine several years ago. I thought it might be interesting to some folks on the WL forum lately discussing canoes and inflatables. Since I wrote that article, old age has limited some of my abilities and loading and unloading a car top canoe is one of them. My love affair with the canoe lasted well over thirty years. A year ago, I gave the old canoe to a grand-daughter for a wedding present – something she had said she would like to have. Don’t waste any time feeling sorry for this old bass angler however. I still have my 17 foot Bass Tracker and a small fiberglass boat with an electric motor that I tow on a small trailer. It works well on small lakes where gas engines are banned. I miss fishing from a canoe but I still plan on putting a few bass in the boat come spring. I’ll leave the remote lakes to all you young fellows. Tight lines!