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I'm curious if anybody has ever has problems with belly boats and large fish. I know that texas has alligator gars. As well as northern pike and musky in norther lakes.
I'm just concerned with any large teeth and might get too close for comfort. I am also wondering if anybody whom fishes in texas has had and run-ins with gators. While I am presently in NY and stuck here my long time goal is moving to n/e texas.
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Pike and Musky are nothing to worry about. In Texas, the SNAKES would definitely make me want a Boat, or at least a Pontoon with feet out of the water.
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If you are talking problems to the tube, there is always a chance that a small puncture can occur due to a tooth or fin (esp. catfish) hitting the tube accidently when releasing or fighting a fish, ask TD. If you are talking about YOU being punctured, never even heard of such a thing. Other than when a snake jumped in a boat with Jimmy Carter when he was President and fishing on a small lake. I use only pontoons in San Antonio home base area, and have never had an attack of any kind, but we only have a few gators and mocassins in the waters, other than varieties of fish. Same for 'toon excursions to Ca, Nv, Oh, In, Fl.... Saw your post to the Tx forum, not very many use this method here, unlike Ca and the west.
Pon
[quote Ebonbetta]I'm curious if anybody has ever has problems with belly boats and large fish. I know that texas has alligator gars. As well as northern pike and musky in norther lakes.
I'm just concerned with any large teeth and might get too close for comfort. I am also wondering if anybody whom fishes in texas has had and run-ins with gators. While I am presently in NY and stuck here my long time goal is moving to n/e texas.[/quote]
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[cool][#0000ff]Whenever any of us is thinking about taking on a new investment or a new hobby (or both)...like float tubing...we like to play the WHAT IF games. And, since most folks are not fond of reptiles...like snakes and gators...those are BIG what ifs. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have tubed all over the US...including Texas and Louisiana. Plus Florida. Have I seen snakes and gators? Yes. But none of them have ever indicated even the slightest interest in me and I did not try to provoke "playtime". Are they potentially dangerous. Definitely. Are there a lot of problems with tubers being attacked by them? I have never heard of ANY tuber/gator encounters. I have heard of some snakes coming closer than the tuber/tooner would have liked, but evasive actions (whacking or shooting) took care of it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And, how about big toothy critters? There are very few gator gars left in their natural habitat. They are endangered. Plus, they do not make a habit of munching on people...unless you have them hooked or shot with an arrow. Then they bite anything that gets in range. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ditto for pike and muskies. They are usually spooky and don't like to hang around suspicious things like boats, tubes and toons. But, if they should come in to look you over, they DO NOT deliberately attack you if they can see you. You do not look like something on their menu and they are hard enough to coax into hitting a lure or even natural bait. Howsomever, if you hook a pike or muskie they sometimes go wacko and do a lot of thrashing and rolling and snapping their jaws. Not good for tube or tuber if they make contact. But very rare since most tubers do not deliberately fish for them. Although a lot are hooked accidentally by anglers fishing for other species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As has been suggested, you can sustain plenty of damage (punctures) to you and your craft by other fish. Catfish are a prime example. But, even the lowly bluegill, crappies and perch are capable of putting some pinhole leaks in an air chamber if they fall off your hook and bounce off your tube. Just like buttered bread, spiny fish always fall with the wrong side down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have fished in saltwater with sharks, barracudas and other nasties. No problem. But, I would rather do that than drive 10 minutes in rush hour traffic on the freeway.[/#0000ff]
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Okay, but seriously, I think you don't hear of attacks from Gators, or etc on Tubers because, I am sure tubers just don't float the waters where these things are active.
I mean, sure there are sharks all over the ocean, but if there were a sighting of one in a bay that is normally used for tubing, I am betting no tubing till it is gone.[laugh]
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[quote flygoddess]Okay, but seriously, I think you don't hear of attacks from Gators, or etc on Tubers because, I am sure tubers just don't float the waters where these things are active.
I mean, sure there are sharks all over the ocean, but if there were a sighting of one in a bay that is normally used for tubing, I am betting no tubing till it is gone.[laugh][/quote]
[cool][#0000ff]I suppose I should qualify and clarify a bit. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]1. You are right. Very few other wackos out on the waters I tubed in the south...unless they were in boats with high sides. But, there are a growing number of both tubers and tooners in some of the potentially hazardous areas. The one thing I tried to pay attention to was the season and the water temps. In the colder waters of late fall, winter and early spring, reptiles are torpid and much less of a potential problem. But, as soon as I noticed them coming out to sun themselve, I put my tube away.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. Not all sharks are SHARKS. Only a very few species are proven to attack humans unprovoked...or even as a case of mistaken identity. I would NEVER knowingly tube in waters where there was a liklihood of encountering great white sharks, tiger sharks or bull sharks. After that, I am not worried. I have caught a lot of small sharks while tubing and have seen a few medium sized sharks, but have never seen big sharks nor had any act like they wanted to invite me to lunch. I do not go out of my way to flaunt danger, but I do not worry about things that do not need to be worried about either.[/#0000ff]
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That's what I am talking about[  ]
But then you are going TIGER hunting tomorrow from a tube!
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[cool][#0000ff]Yeah. I'm bad. If ya don't believe me, just ask me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In my younger and wilder days I was proud of the reputation I had as a reckless thrill-seeker. I thought it was cool when others accused me of "going bear-hunting with just a switch...and leaving the switch in my pocket".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In my later and mellower years my ongoing litany is to use common sense and don't take unnecessary risks. If you don't care about your own survival, at least think of your family and those you leave behind. Help them to be able to find your body, even if it is messed up by your own foolishness and risk-taking.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Look out tigers, here I come.[/#0000ff]
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