Bill Dice Loaded For Trip To Georgian Bay Ontario Canada
I have owned many different fishing boats over the years that I have taken to The Key River Area of The Georgian Bay.
The 16 foot Lake Fishermen pictured above I took for many years.
It was big & wide & deep & could carry 1,500 lbs. safely & take big waves & water real easy.
Two guys could fish in it easy.
I never ever fish with more than two in a boat.
The twelve foot Lund I have now pictured above is the one I personally favor simply because I get can to areas I can not with the larger boats & I also like the Johnson 9.9 H.P. motor for trolling. This boat is easy to car top if you are going way up north on gravel back roads or you can haul it on a small & light trailer & it can be towed easier than big heavy boats with the smaller Toyota Pickup Trucks. You can put this boat in almost anywhere even if no ramp is available. You can pole or push it through shallow water to get way back in places where bigger boats are just to cumbersome or heavy. This boat will also take some big waves & rough water if not over loaded. I have never seen this boat for sale in The US only in Canada where it is made. I purchased mine at Gordon Bay Marine. I hauled it back to the US & got a refund on the sales tax I paid. When it comes to aluminum fishing boats Lunds are the very best & if you ever want to sell one they hold their value & often times people actually get more than they paid new if they keep them in good condition as they will last longer than their owners if taken care of.
Motors bigger than 9.9 H.P. do not troll very well except for the Johnsin & Evinrude 15 H.P. which are the same motor with bigger carb.
The bigger boats are better & safer on Georgian Bay but I still prefer my 12 foot Lund as I usually fish in it by myself & if we take two or more of them all the gear is no problem.
It is if you have two men & one boat but it can be done.
The people that live up there think I am crazy in this respect because they feel my boat is to small even though thousands canoe the area & canoes are smaller than my boat?
Figure that out?
People that own cabins have to haul out heavy supplies & building materials so the bigger boats are best for them plus they can go much faster in the longer distances like out to the French or Bad River Areas.
I am 63 & not dead yet so I am not going to change.
I can get my twelve foot boat in places bigger boats can not.
Places like The Bass Hole.
If you go take a larger boat just to be safe but you will never get to The Georgian Bay Bass Hole with it most of the time.
I know how to do things up there & what not to do & I have also had some pretty hairy rides out on the big water in my little boat so I will not recommend it to anyone.
Actually I am a canoe poler & actually competed in The Nationals at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia with the best canoe polers in the world including Harry Rock & I will be posting photos on that.
The canoe I have pictured is The Old Town Tripper & I like to take it with me to get to places boats can not.
I stand up & use a pole to go up rapids & all that.
Checkout my blog roll for more information on canoe poling or check the inter-net.
Notice my twelve foot pole on my truck.
Fritts used a 25 H.P. Evinrude on a 14 foot Sea Nymph deep v boat for years & years & he also had 9.9 Johnsons & 15 HP Evinrudes.
The 16 Foot Lund fishing boats are really nice but you have to use 35 HP motors to plane them to get places fast.
I used to have a 55 HP Evinrude on my 16 foot Lake Fishermen but it did not troll well & was heavy to pull up & down in shallows.
It would fly to the point of being dangerous.
If you are the type that is worried about scratching or scraping your like new boat & motor on rocks you would do well to leave it at home & rent a boat as the rocks & shoals in Georgian Bay are hard on aluminum boats even when you pull the bow up on rocks, etc.
It is also hard on props & lower units as you will hit rocks & shoals all over Georgian Bay.
Fritts & I always took two boats & motors even when there were only two of us going & sometimes we would take three boats & motors for three of us.
That way all the gear would be divided between the boats & we could run The Key River trip faster & each person could fish the way they each preferred.
We could also cover more water trolling & if one broke down we had a way out.
We had to tow boats to the road for repairs several times over the years & back then Wright Marine in Britt was the ONLY PLACE to get parts for Johnson & Evinrude.
The motor I use now is a 1985 Johnson 9.9 & it still runs great & trolls great.
I also have an Evinrude 2 HP & 2 1/2 HP to take a long just in case.
