Dog Fishing

Hello All,

Do any of you take your dog fishing? If so, do you have any suggestions on making it easier to get the dog back in your boat? I have a Ranger that has a regular boarding ladder.

I have a lab that loves to fish and cool off in the lake. The issue is getting a wet lab back in a fiberglass bass boat...not the easiest. There's got to be a better way or product solution.

Any suggestions are appreciated based on your experience or product use.

Thank you!

I take mine a lot. I pull to shore and let her out to pee and run around since I'm on shore she can also swim too. Then when you're ready to go it's easier to get into the boat. Trying it your way can be dangerous especially if a Gator is in the area.

I take my dog all the time. I generally just pull up on the bank midday to let him do his business. When he gets in the water, I have a life jacket on him that has two handles. I literally grab those handles and pull him over the edge of the boat. He shakes off and makes a mess, but it's worth it.

All the time. I just grab her by the skin and pull her back in. I’m
Assuming since you’re asking that’s not an option, so
I would do as others suggest and pull up to a bank.

I usually pulled up to the bank, got out and let him fetch stuff out of the water for a while. Luckily he only jumped out when he was a pup. He eventually realized I was going to pull over so he could play and never had to pull him in from the lake again.

I use a harness for mine. I keep a leash on him so he can move around and get under the console to cool off. When he jumps in I just pull him back in..

I love dogs, but I don't get the take the dog in the boat routine. All the videos I see of em look like a pain in the butt. It's hard enough for my old butt getting around in the boat and side stepping rods on the deck without having a dog under my feet. Especially if it's on a windy day. Love me some dogs, but nope!

Duck hunters say that if you grab them by the back of the neck and put downward pressure on their neck they are able to use their hind legs to climb up the side of the boat. Duck boats are usually aluminum and not fiberglass, so it might work better for them.

Good stuff!

I used to take mine all the time. Until he took a jerkbait in the neck. It was a mess, since I was by myself. I was fishing and my jerkbait hit something (felt like a bite). So I set the hook and the bait went flying to the back of boat and stuck my dog like a dart. Be very careful out there. I still feel terrible about it.

He’s all good. We were 5 mins away from a vet and t it taken care of. He didn’t even need staples.

And that's one more reason not to have my buddy in the boat. Lots of other things we do together. In a boat...nope.

Muskie net?!?

This guy goes everytime to boat moves. He wears a life vest when we are running. He does not like to swim so he will not jump in the water. He is absolutely no problem on the boat. Matter of fact most people recognize us by him being on the boat. Pull up to shore he takes care of business and back on the boat. The other bullies we have had did not like being on the boat, but he loves it.

Here is an article about the 5 best boat ladders for dogs.

https://topdogtips.com/best-dog-boat-ladders/

I realize this is not quite on topic but had to share. This is my buddy's male Golden, he is the absolute best fishing dog I have seen. He brings a coffee bucket and when he has "to go" ....well, the pic speaks for itself. I though this was the coolest thing.

I don't think #2 has been figured out yet

I started taking mine the first week I had him, at about 10 weeks old. Had him two months now, and he's about learned where he is allowed to sit/lay (aka, not on my rods). Like any other training, its taken some work and there's been frustrations - but the alternative is to fish less or lock him in a cage all day every day, so there really isn't any other option.

Mine just chills. He's an aussie so I don't take him when its super hot. Or if I take 2 extra people while bass fishing. I have a bowl for him to drink from but he holds it until we load the boat. He does everything with me though. Hunt, fish, whatever. He gets maaaad if I leave him.

That's a good boi!

When I was boatless, I would take my dog with me. Now that I have a boat, she's older, blind, and diabetic. The heat makes her ill, so she stays at home for me.

Saw a guy today that had a GSP puppy on his bass boat.

Someone mentioned ladders above, and I forgot to mention that in my first post. Ladders can help

A life jacket with a shark fin on top gives you something handy to grab. One note: Life jackets are a really good idea for small dogs. You don't always hear them hit the water. I almost lost a dog many years ago when I didn't hear him fall into the water, and only discovered him silently dog paddling beside the boat later. I've had life jackets on mine ever since.

There are harness with flotation you should be able to pick your dog up by it.

Very large dip net or put the power pole down, let him climb on it then raise it.

My dog is 70 lbs so this vest handle makes it easy to lift her back in. She’s very well trained and stays at the back deck. Only fell in once when she got too excited when I caught a fish next to her back deck.

Lost both of these in the last year, worst part of being a dog dad... they saw more lakes and lake time than most folks do.


Now training this almost 6 month old pup. He’s a natural, but we still have some work to do.

Awesome thread!

my dog Rudy went under the console last Thursday and stuck a red eye shad in his face. had to take him to the vet to get it out. DANG!
took less than 10 minutes to get him fixed up. Going to take a while for me to get over it.

Had a chow that swam like a rock. The life vest made it easy to get him in and kept him afloat.

I don't do it but leaving my dogs here at home is no problem as they have 50 acres to roam, squirrels to chase, and they act as guards for my free range chickens. I am not against taking a daog on the boat but wouldn't want my glass scratched by toenails.

On a bit of a side note watching the Ken Smith videos his dogs and their behavior drive me crazy. A well behaved dog is one thing but those 3 jumping at his fish and standing and jumping on his on-deck rods drive me batty. No thanks.

Good lookin' hounds man.