FIRST IMPRESSIONS
NEW DRIVE-BY-WIRE TECHNOLOGY OUTBOARDS
On my most recent visit, the float tube was quickly inflated, checked and launched. The Slider has oars and is a hybrid-style craft with elements of a paddleboard, belly boat and pontoon boat. You sit quite high on the inflatable seat, with your lower legs in the water to paddle with flippers. It is also designed for an angler to stand on and cast. I wouldn’t be using it for that.
My first impressions of the craft were that it offered a bigger footprint than the average float tube and, due to its flat style, provided lots of stable places to place tackle when fishing. It was easy to manoeuvre with fins and oars, and it offered a safe, stable fishing platform. It also allowed me to comfortably mount my portable Lowrance fish-finder to it. This was used more to gauge depth than to find fish, but it was certainly fascinating judging depths of drop-offs I had fished from the shore.
Finding drop-offs and changes in depth can quickly find you a likely fish-holding area. It is pretty easy to feel around with, say, a weedless dropshot rig to work out the makeup of the seabed. Well, that is if you cannot see it. Many sea lochs have superb visibility, allowing you to see quite far down, and this goes hand in hand with working close to the shore in a float tube.
Float tubing along the sloping shores (not cliffs) of the loch can put you in a great position to feel the lure running down the slope into deeper water.
By casting and working a drop shot lure around, it soon gives you a great idea of depth and bottom composition.
FISHING METHODS
The two main methods are dropshot with a weedless rig and metal jigs. Jig-head rigged plastics are good, but often, depending on wind and drift, it is easier to get a metal down deep to work the bottom area. These areas in deep water often yield codling.
A weedless dropshot rig is just a standard version using an offset hook. When float tubing using my LRF gear, I fish a 10g dropshot lead weight and then various soft plastics, from Gulp Sandworm to small shads rigged weedless on the hook.
In many of the sea lochs I fish the shore slopes down into deep water, where there is generally a weed fringe along the shore. The area where this weed fringe ends and the bottom of the slope or drop-off is the hotspot for fish, and most are within casting distance from the shore.
Where the float tube gives a massive advantage is that it lets you get directly above the features, meaning you can fish vertically. It gives you a much better chance to land the fish and not lose gear. Generally, when fishing the sea lochs from the shore, the main difficulty is in landing fish such as pollack, cod and wrasse. As you bring them towards you they can dive into the rocks and kelp between the shore and the deeper water. Purely by being above the fish, even above heavy kelp cover, the fish can be played easily in an up and down fight.
I was able to be 10 to 15 metres from the shore and be in 20 metres of water with a couple of kicks from the flippers. It was very easy to work the seabed under the craft, just by keeping the lead weight in contact with the bottom and working the lure against it quickly generate bites, mostly from poor cod. The occasional scorpion fish came along to liven things up. The joy of fishing so close to shore in relatively deep water is that there are always a few big short-spined scorpion fish present, and they are a very impressive fish when caught on LRF gear.
DEEP WATER
By working along the calm shoreline I soon found areas where the drop-off was steeper, and this gave us more access to deep water. It was gently sloping from the shore and easy to land anywhere, which is always an important thing to bear in mind when choosing where to work the tube.
In order to effectively fish the deep water, I tried HRF gear and metal slow jigs with assist hooks. Again, this was all within casting distance of the shore, but with that crucial
Left: It is easier to get a metal jig down deep to work the bottom area vertical presentation and hang time in the deeper water.
Using mostly the 40g Hart Barri and Palito slow jigs in a couple of colours, they produced fish so consistently and escaped from many snags due to the assists. Almost from the first drop into the deeper water I got thudded by a codling as the lure touched the seabed, which was followed by a strong head-nodding and lunging fight on the HRF gear. Most certainly worth waiting for!
The jigs were super effective when gently jigged a couple of feet from the bottom so that I could feel the lure touch the seabed before lifting the rod tip. Being rigged with assists, the jigs hardly snagged at all, yet hooked codling after codling.
Float tubing in the new Hart Slider, which costs around £739 (we’ve seen it for less than £700), certainly added another dimension to the ability to safely fish these inshore sea lochs. The traditional belly boat is maybe a little less versatile, but still effective for this style of close-range light-tackle fun. ■
SPECIFICATIONS
THE SLIDER FEATURES:
■ 1000 denier PVC
■ Reinforced top and bottom
■ Rigid polyester mesh interior
■ High pressure seat
■ Large capacity pockets
■ Aluminium reinforcement bar & oars
■ Rear support for electric motor
■ Keels for improved stability
■ Maximum 15 Psi (1.03 bar) inflation
■ Maximum load of 200kg
Leading outboard maker Suzuki has unveiled two new DF115BG and DF140BG four-stroke outboards, the first in their class to oer the advantages of drive-by-wire tech.
By bringing its proven drive-bywire technology (known as Suzuki Precision Control) to its new 115hp and 140hp in-line four-cylinder models, Suzuki is helping to simplify the rigging process, plus delivering smooth shifting, instant throttle response, enhanced performance and fuel eciency.
The reliability and precise control of drive-by-wire technology has been proven for years on the company’s larger models, but the enhancements to the DF115BG and DF140BG go beyond the integration of drive-by-wire technology.
An upgraded compression ratio of 10.6:1 helps these new 2.0 litre displacement outboards achieve better top speed and acceleration by improving thermal eciency. Fuel eciency has also been increased compared to its existing DF115A and DF140A models. Factory testing has demonstrated as much as five to seven per cent better fuel eciency for the
DF140BG across mid-range to high-end cruising speeds. The new DF115BG has demonstrated up to five to six per cent better fuel eciency at cruising speed.
Other improvements include a 40 Amp alternator on both models that delivers improved output and battery charging performance at low idle speeds — ideal for craft with lots of electronics such as power-hungry angling boats.
They both feature a sporty, streamlined exterior design. With 508mm (L) and 635 (X) shaft lengths available, the new DF115BG and DF140BG outboards are an ideal power choice for a wide range of boats. Both outboards are available in Pearl Nebular Black colour. The redesigned cowling isn’t just for great looks either because it also incorporates a new air intake structure with improved water separation and a silencer.
To make routine maintenance easier, Suzuki has made it possible to replace the oil filter simply by removing the upper engine cover. A new oil spill catcher surrounding the filter mount allows for changing the filter without making a mess.
Suzuki has also added an easy access water detection fuel filter.
The DF115BG and DF140BG will be available from the end of the year. ■ Visit: www.marine.suzuki.co.uk