In the Tube Again

[zonker]

With apologies to Willie Nelson, I found myself singing "In the Tube Again" today. I has been nearly a year since I started chasing carp on the fly. That move drove me to the shore, stalking the shallows sans tube. So encompassing has it been that I've done little else - until today. I woke up this morning with a hankering for some trout/tube fishing. It didn't help that we had excessive heat warnings posted by the weather service for today, but I loaded up the tube and went anyway. Nothing going on at all when I arrived. I spent some time catching a few bluegills in the shallows with the three weight while I waited for evening. Then as the shadows began to lengthen, I aired up the Super Fat Cat, slipped into waders and fins, and pushed off.

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I had a new toy to play with. Last fall I purchased one of the new wider angle Buddy 4200 finder units. This wasn't the first time out with it, but it was the first time I actually caught some fish with it. This replaced my vintage Buddy II (which still works after many years, by the way.) I like the Buddy because of the side finder - which is very helpful for trout fishing in lakes.

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Due to the hot weather the trout were a bit lethargic. Initial water temp was 72 degrees. Nothing was going on. I figured I'd stay till dark in the hope that the temp would drop a bit. It did, sliding down to a more tolerable 68 in the waning daylight. Fish became active and there were some nice ones cruising around. I landed only four before the darkness enveloped me. I had to use a flashlight to find the dock but I wasn't far from it. Fish ran from 16-18". Not bad. I found myself a bit rusty in the tubing department at first, but soon my efficency started to return. The last fish was hooked when I could barely make out the shoreline.

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I look forward to reconnecting with you BFT guys. Feels like home.

zonker
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[tubeN2]

Nice report Uncle Z. I guess ole Willie does have a catchy tune for tubing.

It's nice to see that you got your sea legs.......tube legs back in action. Those are some nice looking Trout. It's nice to see that you could get them to eat in 68 degree water.

The silly California Trout go into hiding when the water gets above 62.

We are glad that you are back amongst your fambly here.[cool]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Well, well, well...the carpinator decided to slum a little and visit us lowly tubers again. Good to see ya back on the water with some trout tackle. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good report and purty pictures. Those 'bows look healthy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Sounds like you guys have had a long hot summer too. Over in Utah our reservoirs are all way down and staying warmer longer. I am going to Idaho for a few days at the end of this week and my preliminary scouting reports show the same thing up there. A couple of my intended targets are so low that the trout are wearing tennies to get around. But, there are still some damp spots left so I hope to get in some fishing.[/#0000ff]
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[smallmouth89]

Dave,

[size 1]I look forward to reconnecting with you BFT guys. Feels like home. [/size]

Good to see you back? Remember "Roy Rogers" and Gene Autrey? I think it was probably Gene who sang........"I'm back in the dle again"

I have heard conflicting reports on the Buddy Fishfinders. As I talk I have my Humminbird in the oven at 100 degrees convection baking. Every time I get it out in the sun more water condenses on the lens. I can't believe so much water got in there. If this session doesn't dry it out for good I'll be looking for a new unit. Nice to see some colour in your fish. It's a nice change from golden brown. I'm currently enamoured of smallmouth bass after a couple of river floats.
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[zonker]

Hey guys,

[cool]Good to be back in with those "in the know." I really fell for the carp on the fly thing. In fact, it has probably hooked me for (the rest of) life. However, I really miss tubing and never did figure out how to combine the two successfully. Carp are just too spooky (when fly fishing, anyway) and you have to be high enough to spot them feeding to get them to take a fly.

Pat, we're seeing some low water here, too. One pond I like to fish is nearly dry. Others are not as low as I've seen them in past years.

Steve, I have found that the trout usually peter out surface wise at about 68 or 69 degrees. However, some places are different and I suspect the strain of trout is also a factor. I know some desert trout can tolerate higher temps.

I'm looking forward to some more tube trouting soon. If and when it happens I'll be sure to post.

z~
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[zonker]

Don,

[cool]I'm thinking of all kinds of musical possibilities. Only trouble is, when I start singing, everyone leaves the room.

I'm not going to vouch for the Buddy's as I've seen the good and bad reviews on them. I guess I happened to get a good one before. Can't seem to kill it. I can only hope this one is the same. It's the sidefinder that keeps me coming back. The larger 18 degree cone is an improvement on the old one as well. I haven't used this one in a rain storm yet.

If I had a good smallmouth spot I'd be hooked on them, too. Closest spots are 2-2 1/2 hours away (at least the ones I know about.)

By the way, have you seen Bob Clouser's book on smallmouth fly fishing? Looks really good.

z~
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[jnbsigma]

Hey there, it's been a while, Z. Good to hear from ya again. I missed hearing about your carping et al adventures. Thanks for the post!
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[trowtslayr]

hi zonker, nice healthy trout you caught there, thanks for sharing, I was out at Willard here in Utah the other weekend and just as evening was coming upon us, i believe they were carp anyway, but i could be wrong, the fish were just cruising on top with there mouths open, at least 20 of them, i was looking thru my binoculars at them and it was unbelievable at least for me, i've never seen that before, like i said i'm not sure if they were the carp but they were not small by any means whatever they were, and they were smart cause they stayed just out of reach of my cast.
and it sounds like a WELCOME BACK is due also from reading all the posts. SO WELCOME BACK IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE BEEN MISSED.[]
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[flygoddess]

Lisa, when I met up with Tube Dude and Tube Babe this spring, they were doing the same thing. In fact I thought it was piece of drift would till I got closer. I was in a pontoon boat so I could get close without spooking.
When I realized they were carp, I tied on a Prince Nymph on my Interemediate line (very slow sinking fly line and clear). I cast right over the top of them and slowly stripped the line back.....BAMB! In fact four times, but I lost one. What a rush!
So I tried the river just up the street and found out there was Carp and Koi in there along with Perch and White Bass and I am sure there are some cat in there along with maybe a body or two LOL.
Grass Carp is a little trickier, but can be done.
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[trowtslayr]

What are Koi and Grass Carp? Yeah it was pretty entertaining with the binocks on shore watching them, I probably missed my bites while i was watching them cause when i checked my bait they were both gone [:/] I'd never seen so many fish cruising the top it was way cool[cool]
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[flygoddess]

Koi are Carp,....basically big Gold Fish, but there are black/white, gold/white, etc. in fact I am sure these were gold fish flushed at one time. Grass Carp are just like the name. They hang out in the thich grassy areas. Getting to the fish is tuff because of the grass.
Check out this page: [url "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carp"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carp[/url] just copy and paste if it doesn't load.
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[trowtslayr]

So thats were Little Mobey ended up lol [] My aunt has some in her yard in a pond, decorative of course. thanks for the info, enjoyed the reading.[]
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[zonker]

Lisa,

[cool]Thanks for your kind words. The carp behavior you observed was likely what is called "clooping" among avid carp fishers. It's the carp's version of the trout's rise. Kind of a lumbering, half-effective slurp. Actually the word "cloop" is one of those onomatopoetic words that is made up at first to resemble an actual sound, then it becomes a word. When they are presenting this behavior it is a real challenge to try to get a dry fly placed in such a way that their random movements will intersect it. They can be selective to certain items as well so "match the hatch" is sometimes involved.

Carp can be very spooky, which gives them the reputation of being smart. They have very highly developed sound/vibration capabilities and are naturally wary - much more so that trout or bass. They often hang out in "shoals" (carping lingo for schools) and communicate alarm well with one another. Like sheep, when one of them freaks, others in the area do also. In fact (and it took me awhile to admit this) I think carp are harder to catch on flies than most other fish in fresh water. I've enjoyed pursuing them and learning about them. It took me a few trips to actually connect with one on a fly, then some more before I started getting them regularly. That kind of a challenge is a lot of fun. Since I nearly always C&R, the type of fish isn't an issue for me as long as it takes flies and fights hard. They do.

Since carp have that "trash fish" stigma with many, I've endured some frowns and tisk-tisks from regular fishermen. When I tell them that I catch carp up to 30 pounds on a fly rod however, they usually settle down and grant a litte respect. Here's a recent shot of a "little" ten pounder.



My favorite way to pursue the species I like to fish is in the tube and I really like mixing it up with other tubers. There are some great people here. Obviously you're one of them.

z~
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[zonker]

[reply]
Hey there, it's been a while, Z. Good to hear from ya again. I missed hearing about your carping et al adventures. Thanks for the post! [/reply]

[cool]Thanks for the kind words, Justin.

z~
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[smallmouth89]

Yes indeed, I don't get to chase the smallmouth as often as I'd like as my favourite river is also 2 hours and a bit away.
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[AdictedBassTard]

Z LEAVES SHORE FOR WATER -WATCH OUT TROUT!
What headlines would read if I had my way.[]

Good to be in the dle again huh, uncle? Nice catch and nice toy, too![cool]

-ABT
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey, what are you doing over here? Did you make a wrong turn at the Off Topic board?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good to see ya here anyways.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In one of my Willard reports from recently I mentioned that carp activity at Willard. The annual algae bloom is starting on most lakes and the carp come up and just vacuum in the "pea soup" when it forms strings on the top of the water in a light breeze. The other morning at Utah Lake a large thick goopy mass of the stuff had stacked up against one shoreline and there were hordes of carp "grazing" on the stuff. They were so thick you could have walked across their backs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you do not already have a tube or toon, you should look at getting one. Lotsa times and places you might like to get out on the water without having to tow the boat...or launch it. Works for me.[/#0000ff]
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[trowtslayr]

[font "Arial"][black][size 3]i'm spreading my wings [angelic] TD! thanks I didnt see your post but that sure was neat watching them. i use to toon it alot before the boat fell in my lap, and one day we had the toon in the back of the truck and didnt put it back in the storage like usual, well it was a very hot day and it about exploded in the sun, so now it is in need of great repair, and it really isnt my toon but isnt possession 9/10th of the law? Its my good buddies who doesnt have anywhere to store it so i do for him. It was a pretty old one so he wasnt too upset. It split the covers on the toons, it can be repaired and probably is really close to getting repaired because of all the great reports i read about in here from the tubers and such. I like neaking up on them and it is hard to do with a boat but possible if the wind is in your favor.[/size][/black][/font]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Toon covers can be restitched fairly easily. You just hope that the air bladders were not damaged. If the toon is very old, you might wanna check it out well before getting out on the water too far. It's a bummer when the seams on the air bladder split out and you have to walk back in.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lemme know if you need any help. We gotta get ya waterworthy. Toonin' is a hoot...and often more productive than boatin'. Definitely less hassle and cheaper too.[/#0000ff]
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[trowtslayr]

hey TD i might be taking you up on that, i think the bladders are ok, it was a pretty expensive toon i think. i will be pulling it out tomorrow since i have to move to another storage, so i will inspect it a little more closely and i might have some questions for ya when i do. thanks for offering your knowledge "oh great oz" []
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