09-13-2003, 07:52 PM
[cool]As always, if budget is a consideration, then use what you have and make the best of it. You can almost always get something. But, if you carefully put together a balanced rig, that is right for your size and strength and the fish you are after, then you will get more enjoyment and you can concentrate on fishing and not on fighting your tackle.
I build all of my own rods. Those I make for tubing I make with slightly shorter handles...to reduce the incidence of hanging the end of the handle on my vest or waders when casting or working lures. Shortening the handle even 1 inch from factory specs can make a lot of difference.
As you have already been advixed, spinning gear is easier to use when tubing. However, I have been gravitating toward more and more baitcasting. I have a rod rack on my Super Fat Cat that holds 4 extra rods, in addition to the one I am actively using. These days there are sometimes three baitcasting rigs and two spinning. I have even been using very light baitcasting rigs. I just made up 4 new 7 foot baitcasting rods on medium light spinning blanks. I throw 6 pound line on them and love the feel.
The line is the big thing. No matter how much or how little you spend on a rod and reel, do not buy cheap line. Saltwater fish are aggressive, fight hard and have teeth. Wimpy line just does not hold up. If it makes it past the first trip, you will start losing fish on the strike or having them break off with not even full pressure being applied during the battle. Just as bad, your cheap line will turn into a living spring that boils off your reel and tangles around everything...and reduces your sensitivity to zero.
Reference was made to avoiding hooking big fish from a tube. There is a logical reason why most tubers stick with small to medium sized fish. While in a tube, you just do not have enough "lift" to power a big fish up off the bottom...or to stop a long run. Unless your feet are planted on the bottom, a large fish can pull you over on a power dive. I have nearly had this happen a couple of times fishing reef fish in the Sea of Cortez.
That being said, it is a lot of fun to hook into big catfish and have them tow you around for awhile before they develop a desire to crawl into your net. Big stripers can also be fun from a tube. They tend to fight out away from the tube and can be subdued.
In the salt water bays, I have deliberately soaked big chunks of squid for sharks and rays. I will tell you that a determined bat ray can pull you around for awhile. It sure makes the eyes bug out on the folks on boats as they go by...seeing your rod bent and you being pulled against the incoming tide.
If you do hook into a decent sized shark or ray, you might consider cutting it off without trying to take it home. Harmless dogfish sharks do not have teeth, but leopards and others do. Bat rays do not have the large stingers that some of their tropical cousins do, but they can still do some damage to you and/or your craft.
There have been some big specimens of many large species successfully landed from float tubes. However, if you stick with tackle and fish of the same size you would normally use in freshwater bassin' conditions, you will have more fun with less risk.
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I build all of my own rods. Those I make for tubing I make with slightly shorter handles...to reduce the incidence of hanging the end of the handle on my vest or waders when casting or working lures. Shortening the handle even 1 inch from factory specs can make a lot of difference.
As you have already been advixed, spinning gear is easier to use when tubing. However, I have been gravitating toward more and more baitcasting. I have a rod rack on my Super Fat Cat that holds 4 extra rods, in addition to the one I am actively using. These days there are sometimes three baitcasting rigs and two spinning. I have even been using very light baitcasting rigs. I just made up 4 new 7 foot baitcasting rods on medium light spinning blanks. I throw 6 pound line on them and love the feel.
The line is the big thing. No matter how much or how little you spend on a rod and reel, do not buy cheap line. Saltwater fish are aggressive, fight hard and have teeth. Wimpy line just does not hold up. If it makes it past the first trip, you will start losing fish on the strike or having them break off with not even full pressure being applied during the battle. Just as bad, your cheap line will turn into a living spring that boils off your reel and tangles around everything...and reduces your sensitivity to zero.
Reference was made to avoiding hooking big fish from a tube. There is a logical reason why most tubers stick with small to medium sized fish. While in a tube, you just do not have enough "lift" to power a big fish up off the bottom...or to stop a long run. Unless your feet are planted on the bottom, a large fish can pull you over on a power dive. I have nearly had this happen a couple of times fishing reef fish in the Sea of Cortez.
That being said, it is a lot of fun to hook into big catfish and have them tow you around for awhile before they develop a desire to crawl into your net. Big stripers can also be fun from a tube. They tend to fight out away from the tube and can be subdued.
In the salt water bays, I have deliberately soaked big chunks of squid for sharks and rays. I will tell you that a determined bat ray can pull you around for awhile. It sure makes the eyes bug out on the folks on boats as they go by...seeing your rod bent and you being pulled against the incoming tide.
If you do hook into a decent sized shark or ray, you might consider cutting it off without trying to take it home. Harmless dogfish sharks do not have teeth, but leopards and others do. Bat rays do not have the large stingers that some of their tropical cousins do, but they can still do some damage to you and/or your craft.
There have been some big specimens of many large species successfully landed from float tubes. However, if you stick with tackle and fish of the same size you would normally use in freshwater bassin' conditions, you will have more fun with less risk.
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