When I was young & bulletproof (before I went on my senior trip & learned different) my cousin & I would take our belly boats onto private ponds that were were off limits to public fishing. We did this at night with no lights as snakes are drawn to lights & we didn't want to tangle with cottonheaded rattlemoccasins in the dark. We'll never know how close we came to bad encounters but I did smell a cotton mouth several times. Cotton mouth moccasins have a very strong unmistakable odor. We did catch some remarkable bass. I used a black jitterbug almost exclusively & an Ambassador 5000 reel. I've had a lot of belly boats & at that time my belly boat was a Factory made Styrofoam affair. It was big & I never worried about air leaks. I bet it's been 40 years since I've seen another one.

I didn't set out to do something dumb or daring, but it turned out that way.
This wasn't normal fishing, unless you consider a spear gun to be fishing tackle. Ignoring the buddy system, I went diving alone to do some spear fishing. When I was ready to go back in, I surfaced - and the fog had rolled in. I couldn't tell which way the shore was, it was like trying to look through a bottle of milk! Finally, I pulled down my wetsuit hood to uncover my ears, and swam towards the sound of waves on the rocks. It all ended well but until I thought of listening for the surf, I was concerned that I'd really gotten myself into a situation!
Now I'm too old for that kind of diving. If I dive any more it'll be in warm, clear water from a dive charter boat. I can't believe that I used to carry 80 pounds of gear a quarter of a mile, then try to fight my way into a wetsuit while I was all sweaty, and then fight my way out through the surf. That's for the guys who are still young and dumb and full of .....chum. And yeah, I've gotten seasick while I was diving. Not a good time or place to have to barf!

Hello Andy. I'm sure the first belly boats were simply innertubes from a truck tire. My first store bought belly boat was a truck tube in a canvass covering. That was 1969. Later belly boats used vinyl tubes (or bladders) & nylon covers with pockets for lures & small totes. Propulsion was provided by paddles attached to your feet. Later, smaller versions of swim fins were used. My current belly boat has inflatable back & head rest. I've literally dropped my anchor & took a nap under a good shade tree. A belly boat is literally the best tool going for bluegill. I wouldn't put it in any water that held alligators. I've had a couple snakes try to crawl in with me a good slap with a rod discourages them. Belly boats are sold by most big fishing outlets. Try it, you'll like it.

When I was young & bulletproof (before I went on my senior trip & learned different) my cousin & I would take our belly boats onto private ponds that were were off limits to public fishing. We did this at night with no lights as snakes are drawn to lights & we didn't want to tangle with cottonheaded rattlemoccasins in the dark. We'll never know how close we came to bad encounters but I did smell a cotton mouth several times. Cotton mouth moccasins have a very strong unmistakable odor. We did catch some remarkable bass. I used a black jitterbug almost exclusively & an Ambassador 5000 reel. I've had a lot of belly boats & at that time my belly boat was a Factory made Styrofoam affair. It was big & I never worried about air leaks. I bet it's been 40 years since I've seen another one.

Me and a buddy growing up crawled under a fence sprint across open area about 200’ climb down the bank in an out cove area where the power station outlet ties in the river. Big cats every cast we kept 7 fish had a total of 120 lbs climbed out in a shaded area from house master. Look toward the parking area game wardens. We had to lie in the shadows till everyone left then waited some more. We took off running for the fence hit the ditch crawled back under fence. Got the fish luckily no game warden waiting only one other car in the lot. Thought we got away clean. Haha next day we had broke out in little itchy bumps. We had been laying in poison ivy ooohhh. What a lesson to learn when u r young and dumb.