Super Cat Pontoon

[Ed Wahl]

Well, I up and did it. Dropped a wad on a new ride.
I've been eyeballin this since I saw it at Kiene's Expo.

I looked to solve my problem of a truly packable float tube. This seemed to be answer.

I took it up to one of my favorite hike in ponds for the acid test yesterday evening.

Man, what a pleasant surprise that trip was, all the way around.

When I hit the parking lot to set up I stood the 'toon up and used 2 bungees to hold my gear bag with waders, boots, and fins inside to the back of the frame. It turns out the frame has spot just perfect for this. Shoulder straps are a built in feature, they are attached to the straps that also form the support for the seat back. So inside of 2 minutes I'm off and walking with this thing rather comfortably on my back.

And I got to look like Rocket Man, how cool is that?

It's just under a mile to my pond so that gave me enough time to decide that this thing is going to the mountains with me this year.

Upon arrival at the pond I snapped the seat into position, rigged up and hit it.

The first thing I noticed about this 'toon is that you sit up quite a bit higher than my old tubes. Very comfortable. Easy to kick.

I stayed on the water 'til dark then packed it out, again I just couldn't believe how easy this was going.
It's still too early for a final analysis but so far this seems to be the perfect pack in watercraft.

Bill, here's those pics of the 'toon I promised you. I got several different angles so you could really see the whole thing in use.


Here it is before I got it wet and muddy. That's my gear bag next to it. All I carried in my hand was my rod.




Here are the other angles I took of the 'boat'. Hee Hee.

This one shows what the top of it looks like when you dangle a fish over it.




When you dangle a fish over the stripping apron it looks like this.



Here's a shot showing the side of the toon with fish giving it a hug.



Okay, Okay, this is just a fish picture.



Here's a pic of what the orange stripe looks like after dark.




And here's what it looks like when you fly over a bottomless abyss and threaten to drop a Bass into it.



I know there's not a lot of reports out there about these things, so I'll be using mine a lot and I'll be able to answer questions about it.

I'm not a rep just a happy camper.

Ed

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Great report Ed

I guess we will have to get a demo model now so people can try it out.

The super Cat is $559.00 and 14# with Hypalon pontoons like an Avon raft.

It is the best thing we have seen for small water and hiking in too.

PS: You won the free Helios fly rod yesterday too Ed....$775.00

"Can you believe it?"

[Scott V]

Nice new boat Ed and congrads on winning the rod. You deserve it.

[Phil Synhorst]

Good looking toon/bass magnet!!!

Now the dilemma....what weight to choose for that Helios.

Of course, nice pics as usual. Those Optio point and shoots that you and Scott have are well worth the money. I like that shot with the black popper, that was my best fly there last year. Any Green Sunnies??

[Ed Wahl]

Phil, only one greenie yesterday. I didn't fish small flies much at all, had my heart set on Bass. I deliberately started late so as to avoid the late afternoon doldrums. Soon as the sun got off the water at the back cove all hell broke loose over there. There were many hook ups on successive casts, quite a few dropped fish, couple of good blow ups, and one feisty bugger who followed all the way back to me and tried to jump out after it when I picked up for a recast.

Bill, I'm still having a hard time believing it.

Ed

[David Lee]

Ed -

How was the walk out ?? Did the creek look OK up there ?

David

[Ed Wahl]

Walking out was a breeze, for the most part I could see by starlight, at the bottom of the hill there was too much shadow so I had to use the light.
No critter encounters.

Creek's maybe a tad high, but pretty clear. No fish spotted from the bridge, but I didn't stop to look for very long.
Ed

[Jasonh]

Nice work Ed. Way to pop the cherry on the new boat! Even won the Heilos to boot. Jealous.

Jason Hartwick

[Hairstacker]

Cool boat Ed! Looks really sturdy yet relatively light weight.

And a Helios no less . . . man, that is quite a jackpot! Like Phil said, the challenge there is to figure out which one you want. Well, it is famous for being an unprecedentedly light rod -- you might take that into consideration when deciding on one. I've no doubt we'd all like to have that problem to deal with.

[Charlie S]

Ed: I've been using a Super Cat for over ten years. I still have my original and one I bought for my wife. Some people love them (me) and some don't care for them but they are quality built in Cloverdale, CA; the manufacturer stands behind the product; and they are about the longest lasting blow up kick boat out there. Pricey but if you go to cloth covers, rubber inside tubes, etc, you will be buying new again, and again.