Intro

Hi,
I am a disabled vet who  lives and fish in NW. MT.
I don't kayak since I got a service dog, so I got a tupperware canoe.

Welcome to the forum!  There's a lot of good people and good information on the forum.  But unfortunately there aren't a lot of kayak anglers from Montana.  We should hook up for some fishing.

Earlier in my kayak fishing career I did some fishing out of a canoe.  Here is a picture taken while fishing by Polson. (I'm wearing a dry suit under all the clothing).



But the margin of safety is kind of thin in a canoe, particularly for a big lake like Flathead Lake, because if the wind and waves brew up and you swamp, you can be in a lot of trouble.  A sit-on-top kayak is safer, because if you tip over a sit-on-top kayak, you can just flip it back upright and climb back on top of it.  And a sit-on-top kayak is easier to paddle because of the two-ended paddle.  Although you could use a long two-ended paddle in a canoe.

How big is your service dog?  There are some big sit-on-top kayaks and tandem kayaks which would accommodate a dog quite nicely.  If you make an inquiry on the forum about taking dogs on kayaks, I bet you'd get a lot of interesting responses.

If you really want to go upscale, get a pedal kayak, which leaves both hands free for fishing.  As soon as I got a pedal kayak, I quit using my paddle kayak, except on rivers and for spearfishing.

Pete,
I agree with everything you say. I used a kayak last summer with good results. And you are correct, I avoid big water, or stay close to shore. Bobby weighs 100 pounds(Airedale terrier), and she doesn't always sit still (she desperately wants to catch a beaver). But we have a wealth of small lakes up here, so I go slow and still get around.
And that is a gorgeous canoe by the way.