Cougar Shakedown Cruise

Float Tube Fishing Float Tubing General
1

:sunglasses:We planned to launch the Cougar at Lindon Harbor, but it was locked when we got there this morning. Went back to Lincoln Beach.

Water was calm at launch, but varying breezes played in from different directions through the morning, until a stout north wind began to blow about 10 and finished any plans I had for fishing.

I did not use the PVC rack I devised for loading and carrying the toon. When I put the toon on my existing carrier for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the natural valley between the two air chambers on each side nicely stradled the side rails on my factory carrier. All I had to do was stap it down and run a rope from the front rings down to my bumper to keep it from lifting off as I flew down the road (see pics).

The weight of the assembled craft is about 75 pounds. One person can get it on and off a vehicle if they are strong and use good techniques. Of course, an extra pair of (strong) hands is always welcome.

The Cougar is rated for 350 pounds. I am over 250, plus gear. When I pulled the Cougar out into about six inches of water and sat down in the seat, IT FLOATED. Good show. Because it is low profile, with two 10 inch air chambers on each side, rather than one larger one, it does ride low in the water.

**Not low enough. Like all pontoons, the Cougar does catch the air. When the wind comes up it wants to go sideways. That makes for a lot of extra kicking or having to continually use the oars…or both. And, because the Cougar has a lot more surface on and in the water (than a tube), it takes a lot more force to make it move. Trying to make that toon turn in the breeze, with fin power alone, was like trying to shove a tank off the road. **

On the positive side, the oars work great. I am a pretty fair oarsman and have rowed lots of boats in my day. I grabbed those Cougar oars and put it to the test. I won’t say I skipped across the top of the water, but I was making more than fast trolling speed, and easily in a straight line. The rowing system is good.

I can see lots of waters and lots of times when the increased speed and distance of the toon will be appreciated. However, for finesse bait fishing, for catfish, like we were trying to do today, the toon is more of a liability than an asset. I literally could not fish. Everytime I had to quit kicking or rowing, to attend to tackle or a bite, the toon caught the breeze and went spinning downwind from where I wanted to be. I got a tougher workout today, just to maintain position, than I did on Easter when I had to swim back against the Perfect Storm.

Get an anchor? On some trips that would work. Right now, we need to cover a lot of water to find single spread out fish. Staying in one place wouldn’t get the job done.

I ended up with one carp and one bullhead catfish. TubeBabe (in her tube) managed a 23" 4.8# channel cat and a couple of nice white bass…before the north wind blew us both off the lake. I got back to shore before she did, but she had the best catch.

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Your trip sounds a lot like my first trip out in the 'toon on Thursday. After not being out since October I had forgotten how much even a little breeze can throw one out of position. I was spinning around quite a bit finally when the breeze blew me back to my truck I grabbed the anchor and the fishing was much more pleasant after that.

The W has to be dead… no breeze at all to maintain position without an anchor. I think the wind was from the north at 2mph and still sent me at a pretty good clip accross the lake.

Even with the inconvenirnces of the wind I still think I prefer sitting up out of the water, maybe one of the open front SFC would serve me better. One of the reasons I went with the toon is I like river running too and thats one thing a tube can’t do.

Don’t you usually say to the n00bs “don’t try and get a lot of fishing done on your maiden voyage?”

You should have seen me out on the gorge in my 'toon on it’s real maiden voyage. I took out 2 poles without a rack in 15 mph winds. Once outside of the harbor I tried to cast my new baitcaster in the wind from a toon. Not a pretty sight and got a nice rats nest. I learned a lot from that first trip and it gets better every time.

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**Tubedude, **

I appreciate your report. I’ve been waiting to see how you would do on your first trip out. Sounds like a mixed bag. As I recall from my own tooning days, when the wind comes up very strong you either have to anchor and fish downwind or row directly into the wind in order to fish effectively (if you can fish “effectively” while rowing.) Rowing with the wind moves you too quickly. Kicking is OK in a toon for calm days but it is nearly useless on windy ones. One can become an effective boat controller with the oars, for sure, but that doesn’t leave the hands free for fishing unless you park it somewhere.

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting another toon, or perhaps replacing the pontoons on the Fish Cat 9 that I already have. In fact, I looked at Cougars at at G.I. Joe’s today. They have them on sale. I remember some wonderful (calm) days when my old toon was really up to the task. But then again I remember getting caught in the wind the last time I took it out and being blown hopelessly around in circles on East Lake despite my heavy rowing efforts. Maybe for now I’ll just see how successful you are at mastering the elements. I’m sure you’ll come up with some creative solutions to some of the inherent problems. If any one can, you will. Or at least you’ll enjoy trying.:sunglasses:

I look forward to more of your reports. Maybe the next trip will be better.

z~

4

:sunglasses:Wanna buy a “third hand” Cougar…cheap?

**TubeBabe and I agree that “our brand” of fishing is much better from tubes than from toons. Apparently, the only benefits of the toon are having oars for better long range propulsion and the higher fishing platform. **

I prefer “hands free” fishing, without having to keep grabbing the oars. If you don’t use the oars, you can’t fish, and if you have to use the oars you can’t fish. Dilemma.

**As we all agree, toons are nice on days that are dead flat calm. That don’t happen much in Utah, or any other state I have fished either. I cannot recall a single day in Utah where breezes…from mild to gale force…have not been an issue for at least part or all of the day. **

**In my old age I have become both more practical and more cynical…and analytical. I maintain that if I invest my valuable time and spend my money (GA$ PRICE$) to go enjoy myself (fishing), then dagnabbit I wanna get some enjoys and not waste a moment of it. If the wind cuts my day short, because I can’t fish effectively, then I have been robbed. **

Yes, I anticipate that there COULD be some great trips in that toon. But, being practical, I also know that there COULD also be a lot of trashed trips, that would still be fishable and productive from the tube.

I recently bought a small 15 foot flat-bottom aluminum boat with a 40 horse Merc and two electric motors…bow and stern. It is a great fishing boat, put together by another BFT member here in Utah. I have named it the “Tube Ferry”. In addition to allowing us to troll for wipers and other trollable fishies, it will also serve to carry our Fat Cats to more remote spots otherwise inaccessible to our tubes. So…we don’ need no steenking pontoons to get distance.

One of the things I wanted to determine on the shakedown cruise was whether or not we should both have pontoons in our arsenal or neither of us. We have neither an abundance of excess cash or available storage space. The mutual evaluation is that we would not use the toons enough to justify buying another and making room for both in our limited storage space.

So…wanna buy a Cougar…cheap?

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:sunglasses:Boy, it didn’t take you long to reach a conclusion.

**Actually, I see the strength of your reasoning, which is what has been at the root of my own reluctance to get another toon (though I’ve been sorely tempted.) I’ve listened to a lot of guys and gals rave about their toons and poopoo the lowly tube. I’ve been out fishing in the tube and had tooners rush by me on the way to the fishing grounds. A half hour later I finally get there (perhaps having trolled my way out and landed a couple of fish in the process.) We all do fine fishing side by side until the wind comes up. Then they are forced either to anchor (something I was never very successful in doing effectively in my old toon) or put their rods in a holder and grab the oars to maintain their position. I’m still holding tightly to the cork on my rod, kickin’ a little harder but still fishing effectively. Unless the wind becomes a gale (Oregon is no better than Utah in that respect) the tube is the better fishing machine. **

Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing? Do we sometimes rush past the solution in our efforts to effectively solve a problem? Does “bigger, better, brighter, faster” sometimes make us ignore the obvious?

**My mind has been running in the very same track with regard to the hard boat. My 14 foot aluminum boat is fully equipped for several kinds of fishing. Since it fits on a trailer, getting ready to launch is simply a matter of waiting my turn, backing in, pulling the cord, and heading out. Everything is already set up. I don’t have to worry about bolting/strapping a toon together, lugging gear to the water’s edge, all the while burning daylight. Then get home, back it in, clean it up, put on the cover, and I’m done. Using the boat to ferry the tubes is the perfect icing on the cake, and in my simple mind, the best combination for stillwater. (I have no desire to float down a river amid heavy drift boat traffic so that argument for toon versatility is wasted on me.) **

And on smaller waters (ponds, etc.) where speed is a non-issue, the tube wins hands down.

:sunglasses:I hope I don’t get flamed by a zealous tooner for unburdening myself in this little talk. At least now I know that I’m not the only one who is guilty of toon heresy.

zonker

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:sunglasses:Thanks for the vote of support. Reality is as reality does.

There are times and places where tubes or toons are superior, and sometimes the two overlap. But there is no system that is universally the best for all applications.

What it ultimately comes down to is a combination of personal preference, types of fishing to be done, weather conditions and physical limitations.

Don’t worry about overzealous tooners attacking you. I got yer back.

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TubeDude and Zonker,

Thanks you have unburdened me. I was somewhat afflicted by “toon envy”. My one experience in a pontoon was similar to TubeDude’s. Still I thought the way the Cougar was set up with the split double pontoons that the efficiency of the boat would be increased. Now I don’t even want one for riverrunning. I’ll just stick to my kayak for that. It actually is a “River Runner” model but it is not convenient to hop in and out of to fish good looking spots. I think the answer for that is two guys in a canoe taking turns fishing and paddling or posssibly inflatable open style or sit on top kayaks might find a niche in the realm of river fishing. (depending on how they paddle.) Thanks for curing me of “toon envy”.

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:sunglasses:Funny how those things work. I get to thinking I’m missing something when I’m already having a blast doing what I’m doing at the moment. Is it greed, envy, competitive nature, or just old fashioned jr. high school grade peer pressure? With fishing I’ve always applied myself fully to the pursuit of knowledge and that elusive “expertise.” When something new comes out, and others are raving about it, if I have the money available, and it sounds reasonable, I begin to feel like I gotta have it - within reason, of course. It feels kinda good, doesn’t it SM89, to come around to “I don’t need it or even want it”? If I’m a reasonable guy and I reason that I don’t need it, then I don’t need it, right? No more toon envy. Done.

:sunglasses:I’d see a psychiatrist about all this except that the advice on this forum is free. A visit to a shrink would cost more for one session than my float tube did. Two visits would be a cheap toon. Three would be… Yikes! Methinks I’m better off with the disease. Besides, I’d probably get a shrink that didn’t like fishing and he’d tell me to give it up.

But again, maybe if I didn’t already have a boat I might not be singing this tune (toon?).

How does one get into this desperate condition called fishing? I should blame it on my grandpa maybe?

z~

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:sunglasses:I understand that the first step to recovery (from some conditions) is to admit that you have a condition. Don’t know what the next step is because I won’t admit to anything.

**I have always been fond of the old espression that says something like “those who do not learn from history are due to repeat it.”. I have always believed in studying what others have endured/experienced and to try to avoid making the same mistakes they did…or at least to try to avoid some of the bad outcomes. **

That’s kinda the whole idea behind a forum like this. If we all make our own independent studies, and then objectively report our findings and observations, we can collectively save each other a lot of time and energy in not having to duplicate what has already been done. Of course, we all reserve the right to accept or reject what another member has posted…or to go out and try to prove to ourselves that up is really up…or hot is really hot.

The only way our board will serve as a universal resource is if everybody posts reality. In other words, say what we really feel and what we really mean. There is no need to manufacture a glowing report, just to try to justify why we made a bonehead purchase on something that we now regret.

Good feedback folks. Thanks for joining in.

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Well, coming from the TOON girl, I am sorry you had a hard time. An Anchor or a motor does help. I must be different or at least my boat, cause I really don’t have any trouble spinning. I do get blown, but that happenes in my SFC also. And when that wind is blowing I LIKE those oars.
You need to let me know where to go at Willard to launch. The ol’ man keeps saying somewhere on that West ridge. We are thinking about Wipers this weekend.

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:sunglasses:I hope you are not planning to launch from the west side. The fishing for wipers is often better over there, but if you take toons you have to trudge them up over the levee and launch from the rip rap rocks. I have done it a few times with a tube, and that was bad enough.

You can launch from the ramps at both the north and south marinas. There is sometimes good wiper fishing inside the north marina, but if there is much boat traffic (a lot right now) the fish move out. From current reports, it sounds like the best place to try from out of the north marina is over by the “outlet” along the north dike. It is not a long pull with a toon.

I have always preferred tubing out of the south marina. The inlet for the lake (weber and ogden rivers) comes in there and the channel is running dirty right now. But, you can go outside the marina and quickly be into fish all along the dike to the north of the marina entrance. Lots of walleyes, wipers, cats and crappies to be had on flies along that entire stretch of the dike. You may have to dodge a lot of boats trolling that area on the weekends.

Once the runoff shuts down, usually about July, there are lots of wipers that come up into the channel, chasing shad. That’s when tooners and tubers can get into some good close-in action, without interference from boats. Boats can’t go up past the buoys but the fish can.

Here are a couple of maps that might help. Don’t know how much you know about the lake.

I will be joining Petty4Life in his boat on Thursday, and may be tubing Willard soon myself. Love dem wipers.

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TD, you are the best. If there is any chance you might make it this weekend, please let me know.
I will be at Falcon’s Ledge all next week, working the pond and rivers. So this will be one of my last weekends to fish locally.
And are you saying that right now is not a good time?

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:sunglasses:This coming weekend could be very good. There will be several days of sunshine and warming in a row. That is usually a good thing. The wipers and walleyes have been getting increasingly more active so they could break loose any time.

I prefer not to fish from the marinas during the weekends because of all the (wacko) boat traffic. But, if that is the only time you guys can break free then we will give it a shot. I will be in a tube, not a toon. But, that has not kept me from catching a lot of fish in the past. PM me and we can work out the details.