another rookie

[bigbass78]

Hello, im a rookie just starting the float tube craze and have a couple of questions. I went to canyon lake in arizona to try my float tube, a TU Togiak. did not go fishing but just took it to get a feeling.After i was done, i started deflating the tube, water came out of the other side of the pump. Does that mean i have a leak inside the bladder. And how the heck do u turn the tube left or right with your fins, my god i was doing the twist dance trying to turn and couldnt. thanks
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Welcome aboard. I used to fish Canyon a bit too, when I lived in Chandler. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not sure about the water coming out of the pump. Sounds like you might have gotten water inside the pump. Not likely you had water inside the air bladder. Did you take the pump out in the tube with you? Those pumps are not waterproof and neither are the back cargo areas of float tubes. Take the top cap off your pump and empty the water out.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It is almost impossible for water to get inside the bladder under normal filling and operation. There will usually be enough pressure to keep water out. And, unless you ride with your craft partially deflated there should not even be much water between the bladder and the cover.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Learning to maneuver your craft is always something you need to learn by doing. Just think of it as a canoe. If you only paddle on one side, you will turn in circles. Make a slow down-kick on one side but a strong upkick and you will turn. A slight bit of body twisting might help, but you should not get a kink in your spine from float tubing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I usually advise newbie tubers to leave their tackle on shore for a while on their first trip and to just practice turns and powering straight back until they have a hang of the rhythm and the turning.[/#0000ff]
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[bigbass78]

Thank you TubeDude for your advice. will practice some more once the weather calms down. To answer your question about the pump, yes i just remembered that i did take the pump with me in the back. I haven't tried Saguaro yet but for bass have you had alot of luck and what part did you launch at. Thanks again
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I fished Saguaro a lot. Probably more than Canyon. I always launched at Butcher Jones. A bit of a hike to launch the tube but not as many boaters in and out as at the main launch area.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, the fishing was usually pretty decent...at least from April through June and September through the first of November. Great yellow bass and catfish in the spring and summer. Good largemouth most of the year...except for now. They go DEEEEEEP. Best place to find them now is about 50 feet deep toward the far side of the channel, on the inside of the buoy line. Takes a good sonar and knowing how to vertical jig with spoons or plastics. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Spring and summer you can catch largies and smallies all around the shoreline on a wide variety of plastics, cranks and spinnerbaits. Drop shotting works good too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you want a prehistoric experience, be down there during the week sometime in November when the hatchery truck stocks some of the rainbows. As soon as those tasty tidbits start swimming the dinner bell goes off for the big largemouths in the lake and it is like a wide open tuna boil for fifteen minutes...until most of the trout are eaten or find cover in the weed beds. A big trout colored swim bait can hook you into bass over 10 pounds. There have been several over 15 pounds caught from Saguaro. (not by me)[/#0000ff]
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[ydoc]

[quote TubeDude][#0000ff] ... A big trout colored swim bait can hook you into bass over 10 pounds. There have been several over 15 pounds caught from Saguaro. (not by me)[/#0000ff]. [/quote]

Holy smokes!!! With numbers like that, I could almost justify a trip to there... all the way from Omaha, NE!!! []
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Here are 3 pics of some Arizona bass, including a 9 pounder I caught from my tube. The others are by other fishing buddies...a 15 pounder and a 17.5 pound hog.[/#0000ff]
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[inline "9 POUNDER.JPG"]
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[inline "PHAT 15.JPG"]
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[inline "17.5 LB. LARGIE.jpg"]
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[ydoc]

[font "Arial"][#000000][size 6]OMG!!!

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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]What's even worse is that you can walk around down there in shorts and t shirts this time of year, without getting blue knee caps.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, that fishing for the big bass usually starts about February, when the big mamas move in to shore to nest. It scares you when you look down into the clear waters of some of the lakes and see those submarines looking back up at you.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]What really sets off the dedicated bassers though is all the BIG bass caught by folks who have no idea what they are doing. Every year some kid with a Barbie pole, fishing for crappies with a little jig, ends up catching a 12 to 15 pound bass. And that is while the guy with the $50,000 megatricked bass boat, $1000 rod/reel combo and $50 lures is flogging the shoreline nearby and tossing back dinks all day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Sometimes life is not fair...except for the little girl with the Barbie rod.[/#0000ff]
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