I fished Ravensdale Lake tonite(thanks for the directions"Tiki")for the first time using a float tube. It's a beautiful spot until the storm came up and I thought I was on the sound. Question #1 How do you keep the float relatively stable in place without causing too much water disturbance? Question #2 Any hints or thoughts on the general care and feeding of the float tube? I washed it off when I got home. It's a brand new Fish Cat. Anything I can do to extend it's life, other than avoiding punctures. Thanks. ER LIFEGUARD
The #1 thing to remember is to keep it 80% inflated and hang it on a rubber hook from the ceiling in a garage if you have one. If no garage, hang it in a room ceiling. I have the Outcast Fat Cat and its awesome! Had it for couple years now and has been flawless. Get shoulder straps for the long hauls, ie; Lenice,Nunnley,etc. Peter ><> Mark 12:30-31
if you are gentle with your kicking when your trying to be stable you wont disturb the water. also, kick deeper than you normally would. Welcome to WFF! when your in a float tube, i commonly find bass coming up to check it out if your quiet. you do not spook fish like you do in a baot or toon have fun tom
With regard to the shoulder straps. do they make actual backpack straps or is it something that you would need to buy and then customize for the Fishcat. Where do you get the straps? Strapless in Seattle :7 Michael
Question 1: What you think of as a disturbance and what actually scares a fish may be vastly different. The fish are remarkably tolerant to our presence when we are in a float tube. Normal wave slap and fin noise doesn't seem to bother them. Neither does a small anchor
Thanks for the advice, the hooks are set to go in the garage. Does Outcast make the straps or do I need to make my own?
If the Rain would not have kicked up it would have been great. I was the only one out there!! No fish. But that's ok I've found another good place to go that's close to my house. It just gives me more reason to go back.
>With regard to the shoulder straps. do they make >actual backpack straps or is it something that you >would need to buy and then customize for the Fishcat. >Where do you get the straps? Seems to me that my adjustable shoulder straps were made by Caddis and I got 'em several years ago at Creekside in Issaquah or Outdoor Emporium in Seattle for about $10. I've got 4 different float tubes and have used the straps with each one. All tubes have 'D' rings attached to them so it's usually a simple matter to either snap the shoulder straps directly to the tube's D rings or to use extension straps (1" nylon webbing and plastic snaps and swivels from REI) in case the D rings are too far apart. My favorite tube for packing this way is a TU Tokiak (see photo) because the D rings on the back of the boat are in exactly the right place for my straps. Straps are fine for lugging an inflated tube in to places where the landscape is wide open like the basin. But for tighter hikes like many of those in to alpine lakes, there's too much brush and trees to lug a wide body tube. For those trips, I use a different tube design that lets me roll it up deflated and strap onto the back of a backpack. http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/dc/user_files/1450.jpg
