Smallmouth Frenzy

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

Took my NuCanoe out for the first time ever today on the Willie. Spent half an hour trying to repair boat motor (i pulled the choke switch completely off when i tried to start the motor). Got the motor going and it was fish on. Trolled for smallies using crayfish crankbaits and a few other things. The crayfish patterns were killing them. Landed 4 and lost another. Then landed a pikeminnow. Only fished from 10:30 am to about 12:30 pm, then i had to get home.

I've never trolled before, but I absolutely love it! My wife was with me taking nature photos and had great time.

Now i need to pick up a good fish finder. I was checking out the Garmin echo 200. Anyone have one of those or something else they recommend?

 

[TimberTodd]

Thanks for the report and welcome to OFF. I bought a 12' Nucanoe June of last year and really enjoy it.

 

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

Mine is 12' NuCanoe Frontier that I bought last week. It has scupper holes in the back, but the water comes flooding in through them when I put 200 lbs of me and the gear back there (hence, scuppers seem useless). Fortunately the canoe comes with two scupper plugs for the holes. Overall, I'm really pleased with it. Just need to buy a trailer for it -- it's a pain putting on the roof rack of my CRV.

I put a 4 cylcle, 2.5 HP Suzuki outboard on it and it cruises along at 6 or 7 mph with me and wife in it. I didn't give it full throttle bc motor is new. At idle it trolls at 2-3 mph, which is pretty good. I'm anxious to fish the fall coho on the willie when they arrive in september. My buddy told me to troll wiggle warts in fire tiger and metallic pink for the coho.

 

[bass]

Nice job Gettin Jiggy Wid It. Pretty wild having a 2.5 HP outboard on a Nucanoe. Maybe I will see you out there some time. I will be in the one manpower Hobie Outback

Out of curiosity what made you decide to go gas instead of electric for the motor?

 

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

Hi Bass,

Your posts are awesome, by the way.

I debated the gas vs. electric thing for a long time before I decided to buy.

I almost bought a Minn Kota 55 lb. thrust, but after doing the research I realized the marine battery would only get me so far, especially if the river current runs 2 mph or so. I wanted a motor i could troll with for 6 or 7 hours non-stop in river currents running 2 - 3 mph. I'm planning to salmon/steelhead fish with this canoe in the fall/winter/spring when most rivers will have some decent current. A 105 amp/hr battery would probably only keep me moving for about 2 hours in 3 mph river current, and the battery would weigh a ton. The Suzuki will go for several hours on a liter of gas, and the motor only weighs 30 lbs. With a 1 gallon gas can, I could literally travel 40 miles if i go ballistic. If one of my 200 lb fishing buddies go with me, I'll definitely need the gas power. After trying out the canoe/motor today, I'm glad i went gas.

On a side note, do you ever take the Hobie on the Clackamas River? I want to see how far i can go up the clack this fall/winter without having to drag the canoe.

Today I was fishing upriver from the Tualatin. I hope to see you on the river soon. Are you further upriver than the Tualatin? I might put in below the Falls at Clackamette Park in a week or so.

 

[bass]

Hi Bass,

Your posts are awesome, by the way.

I debated the gas vs. electric thing for a long time before I decided to buy.

I almost bought a Minn Kota 55 lb. thrust, but after doing the research I realized the marine battery would only get me so far, especially if the river current runs 2 mph or so. I wanted a motor i could troll with for 6 or 7 hours non-stop in river currents running 2 - 3 mph. I'm planning to salmon/steelhead fish with this canoe in the fall/winter/spring when most rivers will have some decent current. A 105 amp/hr battery would probably only keep me moving for about 2 hours in 3 mph river current, and the battery would weigh a ton. The Suzuki will go for several hours on a liter of gas, and the motor only weighs 30 lbs. With a 1 gallon gas can, I could literally travel 40 miles if i go ballistic. If one of my 200 lb fishing buddies go with me, I'll definitely need the gas power. After trying out the canoe/motor today, I'm glad i went gas.

On a side note, do you ever take the Hobie on the Clackamas River? I want to see how far i can go up the clack this fall/winter without having to drag the canoe.

Today I was fishing upriver from the Tualatin. I hope to see you on the river soon. Are you further upriver than the Tualatin? I might put in below the Falls at Clackamette Park in a week or so.

The ability to run for a long time at those speeds makes the gas motor a better choice.

I have not gone on the Clackamas with my kayak but some folks have. I am not positive but Noahk on this forum may have. I think folks mostly fish it like you would in a drift boat. Start upriver and then drift down and fish. It is a lot of effort to head upstream against a stiff current. I think that with your motor you will definitely have opportunities that are beyond the reach of paddle and pedal folks.

I have launched where the Tualatin dumps in a few times bass fishing, but I prefer the lower river because there are a lot more sturgeon. I mostly launch out of George Rogers park in Lake Oswego. I am not sure it is the best section of the river but it is relaxing to launch there since I do not have to deal with power boats. I keep meaning to put some time in exploring new spots, but time is precious and it is hard for me to stop fishing a spot that is producing. We are lucky to live in a place where there are too many good fishing spots