Rio Craft Madison 13'6" Fishing Raft

The centerpiece of this raffle is the Rio Craft Madison 13'6", a premium fishing raft purpose-built for anglers who want stability, maneuverability, durability, and a clean fishing platform on the river.

The Madison isn't simply a whitewater raft adapted for fishing. Rio Craft designed it around the needs of anglers, with a low-profile, diminishing-tube design that reduces wind resistance, improves visibility, and helps keep the boat responsive and easy to control. Its 13'6" size is designed for everything from day trips to overnight fishing adventures.

Built to Fish

One of the Madison's standout features is its ultra-rigid drop-stitch floor. Unlike a traditional soft inflatable floor, the drop-stitch construction creates a solid, level platform underfoot, giving anglers a stable surface for standing, moving around the boat, and casting.

Rio Craft takes the floor design a step further with an exclusive rocker shape engineered to punch through waves while keeping the raft lively and responsive under oar. The result is a fishing platform designed to provide both stability for the anglers and precise control for the person rowing.

The raft's low tube height also makes it easier to get passengers and gear in and out of the boat while providing excellent visibility for spotting fish and reading the water.

Clean, Snag-Free Fishing Design

Anyone who has fly-fished from a raft knows that excess hardware, straps, valves, and D-rings have an uncanny ability to find fly line.

The Madison is specifically designed to minimize those problems.

Its fishing-focused layout uses minimal D-rings, side-mounted valves, strategically positioned grab handles, and clean rigging to reduce potential snag points. There are no thwart mounts cluttering the fishing area, and a horseshoe-shaped chafe strip provides reinforcement around the stern fishing-seat area.

The result is a clean, purpose-built fishing platform designed to let anglers spend more time fishing and less time untangling line.

Heavy-Duty Construction

The Madison is built for serious river use.

Rio Craft constructs the raft using heavy-duty 3000-denier, 50 oz.-per-yard PVC, with double-thick material protecting the tubes, bottom chafe areas, and both sides of the floor.

Additional durability features include:

• Precision-welded seams for long-term strength

• Full side and rear layered PVC horseshoe chafe strips

• Rounded corners designed to reduce wear

• Reinforced, sun-protected grab handles and valves

• Strategically placed reinforcement in high-use areas

• Heavy-duty drop-stitch floor construction

• Guide-designed construction intended for demanding river use

This combination creates a raft designed to withstand years of fishing, loading, unloading, shallow water, rocky riverbanks, and long days on the water.

Designed for Performance

The Madison's narrow, low-profile design provides a combination of stability and maneuverability. Rio Craft owners describe the Madison as easy to row, quick to respond, capable of tracking well, and easy to hold in steady current.

At 13'6", this version of the Madison is particularly well suited for day trips and overnight fishing adventures, offering plenty of fishing capability without the bulk of a larger expedition raft.

Whether you're chasing trout on a technical river, floating a favorite home water, or loading up for an overnight fishing trip, the Madison is designed to be a capable, durable, and exceptionally fishable river platform.

This isn't just a raft. It's a purpose-built fishing machine designed to get anglers on the water and keep them fishing.

Included in the package:

• Rio Craft Madison Pro 13'6" Fishing Raft & Frame

• Sawyer 9’ Smoker Bandit Oars

• Raft trailer