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[RG]

Thinking about mounting a fish finder on my float tube, anybody ever try this?  If anybody has recommendations or suggestions let me know, cheers!

RG

[mastercaster]

I've always used the fishing buddy types on my tubes, V-boats, and pontoon boats. On my float tube I'd just slide the long tube end of the fish finder into the drink holder and then bungy the top, stretch the bungy cord around the tube and re-attach it to the part of the fishfider below the surface level so that it was nice and sturdy to keep it totally upright.

Hopefully by this old pic you can get the jist of it:

[HOOK]

I myself did the same thing but i paid for the actual float tube Fishin Buddy holder that straps around your float tube, it will also fit around your pontoon bladders but usually not around the thickest area but who cares your only looking at it once in awhile.

Tip - dont use it for locating fish, use it as a depth sounder instead and a thermometer. Learn the whens and wheres of where fish feed at different times of the year or temperatures and then use it to find those depths, dropoffs, shoals.........

example - we fished a lake 3yrs ago that was a pretty even depth across the deepest area of the lake, a fish would beep once in awhile as i worked around looking for a bump or dip along the bottom. I finally came across a dip that went down another 3-4 feet deeper and found alot of the fish in the lake holding in this spot and zipping in/out to grab food. they were holding there because this was August and they had to seek out deeper/cooler water however most of their food was still hatching much shallower. We set a small orange marker to mark the spot because it was only about 15-20feet in circumference and there was no other way to know how to find it otherwise for fishing later that day, the next days.

we proceeded to catch fish like this and larger every day 

[RG]

Awesome, thanks guys!  Looking forward to this coming season!

[RG]

Actually, can someone recommend a good finder for a float tube?  What's the battery situation...?

[mastercaster]

I myself did the same thing but i paid for the actual float tube Fishin Buddy holder that straps around your float tube, it will also fit around your pontoon bladders but usually not around the thickest area but who cares your only looking at it once in awhile.

Tip - dont use it for locating fish, use it as a depth sounder instead and a thermometer. Learn the whens and wheres of where fish feed at different times of the year or temperatures and then use it to find those depths, dropoffs, shoals.........
236.jpg[/img]

I have one of the holders that I use for my v-boat which I use on my pontoon since neither have a drink holder.  They definitely work well even though I still bungy the top and bottom of my finder so that it doesn't sway at all.

Why wouldn't you use your finder to locate fish?  That's one of the main reasons I use it! Obviously I use it to find depth, too, but there's no way I'm dropping anchor until fish are located.  When I'm in my pram I keep cruising/rowing around the lake until I locate some, preferably a concentaration of them.  LOL

Humminbird makes a good fishing buddy type of fish finder.

[HOOK]

MC - we both know you have been lake fishing long enough now you should be able to find where the fish are without the fish finder 

of course i watch it for fish (or have it beep when fish pass under it) but im usually more watching my depth and the contour of the bottom and then looking around for rising fish and make my way there. Usually in small watercraft your fishing lakes under 50' depth, alot of the time 30' or less actually and a fish finder doesnt have a very wide beam at that depth so when you beep a fish under you its really only maybe in a 10'-20' radius because the beam cant spread out further.

[mastercaster]

MC - we both know you have been lake fishing long enough now you should be able to find where the fish are without the fish finder

of course i watch it for fish (or have it beep when fish pass under it) but im usually more watching my depth and the contour of the bottom and then looking around for rising fish and make my way there. Usually in small watercraft your fishing lakes under 50' depth, alot of the time 30' or less actually and a fish finder doesnt have a very wide beam at that depth so when you beep a fish under you its really only maybe in a 10'-20' radius because the beam cant spread out further.

A good number of the lakes that I do my fishing at, all chironomiding and anchored up BTW, have muddy bottom structures that are just like table tops barely changing in depth at all.  Without using your finder to locate fish it would be a total crapshoot, especially in the lakes that we're fishing since the fish can be anywhere and where there is no definable structure to hold them in any one place for more than a day or two.  The lake our cabin is on is like that.  The entire lake once you're 20m out from shore doesn't vary in depth by more than a foot!

Lakes like Roche where the average depth is 28-34' where we like to fish is a similar situation.  With these depths you don't see a whole lot of surface action since their feeding zone is rarely more than a few feet off the bottom.  Your chances of just dropping anchor and stumbling onto fish is almost zero so you've got to spend the time to search out the fish.  A good finder that actually points out fish is invalable on laks like these!

I'm usually a little less patient than some of my fishing friends.  Whereas I'm pretty much willing to row around to up to an hour before anchoring and tossing out my lines I've seen them row about DEAD slow, covering the size of 2 or 3 football fields, for two hours or more before they're content that they've located enough fish to make it worth while but when they finally drop anchor it's usually lights out for them.  Sometimes the fishable area is no bigger than a good size living room.....no wonder it's so hard to locate!

Guys can anchor almost on top of us but if their fly isn't in that small zone their chances of hooking up are slim to none. Patience definitely pays off and as far as I'm concerned I don't have much of a desire to fish what I think it is barren water.

I was telling my buddy the other day that I'd rather forget my landing net at home before I forgot my finder in order to locate fish and that's on lakes where I have the bottom structure of the lake memorized.....but that's just me.  I'm sure other people's thoughts on the matter will differ~

[HOOK]

sounds just like the lake i referred to in my post. the little dip was small enough that when we anchored around it to cast into the middle you had to be afraid of wrapping lines or like what happened to me when a fish of mine ran under my dads pontoon, around his anchor rope and just kept going 

the type of lakes with barely any change to them are the exception where locating the fish is tougher. sometimes on those lakes they are just continously travelling and there really is no "honey hole". For those type of lakes i will also row/motor around looking for pods of fish more so than stucture or shoal/drop offs.

[whereismyfloat]

Guys can anchor almost on top of us but if their fly isn't in that small zone their chances of hooking up are slim to none.

I think this is a key. I can recall days where a boat will anchor up close seeing we're into fish. They cast out and drop their bugs and never adjust their depth. They just sit there hoping. While patterns have relevance, past 12ft the light won't penetrate the water in the same way. I'd rather dangle a different pattern in the correct zone than dangle the correct pattern in the wrong zone. I was taught to start off bottom and raise your fly 6-12 inches every 15 minutes or so until your into fish. Pump the first one and match the pattern.  Do you have a similar approach?

[HOOK]

I probe an electric rod in the water until a couple fish float up. then i stomach pump them and continue searching for fish i havent already "zapped"  LoL

but seriously a well placed stick of dynamite will give you enough fish to scoop up for awhile before they revive and swim away 

[whereismyfloat]

or that ....

[mastercaster]

I think this is a key. I can recall days where a boat will anchor up close seeing we're into fish. They cast out and drop their bugs and never adjust their depth. They just sit there hoping. While patterns have relevance, past 12ft the light won't penetrate the water in the same way. I'd rather dangle a different pattern in the correct zone than dangle the correct pattern in the wrong zone. I was taught to start off bottom and raise your fly 6-12 inches every 15 minutes or so until your into fish. Pump the first one and match the pattern.  Do you have a similar approach?

You're definitely on the right track but if you're not over fish it's folly!  Like I mentioned previously, sometimes the area that the fish are sitting in or cruising around isn't much bigger than a large room in your house.  That's where the fish finding abilities of your sounder are invaluable.

The only thing that I do differently than what you mentioned is I'm a stickler when it comes to matching the hatch when they're on chironomids.  The size, colour, AND distance from the bottom can change throughout the day.  Because of that, I'll throat sample fish almost every hour on the hour looking for any change that almost always happens.

The last thing I want to do is think I'm using the right fly at the correct depth because it had worked well earlier in the day to find out that it changed an hour hour or more ago while there was still a strong bite going on.

[whereismyfloat]

thx MC.

[Spawn Sack]

Good discussion here, I learned a fair bit!

I'm thinking of buying a portable "fishing buddy" style fish finder for my canoe. I fly fish out of it and occasionally troll small spoons, etc.

Can anyone reccomend a good one? I've heard on some fishing shows it's nice to have one with "side scan." Also I'd pay the extra for a color screen. I don't care too much about the price, I'm mainly looking for one that kicks butt. I'd probbaly be willing to pay up to $300 or so.