Prepping for a Boundary Waters trip and introducing Luca to my canoe

[Jatfomike]

I spent some time this weekend going through my gear getting ready for my annual September trip to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Before it got too hot I took my canoe out back and made sure all nuts and bolts were tightened and then followed that with a good cleaning and 303 treatment. Some of you may recall a post I made this past Spring about my new puppy Luca. He is now 11 months old and up near 60 pounds. His training is going well but I have not had him out in a boat yet. I am waiting until next Summer. He did seem to enjoy climbing into the canoe. While he was in there we practiced our sit and down commands he did pretty well. After we finished, he climbed out and laid down in the grass next to it for awhile. I took that as a good sign. Spent a little time loading a streamer wallet and top water fly box. Nothing fancy needed for northerns smallmouth or walleye. You may notice my wallet is loaded with zonkers. Not a fancy fly but extremely durable and versatile. The Northerns and walleye are tough on flys.

Mike

 

[snapper]

Glad to hear about your upcoming trip. Our current pooch is about the same weight and I got her acclimated to the canoe at the same age your Luca is now. Of course, I think you're right to wait until she's a bit older and gotten to spend some time in the canoe before bringing her along. So far our dog, a border collie/lab/retriever mix, is pretty good in the canoe. As long as she can see me she's willing to lay down and stay still. When she wants to check out her surroundings she props her chin on the gunwales. When it's time for a nap, her head rests on the footbrace. Bottom line, so far, so good. I can only wish you the same level of success with Luca.

That's all for now. Enjoy your trip & many tight lines. Take care and until next time....be well.

snapper

 

[Guest]

Handsome canoe, dog and fly portfolio. What more could a man ask of life?

I am (slowly) doing that washing, inspection and maintenance on all of our boats.

This little offset 3 / 8 and 7 / 16 box end ratchet may be the handiest canoe maintenance tool ever made.

https://www.sears.com/craftsman-3-8...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJGm8dDjkt0CFVYKNwoddKQPzA

3 / 8 fits the nuts or nylocks on 3 / 16 inch machine screws, 7 / 16 fits nuts on quarter inch hardware, pretty much fitting any nut a canoe might have.

The offset is wonderful for working blind under inwales; I keep one in the shop and one in the tripping truck.

 

[DanOver]

I like where you are taking this!! Especially the fly gear. I use a lot of PUGLISI flies or Puglisi fibers in my flies for the toothy fishes. They take an amazing beating.

Great you can get Luca to sit still, if there are any waterfowl around, my lab will probably tip anything but the Gheenoe! 8^)

 

[gumpus]

Hey Mike, a few canoe dog comments in case any are helpful for you.

1) Secure footing is essential. You can use a yoga mat or a rubber backed carpeted bathroom mat or an extra kneeling pad like I do. The dog needs secure footing for both jumping in and out. I used to put down a towel over any ice at one of my former takeouts since my black lab would refuse to jump out onto ice. Just FYI my black lab jumped into an empty floating solo canoe several times (behind my back) when we were launching. Incredible...seems impossible.
2) You might consider one new command..."settle down". I taught this to my current dog and also our previous dog. I just kept a short leash on her and if she ever got excessively fidgety or if she was moving around when I needed her to be still (like when you are about to get hit with a powerboat wake) I'd give the command "settle down" and basically hold her firmly by the collar. Both dogs learned this quickly and I only needed a leash for a very short time.
3) I suggest that your first paddle with Luca be a very short one, like 5 minutes or less. You want the first experience to be a happy one so maybe best not to push it.
4) Just FYI my puppies run on mini-milkbone snacks, I think they are 2 or 3 calories each. If I accidentally splash her she gets a treat. I also do a lot of sit and switch paddling so when the dog is sitting up the paddle is zinging just a few inches above her head. If the dog ever gets accidentally kabonked with the paddle she gets a treat.