I keep personal high end tackle in one place and ‘boat tackle’ in a large tackle box. This is the $1 and $2 dollar Walmart stuff…it is available for who ever needs it with the understanding that we all pitch in to keep it supplied. My buddies that know better bring their own and those that do not still have equipment at their disposal. It’s not about being a cheap ass, but good gear is costly. I want inexperienced friends and family to enjoy the past time and this keeps it happening without breaking the bank. For the price of one really nice rod I can put a dozen ugly stick combos in the locker and never worry about broken gear.
I have Lowrance too. This happens when transducer gets moved/bumped/lose and out of position. Move it back and tighten it down. Inside hull??? No idea.
Good knots and appropriately sized tippet to line size is really important. If your tapered leader is broken off in a heavier section and you don’t have a replacement or don’t want to tear down and reset, don’t tie 5x to it and think it will cast properly - you will have to build it back up with sections decreasing in line test to where you can tie on the right diameter tippet.
Tippet size isn’t really a function of line and rod size. Thinner tippet is harder for fish to see. I usually fish in really clear waters where trout have had a bit of pressure. Typically I tie on 6x or 7x unless I have a really large streamer. For those times I may jump up to 4x or 5x. I’ve also found that colored tippet seems less likely to line a trout. My experience with panfish is they are not line shy but why use a larger tippet on such a small fish.
Fluorocarbon vs mono is up to you, when I’ve got the money to drop on the fluorocarbon stuff I get it-I think it’s more sensitive…but mono works well to.
Use the lightest tippet you can with the fly you are casting…some flys (#28 black beauty) are so small you would be hard pressed to get 5x thru the eye easily. Back off on the drag and let the rod do what it’s made to do and be ready to tighten the drag as necessary. Learn how to control the reel with your palm and the line with finger pressure and you’ll never worry about drag being ‘right’
The obvious answer-7wt. You can over or under weight a rod with varying success, an older slow action glass rod is going to be a bit sluggish with a heavier line -you likely will have difficulty casting this set up. Under lining this rod is not without its own difficulties, I can see issues with wind knots, snarled leader, and poor presentation with a 6wt line.
Over lining is done in situations where wind and distance is a factor, while under weighting would be utilized almost exclusively in presentation.
When I was a kid, I had an old Browning glass rod I bought at a garage sale. The old man I bought it from ‘threw in’ a reel and line from a 4 wt. I used that setup for brookies all summer-what it did teach me was proper casting technique to control my presentation. At first 9 of 10 casts stove piped and made a mess. Once I found the speed needed to cast that little line with a huge rod, I was then able to successfully cast about 30’. Even with near perfect timing it didn’t go much further than that.
The obvious answer-7wt. You can over or under weight a rod with varying success, an older slow action glass rod is going to be a bit sluggish with a heavier line -you likely will have difficulty casting this set up. Under lining this rod is not without its own difficulties, I can see issues with wind knots, snarled leader, and poor presentation with a 6wt line.
Over lining is done in situations where wind and distance is a factor, while under weighting would be utilized almost exclusively in presentation.
When I was a kid, I had an old Browning glass rod I bought at a garage sale. The old man I bought it from ‘threw in’ a reel and line from a 4 wt. I used that setup for brookies all summer-what it did teach me was proper casting technique to control my presentation. At first 9 of 10 casts stove piped and made a mess. Once I found the speed needed to cast that little line with a huge rod, I was then able to successfully cast about 30’. Even with near perfect timing it didn’t go much further than that. Later on in the summer I came across some 9wt line and put that on the reel. That rod went from bothersome step-child to the golden boy just by getting the line right. Just now it was no longer an appropriate rod beaver pond brookies. The biggest fish I caught after that just felt like stripping a heavy fly thru the grass.
Put a 7wt on it, I would bet you are surprised at how forgiving and fun to cast that rod is.
Likely scenario? Have you ever ‘Cloussered’ your rod-this means to have a large fly or split shot impact with the blank. A heavy fly can chip the blank and it can snap where it was impacted. Without some kind of outside force it’s pretty hard to snap a fly rod. If you yank forcefully at a snag it will usually break the tippet before the rod gives out - even cheaper rods usually stand up to that level of abuse. I’m willing to bet there was some trauma to the blank where it’s snapped.
I guess if you somehow managed to flip a tube and couldn’t get out of the seat due to fins getting stuck AND no pfd it might be a possibility.
The only tubes I’ve managed to personally flip had more to do with the class lll rapids I was tubing (not fishing) thru than any other fact. And I did have on a pfd.
Float tubes when used for their actual purpose are very safe.
I’ve had a few different shapes of tubes, they all have something to offer. Simple round tubes are economical, deltas move well and sit higher in the water. U-tubes are easy to enter but unless you have extra flotation in the seat or really large tubes you will ride low. The one shown above, I call it a V, (fat cat from outcast is one of the best)usually has inflatable seat-keeps you higher to see better and your butt will not be as wet. Also, room for some cargo behind seat in a box or dry bag. Tubes are rough and possibly dangerous in moving water imho. You will catch your legs on something. Fins- smaller than scuba for sure. No actual experience with hinged fins-seems like a bad idea to put a possible breakdown point in something you have to rely on for propulsion. The brand Force Fins are expensive, but are the best I’ve used. Think duck foot. You will be able to go for several hours vs maybe an hour with scuba fins. Tubes are designed to move backwards. Trying to move forward can be done, but this move is more for positioning than moving about. Fin tethers or keepers are a good idea, especially if you do decide to fish moving waters. Fins do come off easier than you think they would when under water. The best ‘tube’ I’ve found for all circumstances is a cat or framed pontoon. Expensive, yes, but much more versatile than any of the others. Even a small cat will have a rear deck for gear. You can row or kick a cat. You are high and dry in flat water, and it’s easy enough to dip and jump back in if you get hot. No danger of catching your legs in something if they’re above water. Cats move faster and easier than floating tubes. You could even do a multi day river trip on a cat if you packed light. You will need a truck or a roof rack to transport unless you take it all the way down each time. They are heavier than tubes and I wouldn’t ever try to hike to a remote lake with one, but for my money, I find I use the cat about 90% , V 8%, and delta 2 % of my fishing time.
Wrist rocket and a bag of marbles. Works on Heron too.
I’m going to fall into the don’t do it school...but as a comparison, my 22’ fishing barge that’s got aluminum logs and plywood deck and a 115 hp o/b motor is only about 3300lbs on the trailer. I can’t imagine a simple 16’ boat with live wells (I would assume you’d empty them) could come in at even half the weight. Would I pull any boat w/o 4x4-no. But, even a smaller suv s/b able to handle that. What’s your vehicle’s rated tongue capacity?
Girl goes out fishing with three guys. No one caught anything but she did come back with a red a snapper!
Schrade ‘old timer’ 1470T. About $25. Nice long blade with enough flex to do just about any species. Good grip rubber handle and sharp as a scalpel out of the box. I keep one in the kitchen, one on the boat, and one in my captains bag. A cool trick I learned from the guy that sold them to me...roll the drivers window in your truck down about 3/4 of the way and use the edge of the window glass to lap the edge. It’s a nice long surface with the right grit to return the scalpel edge to that blade. This will make it so sharp you can cut the head off a good sized pike in one stroke...if your into that kind of thing. I also use one of those little wood handle Rápala fillet knives for Brookies or sunfish. But believe it or not. They’re about the same price as the Schrade for a knife 1/4 the size.
The Lowrance Hook units have traditional sonar, down scan, live gps, compass and the ability to show 3 screens simultaneously. It also has a clock, speedometer and thermometer. It’s taken me two years to figure out how to use it, and I’m sure I only use about 60% of it effectively. They’re not as user intuitive as some of the other units out there, but you can get a 7” screen for under $500 with the transducer. Lots of YouTube vids on this unit as well.
I have both types and end up using the pedestal base about 99% of the time...it’s so easy to reposition or pick up and look at the other side (even with rotating jaws) I prefer it for sure.