owen
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Post by owen on Apr 3, 2009 12:07:51 GMT
I fish the Tay quite often and though the chat with the ghillie is always a laugh I prefer not to volunteer for harling.
What harling does give you though is a way to fish the full width of the widest river; and stuck on the bank Im restricted to how far I could cast.
This got me thinking about how to cover more of the river but in a more active way than sitting on a boat waiting for a fish to make a mistake.
This may already exist (though I haven't seen it) but if I took an object similar in floatation and size to a ships life belt i.e a big circle of foam; stood inside it and attached it to the waist of my waders, fitted a small winch to the life belt and from this extended a length of rope, all I would then need is a rudder on the back of the life belt to propel me out across the river, using a suitable tree or other anchor on the bank as a pivot. Extending or shortening the rope and altering the angle of the rudder should let me fish a great deal more of the rivers width.
Any engineers out there with a view?
Cheers, Nolon.
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Speyducer
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Release to spawn another day
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Post by Speyducer on Apr 3, 2009 12:29:31 GMT
What you are talking about is known as "belly boating".
Used extensively on some large still waters both here & abroad, you can literally launch yourself into the water, suitably attired with your fishing gear & flippers, perhaps with neoprenes for the leg chill factor, and you're off & independent.
However, there may be difficulties to overcome.
1. floatation - no problems 2. stability - perhaps becomes a problem if you hook a decent fish and it starts to drag you, or more likely, you would have difficulty in getting the fish to you, and perhaps even more difficulty in getting back to shore in order to play/land the fish 3. anchorage - not such an issue in still water, or in the calmer sea, but on moving water - yes! You can either anchor to the shore via rope, but there will be a tendency for the current to constantly swing you back towards shore. You can anchor to the bottom via a rope & stone (the stone in a net bag), but you have to transport said stone to where in the river you will drop it, and you also have to pull up the stone when you wish to move, or when you want to go back to the bank - a stability issue also?? 4. manoevrability - diving fins/flippers not so good on moving water & a rudder - have you another hand to control it?? 5. fishing gear - limited room on the belly boat. 6. whether it is allowed at all?? - I'm sure that other fishermen, ghillies, riparian owners, beat owners, and other water users will have differing views to your own about the use of such a device/craft
That's just for starters!!
Mike
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owen
Active Member
Posts: 184
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Post by owen on Apr 3, 2009 12:55:06 GMT
Mike,
Thanks for that. A few wrinkles to iron out of the idea yet then.
Wasnt planning to do belly boating, have seen this done; instead was just thinking about some heavy boots, perhaps the kind divers wear, something to stop me sinking, no flippers with all the cross river propulsion coming from the rudder. On the rudder front your 'free hand' comment is valid, perhaps I would need the ability to lock the rudder at certain angles, or take the approach of modern cars and have some controls built into the handle of the rod (...who designed those z-spey rods again...)
Thats points 3&4 covered...point 5, jacket pockets.
Point 2. Hadn't thought about this.....isn't really a problem on the Tay but will have a ponder. Any suggestions welcome.
Point 6. Agreed, but then a leap of innovation always has its opponents. Some field trials may be required to demonstrate it's merits?
Unless anyone else has any other points against I think this could be a go-er. Volunteers for the field trial? Why has Last of the Summer Wine just popped into my head??
Cheers, Nolon
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tenet
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Post by tenet on Apr 3, 2009 14:27:39 GMT
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djb
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Post by djb on Apr 3, 2009 14:41:53 GMT
Some beats will let you cast from the boat either with flee rod or spinning or both - the success of this depends on the flow/water height as in fast high water sometimes spinning from the boat the lure is past you before you can do anything and therefore not fishing properly. We had 2 on the flee rod casting from the boat at U Kinnaird last week in an area you couldnt cover from the bank due to trees..
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conwyrod
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Autumn on the Conwy
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Post by conwyrod on Apr 3, 2009 16:49:28 GMT
Owen, your idea sounds absolutely bonkers to me! ;D Apart from the obvious danger of drowning in a big river like the Tay, I think you'd find casting a double hander fairly challenging as well. At least forget the heavy divers boots!
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Post by greenman on Apr 3, 2009 22:56:32 GMT
Belly boats/float tubes can be great on lochs, especially when not covering great distances. It's an effort to cover much water and I find them clumsy mind you. Downright dangerous on a river Nolon ... don't do it I see where your coming from though, you want to cover water that can't be covered from the bank. Why not ask the ghillie to use the boat as a mobile casting platform for you? (mind and tip him big though if he's having to hold station with the oars ;D ;D) My undesrtanding (although I'm sure somoene can confirm from first hand experience) is that boats are used as casting platforms on the Tweed. They tether the boat to something solid and then let out rope to move down the pool. Often done in high water. I imagine in an emergency situation, the rope is cut and then a row to shore. I'd rather my vessel was a boat than a float tube as it was carried down stream by the flow of a big river
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conwyrod
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Autumn on the Conwy
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Post by conwyrod on Apr 3, 2009 23:42:14 GMT
My undesrtanding (although I'm sure somoene can confirm from first hand experience) is that boats are used as casting platforms on the Tweed. They tether the boat to something solid and then let out rope to move down the pool. Often done in high water. I imagine in an emergency situation, the rope is cut and then a row to shore. I'd rather my vessel was a boat than a float tube as it was carried down stream by the flow of a big river The only time I've been roped down was on a fairly fast pool on Upper Floors. The current was probably too strong to hold the boat on the oars. Nice way to fish - no ghillie in the way when you're casting. Paid off for me, as I caught a nice Feb springer last year. The only other times I've fished off a boat was with the ghillie on the oars - a pleasant change, but I prefer wading myself.
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burnie
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Post by burnie on May 11, 2010 18:10:12 GMT
I see harling as one method of fishing the Tay and certainly not for a whole day.I like to ring the changes and try something different,change of fly for example,to change my luck.I get the impression some ghillies may frown on this if you were to do it too often.It's nice to have the option to fish from a boat and as I get more experience and confidence I will know when to take to a boat and when to decline.
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