09-21-2003, 08:33 PM
[cool]Went fishing (not catching) Saturday. A few SMALL bluegill were the difference between skunked and merely frustrated. We hardly saw any fish on the sonar and did not see any large fish marks at all. The water temp was still over 80 degrees, with a lot of weed growth. Need some cooler weather to drop the temps and kill off the weeds.
I did get to test out the lastest model of my ongoing quest to find the perfect rod rack for float tubing. As I have written, in previous reviews, I have gone through all of the commercially available rod racks and I am mostly disappointed in their potential for tubing. They almost all have tubes that are too large for my rods (inside diameter)...but do not keep the rods high enough to keep the handles out of the water. The slots molded into the plastic tubes, to hold reel handles, are usually too small, and must be widened. But, they are usually too deep, and must be duct taped to keep the reels from wedging down into the notches.
In the first pic attached below, I have labeled some of the modifications I made to try to get the $30 piece of plastic to work on my Fat Cat. No matter what I did, the rods rattled around loose and often tipped over into my casting and operating space. And, in spite of duct taping the reel handle notches and raising the tubes higher out of the water, the rod handles could still get dunked in the water.
Picture 2 shows one of my more recent assemblies of burned and finished wood with PVC pipe. This 1 1/4" PVC is just about right for most fresh water reels...unless you are talking baitcasting with pistol grips. One of my new trials is some vinyl tubing to hold the 1/2" PVC transducer shaft. It works, but I think that 1" vinyl tubing...or a piece of 1" garden hose...would work better. I plan to give the larger stuff a try. I secure the shaft by looping a small bungee cord up and around the shaft to hold it in place.
Picture 3 features not only the attachment of the vinyl tubing, but the slot cut into one or more tubes to allow a fly reel to slip far enough down into the sube to be stable...even without a fighting butt. This slot has to be custom cut to fit the handle and reel combo you want it to fit. Too large and loose and the handle could pop out. Too snug and it could damage the cork on your rod handle, or bend something on the reel. Properly fitted, it lets you take a fairy wand out for a varied tackle day.
The fourth pic shows my latest modification of the wood and PVC rack, installed and working. The last pic is a closeup, showing how I was able to raise the tubes higher out of the water by dropping the top cross support down a couple of inches and reattaching the PVC. The Reels all ride above the pocket level on my already high-riding tube...and there is almost no chance of soaking the rod handles.
The main conflict I have with my current setup is that it is still heavier than I think it needs to be. I have some very light plastic tubing, Just over an inch in inside diameter...about half the weight of PVC. And, instead of heavy wood, I am going to try some lightweight plastic molding...using only one strip about 3" to 4" wide. If I can find suitable fasteners, I can fashion a good lightweight system that can be left permanently lashed to the D rings even during transporting.
I doubt that I will ever be totally weaned from my obsession with PVC, though. We have been a team for too long.
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I did get to test out the lastest model of my ongoing quest to find the perfect rod rack for float tubing. As I have written, in previous reviews, I have gone through all of the commercially available rod racks and I am mostly disappointed in their potential for tubing. They almost all have tubes that are too large for my rods (inside diameter)...but do not keep the rods high enough to keep the handles out of the water. The slots molded into the plastic tubes, to hold reel handles, are usually too small, and must be widened. But, they are usually too deep, and must be duct taped to keep the reels from wedging down into the notches.
In the first pic attached below, I have labeled some of the modifications I made to try to get the $30 piece of plastic to work on my Fat Cat. No matter what I did, the rods rattled around loose and often tipped over into my casting and operating space. And, in spite of duct taping the reel handle notches and raising the tubes higher out of the water, the rod handles could still get dunked in the water.
Picture 2 shows one of my more recent assemblies of burned and finished wood with PVC pipe. This 1 1/4" PVC is just about right for most fresh water reels...unless you are talking baitcasting with pistol grips. One of my new trials is some vinyl tubing to hold the 1/2" PVC transducer shaft. It works, but I think that 1" vinyl tubing...or a piece of 1" garden hose...would work better. I plan to give the larger stuff a try. I secure the shaft by looping a small bungee cord up and around the shaft to hold it in place.
Picture 3 features not only the attachment of the vinyl tubing, but the slot cut into one or more tubes to allow a fly reel to slip far enough down into the sube to be stable...even without a fighting butt. This slot has to be custom cut to fit the handle and reel combo you want it to fit. Too large and loose and the handle could pop out. Too snug and it could damage the cork on your rod handle, or bend something on the reel. Properly fitted, it lets you take a fairy wand out for a varied tackle day.
The fourth pic shows my latest modification of the wood and PVC rack, installed and working. The last pic is a closeup, showing how I was able to raise the tubes higher out of the water by dropping the top cross support down a couple of inches and reattaching the PVC. The Reels all ride above the pocket level on my already high-riding tube...and there is almost no chance of soaking the rod handles.
The main conflict I have with my current setup is that it is still heavier than I think it needs to be. I have some very light plastic tubing, Just over an inch in inside diameter...about half the weight of PVC. And, instead of heavy wood, I am going to try some lightweight plastic molding...using only one strip about 3" to 4" wide. If I can find suitable fasteners, I can fashion a good lightweight system that can be left permanently lashed to the D rings even during transporting.
I doubt that I will ever be totally weaned from my obsession with PVC, though. We have been a team for too long.
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I'll PM you when I get the specs on my craft. It's a Stillwater donut with a truck tube. I'll measure the D-rings, etc. Hopefully we can come up with a good design that will work for me. Thanks again. Again, I'll PM you, maybe tomorrow, when I get the info.
]. i may be a little skinny , but i eats a bunch , that crate will hold the snacks , coffee , fly and spawn vice and other junk .