Rod Floaters

Important Note:     Before you go out and use your rod without a leash, do a float test.  I found that easiest way to do this without immersing the reel, is to remove the reel and use lead weights totalling the weight of the reel plus the heaviest jig or sinker you plan to use.  You can simply clip a string of sinkers to a rod guide.

That sounds like a really good idea. i have always felt that more than one leash is a safety hazard. i also just lost a $180 rod. i know its been a while since this topic was discussed but i was curios how these rod floats worked out.

i was curios how these rod floats worked out.

Yeah, me too.  Nice find kayakjack.  That's somebody who knows how to use the search function.

Michael

They work. I have a big ugly piece of blue pool noodle on one rod. goop + zip-tied. I was at the bean. my (full) stringer came loose. I had a cab on at the same time. I dove in after the stringer. thought I put the rod in a holder, but the rod ended up floating. I got the stringer back in the boat and landed the cab too.  reel survived because the bearings were packed with grease, but I did break it down, rinse it out and let it dry.

if you don't want it to be permanent, the zipties alone will work.

This thread and "technology" was the genesis for the Baidarka.  It is a great concept, and having the idea integrated into quality rods is a great improvement to the noodle and tape of years back.

This thread and "technology" was the genesis for the Baidarka.  It is a great concept, and having the idea integrated into quality rods is a great improvement to the noodle and tape of years back.

True.

John "Eagle Eye" Pawlak (pictured here) showed us his first prototype back in 2005 at Half Moon Bay.
 
Since then, he's been recruited for the Okuma Pro Staff and further developed his idea into the Baidarka rod --- which IMHO is still the only real kayak fishing rod out there.  Quantum and Lamiglas have their own kayak rods, but neither float.

I tried the noodle and tape idea worked back then but it was so bulky and cumbersome, I just went back to using leashes. 

Yep...we all stared at his rods at HMB.  The evolution.

so are these things going to float a pole with a 400 dollar Penn reel these things
are heavy that little bit of foam mite float a small spinning reel but I would want to test it in a swim
pool before hand and what if you are fishing with a one pound ball are bigger I think it would just drag the
whole thing down

so are these things going to float a pole with a 400 dollar Penn reel these things
are heavy that little bit of foam mite float a small spinning reel but I would want to test it in a swim
pool before hand and what if you are fishing with a one pound ball are bigger I think it would just drag the
whole thing down

Duane, you make an excellent point.  I must admit that I wouldn't ever trust a Baidarka rod and reel combo to float unless I've tested it first with the terminal weight I plan to use.  If you were trolling with a one pound ball and your rod accidentally fell overboard, you can say "bye-bye" unless you had enough line out to allow the rod to float to the surface.  A strong current may also prevent the rod from reaching the surface.

My 701M easily floats a Torium 20 and a heavy jig...so yes, they still float even with gear on it.  Best to check it first, but mine float great.

I'll never forget Sean's story about his X-Tools floating pliers that sunk... so I now test everything that's claimed to float.

I'll never forget Sean's story about his X-Tools floating pliers that sunk

Either will bigeye...he laughed his a$$ off at my expense!!!

if that heavy weight is already on the bottom when you let go of your rod, no problem there it just has to float the reel. This is what happened to me, I was hooked up near the bottom when my stringer emergency arose.  my stringer got loose while I was hooked up on a cabby. I swam after the stringer, found my rod bobbing around in the ocean when I got back to the yak. cabby was still on and landed.

if you were salmon fishing with a ball, you do got a problem. maybe you should use a deep six or downrigger anyways.

  Having that added foam thickness around the handle would be a bother for me.  I'm trying to picture how well a piece of pipe insulation might fit say just above the reel,(Spinning in my case) there seems to be sufficient spacing to allow the line to spool off, but I think the Clarence is minimal.
  All my experience is with ffreshwater stuff righ now, and having my rods leashed is not a bother for me, maybe a little time used up in removing and reattaching while swapping rods, but thats ok. 
  I know that my rods won't be getting drowned!

  Having that added foam thickness around the handle would be a bother for me.  I'm trying to picture how well a piece of pipe insulation might fit say just above the reel,(Spinning in my case) there seems to be sufficient spacing to allow the line to spool off, but I think the Clarence is minimal.
  All my experience is with ffreshwater stuff righ now, and having my rods leashed is not a bother for me, maybe a little time used up in removing and reattaching while swapping rods, but thats ok. 
  I know that my rods won't be getting drowned!

I only put the foam on the bottom of the rod. use a half cylinder of pipe insulation. trim it down a bit too. use zip-ties and maybe a little marine goop to hold it it in place. pawlak orginally used a strip of styrofoam packing and taped it to the rod with electrical tape.