"I'll head your way after training. Be there about ten-thirty, maybe eleven o'clock. Have a beer ready."
"Cool. I'll be here."
"Should I bring the kayak?"
"Nah. I've got an extra down here. Besides, we'll probably end up fishing the Gee-Nu anyway."
Huh?
I was heading out the door as we had this phone conversation and, not really able to spend any more time on the call, I let it slide. Besides, just knowing that I didn't have to load up the 'yak was good enough news that everything else was temporarily irrelevant. But later... What did he say? A ginzu? Isn't that some sort of oriental knife?
What I found the next day was that a Gheenoe is the perfect watercraft for negotiating the tall grasses and skinny waterways of the salt marshes adjoining the intercoastal water way - the perfect craft for stalking speckled trout and redfish in and around Bear Island - the perfect vessel for a fine day on some sparkling North Carolina flats with my buddy Troy.
The front end of a canoe, the width and stability of a small row boat, the five inch draw of a light johnnie - we comfortably motored, poled, and waded our way through the flats with stealth and ease. Troy had modified his Dad's old thirteen-foot craft with fore and aft casting decks and rod sleeves port and starboard - modifications perfect for a couple of clouser chucking cowboys.
I often think about getting a boat. But, before the notion settles to deeply, I recall the old line "The two best days of a boat owner's life are the day he buys it and the day he sells it" and I sober up. But this changes the game.
What's Gheenoe with me?
We'll see.
4 comments:
Yeah, I've gone back and forth on this as well. We've got two canoes and a couple of kayaks up in New Hampshire and I know I need something else but I'm not sure what. I'm a moving water angler so I dream of pontoon boats, fishing rafts and drift boats. But when I think about all the crap that goes with owning one, I usually tuck the thought away and go fishing.
Been there and done that. I traded the "boat" for a float tube.
Wow...Actually had quite a long conversation with a buddy today about a Gheenoe. Perfect for shallow water fishing.
My dad's been considering buying one, but is torn between that, and an aluminum jon-boat. We'd hate to tear up a Gheenoe on an unseen oyster bar.
When I was in the rod and gun club in Virginia, three 30 acre lakes, we had nothing but Gheenoe's. Slap an electric trolling motor on it or paddle it, handled like a charm. Definitely not car top boats, over 100 lbs. And since they are fiberglass, the bottoms get torn up if you're not careful. But that's why they make fiberglass repair kits.
That being said, the things are virtually impossible to flip over, that's what they're known for. You'll fall out before they flip, proved that numerous times. When my daughters were young, that feature was well worth it.
You can get them with much more comfortable seats than just the bench, I highly recommend that.
There's a knock off by a company called Spider Boats, they make Peenoes. Don't bother. Did that when I had my canoe livery. Was not happy with dealing with them.
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