Belly Boat Sneak Attack

Ever tried a "belly boat?" There are all sorts
of fishing boats. But no other craft puts you
eyeball-to-eyeball with the fish the way a float tube
can. They are easy to maneuver, transportable, effective,
and less widely known than they should be.

Newton Lakes outside of Cody, Wyoming, are one of those “secret” hot spots.

They’re small---maybe five or six acres each. They’re close to town. And they’re loaded with fish. Big fish. Rainbows averaging 15-20 inches long.

A local resident directed us to them. Although impressed with the fishing action, we were appalled by the crowds of anglers standing elbow to elbow along the shoreline. But we had an ace in the hole.

Returning that evening, we launched our belly boats and left the maddening crowd fighting for space on shore. We had most of the lake to ourselves. Fishing until well after sunset, we hooked several ‘bows, including a 19 incher that tailwalked like a smallmouth bass.

Belly boats, or float tubes, are being discovered by ever increasing numbers of anglers. Farm ponds, oxbow lakes, small natural and man-made lakes, and quiet bays of larger lakes all lend themselves to the use of these most personal of fishing craft.

What, exactly, is a belly boat? Essentially, they are a tire tube or plastic bladder inside a nylon cover, with a seat or harness arrangement to suspend the angler. You sit inside the tube, with your feet in the water. Propulsion is accomplished with swim fins.

With a belly boat you become part of the fish’s environment. Suspended half in/half out of the water, you stealthily approach cover, make your cast from the exact right angle, and play the fish at its own level. They are sporty, effective, and let you fish waters you could not otherwise reach.

Float tubes are not new. They were simultaneously invented by a number of bass anglers just after World War II, and have been made commercially ever since.

Bass anglers welcomed the tubes until the bass angling mania of the ‘60s hit. Bassers deserted small water in droves, in favor of big impoundments, high-performance boats, and tournament fishing.

Belly boats would have become a footnote in angling history except for a lucky accident. At the same time bass anglers were giving them up, trout fishermen---who traditionally fished steams---discovered how good flat water could be. Western trout anglers, especially, picked up on the belly boat idea and kept it alive.

Nowadays, float tubes are being used for virtually any flat-water fishing situation. Panfishermen, for example, find them ideal fishing platforms. And even salt water anglers are discovering their usefulness in bays and estuaries.

The original belly boats were doughnut shaped. This was natural, because they were hand sewn around a round tube. Later, pockets were added to hold tackle and a second floatation chamber, often referred to as a backrest, incorporated. In reality, the inner wall of the main tube proves all the back support you’ll ever need. These so-called back rests actually provide more floatation near the rear of the tube where your weight is concentrated.

Round tubes, while still available in cheaper models, have been supplanted by other designs, the most commonly a tapered, or double-wedge tube.

On these tubes the cover is sewn so it tapers upwards and outwards towards the rear. This puts more flotation where it belongs. The secondary chambers have been retained, both to provide additional lift where it is needed and because many states require its use.

About a dozen years ago a gentleman named Pete Ross took the evolution of float tubes a giant step further. He cut off the front altogether, added a full-width seat that cradles you and leans you gently backwards, and thereby created the open front “U” and “V” boats.

Open-front boats provide certain safety and convenience features. They are much easier to enter and leave. They do not cause chaffing of your thighs. They are infinitely more maneuverable. And, if you should flip (a rare occurrence with any type of float tube, but it does happen) you have no trouble escaping the tube.

A wide range of accessories are available for today’s high-tech belly boats. Among them:

• Backpack straps, which come in handy if you’ll be portaging the tube any distance.



• Pockets are numerous and diverse. In addition to those that came with the tube there are strap on types as well. You’ll be using the pockets in lieu of a tackle box to carry your fishing gear, lunch, maybe even a raincoat.



• Rod holders, which range from Velcro strips that hold a rod in place while you change baits, to tubular rod holders that let you carry several rods and reels at one time.

Once you give float tubes a try you’ll wonder how you’ve ever fished without one.