Our friends at York Casting Co out of North Carolina just made the most thorough and hilarious review we've ever seen on our boats.
This is a must see!
If you were wondering about any specific Flycraft boat features, they are more than covered in this video, and we promise it will crack you up as well! While you are at it, check out some of the amazing other videos they have put out on their Flycraft Guide.
And you'll find great fly fishing and spin fishing content on their Youtube channel.
Check it out:
Video Transcript:
What's up everybody and welcome back to York Casting tv. Today I'm going to be reviewing my three man beast of a raft Flycraft that I've had for four months. The main thing that we've been doing is guiding, so this has gotten a lot of use from amateur fishermen, and I want to break down the things I love about it and the things that I don't love about it. Stay tuned.
(00:34):
Here, I'm going to start out by talking about some of my favorite things about the raft. One of my favorite things about the raft is the space that it has. Now, I know to some of y'all, it may look like a small raft that doesn't fit a lot of stuff, but you'd be really surprised at what you could actually fit on this raft. The other thing that I really love about this raft is the fact that it is indestructible. We've had a couple guides learning how to row for the first time on some really crazy rivers and they have hit everything and gotten stuck and wedged on everything that you could possibly imagine.
I'm telling you, there has never been a scratch, never been a dent on this boat. I can honestly say that, which is a great feeling when you're taking clients out on the river and also when you're going to get stuck in the middle of nowhere. You want to know that you're going to get home nice and safe. With this I'm super confident.
It's super maneuverable. So these really light stream light cataract oars make this boat fly. The wind does like to push this boat a little bit because of how light it is and how little it drafts.
However, these oars really do pick it up and almost put it on plane is what we call it. When you're trying to fight that wind and you can really fight the wind, you're never going to be stranded unless it's really, really, really high force winds. So that's another awesome thing about this raft.
The fish ability is absolutely insane. 360 fish ability with a fly rod. Come on, a spinning rod or a bait caster. We do all three all the time.
I'm telling you from someone who's out here fishing for videos, fishing for fun and takes people fishing for a living, this raft can do all three.
This is not just a fly fishing raft. This is a all around fishing vessel, especially when you start adding attachments like the trolling motor mount and the three horsepower motor on the back. You almost have a stinking john boat or a bass boat.
So the thing that helps you be able to fish 360 degrees on this boat from whatever seat that you're fishing in on the fly or conventional gear are these things right here. They're so stable, you can sit up in 'em, lean against them so hard. You hit bumps, you catch yourself on them all day long, and I'm telling you, you will feel comfortable to cast as far as you can and as hard as you can. I like the lean bar. I feel super planted on
(03:47):
Yeah, you feel like you can make a long cast, right? Yeah, yeah. I'm not worried at all. That has just been an awesome addition for us. The raft is extremely comfortable with these soft sides and these really nice cup seats. I find myself just enjoying relaxing on the raft. Oh baby, ain't a better lunch than that on this beautiful river. Chilling on my beautiful raft, bumblebee style. Even when fishing is slow, that's something that I really enjoy. I can actually get down underneath all three seats and lay flat and sleep if I want to, which is actually a really comfortable nap. The other awesome feature that we've had zero problems with is going to be this anchor system right here.
(04:56):
So as you can tell, the anchor system is very self-explanatory, very easy to deal with. Our anchor is a squared off anchor. Maybe you get one that is more apt to stick on the bottom. We have had some trouble and some heavy, heavy currents sticking that anchor to the bottom. So something small, we probably won't even change your anchor. That's how small it is. But just something to think about when you're getting your raft. I would also highly recommend getting this guide trade table. The thing is sweet. It's always nice to put your flies and everything right next to you.
So another thing that I feel like they don't even market this Flycraft doesn't, but this thing drafts almost nothing. It is insane how many times we brace for impact and then I mean, don't even scrape the object that is just an inch or two underneath the surface of the water, which makes for a great day of floating on a shallow river and makes for even when you're out here on the lake and trying to get your lure unhung from a tree just floating over that tree is incredible and it'll save you a lot of time and a lot of frustration throughout the day.
(06:16):
So that's another incredible thing about the Flycraft. So right now I'm actually about to start showing you guys the stability. I'm going to walk around the edge of this. Obviously this part works a little better with someone in the front, but I mean I ain't going nowhere. Good casting platform right here. It is a little slippery. If you're barefoot and your wet though, turn for the stability. Get back in if you fall in the water test. So as you guys can tell, this thing is rock solid.
(08:26):
One thing I do want to talk about before we do the true stability test is always know the more weight you add to this vessel, the heavier the vessel gets. And I know that seems like common sense, but it's not because you weigh this thing down and then you have to pick it up and carry it to the trailer, or you have to pick it up and carry it across a really shallow flat that is rocky for a hundred yards. And when you add a big 40 quart Yeti cooler on the back like we have and then pack the inside down, you're going to run into some real endurance issues in certain areas. So you guys need to be cognizant of that. You can load this thing down, you can make it super heavy. You can put a bunch of stuff on here. But the flip side is it gets a lot heavier. It drafts deeper. You're not going to have as good a control of the raft, the heavier and heavier that you make it. So do be cognizant of that. A small little lunch bag, a lunch Yeti bag or a small cooler, a lunchbox with more of like a dry bag on the back is ideal, especially if you're only going for a day.
But I also want to talk to you guys about some things that I have found maybe difficult or I wasn't expecting about the boat. And one of those things was you always underestimate what it's going to take to pump one of these things up manually. So I'll put a clip right here of us pumping it up manually, man, as a inflatable boat that inflates and deflates with air pressure, air temperature and things of that nature, having to pump it up manually and fish every day like we do has been something that was a little bit of a task.
(10:17):
Thankfully, Flycraft recently just sent us to the electric pump, and so if you're looking for one of these, I would go ahead and get that electric pump right away because I tell you it's going to save you a lot of time and a lot of energy on your days of fishing. So like I was saying about the manual pump, it is taxing. However, I will say it is very nice to have a manual pump for your day floats to have on your boat just in case something catastrophic were to happen and you were to pop your raft in some way. You can always patch it very easily right there on the river, and then that manual pump will allow you to pump that thing right back up. So let's get this stability test going.
(11:05):
Another cool thing is when you go and release the fish, this thing has the stability for someone who's big like me, 240 pounds six two to reach down to the water, completely release the fish, wash my hands, all that without worrying about this boat tipping whatsoever. So I'm going to go out here, I'm going to jump in the water as if I fell in, and then I'm going to see if I can get back in and show you guys how easy that would be and how stable this raft truly is with no bottom near. You just got to kick your way up in the raft. Let's see what happens.
(12:13):
Wait, is that guy drowning? Oh wait, he's got a flag graft. We're good. False alarm, but he is kind of fat. Is he going to make it? Oh, it's a flag graft. He's going to make it. He's going to make it. Man.
(12:57):
It is not easy being fat. You can definitely get up in it.
(13:06):
For dad's trying to teach their kids how to row what I'm doing right now is the perfect way to do it. You get to hold the oars with 'em overall, man, this boat is made for everybody. I couldn't recommend it more. It's got minor things. For instance, the fly line likes to get caught on things like this, but you can take it off. You can cut that off and never use it. So to end it off, I just wanted to review how we transport our Flycraft to and from the river and lake. I just got this six by 12 utility trailer and the 14 foot boat fits on there absolutely perfectly. Hangs just a little bit off the run and a little bit off the bag, but perfect. And I just use two winch straps to go over the boat. They recommend that you don't put it to the handles or to these, what would these be called? Rings. Rings, yeah. You don't want to clip 'em to the rings and to the handles. Apparently over time, that can create some issues with the rack. So you want to strap it either to here, straight to the frame or over the top and just compress down. That's what we choose to do. It's the easiest forest and the quickest. So I'll show you guys that real quick.
(14:41):
I got a lunch
(14:47):
Nice and tight. That thing is not going anywhere. If you guys have any questions about the Flycraft, about my experience with the Flycraft, by all means reach out to us. Leave a comment down below, reach out to us on Instagram or better yet, call Flycraft. No question is a dumb question to them and they will definitely help you figure out what is the best situation for you to be in. No matter if it's what boat you need or you're having issues or you want to upgrade or attachments, it doesn't matter. These guys know exactly what they're talking about and they'll lead you straight in the right direction. So if you can't tell, I'm extremely pleased with my Flycraft. There is literally not one thing that I'm just like, man, if only this was different or if that was better. I really don't feel that way. Obviously there's micro things when it's packed down. I'm with my buddy Sug and Mike and we're trying to lift it on top of the car. I mean, it's a little bit heavy at times. Packed down,
(15:54):
3, 2, 1,
(16:06):
And so obviously if we could snap our fingers and it'd just be light just for us to lift it on top of the car, that would be ideal, but that's impossible. So you take all those little micro things out of the equation and I promise you this is the perfect all around boat for family. For an avid angler, for a world record chaser, conventional fly fishermen, it doesn't matter. It all ends right here with the $6,500 three man guide boat by Flycraft. Appreciate you guys. Hit that subscribe button and go check out our Flycraft videos and all of our other crazy adventures over on our page.
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