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I have been a kayak angler for a decade now but last season I did something drastic – I bought a boat! Now, I love kayak fishing, it is one of the most peaceful and intimate ways to spend time on the water. But there are advantages to boating that are just too hard to ignore, so hard in fact, that I decided to lean into it. Before we get into all the why’s, let me introduce my new ride.
2012 Lund Fury 1600
The Lund Fury 1600 is a 16 foot aluminum fishing boat with a, what I would consider fairly narrow, 73 inch beam. In the tiller layout, the Fury is rated for a 40 horsepower motor, but mine is currently outfitted with a 25 hp Mercury fourstroke. One of the standout features of the Fury is the interior, it is one of the few boats in this small size with a flat floor, decent storage, a livewell, and comfortable swivel chairs for all your crew. The Fury is a popular model, whenever one would pop up for sale on the local used market you had to act fast. I think The Fury’s popularity is due to the fact that it is an affordable step up from a basic utility tinner with bench seat and no floor. Most people I know who buy a bare aluminum boat end up building a flat floor and installing comfortable seats – something the Fury comes standard with.
I purchased this boat from a gentleman in Saskatchewan who hadn’t used it in a few years. It was in need of some maintenance, such as a new battery, trailer tires, and an oil change, but overall it was in good shape. At 16 feet long, this is the upper limit of what will fit in my garage, so that was the limiting factor for length. If my garage was a few feet longer I might have held out for a 17 or 18 foot model with a little more beam to handle bigger water. That said, so far I am impressed with what this relatively small boat will put up with. If you plan your route and don’t mind getting a little wet, the Fury will handle a stiff wind and some serious walleye chop. Overall, I think 16 feet is a fine length for all but the biggest lakes Alberta has to offer.
If there is a weak link with my Fury, it’s the 25 horsepower Mercury motor. The boat is rated for 40 pony’s and my 25 is the lowest limit of what I would consider to be practical. With two or three anglers, the 25 Mercury will get up on plane and run at about 32 km/h with the throttle wide-open. And wide-open is really the only useable throttle position if you want to get anywhere. If you back-off the throttle even a little, the boat will slowly fall off plane. Its a good thing this motor sips fuel, even with running it wide open all the time, I have yet to burn more than 10 or 12 litres of regular gas in a day. It is also worth noting that in the tiller configuration the bow is very light. When I run the boat solo, I will fill the livewell with water and move as much gear as I can up front to even out the weight. Having a bow mount trolling motor and a battery up front should help solve the weight distrubution problem though.
Accessories
Even on my kayaks, one of my favourite parts of fishing is playing with electronics. So the first thing I did was outfit two Lowrance HDS Live screens in front of the captain. Dual screens are perfect for staying informed about your fishing spot as you can see a bunch of information at a glance without having to play with buttons all the time. On the smaller HDS 7, I typically run a splitscreen of GPS and traditional 2d or down imaging. The HDS 9 is dedicated to side imaging when I’m on the move, and active target when the boat is stationary.
To power my electronics, I opted to spend a little extra on an Alberta Lithium cranking battery. The 50ah battery, coupled with the charge circuit on the motor, can provide enough juice to power all the screens and active target for a sun-up to sun-down fishing trip. I may look at upgrading to a larger battery for longer trips in the future but for now this is plenty of power. However, if I do run out of power and can’t start my main motor, I can always start it with the pull cord that is fitted to the top – which is an advantage not found on larger displacement motors.
As for the rest of the boat, the only other accessory I’ve added so far are the decals on the side – gotta make it stand out! Future upgrades will include a trolling motor with spot-lock, but lets just keep it to one big expense at a time.
Why give up Kayak Fishing?
Whoa whoa whoa, no one is giving up kayak fishing! Yes, I probably won’t be in the kayaks as much as before but I still love the sport. The truth is that boating has a few pro’s that are just too hard to ignore. First, they are much faster. It is typically faster to setup and launch the boat since everything is already in the boat and you can just back it into the water. They are also faster to get to your fishing spot. I can easily zoom around and fish 6 or 8 spots in a day, whereas in a kayak I would have been limited to 2, or maybe 3 spots if I am feeling energetic, on a big lake. It’s much easier to explore while in a boat, especially when the fish aren’t in those first couple spots you chose.
Second, its much easier to introduce family and friends to fishing when we are in the same boat. There are many aspects of fishing that are hard to explain without being shown. I find it easier to sit beside someone and point out the difference in gear selection, casting techniques, as well as what we’re looking at on the electronics. Plus there are no limitations in skill or comfort with being on the water while sitting in a boat. It takes considerable skill to be a decent paddler and catch fish at the same time, and I think it’s unreasonable to expect someone to do both well, especially if you haven’t done either before.
Lastly, as my own kid grows older he wants to spend time doing what his Dad is doing, and frankly it’s very difficult to get a toddler out on a kayak long enough to catch a fish. In a boat, its easy for kids to move around, play with toys, eat snacks and possibly do a little fishing. Without a boat, I wouldn’t be able to spend near the same amount of time on the water. Even if it’s just a nice afternoon exploring the local lake, that is time we get to spend together and outdoors.
Plus, what kid doesn’t like going fast?
