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I should be out fishin' on a lake today, but instead I'll have to make do by posting pictures of my 'toon. The first couple pics show my basic setup - Classic Accessories Trout Unlimited Madison pontoon. One fish basket is hanging from the seat for small panfish. A larger fish basket is tucked under the seat. Both float. The Scotty rod holder mounts in a minute and stays put. The air pump tucks in beside the seat.
I've putzed around for a couple months trying to come up with a way to mount my Humminbird Fishin' Buddy 140c so that it doesn't wiggle around while I'm finning or oaring. Version 3 works like a charm - no wiggle at all!. See the three pics that show how we mounted a shaped piece of plywood on the foot rest with three bolts and then sandwiched Humminbird's "cup" between two pieces of wood so that I can quickly dismount the cup to use on a regular boat. I still have room for my foot to rest and my eyes can still read everything on the screen.
The last pic shows how I can move all my stuff from the car to the water. I found the collapsible wagon in a hardware store. I can fit the wagon, two complete 'toons (4 bladders), and all my gear in the back of my Civic when the back seat is folded down. I usually chain the wagon to a tree while I'm out on the water.
I've thought long and hard about getting a trolling motor, but have decided to let the idea die - more hassle and a lot more weight. Will stick to small lakes and easy to manage bodies of water which abound in Wisconsin. So my next mod sessions will involve mounting a Scotty anchor rig, an umbrella rig, and rod holders behind the seat. Will post and attach pics later this summer - hopefully.
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Very nice and clean! But can you still put you feet up to row?
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Yes, there's plenty of room to the left of the Fishin' Buddy for my foot to rest. I spend a lot of time with my feet dangling in the water, but put them up while I'm on the move.
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That all looks very nice and clean. Great job!
The only thing would be the foot rest wher the finder
is now.Only one way to find out how well it
works........
Please let us know.
Peter
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That was me too Peter, but, he has it down already. I probably would have cut the unused part so it was "L" shaped so to speak, so there was a flat spot of finned foot.
But he sounds like he has been using this idea all ready so it has been tested....right on.
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I just ordered a fishing buddy holster. If it does not "suit" me, I may try something like this. I am having a hard time picturing where you put your finned foot.
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I've tested my "fishfinder foot rest" with a booted foot and it works fine. I can rest the heel of my wader boots to the left of the fishfinder. On my next trip to the lake (this weekend - I hope), I'll see what happens with my fins on. I'll report back. Thanks for the feedback so far!
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Here's my update from Rock Lake:
The gills and rock bass skunked me on a beautiful glassy Saturday morning. [:/] Lately, the weather has been all over the place and not very summery. Air temp was 52 and water temp was 65-68. No wind at 6 AM.
The pleasant surprise was how well my fishfinder footrest mod works with fins attached to my waders. Not only was there plenty of room with fins on, but the footrest is the perfect distance for me to strap the fins on and take them off while sitting in my 'toon. Previously I really had to stretch or twist like a pretzel.
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Looks like some great mods. Glad they work for you.[cool]
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Nice ! As long as everything is working for you its
alllll good.
Thank you for the report.
Peter
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If you are able to row with your foot "on top" of the foot bar (note: bar is not a foot rest so to speak).
The bar is not meant to just get your feet out of the water. When you row, you push with your legs and feet on the bar, but if you are comfortable with that then great!
Let me know how this works when you have to row any long distance, or speed rowing to get off lakes quick...or just row to the other side of a lake. I am interested in your findings.
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Last report (probably) about the fishfinder-footrest mod:
The questions posed by the folks in this forum have been excellent and helped me think more analytically about my toon mod (see pics in posts above).
Q1: Is there room for your right foot? Yes
Q2: Is there room for your foot with a fin strapped on? Yes
Q3: Can you use the footrest for its other intended use - a place to push with your foot and leg while rowing vigorously or for extended periods of time?
Answer: please read on....yesterday a buddy and I took our toons out for an extended float down the lazy Crawfish River in WI. In six hours, we covered about 4-5 miles of bends and twists while floating and fishing. All the while I thought about FG's question (#3 above). In its present shape, I am not able to place my right foot on the wooden platform in a way that allows me to push off with that foot. Two thoughts:
A. I could modify the platform by shaping a place where my right foot could push off. Right now, when I try to push with my shoe, my foot slides off. It's a great footrest, but not a suitable push bar/platform.
B. What's interesting, though, is that pushing off with my left foot only on the unmodified left foot bar was very comfortable and felt natural. My body stayed balanced and centered. After hours of floating and rowing, my back, legs and central core were not overused or sore.
I'm happy enough with the mod that I won't change it for the time being. If I need to replace the footrest for some reason in the future, I'll shape the new platform so that my right foot can rest and push off.
Last part of my report: Although we got skunked, we learned a lot about floating a slow river and saw lots of blue herons and kingfishers. The process of discovering what doesn't work will eventually lead to what does work for catching fish.
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Any day on the water is good! Thanks for sharing your modifications. It sure helps to see what others have done, when we go to set something up on our floats.
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