Noobie questions

Hi everyone. I just ordered my first float tube (fish cat 4) and I had a few questions of course. I'm from RI and will be fishing freshwater only.

1. How do you carry your tube? At first i imagined a big bag but after browsing here i realized the fish cat has foam seats and not sure if it would fit in a normal sized bag?

2. Waders + Fins: I have no idea the type I need. Does it have to be soft on the feet to put fins on? Looking for some inexpensive recommendations from bass pro since I use my reward points.

3. I didn't see mention of rod holders in the description?

welcome to the boards

1. I carry all my gear (fins, waders, pump, pfd, pump, etc) in a duffel bag and I just throw the tube in the back of my truck.

2. Breathable waders are good for warmer climates and neoprene waders keep you warm in cold climates. Although, breathables are loose enough so you can layer up on close as much as necessary. I like breathable waders with neoprene booties, then I wear wind surfing booties with a sole over the waders. Fins are a personal preference. Some people like longer ones and some people like shorter ones. There is not definitive answer on fins since it's about preference. It's one of those things that you just have to try out. I can say that I prefer the hotspot fins...

3. For rod holders you might want to look into these:
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or these:
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I have a fish cat 4 as well. I bought an oversized duffle bag from bass pro. It was about $35 but it can hold the tube (including seats), my fins, life vest and a few other misc. items. The fish cat also has D-Rings on the bottom side of the tube. You can add some backpack straps from Walmart and carry it on your back. This makes it easier to get your gear back and forth from the car to the water.

As far as rod holders go, check out some of the rod rack mods posted on this forum. You can get some great ideas and build a rod rack that holds multiple rods, nets, and more. If time (or ability) is a factor you can order a custom AK-47 rod rack from Lolly. He builds em right and has experience with just about every tube out there. I built my own, but the first two attempts didn't sit correctly when placed on the tube and I had to scrap them and start over. I could have saved myself a little cash and headache if I would have ordered one the first time!

Welcome to the forum.

Carring your tube has a lot to do with what you drive, the type of fishing you do and if you have a garage or not to store it. A lot of us just store them in our garage half way filled up and just throw the tube into back of our trucks and just carry the tube few yards to the water.

Waders, I say get the ones best suited for the area your fishing. Here in So Cal we can get away wearing breathables all year round as our waters don't get that cold (salt & local lakes).

Fins, well like lolly said its more of a personal thing. Everyone has there own opion on that.

Welcome to the forum glad you found us, to answer your questions X2 to the above. These guys are great and they said it all.

Welcome to the forums I'm still new as well only been out to Perris twice in my fish cat... i drive a 2 door civic and I can fit mine and my dad's tubes (who also has a fish cat) plus all our gear in my truck so long as they're defalted just pump it up at the lake which helps you warm up a bit too ha! Then use an old laptop case strap or something to carry it down to the water.

I'm also looking at getting waders as I'm still tubing Perris in my truncks so can't help you there, but I use 20 dollar diving fins from Sports Authority and they work great.

You can buy some rod holders from bass pro but it's more fun to build a full rack yourself you can customize it to your liking depending on how many rods, nets, and gear you plan to carry. Like bigmouth said just check out some mods and use pvc to build it.

Good luck!

Thank you everyone for the replies. I think that rod holder will work until I have the time to make a better one. Glad to hear it's pretty easy to carry around. Waders looks like I'll have to do some more research.

Another recommendation on waders, stay away from caddis breathables. I have gone through 5 pairs less than a year. They all started leaking from the seam

check out this video....maybe you'll get an idea on how to do a float tube set-up,..

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