Right, but I'd bet that most rods are lost overboard due to carelesness or accident. Fishermen are generally paying attention once a fish is on the line. Not always, of course, some get yanked from rod holders, but I think most slip or get dropped from careless handling. If custom builders could offer such a thing to their customers, that'd be one more selling point for them to use.

..........

Guys , this thread is really sparking my interest. I remember a little toy we used to get , I think , in a cereal box. It was a little plastic frog man. You put Backing Soda somewhere inside this little man, maybe inside his scuba tank ,stick him under water and the gas pressure would allow him to swim for a couple of feet. Backing Soda might be a good propellant for pushing the little flotation device out of it's holder .

5ft lanyard attached to the reelseat in my kayak and 12' lanyard while working the pit....(maybe I'm too logical but it has worked for 20+yrs)

A lanyard/tehter will certain work, but many fishermen don't want to be tethered to their rods nor have to deal with tethers attached to rod holders.

..........

Perhaps something along the lines of a ferrule tool with 2' test tether coiled up inside. Pop it onto the blank, within a split grip maybe, with a piece of water soluable tape to secure it from simply falling off.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2008 02:57PM by James Hicks.

Jay Hunt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Guys , this thread is really sparking my interest.
> I remember a little toy we used to get , I think ,
> in a cereal box. It was a little plastic frog man.
> You put Backing Soda somewhere inside this little
> man, maybe inside his scuba tank ,stick him under
> water and the gas pressure would allow him to swim
> for a couple of feet. Backing Soda might be a good
> propellant for pushing the little flotation device
> out of it's holder .


I dont think baking soda will react with water to make a gas to pressurise a vessel. I tried wetting some in a cup no bubbles just wet soda.But i do remember a submarine toy that you put a pellet of something in.It would sink,then when it built up enough gas to displace the weight of the sub it would surface,emty the gas,fill with water then sink again then the cycle would repeat.

Baking soda and vinegar makes carbon dioxide gas.

The "Waterbuoy" is a compact keychain that, upon submersion in water, coughs up a plastic orange balloon capable of keeping up to 1 kilogram at the surface for up to a day. An LED flasher makes the Waterbuoy visible even at night...

[gadgets.boingboing.net]

The Key Buoy by Davis Instruments. The Key Buoy uses a self-inflating tube to float keys and other small items to the surface, reversing the disasterous consequences of sailors' clumsiness.

[sailingworld.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2008 03:58AM by James Hicks.

I found the Key Buoy at Cabelas - look here... [www.cabelas.com]
It would likely float a rod with the additional flotation of the air that would be trapped in the blank and a cork handle - it would be bulky but a ring at the end of the butt would hold it - at 6.99 one could afford to have a few on hand to replace it - not sure how much bother it would be when placed at the end of the rod though... I guess a person would have to weigh that out when setting it all up. It wouldn't take much to run an attachment out the end of a butt cap though... a little epoxy inside to seal the hole and maintain the air in the blank and it should work. Keep in mind it would only need to float it enough to allow the angler to spot and recover the rod - heavy waves and current would certainly complicate matters.

Of course one could buy a few of these types of trinkets for general ideas and then develop your own.
Chuck Ungs



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2008 06:36PM by Chuck Ungs.