taking the tube out for first time tomorrow

[rw02kr43]

Tomorrow will be my first time out with the tube. I have my waders, fins, life vest, cooler and of course tube. Weather looks great. sunny and 78 for the high. I'm going to a small lake that is pretty clear but has one section with a bunch of underwater trees. I'll post some pics if I don't get stuck going around in circles or fall in. To be honest, I am nervous about it. I've never been on anything like this before.

Jason
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[macfly55]

Jason...relax.. you will have a blast.. remember.. back into the tube (walk backwards with the tube behind you.. when you feel it at the right level.. hold on to the tube and sit down.. then kick gently with your fins.. you will be fine..

kick around a bit to get used to the tube and fins.. and the floating on water feeling.. then go fish...

when coming into shore.. kick into the shore (tube to shore first).. when you feel your feet firmly under you.. stand up and keep walking backwards till you are shallow enough to reach down and unclip the fins and take them off..

it is a great feeling of freedom to float tube.. you will get past the first nerves quickly and then relax and enjoy the ride..

as TD and many others have said.. unless you some big time leaning (and I have ..lol).. you will not tip over or fall out.. tubes are soooooooooooooooo stable you have to want to tip them over or fall out to make that happen..

good luck.. and hope you bring some nice fish to hand..

MacFly [cool]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Good luck. Hope all goes well. There will be a lot of things you learn that you had not anticipated. And, no matter how much you read about what others have done, you still have to get the feel of it yourself. It is kinda like trying to describe the taste of salt to someone who has never tasted salt...without using the word "salty".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you take it slow, and get used to the navigation part first...before fishing...you will be able to do a better job with the fishing tackle after you are comfortable in your ride.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We look forward to a report...if you survive.[/#0000ff]
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[rw02kr43]

well I'm back. I didn't drown. I kicked around almost the whole lake. I casted a few times and didn't catch a thing. I caught a tree I think and lost a senko on it. :-( Overall it wasn't too bad. I think I leaned too far back when kicking and I soaked my whole backside. I also found that I really need to build a rodholder sometime. The velcro straps just don't hold the rod too well and keep the reels out of the water. turning and moving wasn't too bad. Moving myself around on the tube was the problem. There were a ton of weeds and trees under the water that made it hard to move around. This thing has a ton of pockets and storage, I just am not able to bend the right way to get to them. Any ideas how I can keep from getting soaked next time? I think my next time out will be tuesday or wednesday. I only took a few pics.





Jason
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[SHigSpeed]

Looks like a nice pond!

You probably didn't inflate the tube enough. Was there any sag to it? You want it to "ping" just a bit when you tap it. Not too tight, but rigid. I may soften up a bit when you put it on the water as well so keep that in mind.

What kind of tube is it?

So the water came over the top of your chest waders?

Not much you can do about that other than cinch up the seat tighter (if you can) and inflate tube properly.

The high seat tubes these days really eliminate this problem (Fat Cat, FC4, ODC420, H3, etc...)

Keep at it, you'll figure it out!

_SHig
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[rw02kr43]

the tube was pretty well inflated I think. I didn't hear it ping or anything. the space behind the seat has some mesh stuff and the water came up in there and then down the back of my waders. I have finally dried out. The tube is a Togiak. It's pretty good so far. I like the valves in it and how easy it is to inflate and deflate.
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[SHigSpeed]

Hmm.... Odd, those look to float pretty high.

When I say "ping" I mean if you flick it with your finger it should have some resonance and not be dull...

I guess you must have just leaned back too far! You'll never do that again right!

How much do ya weight BTW? Maybe you're at capacity of the thing?

_SHig
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I am guessing that you need to tighten the side belts on the back seat adjustment. You should not be able to lean back far enough to get wet. But, if that is your preference, go for it. More tolerable before the water drops to the 40 degree range.[/#0000ff]
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[rw02kr43]

I'm 6'3 and weigh a little over 250. I thought capacity for this thing is 300 or 350. After I got out I pulled the seat back belts tighter so maybe next time it won't be so easy to bend back. I was surprised how easy it is to move in the tube. I was able to turn pretty easy. It just seems like some of the pockets are almost behind me. Hard to get to them. I definatly need to work on a tube holder too.

Jason
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[macfly55]

sounds to me that your first trip.. although wet.. was a good one..

as TD said as you get more time in the tube things will get easier..

.. and you are absolutely right.. it is a great feeling to be out on the water.. and its amazing how easily things happen.. especially when you relax and just enjoy the experience.. I know my first time I was very nervous and kept telling myself.. okay .. you got in without falling out.. now kick.. then it was .. slow down the kick.. your going no where.. lol.. and so on and so on......

.. all I know is that I had a great time.. and there is no other feeling like that I have experienced in my life..

good luck on your next trip.. please keep us posted..

MacFly [cool]
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[tubeN2]

Way to go on a maiden voyage.

I too agree that you may have the seat adjusted incorrectly. A simple adjustment can fix that and keep you dryer on the next run.

You will have to get used to kicking from a fully upright and seated postion. It appears that you have the right fins for the job. Now you just have to learn to kick straight and use as little effort as necessary to propell yourself.

You will enjoy it once you get used to it. Then you can start catching fish too.[cool]
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