Printable View
Can some of you float tubers give me some of the attributes you feel are necessary in a good float tube rod. I know length is an important player but, in particular, I am confused with the action. Pulling that line off the water in the low position is a different experience and my favorite wimpy rod struggles a little.:confused:
Both are important, but fast action is more important than long length. I regularly tube fish with a 7.5' 3 wt for panfish, and do fine. But it's a very fast action rod. Now, if you're throwing big bugs (say, you're bass fishing), then length becomes more important.
I have been told that longer than 10' foot is not very workable from a toon. I have an 11' 6wt I love. Have not tried it from a toon yet. I consulted with Bob Meiser about spey rods. He is the one who stated too long on a toon is not good. Too short is very bad. At least for me. I tried a 5' Lil' Streamer in my ultra light 8' fiberglass boat. The line got tangled in the trolling motor. Not thinking very smart I moved to the motor to try to clear it. Took on water...hurriedly panicked and moved to the bow...took on water. Capsized and lost the rod. I don't think I will be using any very short rods from a boat anymore.
Just fyi
I fish stillwater with glass and graphite rods.
Floating lines and deep nymphing down to 30', intermediate lines, Type II sinkers, I'll use a McFarland 5w, TL Johnson 5w, Fenwick Ferulite 6w, or a Lami Honey 5w- all fiberglass and pretty much slow rods. 8' being the average length of the rods.
Type II, III, V, and VII sinking lines I'll use a faster graphite, from a LT 5w with Type III and a 6w BIIX or McFarland GTX 5w for V and VII sinkers. These rod lengths go from 8'6" to 9'6". I usually take out 3 rods in my Escape or in the Outlaw. One (fiberglass) with with floating line and long leader , one with an intermediate or type II (might be a glass rod) or III (depends on the depth of the water) and one with a fast sinker- V or VII
I fish mainly for trout. The waters will go from 20' to 50' I also use a type V and VII with chironomids. Drop it straight down and slowly retrieve it upwards.
Slower rods have a harder time with a faster sinking line in casting and pulling the line off the water for a cast, and that's why I use a faster rod than glass for fast sinkers.
Simple question, simple answer?
I have settled on using rods of 7' to 8' in length from a tube. The shorter length makes it easier to bring fish to hand, and also reduces the fish's leverage advantage with longer rods. Shorter rods are easier to stop, making it easier to toss tighter loops and less likely for the rod to drift back and down thus throwing the backcast towards the water. Many people assume that a longer rod helps keep the line off the water but this is not necessarily the case. If you throw your backcast up, it will not hit the water. If you get sloppy and throw it down, it will hit the water whether the rod is short or long. With the longer rod it just hits the water a few more inches farther away. I have watched many people in tubes hit the water with their backcast and almost always it is because the backcast is sloppy. The exception is when carrying long lengths of line where the line may fall towards the water even after the forward cast is started.
I fish a lot of panfish and bass from a tube and now exclusively use rods between 7' and 8' in length. These include the Sage Largemouth and Smallmouth rods, TFO TiCrX 7'6" 6wt, St. Croix Premier 7'6" 6wt, Sage 7'9" Youth Rod, and Redington Crosswater 8' 5/6wt. I no longer use 9' rods when float tubing. Instead of using a long rod when making long casts from a tube, I use a shooting head or an integrated head line like the fantastic Rio Outbound Short.
Picking up line to make a cast is harder from a tube because you are so close to the water, making it harder to get line off the water before making the backcast. I dont find it any more difficult to pick up line with a slow or fast action rod - just need to adjust the casting stroke. A longer rod does help pickup more line but I don't find this advantage to be more beneficial than the benefits of a shorter rod. With the rods I use I have no problem lifting 30 ft of line of the water and rarely find a need to lift more when fishing from a tube.
with a sinking line there's no problem with lifting the line. it's cast, count down, strip to the tube. there's no line to lift. i used a 9.5' 7 wt most of the time and loved it. other times i used a 9' 6 wt both sage rp.
I still use a donut. And a 9ft rod is a bar for bringing fish to the net for me. I prefer a 7.5 to 8' rod. Fast action helps for picking up line.
I fish out of a pon-tube, Outcast LCS4, that put your butt at water level, fishing on a lake last week I used a 6 ft. 3 wt., a 7.5 ft. 5 wt. on a lake and on Sunday afternoon a 8.5 ft. 5-6 wt. and a 7-5 ft. minus 2 inches 3 wt. on the Hooch, which has from very gentle to maybe Class I water movement on the stretch I fish. I used these in my donut except the 6 ft. with no problem that I did not cause with bad technique. On lakes you generally don't have a lot to get you backcast in, the river is another story, short rods require better technique than longer rods
IMO, the absolute best float tube rod is a 3pc. S-glass, on the side it says Steffen Bros. 8' 5/6. I've never had a problem with lifting line off the water with shorter rods....all that's required is a simple roll cast to aerialize (sp?) the line one back cast and shoot it back out there. Works like a charm.