Enthusiast III
Has anyone used a raft for fishing? Owning a boat is an expensive and tedious task...but most of the best fishing is usually away from the banks/shore. Has anyone/does anyone use a raft for their regular fishing excursions?
Rafts for fishing?
- Thread starter Chuckem12
- Start date
I've been kayak fishing for abut 15 years to me its the best way to fish. I know a raft is easy for storage but hooks knives etc in a raft = a possible very wet adventure...
Pathfinder I
From my response to another thread regarding inflatable boats:
Out here in the Pacific Northwest we live by our Aluminum sleds and drift boats, but with most of my overlanding I find myself off grid, sometimes by several 10's of miles, so dragging a drifter or sled just isn't feasible. Being primarily a fly fisher these days, I set out to find a solid inflatable choice to accompany me on my overland excursions. After much research and a few test floats, I settled on an inflatable called the Fly Craft. It's 12' long and 48" wide, handles up to class 3 water and is an extremely low draft boat. Out here in the summers, rivers can get pretty low and this thing will float on 3-4" of water, so all of the headwaters of say the Clackamas, Rogue, Deschutes, Owayhee are perfect summer waters to tackle in this boat. I can portage this boat over trees and root wads super easy too which is often necessary out here. While not a cheap option because of its solid durability and features, it does only weigh about 100lbs and fully deflated, will pack into a standard Plano sportsmans' box (minus the seats). It will re-inflate the four seperate compartments within about 8 minutes all in using my ARB pump. This is an awesome fly fishing platform as well as any gear fishing you might want to do. What I love about it is that I can keep it inflated and strap it down to my roof rack while out n about. So if I find a particular "fishy" looking spot I can just rope it down to the water and hop in, row down river, try to land something, then go get my rig and rope it back up. At a 100lbs, I can manage it all myself.
Out here in the Pacific Northwest we live by our Aluminum sleds and drift boats, but with most of my overlanding I find myself off grid, sometimes by several 10's of miles, so dragging a drifter or sled just isn't feasible. Being primarily a fly fisher these days, I set out to find a solid inflatable choice to accompany me on my overland excursions. After much research and a few test floats, I settled on an inflatable called the Fly Craft. It's 12' long and 48" wide, handles up to class 3 water and is an extremely low draft boat. Out here in the summers, rivers can get pretty low and this thing will float on 3-4" of water, so all of the headwaters of say the Clackamas, Rogue, Deschutes, Owayhee are perfect summer waters to tackle in this boat. I can portage this boat over trees and root wads super easy too which is often necessary out here. While not a cheap option because of its solid durability and features, it does only weigh about 100lbs and fully deflated, will pack into a standard Plano sportsmans' box (minus the seats). It will re-inflate the four seperate compartments within about 8 minutes all in using my ARB pump. This is an awesome fly fishing platform as well as any gear fishing you might want to do. What I love about it is that I can keep it inflated and strap it down to my roof rack while out n about. So if I find a particular "fishy" looking spot I can just rope it down to the water and hop in, row down river, try to land something, then go get my rig and rope it back up. At a 100lbs, I can manage it all myself.
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Off-Road Ranger I
I've toyed, off and on, with the idea of using a stand up paddle board for fishing. Have seen some pretty amazing rigs that were set up for this purpose.
Enthusiast III
Living in South Florida I see a lot of paddle boards and kayaks used for fishing...from shore to lakes. Don't really see rafts though. I figure a raft could give you a bit extra space for all the items for a days excursion. I like the idea of deflating, folding up, and throwing in the bed of my truck.
Pathfinder III
Kayaks are the best alternative to a boat. The next best thing may be a small Jon boat or gheenoe, but then you will want/need a trailer, and have to maintain a motor. Kayaks are light, low maintenance, and get about half a mile per bud light. The biggest problem I had with kayak fishing was figuring out the best way to pee.
Member III
I took up kayaking when I retired 6 years ago. I took up fishing shortly after. I'm not very good at fishing ... and only slightly better at kayaking. Both were easy to get into and relatively inexpensive. I'm sure it can be though for those who are really into it. I find transporting 2 kayaks and storing them in the off season to be pretty simple.
Traveler III
This is an inexpensive but fairly good quality raft built with fishing in mind: Intex Mariner 3 (also comes slightly bigger in the mariner 4)
We are on our 2nd Dave Scadden boat now. We had an Assault XX with a bunch of upgrades and custom front seat. We now run a Scadden Dragonfly 2 person framed. We mostly run in on rivers but it works well on lakes either trolling or double anchored. Fairly easy for both people to stand and fish. Have ran class -3 and both performed well but I prefer the frame now.
Sweet setup! We run a Scadden dragonfly 2 person. We will be doing an Oregon loop coming up in 2 weeks but looks like the timing is off for rivers for steel or trout. Still packing a couple rods, no boat this trip.
I've been using a Scadden frameless pontoon for years Floated from Horseshoe Bend to Lees Ferry on the Colorado last month
Contributor II
Another vote for kayak fishing. It’s the best and fairly easy to deal with. I would look at craigslist for a sit-on-top that’s at least 10 feet. You can find them for really cheap and it’s a good way to see if you like it. If you’re not enjoying it you can throw it right back on Craigslist.
Off-Road Ranger I
I went down this road before. I bought an Intex Seahawk. I sold it and went back to a canoe or bank fishing. Your comment of the fish being off the shore is partially inaccurate. With a good map you can find tons of great fishing off the bank. If you find a point with deep slope that's gold.
It took up a bunch of space and the 5-7min it took to pump it up was a pain.
It took up a bunch of space and the 5-7min it took to pump it up was a pain.
Boostpowered
Rank VI
Member III
Our Friends have used the Island Voyage inflatable kayak while fishing and have had good luck. This is definitely a great overlanding addition as this kayak folds up pretty small and can be inflated by mouth as a last resort (if you don't have an air compressor)
I have fished out of a Kodiak raft by Water Master for years and absolutely love it. It's on the pricey side, but the design, quality, and customer service are well worth it. It's a single-person raft, and rated to carry 750 pounds of gear, so it's often used for expedition travel and on multi-day trips. I haven't done anything hardcore in it yet, but dream of adventures fishing the Alaskan wilderness.
Essential to me is the ability to have my feet with fins in the water. That allows me to control the direction and speed of the boat while I'm fishing. I have used canoes, kayaks, and even one of Scadden's framed pontoon boats (which is for sale if you're interested). While these are all better at covering distance on flat water, they're hard to fish solo. You can't control the boat and the fly rod at the same time. This means you can't drift and fish, which is kind of the whole point of having a raft. Some of the fishing paddle boards look cool, but for me the thought of standing all day, having to balance while fighting fish, and getting blown around by every puff of wind make them a nonstarter....just my opinion.
Essential to me is the ability to have my feet with fins in the water. That allows me to control the direction and speed of the boat while I'm fishing. I have used canoes, kayaks, and even one of Scadden's framed pontoon boats (which is for sale if you're interested). While these are all better at covering distance on flat water, they're hard to fish solo. You can't control the boat and the fly rod at the same time. This means you can't drift and fish, which is kind of the whole point of having a raft. Some of the fishing paddle boards look cool, but for me the thought of standing all day, having to balance while fighting fish, and getting blown around by every puff of wind make them a nonstarter....just my opinion.
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Advocate III
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I use both an inflatable raft and yak, but looking into replscing the raft with a canoe and the inflatable yak with a sit on top fishing yak. time to get into the water is a big thing for me. I dont have a lot of time to go fishimg. I spend about an hour to an hour and a half to get to my favorite fishing spots. So adding in about an hour to setup the boats and restore the boats made for a lot of late night return trips.
A vriend gqvr me an alluminu, sled 2 years a go that really expanded my fishing destiniations, but its not allowed in my favorite holes. So going with the canoe and yaKs will really help
A vriend gqvr me an alluminu, sled 2 years a go that really expanded my fishing destiniations, but its not allowed in my favorite holes. So going with the canoe and yaKs will really help
Boostpowered
Rank VI
Member III
I prefer sit in yaks since i fish mainly for large catfish, i like the stability a sit in 10.5 ft gives me when fighting with big blues and flatheads. Im able to track a sit in better than a on top especially in the wind. For some reason i capsize everytime i try canoes
PurpleHaze
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Contributor III
