Float Tubes

[phearless]

I haven't had one for awhile,
but I have many fond memories of when it was my
craft of choice.

[Finn]

Fond memories...being out in the middle of a lake and regretting that extra cup of coffee you had that morning?

I do have a float tube, and try to only use it for lakes that require hiking into.

[chauchey]

I remember being young and not being able to afford the 200+ dollars for a float tube. Years past by, and this past year I got into fly fishing again and got a float tube.
A decent Utube demo model cost me $60 plus tax, and its better than anything my buddies bought back then. To give you an idea of how consumer starved the USA is right now, the same style/quality of tube in canada runs 2.5 times as much.
Its served me well, sits high in the water, inflaits within 1 minute using a double action standing pump, and now that I've actually taken my small aluminum out onto a lake while fly fishing...I don't really want to go back to my float tube. However, there are a number of hike in lakes that I want to get to where my float tube will quite simply be indespensable.

The only problem I really have with it is that I don't have a convenient way of storing the trout I catch. Its a problem that needs to be remedied in future designs. Perhaps a storage compartment that turns inside out so it can easily be cleaned with a garden hose, and large enough to put a freezer pack in it, and still store 28" trout. 28 inches!? Thats right. I'm an optimist.

[phearless]

I'm an optomist to, and I was thinking 18"!

Better eating

[_HOOK_]

have you ever tried using a fish chain?

I used to use this with my float tube ans actually still use it on my pontoon for the off trout i keep. however now i got a cooler for the 'toon so i will be putting fish in there now instead

not sure what the rules are across the border but if your going to chain a fish here in BC it must be dead first(broken neck whatever), didnt use to be this way and i still see people string them alive until they are educated not to do so

[phearless]

A fish stringer will greatly reduce the quality of your fish if the water is at all warm.
Remember that the fish will be in the top foot, or warmest part of the water column.

A good option is to get an insulated cooler bag and put an ice pak or two in it. Lash this on to your float tube and all is well.

MMMMM fesh fish for dinner.

[garyk]

My waist has grown over the years and I now find that the plastic "beach ball" air bladder is useless and have had to replace it with a 22.5 inch truck tire inner tube. I've seen kids floating down the Campbell River in earth-mover
tire inner tubes and have often caught myself glancing down at my gut and thinking that might be next!

Cheers,

Gary

[josh]

i fished out of my tube for the first time in years last weekend. i loved it i have a small jon boat which i really enjoy but everything just seems easier in a tube then a boat. theres something special about being on a small lake in a float tube, the only down side is the visibility, your to close to the water to see much. Good times none the less.

[nostrildamus]

I fished from an aluminum a couple of years ago and hated it. Granted, it wasn't a flat bottom pram but I found there was entirely too much crap in that boat to get a line wrapped around. I strongly prefer fishing from my tube when the lake isn't a large one (50 Hectare and under). If I had a nice pram and truck to carry it I can imagine preferring it to a standard tube.

The one thing I really don't like about fishing from a tube is the angle into the water which you look makes sight fishing impossible. Sometimes, this makes all the difference in a day out and therefore people in tubes are catching nothing while people able to stand up in a boat are casting to subsurface fish and nailing them.

I think the best mix of the two is the rowable pontoon which elevates you enough that you can see many of the subsurface fish, eliminates the hassle of wrapping your line around the engine, and the fins and oars together really give you great mobility and control in the lake. With a set of oars on one of these I could see increasing the size of a comfortably fished lake to around 70-80 Hectares.

That being said, I would fish by sitting on a log if I had to.

[ThaSandman]

I recently bought a used "U-Boat" for $200, including waders, a fly vest, and even a walmart 8wt rod with a few flies. Couldn't pass up that deal.

I really like the connected feeling that I get by being half submerged in the lake, but I really hate when that wind picks up! I'm actually thinking of keeping a collapsible oar in the tube just in case....

I also use a stringer if the trip will be short, but I am thinking of attaching a small bag to the d-rings on the side like fearless suggests. It will probably add to the drag of the boat, but it would keep them a bit fresher on those longer days.

I love my tube, but can't wait for the day that I can get a car topper - no money + no yard = no boat.