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Dear Board,
Being a big fat dude in search of a portable fishing craft I decided to check out the Creek Company Voyager. I called Cabela's one Saturday a few weeks ago and they said they had one left and it was priced to sell. I drove up Sunday and picked it up. I bought the boat primarily for fly fishing local lakes and streams. I own a Water Skeeter Daytripper and a Caddis Navigator already, but I wanted something that could handle the flowing water better.
Labor Day 2013 was the first chance I had to get it on the water and I am impressed. Despite the fact that I weigh almost as much as the boat's rated capacity, 350 lbs for me vs. 400 lbs capacity for the boat, I still sat high enough in the water on the inflatable seat that my butt didn't get wet at all. I would have sat even higher if I had given the inflatable seat another shot or two of air.
The boat moved easily via foot power using a pair of Force Fins and it's very easy to row with the included oars. Changing direction or steering with the fins was easy as well, if not a little slower than it would be in another smaller tube. The boat comes with a large stripping apron and a large tackle compartment that can be mounted on either the left or right side of the boat.
There is a good sized storage well behind the seat but it is designed to let water flow through it so it's not dry storage. Still, it will hold a medium sized Playmate cooler or a similar sized soft sided cooler so you can pack some food and drink for a day on the water. You could easily lash a dry bag back there too because there are several D-rings to use as lash points.
It is ruggedly constructed and I won't be afraid to use it on any of the rivers or streams that I fish most often.
I have to figure out how to rig a depth finder up to it, but I plan on using it a lot here this Fall and since it sits so high I won't have to wait until wet wading season to get it on the water in the Spring, hip boots will work so cooler weather boating will be less hassle.
The only downside that I can see is that the boat is a bit heavy and at 8' long and 4' wide a little awkward, so schlepping it and your fins and a cooler and a rod more than a few yards will take some effort. Still it is lighter than any 8 foot rigid framed pontoon I've ever seen so I can take a little bit of bad with the good.
I hope this helps anyone who is considering an inflatable and if you have any questions let me know.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
Being a big fat dude in search of a portable fishing craft I decided to check out the Creek Company Voyager. I called Cabela's one Saturday a few weeks ago and they said they had one left and it was priced to sell. I drove up Sunday and picked it up. I bought the boat primarily for fly fishing local lakes and streams. I own a Water Skeeter Daytripper and a Caddis Navigator already, but I wanted something that could handle the flowing water better.
Labor Day 2013 was the first chance I had to get it on the water and I am impressed. Despite the fact that I weigh almost as much as the boat's rated capacity, 350 lbs for me vs. 400 lbs capacity for the boat, I still sat high enough in the water on the inflatable seat that my butt didn't get wet at all. I would have sat even higher if I had given the inflatable seat another shot or two of air.
The boat moved easily via foot power using a pair of Force Fins and it's very easy to row with the included oars. Changing direction or steering with the fins was easy as well, if not a little slower than it would be in another smaller tube. The boat comes with a large stripping apron and a large tackle compartment that can be mounted on either the left or right side of the boat.
There is a good sized storage well behind the seat but it is designed to let water flow through it so it's not dry storage. Still, it will hold a medium sized Playmate cooler or a similar sized soft sided cooler so you can pack some food and drink for a day on the water. You could easily lash a dry bag back there too because there are several D-rings to use as lash points.
It is ruggedly constructed and I won't be afraid to use it on any of the rivers or streams that I fish most often.
I have to figure out how to rig a depth finder up to it, but I plan on using it a lot here this Fall and since it sits so high I won't have to wait until wet wading season to get it on the water in the Spring, hip boots will work so cooler weather boating will be less hassle.
The only downside that I can see is that the boat is a bit heavy and at 8' long and 4' wide a little awkward, so schlepping it and your fins and a cooler and a rod more than a few yards will take some effort. Still it is lighter than any 8 foot rigid framed pontoon I've ever seen so I can take a little bit of bad with the good.
I hope this helps anyone who is considering an inflatable and if you have any questions let me know.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
In the Cumberland or any other tube there is no place to put your feet in the shallow water and you'd wind up walking a lot of the time to get through riffles.
