How hard is it to canoe up river

[Rat]

Do you recommend a cooler or a decoy bag so the beer is not lost on a dunking?

Small cooler, they float, you just gotta bungie the lid closed to keep it from tipping over and falling out! And no, this doesn't qualify as a PFD!

Back in my younger days we used to sit downstream of the Cotton Mill rapids and net the floating beer lost by the raters, great fun and free beer!

[jrad]

i canoed UP-RIVER from mineola awhile back when the river was high. it wasn't hard paddling upstream about 2 miles and the trip back was quick with the current. i have hauled a hog out of the woods on a creek by lake fork. the hardest part was getting the animal in the canoe with the steep banks. but the hunting/camping options are fantastic with a canoe! i've paddled into caddo lake 8 miles and camped out for 5 days without seeing 1 person the whole time! saw some duck hunters go by the last day but i don't think they saw me/my camp! i am thinking of taking a week-long trip down the sabine sometime soon hopefully.

[bowhuntertex]

Small trolling motor is the way to go and it doesn't cost much to register a canoe.

[Cropduster]

If you are talking below Toledo Bend, then you will be ok unless it is a time fo the year with the flood gates are open. The river usually is running pretty slow and a canoe would have no problem going up against the current. Give it a try and see what you think.

[east tx hog hunter]

i was going to be using at the old sabine bottoms on the sabine river

[Pat Miller]

Unless their are rains and the river is running fast around Old Sabine Bottom, you shouldn't have a problem at all. It's pretty much a 'lazy' floating river.
I have a shallow draft boat I'd love to put in there but there's no ramp or one close by that I've ever seen.
You know, there's several of the WMA'S that have islands with a 'captive' deer herd----rarely see people, have growing herd numbers, etc. and only accessible by boat. Make phone calls to the WMA biologists and ask the right questions! More 'private and quiet' hunting spots for you!
And a canoe is alot easier to get around with than even a shallow draft boat!
Good luck......

[east tx hog hunter]

thanks for the advise i always try to go a little further in than the next guy,and it been working for me on public land.I have owned a flat bottom boat once and it would have been tuff rowing up a river and ive only used canoes in small lakes for fishing.Sure would hate to take one out and end up ****** down river somewere!!!!!!!ha ha

[east tx hog hunter]

by the way theres a ramp all the way to the back of sabine bottoms but when the waters low you might need a 4x4

[SaltwaterSlick]

Hey Hog hunter, If you are going to buy yourself a canoe, do some research. You can find canoes in all price ranges, but if you hunt alone, and want a "one man" canoe, but still want to have payload capacity, I'd recommend one of the 16 footers made out of the super light polymers. Old Town and Mad River and others make several models. They are pricey, but the difference is the weight of the canoe. for instance, I have a 16 foot Mad River that only weighs 80 pounds, and it has a portage brace at the center to make carrying it over your head easier. The others such as the Coleman's and the Old Town "guide series", etc. are polymer canoes, but they are HEAVY! The lighter ones are easier to paddle, and a dang site easier to carry/strap down on your car/truck. I have taken mine upstream just below the Anmistad dam on the Rio Grande, and that is some swift water. Though I wouldn't want to paddle upstream a mile, then try to bowhunt (smell and fatigue), but as far as the paddling part, it is not that difficult. If you get a troller/battery, a 16 footer would haul you, your camping gear and a deer back if you get one. A 14 footer is easier to paddle one man style, but won't haul near the gear. the 16 footer will handle just fine with one man if you sit backwards in the front seat. so that the actual back of the canoe is the front when paddling alone... like everyone else has posted TIE EVERYTHING DOWN!! I'll add one two more things... permanantly tie a rope to both ends of the canoe so you can grab/tie either end quickly if you need to and tie an extra paddle inside the canoe... you know, the old up a creek without a paddle thing...

[jrad]

i have a 14' old town camper,weighs about 50#. if u plan on going down the upper sabine u better plan portaging! it paddles real easy, carries 2 people plus gear and it's cheap(relatively speaking) at about $900. i had a real wide 12' but it was a dog in the water. longer equals faster, easier paddling. wider equals stability but forfeits on speed/ease and turning ease. i'll be moving to kilgore in feb if u wanna go out and paddle to see what u like. i would try a few out before u buy to find what u like. they rent them at caddo lake state park too.

[SaltwaterSlick]

jrad is giving you some very good advice... try out some if you can. His Old Town is a good day canoe for sure and if you're a light packer, good enough to take camping. I like my creature comforts, so I got the 16 footer, plus I used to bowfish out of it, and it is more stable the the 14 footer for standing and shooting. longer is definately easier to paddle/steer. also get one with a good "keel" at least on the bow/stern for paddling alone. a wide flat keelless one is a bear to negotiate into a current... downstream is not as big a deal, but upstream, you need a front/rear keel.

[east tx hog hunter]

thanks for the advise fellows i will def. check it before i buy.this will be a great help