Howdy all, it’s been a while since I’ve been on CF.com, since I moved to Wake Forest to finish my grad work.
Anyhow, I am coming down on July 17-20, and I have a 16’ Old Town Discovery that I’ll be bringing with me. I know my way around a canoe in still and slow-moving water.
However, I’ve never put it somewhere choppy or potentially swift like Folly river or the surf (NOT THE BREAKERS!). There just isn’t anything like that near Raleigh.
Any advice on this? We’d be mostly fishing for whatever will bite, since the summer heat will have a damper on most things.
I have the same canoe with a 4.5hp motor. I wouldn’t take it anywhere near the surf or anywhere you could get swamped. I was swamped this spring and destroyed my 2hp motor and several pieces of gear. Good luck.
“Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It’s much more important than that!”
I have taken my 16ft canoe out in the salt a few times. I can tell you it is a whole different ball game. Fells like you gain a foot for every 5 strokes when your going against the current. If the wind and current is against you, forget it. Eat your whetties for sure.
You may want to consider a fishing kayak instead. Much lower profile, most will handle the surf and beach landings, and just generally more efficient in this type of water. Time Out in Mt. Pleasant rents fishing kayaks by the day and week. There are some other kayak rental outfits out towards Folly, but I don’t think they rent fishing style, mainly touring.