Fun with beach toys? Get off that shore!

[MichaelAngelo]

Before I begin, let me preface this by by saying that this is one of those things that everybody will tell you NOT to do. But you CAN do it and you'll have a BLAST as long as you use COMMON SENSE (on second thought, that may tell you not to do this ). There are many naysayers. Listen to them and you'll have no fun!

Let's begin!

There are a handful of inexpensive ways for shore anglers to get off shore. Some of these would be float tubes and dinghies. But what about beach toys?

The shenanigans began last summer on a whimsical trip to Canadian Tire. A friend of mine spotted a little blue inflatable boat for $10. Yes $10, who could pass THAT up? For $10 I could be cruising around like a champ on my favorite pond, now that's bang for your buck!

So it began! I already had an air pump in my car, and some plastic paddles from the canoe mold (that's a different story). Off we go!

I thought I'd take a few pictures of my set-up for small-lake bass fishing. Maybe I can inspire some of you to take the plunge!

Please remember to be safe. Don't take a beach toy out on anything bigger than a small pond, that's just asking for trouble. Wind is also bad .

Filling her up:





All filled!

Now I cover the floor with towels to soak up any drips from paddling. I use the life-jacket as a backrest. The boating safety kit is for safety of course!

NB: use treble hooks with extreme caution when in a beach toy

All ready for launch...





All water-sensitive gear goes into zip-locks.

Very amazing to watch schools of fish investigate the bright blue and white plastic:



And last but not least.... RESULTS!



Let me tell you, when you're fighting a 2lb bass in a beach toy it will pull you around the pond. AMAZING! Right?

I hope you enjoyed this post

Michael

[OldTimer]

Good one! Love it.

[MuskieBait]

There you go Michael! Good idea!

Friend and I used to go out on his inflatable too. Like you said, you have to be sensible about when and where you are taking it.

I may check CT to see if there are any more $10 inflatable...it can help me catch a White Crappie.

Ken

[MichaelAngelo]

(07-06-2012 09:48 AM)MuskieBait Wrote:  There you go Michael! Good idea!

Friend and I used to go out on his inflatable too. Like you said, you have to be sensible about when and where you are taking it.

I may check CT to see if there are any more $10 inflatable...it can help me catch a White Crappie.

Ken

This is a white crappie right? edit: this is a black crappie

That pond has a lot of them, I usually run into them but I'm running bigger plastics to catch bigger bass. If you'd like, I can take you out to return a favor hahah

edit: in the canoe not the beach toy LOL

[MuskieBait]

(07-06-2012 09:53 AM)MichaelAngelo Wrote:  

(07-06-2012 09:48 AM)MuskieBait Wrote:  There you go Michael! Good idea!

Friend and I used to go out on his inflatable too. Like you said, you have to be sensible about when and where you are taking it.

I may check CT to see if there are any more $10 inflatable...it can help me catch a White Crappie.

Ken

This is a white crappie right?

That pond has a lot of them, I usually run into them but I'm running bigger plastics to catch bigger bass. If you'd like, I can take you out to return a favor hahah

edit: in the canoe not the beach toy LOL

Unfortunately, that would be a black crappie It has 7 dorsal spines. White crappies has 5-6 dorsal spines.

Maybe we can take the canoe one day to Binbrook C.A. to look for some white crappies. They are usually suspended in the lake and you need to drift or slow troll around to catch them. I know how to catch them...I just don't have a water craft

Maybe we can do that in mid- to late-August or early September when I get back from my trip. Plus, like I said, we're just 10 minutes away from Grand River where you can catch a freshwater drum...and perhaps mooneyes if they are still around at that time (possibly walleye too...if they are still around).

[MichaelAngelo]

See this is why I need my field guide crutch! LOL

Sounds like a plan to me.

[OldTimer]

Hey - not all is lost - Can I use a clip of your great clear pic in that ID article I'm workin on?

They are hard to distinguish between. A subtle difference.

Here's a few of the Black Crappie variety my friends and I caught in the Key River a few decades ago:

   

Cheers,

OldTimer