It had been a good morning. Stripping brown-olive leech imitations and olive Jay Fair Wiggle Tails with a clear intermediate line on a 5-weight rod had produced strike after strike from the high-mountain lake’s hungry rainbows. Though not huge at 11 to 13 inches, these trout were voracious feeders and good fighters, perfect complements to a fly-rod-equipped float-tube angler.
As the morning progressed — and just about when strikes on my Wiggle Tails became less frequent — I began to notice near-surface activity involving the lake’s population of water boatmen. I reeled in my intermediate line, took another 5-weight, this one rigged with a sink-tip line, from one of the float tube’s homemade rod caddies and replaced it with the rod rigged with the intermediate line.
Having the sink-tip already set up with a water boatman imitation tied to the leader’s tippet, I was ready for a cast in seconds. Two false casts later, my water boatman hit the water. I gave the fly five seconds to sink, then started a herky-jerky retrieve interrupted by pauses of two or three seconds. I hadn’t brought the fly back more than six or seven feet when “Whammo!” — a hard strike caused my reflexes simultaneously to strip the line and lift the rod tip to the right, resulting in a solid hookup.
The subsurface water boatman bite lasted until trout started feeding on the surface. I couldn’t tell exactly what insects they were eating, but in looking through one of my fly boxes, a size 14 yellow Humpy caught my eye. This looked about as close to the hatching insects as I had in my box, so I again reeled in the setup I was using and grabbed my third rod — another 5-weight, but this with a floating line loaded on its reel.
I tied on the Humpy, cast out near the most recent rise, and after letting the fly sit still for about twenty seconds, gave it a twitch. The swirl and splash that engulfed the fly were the visual delight we all yearn for when fishing dries.
What a day! Three distinctly different stages of aquatic activity were causing three different feeding behaviors by the trout, but because I had three rod/reel/line outfits set up and ready to go, handily and conveniently stored in customized rod caddies, I never missed a beat and was able to capitalize on all three opportunities when they were presented to me.
Everything In Its Place
I distinctly remember the first time I carried an extra rod on my float tube, tucked into the crevice between the main air bladder and my seat. It worked, but I was not comfortable with the rod’s unsecured position. I also soon felt the need to carry three rods with me, and tucking two rods side by side into the seat crevice would surely be a hassle. I researched the Internet for various commercially available options, as well as various home-made outfits. There are very few commercial fly-rod caddies. A few are offered by Outcast for both float tubes and pontoon boats, and another by Jim Teeny looks to be simple but effective.
However, being the type to make much of my outdoor gear, I decided to design and build my own. I chose Schedule 120 PVC conduit, with an outside diameter of .90 inches and an inside diameter of 1.66 inches, because of its thinner (than Schedule 40) wall, thus making the cutouts easier to fabricate. My caddies are 14 inches long, with 2 inches of the round tube left intact at the reel end, then a straight cut of 12 inches along the back edge all the way to the end of the tube. Back at the reel end there is a 1-3/8-inch wide by 1-1/4-inch deep cutout for the reel, then an 8-inch-long cut toward the other end, with a upward 3/4-inch straight cut for a “lip” to secure the butt-end portion of the rod just forward of the cork grip. This “lip” extends for 3 inches to the end of the tube.
Once I’ve made all the cutouts (I use a hacksaw blade), I sand all the edges until they are smooth, with no rough spots that could damage rod or reel finish or nick a leader. Finally, I drill two 1/4-inch holes along the back side of both ends of the caddy about half an inch from either end. Through these holes I insert 2-inch carabiner clips that I use to fasten to the D rings that are standard equipment on my float tube. Where there are no conveniently located D rings, I use strands of parachute cord tied to various points on the float tube. At the other end of the cord, I form a loop with a Bowline Knot that will accept the carabiner.
This system is fully adjustable, so I can get my rods at the right height above the waterline and at the correct upward-pointing angle, high enough to keep my rod tips well above the water, but not too high to interfere with back casts.
As an added bonus, these caddies are easy to remove when travel arrangements force me to deflate my float tube completely and fold it up. The caddies are unclipped, the carabiners stay attached to the caddies, and the lengths of loop-ended parachute cord stay attached to the float tube. Once the tube has been inflated, the caddies are easily and quickly reattached to the D rings and parachute-cord loops. For a closer look at the above descriptions, please see the accompanying photos.
One note: Schedule 120 PVC is not nearly as ubiquitous as Schedule 40, with the 120 unavailable at some of the “big box” home improvement stores. I found mine at Collier Hardware in downtown Chico, one of those old-time hardware stores that not only has everything, but a staff who actually knows where to find it. Another source for Schedule 120 could be sprinkler parts suppliers.
Secure, Effective, and Efficient
I’m a right-handed caster, so my rod caddies are set up on the left-hand side of my float tube. Placed in these rod caddies, my two extra rods are safely secured for when I need them. The only real concern is when launching and beaching the tube, because as you propel yourself backward, the spare rods are pointed toward shore or other obstructions. Another area of concern is when meeting up on the water with other float tubers. Other than those issues, I’ve been using this system for over two years now and have had no problems, only better fishing, attributed, at least in part, to being able to have the right rod/reel/line setup for the conditions at hand and then, as conditions change, sometimes within minutes, being able to have the right setup for them, as well.
Multiple Rods versus Reels or Spools
I’m sure some of you are probably saying you could accomplish the same thing with just one rod and another reel or two or with spare spools . . . and you could, except for the fact that while it is not difficult to swap out spools or change reels while afloat in a float tube or pontoon boat, it is very awkward to restring the rod. In fact, the only way to do so is to drop the reel end of the rod into the water while you work the line through the guides closer to and eventually through the tip. And it is time consuming.
The Hex Hatch: When Time Is of the Essence
I can think of no better example of the reason to carry multiple rigged and ready-to-go rods than during the famous Hex hatch at Lake Almanor in late June and early July, when trout and smallmouth bass key on the giant Hexagenia limbata mayflies as they emerge in nymph form from mud burrows in about twenty feet of water and slowly make their way to the surface in the early evening until nightfall. From what I have observed, there are three distinct phases of this fishery. The first is a “deep nymph” phase, during which anglers use Type 3 to Type 6 full sinking lines to work the depths from 20-plus feet to about 10 feet as the Hex nymphs slowly migrate toward the surface. The second is a “subsurface nymph” phase, which occurs during the last half hour of light, when most of the nymphs have made it from the lake’s bottom to just below the surface. During this phase, an intermediate line enables fly casters to keep their nymph imitations in the strike zone throughout the retrieve. Finally, there is a “surface adult” phase as the Hex nymphs reach the surface and struggle to get out of their nymphal shucks, then sit on the surface film for a few minutes while their wings dry. This is when a third rod, rigged with a floating line and a dry, cripple, or emerger fly is the way to go. While most of the Hex-bite fish are caught on the sinking lines by stripping nymphs, the Holy Grail of this fishery is to “get one on top” just as daylight ends and darkness takes over.
This whole process lasts only a short while — maybe two hours or so, with most of the activity occurring between 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Having my three rods rigged and ready enables me to fish the Hex hatch from the minute the bite starts on through the nymph’s migratory stages and up to the surface activity, which lasts only about 15 minutes. Believe me, you do not want to be fooling around trying to get your sole rod rigged with a floating line and your fly tied on as huge trout slash across the surface all around you . . . in fading light, no less.
Warm Water, Too
Float-tube and pontoon-boat fly anglers who fish for bass and panfish can also increase their success with a multirod approach. Whenever I fish farm ponds and small lakes for bass and bluegills, I always take three rods: an 8-weight rigged with a bass taper floating line for casting big, noisy popping bugs, a 5-weight rod with a weight-forward floating line for casting subsurface stripping-type flies such as Woolly Buggers, various lightly weighted baitfish patterns, and my favorite Baby Clousers, tied on size 8 saltwater hooks with extra small dumbbell eyes; plus another 5-weight with an intermediate line for casting and retrieving unweighted minnow patterns.
Just prior to writing this article, I put my float tube onto a typical farm impoundment and had an epic day of quality and quantity fishing due in no small part to my ability to cover the lake’s different depths, structure, and shorelines by utilizing all three rigs.
DIY
By investing a small amount of money and just a little bit of time to build your own rod caddies, you can have something as functional as a commercially produced product for carrying another rod or two in your float tube or pontoon boat. You’ll be able to adjust to different situations more quickly and more efficiently, and you’ll increase your odds of hooking more fish.
