Machtige boten waardig voor elke visser!
We kiezen de beste boot voor elke situatie :
Of je nu wil trollen op rivier, pelagic sharpshooting op de diepe meren, casting op de grote Volkerak of een Iers meer ontdekken op een avontuurlijke manier.
Vissen in een bellyboat of floattube is zonder enige twijfel de meest ontspannende en natuurvriendelijke manier om onze geliefde hengelsport te beoefenen én moeder natuur te verkennen!!!
Het simpele feit dat er geen motor bij te pas komt is een bonus van formaat : geen vervuiling, noch in termen van uitstoot, noch in termen van lawaai, niks kan de pret bederven! Niet alleen kan je zo optimaal van de natuur genieten, het is ook nog eens supergezond voor je konditie.
Snoeken benaderen en vangen, wild springend vlak voor je neus tijdens het gevecht : niks overtreft de dril vanuit een floattube!!!
Bellyboten zijn licht en compact, ideaal om mee te reizen, en bovendien heel veilig : bijna onmogelijk om te keren. Niettemin dien je steeds een reddingsvest te dragen, want men weet nooit wat er kan gebeuren, we vissen uiteindelijk met scherpe haken of niet?
In een bellyboot, ga je eigenlijk steeds achterwaarts doordat je duwt met je flippersse of the flippers. dat is ook de reden waarom de achterzijde steeds fluorescerend oranje is, voor maximale veiligheid en om goed gezien te worden. Het is het beste om tegen de wind op te gaan.
Over de jaren heen de bellyboten zijn sterk verbeterd en ontwikkeld : verschillende vormen werden geintroduceerd. Later werden ook pontoon boats ontwikkeld, maar eigenlijk om te reizen, zijn deze dan weer wat te zwaar en niet zo handig.
The original bellyboats were round in form and rather small or compact.
Main advantages are fast navigation, not prone to windy conditions and ease to use for turning towards the exact wanted angle without any effort. this is particularly handy when fishing weedbeds where very accurate casting is needed. The fact that your legs are completely in the water and functioning underneath you as a deep fin, gives you great stability.
Disadvantages: the fact that the tire is round : it is sitting in front of you, so you need to fish above it, which tends to get heavy on the shoulders after a few hours of casting and reeling in. Secondly they contain almost always only one tyre, so one chamber. Usually you have one or even two spare airbags on the back. Last disadvantage is the fact that you have to step into the circle, which is a meticulous thing with waders and flippers on. Also getting out is not as comfortable.
To alleviate the discomfort of stepping in and stepping out of the belly, a U formed belly was developed. This is also an ideal way to flyfish, since you don't have a tube in front of you, and usually a small net is foreseen, which is ideal for stripping in the flyline. As you are seated in this kind of boat, only the lower part of your legs are in the water, as from your knees. In very cold conditions this is an advantage as well. Further on the Uboat often contains two chambers for the main U-tube, which contributes to safety. Yet it is not all glamour! As you only have a small part of your legs into the water, you don't have the same resistance to the wind, it will make you drift faster, and it will be less obvious to turn a certain number of degrees to reach just that spot in between the weedbeds on your left or on your right. The shape of the boat tends also to be more sensitiveto the wind. Also a Uboat tends to close his two legs in front of you. So often a pole is used to fix them. Which causes discomfort to fish. But if you don't use the pole, you will usually get into trouble with your back when bellyboating for a long time, because of the seated position will not be optimal.
By far my favourite is the latest development in bellyboats :
the V-shapes.
They exist in different sizes, optimal for anybody's body length or bodyweight. They have the same disadvantage as the U boat in terms of sensitivity to the wind, yet the V shape makes it just a little easier to cut the wind and keep it on the right track.
But as far as seating comfort is concerned, they are second to none. The seating position is perfect and even adjustable with straps. Getting in and out is a piece of cake.
Furthermore they are by far the safest since they always contain multiple air chambers, nowadays even six or more.
Another big advantage is the fact that you have some space behind the seat in the top of the V to store a small bag or even a frigobox!
Let's drift straight away and hook some
