Trolling motor on float tube?

[JBplusThuy]

Anybody using one of these (or similar device) to attach a trolling motor to a float tube? If so, how do you like it? If you're using it on a Creek Company ODC-420, ever better :-)

http://www.bwsports.com/FloatPower.htm

Thanks,

Jonathan

[dick tabbert]

What will they think of next.

[Leo Nguyen]

Actually, I tried that one out with a guy in San Diego. Perfect for very very calm water..not so perfect for choppy water that created by wind, currents, or watercraft activities. The float behind it is an add-on, supporting up to a 25lbs motor and battery. So, you're running a 15 to 25lbs Minn Kota trolling motor, with a very very small 12V marine battery that will give you a 2hrs of variable non-continuous trolling speed. Not worth it. Get a kayak, an inflatable pontoon, small boat, canoe, or go man-powered only float tube (PROWLER!!).

[JBplusThuy]

Thanks for the info. You're right, that doesn't sound very good. I like to fish Bethany Reservoir, which has very poor shoreline access but some nice long but deep coves on the far side. It's in the Altamont Pass area and gets quite windy in the afternoon. Last time I was out there, getting across and over to a cove was no problem. While I was in the sheltered cove, the afternoon wind came up and I had quite a time getting back. Couldn't make headway at all against the wind with my Creek Co. lightweight fins. Eventually had to get over near the bank and push backwards along the bottom. Did that until I was 50 - 100 yards upwind of the launch ramp/parking lot, then headed across the lake, which is only 50 - 75 yards wide at that point. By the time I got over to the other side, I was at least 50 yards downwind of the ramp. Fortunately ,the ramp itself is in a small cove at the base of the dam and is relatively sheltered, so I was able to make my way up to the ramp, but I sure was tired. That took so long it was fully dark by the time I made it across. Good thing I was the only one on the lake.

[Leo Nguyen]

Have you tried anchoring yourself with a fluke type anchor? Bethany Reservoir is about 50' in depth? I have the Caddis Navigator Gold I retrofit with a rear PVC 1" pipe to house about 100' of 3/8 poly-nylon ropes, and used to use a grappling type 3.5lbs anchor for light wind at Perris Reservoir. However, with constant wind sheers exceeding 15mph, the grappling style anchor is not doing anything for me. I got a 5lbs fluke type anchor, and retrofit a floating platform to the rear of the tube to house the anchor. That anchor holds me in place through the worst of the wind sheer. I use the wind to my advantage by casting with the wind, then retrieve. Landed quite a few fishes that way. When the wind died, I haul the anchor, and kick like a mad man. That's one thing about tube..it will either make your legs the size of tree trunks or kill you during epic wind battles. That's why I stick with my toon. I can fight wind sheers up to 25mph without breaking a sweet with those 8'6" oars. If I know there will be massive white caps with wind sheers at 35+mph, I'm bring my 55lbs thrust motor.

[JBplusThuy]

I don't think I want pointy things near inflatable things :-)

Not sure how deep Bethany is, but the places I fish are certainly a lot less than 50 feet. Mostly, I fish weedbeds, either on the inside or the outside. Mostly the outside if I'm tubing; they're too thick to get through to the inside in many places.

The problem isn't fishing in the wind, though; Bethany has long, sheltered coves on the far shore. The problem is making my way back through the wind at the end of the day. Like you said, it'll either give you legs like tree trunks or  kill you; last time I did that, I thought it would kill me.

Looking at going with either a canoe or a pontoon. Would love a "real" boat like the Sun Dolphin 120, but a canoe with a 55 pound electric or a 2.5 outboard would get me around pretty well and would let me take one of my kids in it fishing sometimes. Especially with the 2.5 outboard, I could take it out in the delta, something I wouldn't dare do with my tube around all those Real Boats that go Real Fast, including around blind 90-degree corners.  A 'toon would make me a bit nervous around them, too, although I suppose they probably take wakes pretty well. Last time I was out there I saw a guy in a small kayak, the wakes didn't seem to bother him at all.

The only downside of a canoe is getting that big long thing up on the car top by myself. And then there's the cost of a good rack like a Thule, and who knows what else :p It's not that much farther from there to the cost of the Sun Dolphin, if only I already had a truck, or even a tow package on the Odyssey...

Well, like they say, a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money :p

[Leo Nguyen]

The flue anchor is only as pointy as you allow it to puncture your float tube *LOL* I normally have it away and dangling downwards from the tube. Not too thrill about it near my float either, but hey, desperate time calls for insane measures.

 

If you're hunting shallows, you might want to carry with you a nice 5 to 7lbs grappling anchor type then. That should hold you in place very well. Rather than having a huge spool of 100ft of poly rope, 50ft should be more than enough.

 

Best to stick with a two man kayak. As pricy as it is, it's quite well built to be in both fresh and salt water. You're right about the wake not doing anything to it. It's very stable in the water. The wiggling room is the main factor that turned me off. Pontoon can handle major wakes and wind. Wakes, it won't flip. Wind, it will give you a good rowing workout if it exceeds 25mph. 2 and 3 persons pontoons are out there. You can slap a 2.5 to 10HP motor on it. As Dick would say, "Zoom zoom zoom". My suggestion would be a 2-kayak system (one per person) with a cross platform for standing to cast, relax, or just to get some tan. Something of a catamaran rig for kayaks.

 

I believe that serious fishing is a hole in the water the you throw your life's saving into. *LOL*

[arthur cole]

Here you go cool!!

[Leo Nguyen]

Yeah!! The Scadden Outlaw! How about this:

Zoom Zoom Zoom