OUTCAST SUPER FAT CAT

[TubeDude]

[cool]Trying out both my new digital camera and setting up my new Super Fat Cat. Will hopefully have some on the water pics tomorrow.



Ready for transport, with seat bungee corded flat, with net and basket inside. Sonar and battery fit in large pockets.



Set up with rods in racks, sonar hooked up, net and basket attached. Note pointed upswept bow...for dealing with wakes and waves.



Sonar hooked up to battery...riding in a plastic box inside pocket. The transducer is at the bottom of the 1/2" PVC tube in the middle of the rod rack.



Two can fit in the back of a small SUV...like my Jimmy.



New design two-part inflated seat offers comfort adjustments and is rigid enough that you don't need a stabilizer bar. High enough to keep most of your lower extremities above waterline.



Bottom of craft is coated with protective PVC, to help reduce punctures and cuts on unfriendly shoreline or parking lots. There are four D-rings on the bottom, for attaching backpack straps. I have a single wide strap attached to serve as a "tumpline", for carrying on my back, supported on my head.
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[tomegun]

[purple][size 3]I wouldn't call you a fat cat. A large cat yes...[/size][/purple]

[#800080][size 3] Where are the those pics? [cool][/size][/#800080]
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[JapanRon]

TubeDude,

Congratulations on the new addition to your family. The tricked out seat is something I would expect you to hone in on and refine. Sweeeeeeeeet! Turned up Bow! That's one thing about my stealthrider that I wish I had for floatin' the Big Salty. On the Stealthrider's side, it does have a fairly high back/bow area to ward off unwanted waves.

Noticed you have her on a nice soft, comfy blanket in your vehicle. I carried mine, strapped down, in the bed (sprayed coating) of my pickup the first time. Once was enough! You could see scuff marks in the cover where the tube moved against the rough coating. Now I just go ahead and deflate unless I'm just moving to another launch site. Why, the second screw-up was that I didn't wash the sand off ALL the tube before I put it back in the pickup bed and again you could see scratch marks in the Dacron cover from the sand against the cardboard I had put there to protect it!

Boy there's a lot to learn with these darn things.

Thought of a cool joke! Tell your buddy you'll fill his big bladdered tube and have someone distract him while you fill it with helium (well.... which ever one that doesn't blow up) and see if it makes a difference. Wouldn't it be cool if the tube was so light it would almost float on air!

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool]That helium-filled craft offers some possibilities. You would have to hang some ballast off the side of the craft to keep it on the water going out. Then, coming bac k in, you could drop enough ballast to let you hover over the waves and then just turn on your portable electric fan to propel you toward shore. Only two potential problems. One would be a strong offshore breeze. Two would be how to get back down to the beach. I guess you could cast down and hook onto a bikini and reel yourself down. But, that could present a whole new set of problems once you got within range of the hookee.

But, just think if you saw a great white coming toward you. You would likely drop enough "ballast" yourself to raise the tube out of the water. That is, if you still cut those holes in your waders to release toxic fumes. This is getting kinda gross.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Whadda ya mean, where are the pics? If they didn't come up, you may have a slow system. Those pics take a while to load on dial up or with a slow computer. Trust me. I posted 'em.

If you like, I will send you some more, including some pics of flowers that have been blooming all winter here in Arizona. Just so you remember what flowers look like.

That Olympus D-550 really does do some decent work, even on lower resolution settings and in "program" mode, without tricky settings. I took my mom over to visit dad in the care center, for their 57th anniversary and the inside shots also came out great with the new camera.
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[halibut]

Whoa!!!! I think I will have to give my brother the Kenebec and run out and grab one of these...what are they going for? is anyone having specials on these? guarantees? (lifetime? limited?) are they high enough out of the water so that wind is a big factor (like the skeeter?_)
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[tomegun]

[blue][size 2]Your pics finally came up. Stupid DSL. Anyway, That looks like a nice rig. How was the anniversary party? Damn kids hanging out that long together, I guess it keeps them off the streets. No flowers please! I don't know if I like you that much. "Can we just be friends"[laugh]. How's the back today? [/size][/blue]
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[TubeDude]

Hey, halibut, glad you like my new ride. The Super Fat Cats ticket out at $369 just about everywhere they are sold...online or through a local shop. The big difference in the regular Fat Cat and the Super seems to be the seats. The Fat Cat regular has a foam seat, and the Super has an inflatable. The foam seats do not get a good rating from those who have used them (not me). I still have to make some adjustments on my inflated, but besides a low back (I am 6' 3") rest, it was comfortable. And, the inflated seat is rigid enough that you do not need a stabilizer bar. I also noted that there was not a significant problem with sliding forward, as there are on some seats.

The warranty is for three years. I usually wear out a system within that time and either yard sale it or hand it down to grandkids...or financially challenged newbies. I'm an old softie. Anybody wanna be adopted?

The profile is really low, but the flotation is high enough that you get good kick to propulsion ratio. I threw up a rooster tail to check out the mobility and it was definitely superior to my recently retired Kennebec.

The combination of the high seating and the low profile also made it possible to fish without having my arms out to the sides. It was wide enough inside to accomodate my 260# without feeling constricted on either side, and to be able to retrieve with both arms hanging naturally at my sides.

AND...let me tell you about the pockets. HUGE. In my Kennebec I had trouble carrying more than two or three small lure boxes on each side. The SFC can hold four LARGE lure boxes on each side, with room for other "carry on luggage". And, the zippers (one on each side of each pocket) allow for easy access but secure closure.

I have other pics, but will shoot any others if you need something special. I got mine through Riverwire, in Oregon. The price is the same as everywhere else, but there is no tax and no shipping. Delivery was just about a week. I think I posted the link on one of the threads, but will repost if you like.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]The back was just tired...not trashed. I think I got the seat figured out. I will go out and buy a fighting chair, like they use on the deep sea boats. Next will be the outriggers and the flying bridge.

The little party went well. Thanks for asking.

Have you signed up for any marathons yet?
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[halibut]

I am 5'4" around 190lbs... would the regular fat cat be ok for me? $300 something is a bit of a hurt....you can adopt or sponsor me... big pockets are a big plus since I pack lunch and water...I will have to find a fat cat or one of these super fat meows to try out... I can always pass on the kenebec to my younger bro....are these faster than the kenebec? I do not have force fins like my friends..I think that is a factor sometimes...

Thanks for the info!!
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[JAMartin]

I finally got my Fat Cat in the water and i love it. The foam seat wasnt too bad for me. I was comfortable, and the backrest was good for me - im 5'11, unlike my tall buddy TubeDude. So if your under 6ft the backrest should be ok. Had a good day on the water yesterday - got several bass over 5pounds and had no problem manuevering my Fat Cat. I love my tube, it was well worth the 299 i paid for it.
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[tomegun]

[cool][#000080][size 2] You can adopt me! I come with a bass boat and a ton of gear[angelic]. I'm a tuber at heart, but nothing compares racing down a lake at 50 mph a foot and half above the water. I'm going to head down to Lincoln Beach tomorrow and use my "Tube Dude" lures for the first time. I'll start baitless. If that doesn't work, I'll sweeten the deal with crawlers. My next floatation will be an aircraft carrier, they should be pretty cheap in about a year. Is the fishing as good as it sounds down in the valley of the sun? [/size][/#000080]
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[TubeDude]

[cool]The regular Fat Cat should do fine, in terms of flotation and fit. The one thing I forgot to mention, besides the big pockets, is there is a storage area behind the seat that is just right for a small cooler. It is not waterproof, but a cooler will keep food and beverages without having to tow it in a separate small tube, as I have done in the past.

Using the same fins as the ones I use on the Kennebec (Plana Avanti diving fins) I definitely move farther and faster with the same effort. I know there will be a big difference in the handling in wind and waves too. I always had to fight the Kennebec to maintain position...or a straight line when heading for shore in the breeze.

Go back a few threads to a post about fins. It might be on a couple of pages back. There was some discussion of the relative merits of fins and I posted a website for the kind of fins I use. It is a matter of personal preference and budget. However, I paid about $80 for the ones I am using...about twenty years ago...and they are still about that price. Good value.
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[TubeDude]

[cool] Hey, good report, bro. Better than I did. Any details on where you went, what were the hot baits/lures, colors, depths and any of that other teknickle stuff?

Oh yeah, hope you got at least a couple of good ideas from all those words I downloaded on ya.
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[JAMartin]

OK heres the scoop - i went to Lake Perris. I used a 5" salt & pepper phoenix worm near the dam, and got 5 bass over 5 pounds ( i have a small scale in my box), and several bass around 15inches. I was just trollin the worms in about 15 feet of water. I had no problem launching for the first time, and i got around quite easily. I have force fins, and they are really smooth and effective. I did have a joker on a jet ski try and use me for a bouey, but a targeted cast with a rattle trap got rid of him in minutes. Im pretty sure i buzzed his ear. He flipped me off and split. I saw him out of the water in the parking lot. He saw me, and made a quick dash over to his truck and drove off. They dont realize that as soon as we are out of the water its a whole different story. I think he will think twice though from now on. As soon as i saw him, i shot him a look of death. Make em all think twice about screwing up our fishing!

Other than that... it was a great day! I have the regular Fat Cat and i love it,
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, Mr. G. Good luck at Lincoln Beach. From the sound of things the wallies are getting nervous and so are the fisherfolk. I suspect that you will have a lot of company for the next few weeks. Hopefully you can get in some quality time when the masses can't be on the water. Something to be said for offtime.

From the reports I am getting, you need something good sized and slow right now. However, I catch a lot of early 'eyes on something small and flavorful too...like bait bugs with fish bits or crawlers. Try those black babies. I also used to hang a few on purple plastics with red heads, when everybody else was fishing the chartreuse and white stuff.

Hope you find some and knock 'em dead.

Oh, I have retracted my offers of adoption. I pledged my firstborn to the devil, in a bargaining situation, but the devil wouldn't take him so I am overstocked on progeny.

Fishing down here is about two weeks and five degrees of water temp away from gangbusters. We are already seeing some 10 pound largies, with more in the 12 - 14 bracket soon to show. Smallmouth are spawning now and the smallie fans are having a ball...whenever the conditions are right. But, it is all hanging on getting more rain, snow and runoff. We got some in January and February, but most reservoirs are still way down from where they should be this time of year.
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Great report. I think you are on to something. But, Grasshopper, you will soon learn that the joy of floatation fishing is also sometimes the agony. Because we are perceived by boaters as indigent anglers who can't afford boats, and who know little about fishing, they think we are fair game for whatever kind of harrassment they can think up.

You're going to have to practice up on your casting, if you wanna join the Tube Dude hall of fame. You gotta haul at least one person off their PWC before you are eligible for indoctrination. I hooked several, but got one guy right around the wrists and he dumped...big time. He hollered some vile threats and I offered two suggestions. One was to help him to the shore, where we could have a good "two handed conversation". The other was to flag down a patrol boat and help him explain how he got close enough to get tangled in my line, when there was a 150 foot barrier for all watercraft. He declined both offers.

As you tube around the shoreline, early in the morning, keep your eyes out for old lures that have floated in, or are snagged on brush. Salvage them and rig them on your special PWC outfit. Wait until a PWC or skier appears to be headed in your direction and then pick up the special rig. Pretend you do not see the funloving folks until they are within easy target range, Then let er rip and hang onto your rod.

I once had the ultimate opportunity for "getting mine". On Patagonia Lake, in Southern AZ, I was being buzzed by a big yellow ski boat with two heavily drinking idiots at the helm. Up and down the lake they went, coming closer and closer to me each pass. Discretion is the better part of cowardice so I got out and went to report them to the patrol. Just as I got to the marina, the yellow boat came in, being towed because it had run out of fuel. Just as the beer can laden craft edged up to the dock, I leaped aboard and started throwing everything I could lift or rip loose into the water...including the driver...who was about half my size, and wet his pants. The rangers showed up just in time to keep me out of jail. There were several others there to back up my complaint and the drunks got some nice tickets.
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[JAMartin]

Hehehe thats a great story! Yeah im 5'11 and about 225lbs. Im a Certified Strength And Conditioning Coach, so basicaly i teach people how to work out for individual sports. I myself compete in powerlifting competitions, so im a pretty intimidating guy when im PO'd. But i keep myself in check. I want to catch fish, not kill some idiot on a boat, so i will definitly take your advice and start looking for the lures. I will also work on my casting, Id be honored to be a Hall of Famer!

Tight Lines

JAMartin
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[JapanRon]

Hey there TubeDude,

Do you think the harpoon gun used in Moby Dick, if mounted properly, would flip the tube when fired? Outriggers might stablize and improve the trajectory. Hummmmmmmmm

Would practice strictly catch and release of course!

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool]No catch and release for me. I'd take 'em home and bury 'em in the garden. Don't want 'em spawnin' any more of their kind. But, to make it more sporting we might limit the harpoons to hand thrown only. That would insure that we take only those trophies we can successfully approach within range. Heck, we might even develop a whole new line of decoys and calls.
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