Fishing Forum

I used to suffer from "glitter" envy. You know, the sparkling stuff embedded in expensive bass boats, with all their attractions and benefits. Me, I couldn't afford to even register one, so as a poor church mouse I made do with an old belly boat. Years later, I might still welcome the blessings of a high-end bass boat, but not anything inbetween. Certainly not a jon boat, which I find difficult to quietly keep in position. .

Sure, I wish I had more range than my fins can take me, but after all these years I'm happily adjusted to fishing from tubes. I just go about things different than the glittering bank-beaters who troll around me. I'll bet you do too.

For instance, I fish an area much more thoroughly. While looking for patterns, I'll try out several presentations before moving on. And when I find a pattern, that doesn't mean I only fish that presentation from area to area.

Yes, I can't stand up to cast and I'm limited in elbow room, but I still get my lure in places the glitter guys can't reach. I'll drop a Texas-rig plastic on one side of an overhanging tree, then stealthfully kick around to the other side while feeding out line from my submerged rod tip. When in position, I retrieve the lure precisely through the strike zone.

I'm sure you've learned similar stuff that helps overcome or even capitalize on our craft's limitations. Please share them here ...
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I couldn't agree more. A couple of years ago, I went through a period where I was sick of being "stuck" in a tube. I have been tubing for over 20 years. My buddy that I have fished with forever is on his 3rd bass boat, while I, because my life took a different turn from his (as in having a family), I'm on the "maybe next year" plan.

But sometime last year, something changed. I fell back in love with tubing, although I never stopped doing it. I don't even want to fish from a boat that often anymore.

As far as advantages, I think the biggest ones are being able (forced) to work an area thoroughly, and not being confined to launch ramps. I like being able to constantly adjust my line angle during my retrieve with a kick of a fin. And I love not having to spend an hour before and an hour after fishing to deal with a boat.
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Here's another point. See if you agree:

Unless the water is crystal clear, you can sneak up closer on good spots than you can in a boat. For example, I snag a lure with the first cast on one side of a laydown and get upset because I'll disturb the fish by going to get it loose. But while right up against the tree at the bank, I toss the freed lure on the other side of the tree and -- wham! -- hook an apparently undisturbed fish. I don't think you can do that in a bass boat.

And I could be wrong, but I don't think bass see us as much a threat as a boat. I'll often be shocked -- even showered -- when a feeding bass explodes on the surface right beside me. Although I must say they seem to catch on to my presence after I hit the same lake several times, but it might be my imagination.
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We went the opposite direction.
Being Fly Fishers, we mostly fished rivers for most our lives.
Shortly after we were married, we were offered a killer deal on a club/cabaret. We jumped on the deal and did very well.
Bought a RINKER but more for water skiing. We did occasionally fish from it as well.
Problem was, we needed two gas guzzlers to pull the boat and the camping trailer. (not into a piggy back that long)
Broke my leg so we sold the Rinker and moved down to a 14' Alumicraft with all the platforms steering console and 4 stroke motor. Nice boat and easy to pull.
Then more friends wanted to join and a 14' wasn't working. So we sold it and bought a 16' Monarch (same set-up)
By now we had been using Donut tubes for many years, infact even had a motor for them.
Well we got tired of buying all the gas, dragging this boat everywhere, and someone always had to be incharge of where we were going.
We had moved from Donut to SFC to Pontoons now. I had a 6' Bucks bag and Hubby had 9' Leigh then Scadden.
Well, 10 years ago, North Fork Outdoors came out with an 11 1/2' x 12" pontoon boat. PERRRRRFFFECT! Deflatable, easy to transport.
We bought two and loved the heck out of them. We also had the H3 for small hike ins, and the Navigator II for hike ins and more.

Over the years, from having boats and choosing to go for the single person route, we know what we want.
As you said, you adapt. We did and have all the comforts of the bigger boats.
With the new addition pontoons we now have even more (standing ability)

We do take our fishing very seriously.
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I definitely think fish see us as less of a threat, especially if you stay in one spot long enough for the fish to acclimatize to your presence. Like you said, on several occasions I'd have fish blow up on my lure tubeside as I was about to recast.
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[quote flygoddess]... using Donut tubes for many years, in fact even had a motor for them.[/quote]

Wha ... ?! Did I see you say donut and motor in the same sentence? Yes, I did! So tell me more. Please. No, seriously. I'm not kidding. Honest!

My dream, you see, is to power a tube with a trolling motor. As an aid to sleep at night, I think of how to rig one, or alternately of the logistics of floating from Aransas Pass to fabled Ransom Island to camp overnight and fish for Reds. If I had the money I'd grab a sit-on-top ocean-going kayak (and stay awake figuring out a four-rod holder for it), but the ODC 420 is all I can afford under this administration.

Whew! Thoughts of battling such brutes while afloat made me light headed, at least more than usual. I'm back to reality now, far from the Coastal Bend or even any wadeable water. I am, however, interested in quickly reaching the far end of Virginia's Beaver Creek Lake where there are no roads. So motorize me!

That could be a good tip for tubers, but I'm sure the moderator would say that's off target.

So another thing I do that the glitter guys probably don't is drop a Texas- or Carolina-rig crawdad straight down and then peel out line back to the shore to make sure I get a great retrieve through a hot spot. I don't mean going back and forth, just when I approach the first time -- or if I get a strike and miss setting the hook.
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FLOTE POWER. A little tube with a battery box and a block of wood for a motor.
It has a dent in the front of the tube so it can butt up to the main tube. Also has straps to clip onto the main tube.

You can kind of see it here on my SFC


Here is the Flote Power



In fact I do have one still laying around.
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OooooK, I misunderstood. I translated donut as a bellyboat and was hoping to apply the technology to my
ODC, but it doesn't look like it'll work. The question remains: Can an ODC 420 be motorized?
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Yes it would. I bought it when I had my donut. The problem was, you have to be in at least 10' of water (the motor) and trying to climb into a donut IN the water was tricky at best.
SO, I bought a Super Fat Cat which is what I am in in the picture. SFC is basically the same shape as an ODC isn't it?
The motor/batter attach to the back of the tube and it PULLs you. You can make it push but it will use more power.
The other thing is, on the electric motor, you simple undo the bolt that holds the head of the motor on. Turn the head so it is facing the same direction as the prop and tighten back up making sure all the wires are out of the way. Simple. You now have all gears in the FORWARD position pulling you
I know the bottom picture is a small pontoon, which just goes to show, it will work on anything.
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[quote flygoddess]Yes it would. I bought it when I had my donut. The problem was, you have to be in at least 10' of water (the motor) and trying to climb into a donut IN the water was tricky at best.
SO, I bought a Super Fat Cat which is what I am in in the picture. SFC is basically the same shape as an ODC isn't it?
The motor/batter attach to the back of the tube and it PULLs you. You can make it push but it will use more power.
The other thing is, on the electric motor, you simple undo the bolt that holds the head of the motor on. Turn the head so it is facing the same direction as the prop and tighten back up making sure all the wires are out of the way. Simple. You now have all gears in the FORWARD position pulling you
I know the bottom picture is a small pontoon, which just goes to show, it will work on anything.[/quote]

I happily stand corrected. This is good news. So when you said there's one around, does that mean it might be for sale? (Not that I could buy it -- Lord knows it hurt to come up with a 12-volt SLA battery and charger to properly run my Eagle Cuda instead off eight AAs.) If not, did you make it or buy it? Please tell how or where.
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Been thru some versions of "glitter" regarding boats and it was not what was expected at all. What attraction and benefits- that you can't rent for a fraction of the cost? Doesn't it seem like all the "glitter" appears during the same 6 or so holiday periods a year most people are free to use? Because of the complexity and upkeep time, it felt like "glitter" owned me instead of the other way around.


For now, I just like to go where powerboats can't go, or won't be present, when I'm out. Payoffs are big in areas that receive low pressure, even if you just count the release and freedom that beauty and quietness of nature bring. Sometimes the only way to get to these areas is by float tube. If stand up, elbow room, range fatigue, etc. are concerns there are solutions or compromises as postings on this list have revealed...

But, hey, that's just the way I see it.....

Pon



[quote revrusty]I used to suffer from "glitter" envy. You know, the sparkling stuff embedded in expensive bass boats, with all their attractions and benefits. Me, I couldn't afford to even register one, so as a poor church mouse I made do with an old belly boat. Years later, I might still welcome the blessings of a high-end bass boat, but not anything inbetween. Certainly not a jon boat, which I find difficult to quietly keep in position. .

Sure, I wish I had more range than my fins can take me, but after all these years I'm happily adjusted to fishing from tubes. I just go about things different than the glittering bank-beaters who troll around me. I'll bet you do too.

For instance, I fish an area much more thoroughly. While looking for patterns, I'll try out several presentations before moving on. And when I find a pattern, that doesn't mean I only fish that presentation from area to area.

Yes, I can't stand up to cast and I'm limited in elbow room, but I still get my lure in places the glitter guys can't reach. I'll drop a Texas-rig plastic on one side of an overhanging tree, then stealthfully kick around to the other side while feeding out line from my submerged rod tip. When in position, I retrieve the lure precisely through the strike zone.

I'm sure you've learned similar stuff that helps overcome or even capitalize on our craft's limitations. Please share them here ...[/quote]
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[quote pontoonman]I just like to go where powerboats can't go, or won't be present, when I'm out. Payoffs are big in areas that receive low pressure, even if you just count the release and freedom that beauty and quietness of nature bring. Sometimes the only way to get to these areas is by float tube.[/quote]

Pon, I couldn't agree with you more. Well put! People ask me if I'm afraid when nobody else is around in case I need help, but I don't think of it that way. I've been fortunate and haven't yet gotten into any trouble the Lord and I couldn't handle, but I love the peace and quiet when nobody's around and I'm a stealthful full-contact participant, not merely a trolling visitor. And here in Virginia, the stark beauty of secluded places makes me even when they're not biting. The things I see up close, eye to eye: a family of playful deer, curious beavers, thirsty cows.

But I digress: Certainly you have developed techniques that might help us hook into more fish. What specific tips come to mind?
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Well revrusty, one thing is retrieve lost lures which the big boats and shore fishermen can't get to. Some of my nicest ones, which I wouldn't spend $5+, have been retrieved from overhanging tree tips near shorelines. I rarely lose a lure because I can move from every direction quickly and hover over or near an otherwise inaccesible area. Most trips are net postitive on rescued lures that are known to hook more fish for that specific area! Lots of stories, but I've even refused tips for returned items lost beyond reach that I returned to owners fishing nearby... So you can sometimes catch more fish with someone's abandoned lure- that you don't happen to have on board.

Don't know what tips you are looking for without knowing the kind of fishing. There's the universals like the best times being dawn and dusk, not fishing after a heavy rain, etc.

There's the ability to QUIETLY and more finely control drift fishing techniques- modified trolling and jig bouncing on bottom, working lures WITH the current for ambush predators especially on rivers, that can not be done by a individual man trying to control a powerboat or from shore. We have almost 9 months of Summer in my area, so waders are too hot, shade is a necessity, and you still sweat. You can control your own overheating and be more comfortable than the glitter boys by periodically lowering your bare legs as needed from a pontoon into the cool water to cool your blood system.

Pon






But I digress: Certainly you have developed techniques that might help us hook into more fish. What specific tips come to mind?[/quote]
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[quote pontoonman]Well revrusty, one thing is retrieve lost lures which the big boats and shore fishermen can't get to. Some of my nicest ones, which I wouldn't spend $5+, have been retrieved from overhanging tree tips near shorelines. I rarely lose a lure because I can move from every direction quickly and hover over or near an otherwise inaccesible area. Most trips are net postitive on rescued lures that are known to hook more fish for that specific area![/quote]

You got that right, Pon! I always scan limbs for that reason. And the lures tend to be ideal. Yes, it's unusual for me to lose one of mine. Some days, when I don't catch any fish, I catch a Rapala and call it a success.

As for more tips, I guess I wishfully think there are some additional benefits to fishing from a float. I've noticed a few, but I've been all by myself in this type of fishing, definitely trial and error, working on things that hamper me, adapting and finging a better way. I've never fished with another tuber and only compared notes online. My hope is others, brighter and more experienced than me, have noticed more benfits and/or techniques.
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