Castaic extreme tubing

[tubeN2]

[size 2]Hey tubers, I went for the ride of my life to day at Castaic Lagoon. The wind was blowing 20-25 miles an hour with gusts at close to 40mph. Air temp was 35deg and water temp was 48. TubeNtoo and I were.....tubing. Better said, surfing.

There were 1 foot waves and chops coming off the water and peltering us from behind as we kicked out way out to about 40ft depth of water.

It took all of 30 minutes to reach a bouy to rest on after all that kicking and only two minutes to reach the shore after we let go.

Didn't get to fish from the tubes but we did get a good work out. I did get a new idea after watching a windsurfer out there moving so effortlessly. hmmmmmmm. How about wind tubing???[/size]
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[JapanRon]

Hey tubeN2 and Tubetoo,

I won't say a word to your wifey, if a case of Jack is sent to me within 3 days, on this one! You know that's a joke! I don't want to see the PM from TubeDude to you guys on this incident as I would tell you something of the importance of progeni.... progini.... you understand! Still in half-humor.

Bad, bad boys, just like me but only I had no one to fess up to!

Ir musta been a tricky quirk in the weather that did that to YOU GUYS! Your honesty helps others, Your superior judgement is not doubted!

Where did the part I edited come from??? Sheeh!

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool][size 1]I guess you can blame heredity. Didn't get much brains in your genes...or something like that. I been knowed to "test the elements" a time or two myself. I always managed to survive, but through no fault of my own.[/size]

[size 1]I have long maintained that I can deal with almost anything...BUT WIND. Along with extreme current, wind is a bad thing for us poor flotation fishing fanatics. It totally removes the simple, hands-free, tranquil concept of our type of fishing. Instead of focusing on fishing, you are fighting wind and waves, and exerting yourself far more than is allowable under the "rules of enjoys".[/size]

[size 1]In my book manuscript, I have a whole chapter on dealing with problems while afloat. WIND gets a lot of verbiage. First, I recommend that you NEVER launch when the wind is blowing, or forecast to blow. Not worth it. Save the trip for another day when the wind ain't a factor.[/size]

[size 1]Second, if the wind comes up without forecast or warning...as it can and does do...you need to quickly and accurately assess the situation. If it is manageable, you can keep fishing or kick back through the waves to shore...or (if you are lucky) use the wind to push you where you want to go.[/size]

[size 1]On some occasions (Murphy's Law), the wind comes up when you are a long ways from your vehicle and blows against you if you want to go back. If the wind and waves are too strong, and you cannot make headway, then you need to either make a lateral move to shore and wait it out...or ride the wind until you can find a spot to beach.[/size]

[size 1]There are a lot of "horror stories" in the float tubing fraternity about tubers that got caught in sudden squalls and were blown clear across to the opposite shores of a lake. Been there, done that. Besides having to get safely on shore in sloppy water, you have to be able to wait out the blow...and then either hike, hitch a ride or kick all the way back.[/size]

[size 1]I'm guessing that the TubeN duo was merely testing their equipment and their stamina in new conditions. I would like to think that if they did not believe they could abort the mission and return safely to shore whenever they wanted, they would not have kicked out to the buoys.[/size]

[size 1]But, then again, there are no rocket scientists in our family tree. But, there are a few members that swing from limb to limb and like bananas.[/size]
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[tubeN2]

Hey guys, thanks for your concern of the safety aspects. We were out to have fun and if for any moment I was to feel in jeopardy of my safety or my sons none of this would have happened.

Keep in mind that this full half hour of kicking was right in front of the lifeguards, life jackets were in place for both of us and the bouy was directly 20yds from the shore that we launched from. This was just a simple excercise on what to do in a windy situation.

As TD said, sometimes the wind can kick up when we least expect it and takes us to places that we don't expect.

After the excercise, I changed to a different style of fins and showed little tubie how I could kick the same distance in the same conditions in only 5 minutes without risk of life or limb or tackle.
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[tubeN2]

Hey guys! One more thing to put your mind at ease about Castaic and the slight breezes that flow through there. Here is an article about a Derby that took place earlier this year"............................

[center][font "Verdana"][#000080][size 3]FRIENDS OF CASTAIC LAKE - 2003 Float Tube Tournament[/size][/#000080][/font][/center] Dateline: Castaic Lagoon
Saturday, April 5th, 2003

For the first time in three years, the Castaic Lagoon float tube derby was held, with 33 of the the toughest tubers in Southern California on hand. The tubers had to battle tough post frontal conditions with [#ff0000]wind gusts as high as 54MPH[/#ff0000]. The derby was entitled the "Chuck Schoen Memorial Float Tube Derby" in memory of the avid fisherman and manager at Sport Chalet Valencia who passed away last year. The main sponsor of this event was Sport Chalet and the derby was run by members of the Friends of Castaic Lake in conjunction with L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation.

The derby got off to a late start as much of the tournament staff and tubers found themselves stuck on the Golden State Freeway tantalizingly close to the lake. Snow had shut down the freeway through the Grapevine so all four lanes were being taken off at Parker Road.

Once we got to the lake we decided to push the start of the event back to 7:30. The event ended at 12:30, by which time much of the field had been whipped to a froth by the wind-driven whitecaps on the lake. Still, some of the tubers did manage to find fish, and these were the top finishers:

1. Steve Caines (8.6lbs, including derby big fish of 4.6lbs.
2. William Kircshbaum (6.6lb and derby second big fish).
3. Chris Scott (4.3lb and derby third big fish).
4. Noah Cook (3.6lbs).
5. Daniel Voff (3.3lbs).

Also worth noting, Gabriel Magana tied Chris Scott for third big fish of the event.
The awards ceremony started with Joe Contaldi of Sport Chalet distributing goody bags to every angler so nobody went home empty handed. Then emcee Mike Stern awarded the top five finishers with some great prizes, including a $250 Gift Certificate from Sport Chalet for first place finisher Steve Caines! With his big fish prize money and other goodies, I believe Steve went home with about $500 worth of cash and prizes!

Other prizes given out to the top finishers included a Fenwick Spider cast fishing combo, a great flyfishing kit, another $50 Sport Chalet gift certificate, and lots of other prizes from Shimano and Abu Garcia. Plaques were also given out to the top five finishers and for the top three event big fish. Special rod and reel combos were presented to our youngest competitors, who were just 10 and 14 years old! A raffle was then held with plenty of other items given away including a bunch of great lures donated by Scott Nagel of Rapala and Lure Jenson. The day was capped off with a presentation of a memorial plaque that was given to Chuck's mother, Eleanor. It was a rather emotional moment as she told the the crowd how much she appreciated their attendance. All in all it was great day.

There are many people who need to be thanked. A huge thanks to Joe Contaldi of Sport Chalet and Scott Nagel of Lure Jenson for all of the merchandise they donated, totalling over $3000!

Thanks to the tournament staff, including Mike Stern, Mark O'Borsky, and Terry Kratzer of the FOCL and Castaic Bass Club. Thanks to the boaters who helped weigh fish, including Mike Munson and Karl Kratzer of Castaic Bass and FOCL, Dave Jarrel of FOCL and Southern Cal. Bassmasters, and Dayton Osmond of FOCL. Thanks to Park Superintendent Mika Yamamota for her help and the guided tour of the park that she gave to Eleanor. Thanks to Eleanor for coming out, I know it was tough. And a special thanks to Karl Kratzer, who was the one who put forth the plans to bring back this event after a three year absence. Thanks especially to the tubers who braved the conditions to catch those bass. See ya'll next year!

Terry Kratzer,
Castaic Bass Club and FOCL
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#ff0000][size 4]CRAZY GOLFERS![/size][/#ff0000]
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