Anyone have any tips on fishing from a bellyboat?

[Ghosth]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08G86QSRH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That is the unit I bought. Put it together yesterday with the aid of a Bauer 20v inflator.
Thinking I'm going out of panfish mon or tue morning.

Came with flippers, paddle. Bought a set of chest waders and new PFD along with it.

Don't intend to go far out, just deep enough to catch some decent Bluegill. Crappie or a bass would be a plus.
There are several small lakes half hour to 45 min away. The belly boat will be easier than loading the big 16.5 footer.

Be interested in anyone who has tried one. Things to avoid, etc.

[BUGEYE]

If the wind gets up, get out of the water.
That said, a small lake or pond that is surrounded by trees is ideal, and they are really stealthy.
If the bluegills are bedding along the shoreline, they don't expect trouble from deeper water so you can, if you're careful, get a sack full of gills.

If you have alligators, disregard all that I said.

My belly boat and flyrod have caught a zillion bluegills.

[Ranger99]

I used to fish that way all the time,
and I always used a 14-16 foot
fiberglass "cane" pole and either
bobber and bait or small jigs 
The only trouble was curious
turtles or cottonmouths.
We always managed a limit of
bream and crappie.

I still have one old tube.
It's one of the old type that
uses a truck tube inside of a
canvas cover with a zipper
compartment. The new ones
are supposed to be built way
way better and have a really
nice reliable air bladder instead
of an old truck tube

[ulav8r]

Never used one, but a neighbor several years older than my dad years ago used a #3 washtub with an innertube around it to fish from.  He fished commercially to supplement his income.  He stuck a 1x4 through the handles of the tub to keep it from going through the tube.

[Ranger99]

Never used one, but a neighbor several years older than my dad years ago used a #3 washtub with an innertube around it to fish from.  He fished commercially to supplement his income.  He stuck a 1x4 through the handles of the tub to keep it from going through the tube.

I bet that was a ride

[DEACONLLB]

Back in the late fifties you could still find the ww2 one man life rafts and that is what I used they really worked great. The wader, Truck tire thing never was very popular with the fishermen in my area although some did try them but they used the light waders that you used tennis shoes with not the ones with the heavy boots. One thing that got popular in Calif. where I was, was Tullie dipping, You used a long Caine pole with a short 30 lb. test line and a Black marabou jig and a black or purple plastic worm threaded on to the jig hook then you went along and dropped the jig back in pockets where you could not cast and moved the jig up and down, lot of fun when a 4 or 5 lb. bass grabbed it.
 

Deaconllb

[Ranger99]

Me and my fishing buddy used to
jig with a cane pole a lot for crappie
and every now and then we'd come
up with a nice bass. ( I said cane
pole but actually telescopic fiberglass)
When you'd hook into one, that bent
over pole and that taut line zipping
through the water sure would sing

[BUGEYE]

Back in the late fifties you could still find the ww2 one man life rafts and that is what I used they really worked great. The wader, Truck tire thing never was very popular with the fishermen in my area although some did try them but they used the light waders that you used tennis shoes with not the ones with the heavy boots. One thing that got popular in Calif. where I was, was Tullie dipping, You used a long Caine pole with a short 30 lb. test line and a Black marabou jig and a black or purple plastic worm threaded on to the jig hook then you went along and dropped the jig back in pockets where you could not cast and moved the jig up and down, lot of fun when a 4 or 5 lb. bass grabbed it.
 

Deaconllb

That's one of the best ways to catch a mess of fish.
30 lb. test for bass, mudfish, etc. and down size the line and bait to catch a million panfish.
That method is used to good advantage in the blackwater rivers in SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, and LA.