i had been thinkin abt get a canoe for duck hunting in shallow grassy pond and to hide in 3-4 feet of grasses as my 12' boat r to wide. was wonderin whats the ideal legnth and width for hunt out of it? aluminum or plastic? and where can i find the good canoe?

one or two guys? dog? lots of decoys?

I use a 16 foot canoe and have smacked some quackers with 3 of us out of it no problem. I wouldn't go much smaller though. It can get a little tight late season rolls around and you have 3-4 dozen deeks.

Whether you buy aluminum or plastic I recommend you camo it out. I did my aluminum and it turned out awesome.

Let me know if you want my canoe camo secret. I will gladly post it up here for you.

Good luck

I've used my canoe for years. Its a 16'r. Its even RED. I use a drab colored tarp over the top and sides cause my canoe is plastic and doesn't like paint. It just cracks and chips.

I've used extra paddles buried in the mud, or pieces of wood with clamps to stabilize the canoe in the cattails. I think it works very well.

I've been duck hunting out of a 12' OT Discovery for many years. You need to stabilize it in some fashion. I use two 10 foot 2x2's that I clamp to the cross beams. If you can pull in next to a muskrat hut, plant one of the 2x2's in the hut and clamp to a crossbeam. The canoe will be a very solid shooting platform.

I like the composit canoes do to they are not as noisy.

My first years of duckin was outta a 17' cruiser style canoe werked gr8t moved on to a boat to many decoys I will still jump shoot outta it if I have to.

hey check out river ridge custom canoes they have great camo canoes and they are made from fiberglass they also have a square back stern great for a motor

Canyak has some good models made specificly for hunting and the have a good weight limit and stability and if you want anything special they will work with you to build the boat you want.

I think I have seen some clamp on devices that allow you do use your push pole to stabilize the rig. I wear waders and most often just get out and pull the rig in to a place where it's steady. The big risk I took is having a jumpy dog in the rig. After a near tip I decided that the dog has to walk or swim to the hunting spot. If you get over 3 dozen dekes it gets a bit crowded. I've seen some guys tow a little raft for the dekes. Maybe one of those bases they use for the ice houses would work.

I bought a couple of those nylon canoe seats that fold down. When you're paddling having something for a back rest is nice.

Take some foam pipe wrap and put it over the thwarts with zip ties and across the front lip with some silicone. The guns get banged up if you don't and they also make a lot of noise.

Main thing - PFD's for all and mandatory use while the canoe is moving. I also usually lash the guns down during movement just in case. Bring something to bail the rig out if it gets water in it.

Here is a hard earned lesson - if you tip over don't go nuts. The canoe will float even if it's full of water. A bag of decoys will hold you above water if needed. If you lose the gun it's cheaper to get a new one than to have your family buy a coffin. Don't spend a lot of time trying to empty out a canoe while you're in the water. Get in it and move it to where you can stand. Then empty it out the best you can and flip it up so that you can get the water out. Get back in and get to shore and head for a warm place. Hypothermia is right at the doorstep and you have to get those wet clothes off.

I bought one of those waterproof bags and put an extra set of clothes - a sweatsuit, some socks, things like that. Put your wallet, smokes, cell, license and stamps in zip lock bags.

Canoes are great for duck hunting - decoying or floating a river. Just think a bit about the worse case scenario before you leave the landing and be prepared for it.

I as well have hunted out of a 16 footer. I wouldnt go much smaller than that if you want multiple people. and prepare to fall in as tom said.

I hunt out of a SPortspal canoe. 16' Alum, it has foam lining and a strip of foam down each side. Almost imposible to tip. A guy would really have to work to tip it. I really like it.