Hey guys I just bought my first float tube, a stearns Denali from garts for 65 bucks. It seemed like a good buy so I broke down and spent the dough. Any advice on the must haves for extra's and techniques would be greatly appreciated. i have fins and a couple of wet suits already. Also if anyone has or knows of a cheap place for me to pick up a fishfinder let me know. Thanks,
Jed Burton
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[cool]Welcome, Jed. We have already been e-chatting. so hopefully between this board, the Utah board and some of the stuff I am sending, we can get you properly tricked out.
I hope you have had the time to go back through some of the previous threads on fins, waders and fish finders, to pick up some input from the gang on the forum here. But, even though we have already discussed some things, we can work them over again if you would like.
I suggest you PM Emuscud or some of the other guys you will recognize on this board, from the Utah board. A few of them have done some original research in the local tackle outlets and have a handle on what is available.
Right now, a couple of the better values for float tube fish finders are the Eagle Fish Easy and both the Cuda 128 and the 168. See if you can find the demo setup at Sportsmans on the Cuda 168. It actually has a demo mode built right into it, and you can play with the different menu items to get a feel for how they work. Figure on spending around $100 for a system you will like and be able to use for a few years.
You will also need a battery to power it. I recommend looking at the gel cell and charger combo in Cabelas for about $30 total. The low wattage on the Eagle units does not suck a lot of juice, so a battery with at least 5 amp/hours will power your sonar all day without recharging.
Look for some of the pics that have been posted showing how to mount the sonar transducer. I can send diagrams and suggestions on how to rig something up, when you are ready. The main thing is getting some kind of rod to mount the "skimmer" transducer so that it points as much straight down as possible. It does not have to be perfect to work.
If you are going to get serious about jig fishing, vertical presentations and overall expanding your horizons, you have made a big step. Once you get on the water with your quarry, and have to learn to approach them just the right way, on any given trip, you really begin to hone your powers of observation and your overall fishing skills.
That being said, you will probably both be happy and unhappy about tubing Utah Lake. It is so shallow that the fish finder is not too good for locating large schools of fish. But, the sonar will help you in knowing conditions of depth and bottom contours. Sometimes a minor dropoff or difference in bottom composition will make a world of difference in where the fish are holding and feeding on any given day. And, on the Cuda 168, there is a built in temperature reading that will help you in locating those hot springs that come into the lake in several areas. Early and late in the year, when the ambient water temps are lower, many of the lake's fish will be around the warmer water inflows. You can't tell them by looking, but when your temp guage suddenly rises several degrees, you know you are in the right area.
Perhaps the biggest benefit you will enjoy with your mini-cruiser is being able to work your way down the shoreline and fish areas not easily accessible to shore fishermen...especially in the shallower water conditions. Being able to work your way out to find even a small area of deeper water, beyond the casting range of the bankers can sometimes have you catching fish after fish, while the guys on shore only mumble...or try to hit you with a heavy sinker.
Welcome to the board.
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you know i'm courious could you not put your transducer say two or three feet down and at a 90 dgree angle pointing towards the bank and maybe use it to read fish agaist the bank ?
chris
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[cool]You sneaky devil, you. You're a plottin' to save some money on those fancy models with multiple cone angles. I have tried disconnecting the PVC shaft on my transducer and using it for a "sidefinder". The good news is that it CAN work, under the right conditions. The right conditions are being within fifty or sixty feet of the bank and having the bank sloping at an angle that makes the cone come in at close to a 90 degree angle...and being able to hold it steady.
The bad news is that you can't wave it around like looking for something in the dark with a flashlight. But, to locate individual or schools of fish between you and a nearby bank, IT CAN WORK. For open water prospecting for schools of kokanee or trout, etc., a unit with the sidefinder feature works better.
At least you are thinking.
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i was just a wondering been catching most of my bass at utah lake against the dikes they usually are at a fairly steep angle so i thought it might work
chris
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I have been trying to figure out a way to do that myself (use my fishfinder go toward the side). I'm wanting to have my cake and eat it to. I want to have it go vertical and then to the side when I want it to without holding it. I think I may have something worked out. I need to build it and test it of course. I have mine mounted on my pontoon boat (click on the attachment on the bottom of this post). The pvc has a snug fit so I can rotate it to a vertical position when in use. I just push it up and out of the way when beaching (as shown in the pic). The other pic is just my outfit. I've already changed my rod mounting system as the one pictured got the butts of the rods pretty wet.
I haunt Lindon BH everyonce in a while on my toon. I may see you around!
ES
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Hey Jed, I'm not to much of a DIY guy, but your posts are very informative and helpful. I wanted to ask you: I was looking around on the web and found this site called Float Tube Fanatics. Their mounting system for fish finders on float tubes look pretty innovative. Have you every tried one of them or know of anyone that has? Thinking of picking one up. Thanks for your help!
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[cool][#0000ff]Welcome aboard.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But why did you reply to a 9 year old post? If you have a question or want to post information you should make a new post.[/#0000ff]
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Maybe because he is just trying to do a little advertising!
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Why don't you join the Tube and Toon club. You can get a lot of GOOD help there and make some good friends. We meet the last Wednesday of each month at the FOE in Murray. Check out the Club Board.
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first off has it really been nine years!!!! geesh. ok I will bite. No I have never used that system (and it could be an advertising post but who knows). My personal favorite when it comes to tubing is the setup Tubedude uses (the many permutations
) consisting of fishfinder and rod holder all in one. it just seems to work well and saves some extra straps. Like they said though if you really want some good help and advice post it on the main forum and you will get some good responses and a lot of good help. Good luck and enjoy some good, tubing,
Jed
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[quote fishmastah]Hey Jed, I'm not to much of a DIY guy, but your posts are very informative and helpful. I wanted to ask you: I was looking around on the web and found this site called Float Tube Fanatics. Their mounting system for fish finders on float tubes look pretty innovative. Have you every tried one of them or know of anyone that has? Thinking of picking one up. Thanks for your help![/quote]
This is an interesting approach. Aren't you Wade the owner of ftf?
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Busted!!![bobhappy]
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