and cycle back to the car, after which I drive back to collect my stuff… It works, but it is complicated – and I hate cycling! And when I fished the harbors of California for Calico bass, California halibut, Bay bass and the like, I made use of the tide: I let the current take me out and then back again, after the turn of the tide. That worked, too, but it also meant that I could only fish when the tides fitted into my own schedule.
A fishing buddy of mine, Maikel Lambregts, got fed up with these disadvantages and decided
that the only way to solve them was some sort of an engine underneath his float tube. He is not just friendly, but without doubt the handiest person I ever met as well! Heated soles to wear in your waders when it is freezing? Check! An ultralight rod- and fish finder mount? Check! A hand-poured soft plastic lure of his own invention? Check! A couple of years ago, he showed me his new invention: an electrical outboard engine for his float tube. I laughed my head off every time I saw him carry that extremely heavy battery to the waterside. It took him about half an hour to start fishing! Evidently, I could see the advantage of it especially at the end of a windy day, but it was not worth all that trouble to me. Maikel kept working on his idea though, and his engine became more and more sophisticated. After purchasing a 3D-printer, he finally managed to realize his dream: a very light engine that was mounted
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