Fishing Forum

Can I have a new float tube like those guys have here under my tree and a week or two with the guys out west?[]

P.S. I have been "good" all year....[angelic]
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey little boy, how old are you? And you still believe in Santa? [/#0000ff][#0000ff]I guess it couldn't hurt to cover all the bases, just in case. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you happen to catch him coming down your chimney, ask him about the new pontoon I wanted last year. If there really IS a Santa, I think he must be getting Alzheimers. He has forgotten a lot of the stuff I asked for.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Merry Christmas.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

.....Would you please lower the the price of the non-resident fishing licences for Idaho. At least to what it was 6 years ago.
Please, and I'll promise to be good, and not tell lies.

Not Really All That EvilAsh
[signature]

What does an Idaho non-res license run these days?

z~
[signature]

Not quite the first born male child or the right arm yet.
$84.00 for year. I wished that they do it like Utah is this year. Good from the month you buy to the month you bought it. Idaho is still Jan. 1st to Dec.31st. Day passes went up from $10. to $15. each day after went up also.
[signature]

If Santa has an extra pair of Simms breathable waders, for float tube and river use, he could leave under the tree, I would be most grateful.

Happy Holidays all.
[signature]

Yikes! That's pretty high. Our Oregon nonrez is $61.50 and I thought that was high.

Then again, California's nonrez fee is $94.00!

All that said, if I was gonna fish there I'll probably pay it.

z~
[signature]

And New York's is $112!![mad]
Well Now that i already know Santa is bringing me a tube, I'm gonna get a fishfinder for the tree and tell the wifey that I must have been a really good boy this year because Santa was extra generous![]

-ABT-
[signature]

stay away from the Fishing Buddies. They are only good for stucture and temp. By a regular boat fish finder, small close cell battery and I am sure there are several guys (and gals) in this sight that can help you mount it on your tube.
[signature]

Nice fish you have hooked here ABT. Doesn't look like a bass, though.[cool]

z~
[signature]

While I generally agree with Flygoddess about the Bubby vs. other, better finders (I have both a Humminbird and an Eagle Cuda 168 along with a Buddy II) I still find the side finder on the Fishin' Buddy to be very useful in locating cruising fish over relatively shallow water (12 feet or less) - so much so that it is my favorite in such waters. I'm not wild about its 9 degree cone but it sure is nice to crank the thing around and spot fish cruising around me.

I realize I'm probably in the minority on that subject here but that's OK.[cool]

z~
[signature]

My Husband has the Fishing Buddy II also, but he rarely can find fish on it (from day one) and when he called the company, they said to send it back with $90.00 and they would fix it. You can by a nice boat finder for a little more. Also, the transducer works in a cone shape, covering more water the deeper you are, so I am suprised to hear you like it in shallow, cause the FBII has got to have one of the smallest transducer eyes. I have older Hummingbird with a side finder feature and I see a fish at 15' I adjust my sink rate and I catch. It isn't a fancy one, but I mounted it on an aluminum plate with a downward lip, slide it between the frame and the tube on both my kickboats or put it in one of the pockets on my fat cat, mounted the transducer to an 18" piece of 1 1/2" square aluminum tubing, roll the cord up, slide the transducer tube up thru the bottom of a fishing buddy tube mount, put the small leak proof rechargeable battery in the side pocket with the screen and I am totally mo-bile.
If you still want a FBII I'll make you a great deal on one with carrying bag.[laugh]
[signature]

Thanks for the input and the great advice. I was thinking of a Hummingbird, only because I am familiar with them and know how reliable they are.

@Zonker
It's a Great White Guppie.[]
[signature]

[cool][#0000ff]Those "great whites" ain't so much. I get them all the time from my float tube.[/#0000ff]

[signature]

Maybe a little clarification is in order here regarding the Fishin' Buddy II.

As a down looking fish finder the Buddy has severe limitations due to its 9 degree cone of vision. A unit with a wider angle transducer cone is superior in all respects. As Flygoddess has so aptly pointed out, the Buddy "sees" only a small section of water when it looks downward due to its narrow downward beam. And the shallower the water the less it sees. However, when I'm in shallow water I'm not generally looking downward for fish because I figure if my tube or pontoon is passing over fish in 5-10 feet of water, they are likely going to spook most of the time anyway - making down looking fairly irrelavant in such shallow water. The side finder on the other hand, spots fish (and other things suspended in the water column) out to the side of your position - fish that probably aren't spooked by your presence. While it doesn't give the exact depth of such fish, it does tell you how far away they are and that they are in relatively shallow water. I find that a quick cast in the vicinity of such fish often yields a take as opposed to fishing over "empty" water.

Here is a shot of the Buddy display. (Mine is an older model so understand that the newer ones give a higher resolution image.) The right side of the screen shows that I am in about 5 feet of water. Now notice the left part of the screen and the two upright lines that look like a football goalpost. The two "^" marks are likely fish that are cruising or suspended in several feet of water. The top "^" mark indicates a fish that is 18 feet away from the eye of the transducer. The other "^" mark is a fish that is closer in. To cover these fish I would quickly cast to one side or the other of the marked fish a little beyond the 18 feet, let my line sink a couple of feet, and begin my retrieve. Hopefully, with my fly in range of the fish, one of them would see it and give me a wiggle on the end of the line.



Lots of good discussion going on here by knowledgable anglers. I appreciate parsing the finer points of these issues as that is often where the real benefits are found. Thanks, Flygoddess, for your valuable insights. Please share anything additional that you know and understand. Together we're all a lot smarter than any individual among us.

By the way, any brand of unit with a sidefinder that gives a wider downlooking beam would be superior to the Buddy as it would give the best of both directions. A Humminbird that looks to the side would be something worth looking into.

zonker
[signature]

Your guys are creepin' me out with those shark pictures.

I'm not going to hang my feet down in any water that has a fish that can chomp them off in a single bite. The idea of losing a flipper at the knee level doesn't appeal to me in the least. Not even the velcro fin savers would keep you from losing your expensive fins in that case.[cool]

z~
[signature]

Thanks for the input about the FBII. I personally have never used one I just listen to my ol' men B&%^$tch about it, so I broke down and bought hin a Garmin boat mount.
Keep in mind that with our toons we have alot of room to mount stuff. I am even thinkin' about an Aqua View, to see what the bottom looks like,to see what the fish are feeding on, etc.
It's a thought[angelic]
[signature]

[/reply]
[signature]

Flygoddess,

I wish that when I complained about something long enough, Mrs. zonker would buy me a new fish finder. What usually happens to me is that I have to sleep on the couch.[cool]

'Course, she doesn't fish.

Aqua View... Now that's something else to ponder.[]

BTW, we've mentioned your tubes and toons in these discussions a couple of times and I know you have pics of the same on the web. I looked at your's and Alan's setups when I was shopping for a new tube. He gave me some good advice on the Echo. Why not give us the URL of those pictures so that these other guys can see how you are rigged? I would have done it but I didn't want to do so without your permission.

z~
[signature]

z- no problem- here's the url for the Echos. [url "http://www.pbase.com/albot/venture_outdoors_echo_float_tube"]http://www.pbase.com/albot/venture_outdoors_echo_float_tube[/url]
and for the Cardiac Canyons [url "http://www.pbase.com/albot/cardiac_pics"]http://www.pbase.com/albot/cardiac_pics[/url]


The website for Venture Outdoor Products is
[url "http://www.ventureoutdoors.net/"]http://www.ventureoutdoors.net/[/url]

Great tubes (Echo) for the price. 3 Benjamins'll get you one, plus whatever is costs for shipping, unless you live close to Brigham City.
[signature]