We camp generally in remote locations and always near mountain lakes/reservoirs, so fishing is one of our main activities while camping. At least one meal (usually more) includes fresh fish on the menu. It's one thing to fish from the bank but having a boat gives you greater flexibility to cover more water while you fish. And to be honest, it's just more fun. The remote lakes I tend to camp and fish do not allow boat motors or boat launches. Over the years, we've used canoes, light weight aluminum row boats, and even a float tube or two. In the end, we favor using our inflatable pontoon boats. They're light and move on the water with very little effort. The top of my pop up provides the perfect platform to carry my "tooner" when heading to the campsite. My wife loves hers just to get out on the water and row around whether she fishes or not. They really are great fun. I'm adding a picture of my boat and my son's, beached at our favorite campsite. This was taken at North Battle Creek Reservoir near Mount Lassen in Northern California. Does anyone else use these inflatable boats while camping? I'm interested in hearing from others with similar interests - pictures are great as well. [smg id=8264 type=preview align=center caption="Pontoon+Boats+on+BCR+1 jpg"]
We've been using float tubes for years. I've got 4 right now: A Creek Company ODC Ultralight A Wilderness Lite Backpacker Pro A SHigSpeed custom made ultralight An ancient round, no frills Caddis. Here are a few pics of our first pop up trip to Mammoth Lakes: 10 year old daughter in the Creek ODC420 Wife in the Wilderness Lite and daughter in the ODC: We're going to Lassen next year- How was the fishing?
I love my inflatable pontoon boat! But if you catch a big one, you're not sure who caught who! I wanted to cover more water, so I built a hybrid trolling motor from a Stihl gas motor and an old electric trolling motor. Best of both worlds, lightweight and plenty of power! The PVC frame/wheel let me wheelbarrow it to the water. Once in the water, the wheel flips up and stays out of the water.
McFlyfi, hope you enjoy your trip up to Lassen next year. I've been camping and fishing in the area since the mid '70's. Fishing is good, but like any new body of water, it takes a little time to figure out what works and what doesn't. I used to backpack quite a bit and never packed in food. We always ate what we caught and never went hungry if that's any indication. I used a float tube for several years before changing to the pontoons. My main complaint was the amount of time it took me to get from point A to point B. Much faster in the tooner but I loved the portability of the float tube. This is a picture I found just a few days ago from my backpacking days using my float tubs on Blue Lake near Chester, CA in Plumas County. This was just a short walk in and out to spend the day on the water. Nice fish too. The picture below is my son and ex-packing buddy, Tony. We used these float tubes a lot and with great success. Knees went bad on me so backpacking is a thing of the past. My float tube was a Caddis U-Boat of some kind. That's about all I remember about the make and model.
jrclocks - interesting motor creating for your tooner. Very creative. Is it noisy when you run the motor like the weed eaters are? I'm working on a wheel with the similar purpose - to wheel the boat to the water. I'm using a 20" BMX front wheel and fork assembly. Once I get it done I'll add a picture. "When a Man says he will do something, he will do it. There is no need to remind him about it every six months." With that in mind, not sure when I'll have it done, LOL.
Yes, its a bit noisy at full throttle. But the boat really moves out using only about 1/3 throttle, and doesn't seem to go much faster at full throttle. Just alot more boat wake and splashing with extra motor noise. The hull design clearly isn't meant for higher speed. So noise really isn't an issue. But at 1/3 throttle I can motor around to all my fishing spots during the course of the morning on a half tank of gas. I get alot of strange looks from the shoreline, and alot of offers to buy it at the campsite! JR
We used a 10 ft Super Caravel by Sevylor for about 5 years DW was never happy with the soft bottom and how the boat bent when trying to move around in it so we got an 8 ft Livingston that goes either in the bed PUP. It really is nicer then the inflatable was.
