Sep 12, 2022

Outcast OSG Stealth Pro Inflatable - Benefits of Frameless Boats

On a chilly morning... 

Two anglers prepare to launch on a "do it yourself" trout float trip. The open cockpit, inflatable design of the OSG Stealth Pro makes this float as enjoyable as it is successful with benefits that go farther than the eye can see. 

I've been float fishing in my Stealth Pro for over 10 years. My first one, the old orange trimmed model pictured behind the newer green trimmed model, is still going strong with no signs of giving up anytime soon. The green boat is going on about 5 years of use and is as good as the day it was new. 

My buddy with the old frame pontoon now sports a new Fish Cat Scout. Took him about an hour to figure out our frameless design boats had worthy advantages over his old school frame design.


My Stealth Pro's have been on big rivers like the Columbia and streams smaller than the John Day. It has floated dead of winter with icicles hanging from it and floated warmwater streams in the sweltering heat of summer. They have performed countless day trips as well as many overnight floats, packed full of gear. 

The obvious:

Floating a river in your own personal watercraft provides an element that goes beyond walk / wade / drift trips. Becoming part of the rivers current gives a feeling of life in motion. Life, in a setting of serenity takes a fly fishing experience to new levels not found in wade or guide boat settings. 

Access:

Become familiar with a river by floating and you will soon realize new water that is not being fished or fished very little. You'll learn to read the currents and soon realize you are a better angler because you learned to read the currents. The wade angler is restricted in how far he can go and how accessible parts of the river are. Floating a river can open up new opportunities even when you encounter crowds. You'll soon find yourself fishing water that has been previously inaccessible.

Due to the open front design some will argue you get wetter as opposed to a wrap around style boat. This may be true and also part of the fun. If you want to stay dry go through rapids sideways. 

Lightweight:

At a dry weight of 35 lb Stealth Pro is easy to pick up and carry around obstacles or to and from launch sites. Portages and shallow water are no problem to navigate in Stealth Pro. If water becomes too shallow to float over just stand up, pick up the frameless boat from the foot rest bar and walk yourself to deeper water. 

Stable and Rugged:

I have purposely not been gentle with my Stealth's. I have dragged them across rocks and down river paths. I've dragged them across river bars and even lowered one over a 20' waterfall by rope from the rear D-ring while it was loaded with gear. Push, pull, drag or carry, whatever the situation calls for Stealth Pro will tackle it. 

All this and the most stable river boat I've experienced. Stealth Pro never feels tippy. You can lean as far as you can to one side and never be concerned of tipping. You would fall overboard long before this boat would flip. In all my experience I've never seen one flipped over and have never felt like I was ever close to being ejected. 

Lowered by rope with gear strapped in. I was curious in this setting if the Stealth Pro would right itself from total vertical drop. Both boats came down right side up. This adventure was a 3 day float on the Devil's River, TX

Gear:

The Stealth Pro packs a good amount of gear. With room for more than one rod, unlimited flies and your lunch you can go farther and search more water. With creative packing you can plan to overnight and be on the water at first light and still have enough room for your all important, morning coffee dope kit. 

Stealth:

Stealth Pro really spells it out in the first word "Stealth". An angler can move along quietly in shallow water without hardly even putting off a wake. You sit low in a stealth helping one stay out of site from cautious trout. In stillwater situations you can fin kick a stealth. 

Seams to be a lot of internet chatter about sitting low versus sitting high. Many want to sit high and stay dry. A great boat for this is the OSG Clearwater

Stealth Pro sits low, very low and this sets up a big advantage for some anglers in particular those who fin kick. Other advantages of being low are stealth, low center of gravity, and using your feet as a shallow water anchor. 

Yes, you might get some splash in rapids but I'm always in waders and if the rapids will allow it you can turn your Stealth sideways and avoid the splash through the open front. 

I can't find a way to stress enough here that the big advantage of a Stealth Pro Frameless boat is this ability to shallow water anchor with your feet. This feature alone has opened up a boat load of opportunity for my fishing adventures. 

Stealth Pro is more than just transportation. Stealth Pro is a fishing system that can open up new water and new opportunities that adds versatility in your approach to coldwater trout as well as warmwater smallmouth.  

The BIG Benefit:

What most don't see in an open cockpit inflatable frameless pontoon is the ability to put your feet down. One feature I've come to love about this design is the ability to sit in shallow water with feet on river bottom. Who needs an anchor!

On shorelines and gravel bars one can put their feet down and just stop. Hold yourself in place while you fish out to the holding water. If you need to stand to make a cast than just stand up. The Stealth Pro will stay between your legs and can't get away from you. When you fished the spot just sit down and float on! Sometimes I just walk with my feet while sitting down just to move along 10-20 feet and start casting again. Great way to cover water. 

Want to fish a spot again? With the power of oars on this lightweight inflatable one can go back up stream pretty easy even in moderate currents. 

I hesitate to even try and spell this out to fellow anglers. It has become one of my greatest Stealth Pro secrets that I have remained discreet about for years. It is one of the biggest advantages I have realized in the 10+ years of floating in this frameless inflatable. I have fished from kayaks and framed pontoons / rafts and none of them compete with the Stealth because they all lack this open cockpit feature. I didn't know this would be such an advantage when I first floated in my Stealth, now I can't live without it. 

This feature has changed the way I approach a day of float fishing and has changed the way I view a river. I now look for those areas that others just ignore or are inaccessible on foot.

So while your read all the internet blogs about the 5 best frameless inflatable boats to buy keep an eye out for this feature to pop up. It won't! Few recognize this advantage and those few that do, if they are like me, have kept this feature tucked quietly under their rod wraps. 

In the modern day when it seems like there are no secrets remaining to discover, look outside your fly rods and fly reels and fifty thousand flies you've collected and think about how you approach fishy water. Are you Stealth-y? I am!


https://www.gorgeflyshop.com/store/pc/Sale-Closeouts-c38.htm

"The Gorge"

Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977


"Fly Fish the World with Us"

No comments :

Post a Comment

  © 'and' Steelhead.com Mike Prine 2009-2014

Back to TOP