Ok, So when I take my maiden voyage through native lands in my speedo, I sure hope some one has some hot coffee at the take out and a warm truck!! I think something will be very cold by the end of that trip

Ok For real now, I get it!! It isn't a good idea. SO like I said at teh begining. I was just curious if anyone does or has done this. Apparently not. If so they must not of heard that it could be hazardous to there health So I will leave the float tube at home. I will lookinto something diferent. I guess Iwill jsut use my canoe instead Thanks for all the replys.

Buck

you might be a redneck if:

The last thing you remember saying is:

"Hey watch this."

Here's a option for you Buck. I run into a oldtimer on one of the Skeena tribs about every fall who cut a waist sized hole in the bottom of his ten-foot inflatable raft. He wades and casts (he's a bug-fisherman) with the raft around his thighs as he works his way down a fishable run. At the bottom he mearly slides up and into the raft and rows downstream to the next hole with his lower legs penitrating the floor. It is very effiecient as he has elliminated the down time of walking back to get the boat after fishing a run. Probably safer than the float tube idea, too.

I asked him about the legality of the set-up in a river where fishing from a boat is prohibited. He said the game warden claimed as long as his feet were "on the bottom" of the river while he fished, he was within his legal right. Just FYI. It is pretty cool to watch.

Come on Buck, don't let the dream die! Although the canoe would keep your legs out of the water, until it was upside down.

I wanna watch Gutpile and Buck plan a little float down the local river..lets plan the trip..

sol_on_the_duc

Wouldn't the raft fill up with water??? Also, I recommend using the float tube, that way you can score a good spot at the handicapp fishing dock.

dizzy fisherman, the set-up I mentioned does have a certain "red-neck" quality to it. Yes, the diaphram (raft bottom) does partially submerge, but the old man is in chest waders so it doesn't really matter.

Buck,

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I'll add my recommendation against using your float tube, even U-boat style, in a steelhead or salmon river. In the 1970s, Jim Teeny and his father, both very accomplished anglers, were using their float tubes to cross the Sandy River in Oregon. Jim's father drowned. Of course, boaters in jet sleds, drift boats, white water rafts, canoes, and kayaks have had fatal accidents in rivers, too. Yet, there must be something to this, as float-tubing rivers would probably already be quite popular if people felt it was generally safe. I think the key limitation of the float tube in a river setting is the very limited control and manouverability relative to the speed of the current, varying depth, and abundance of unseen snags that can catch either you or your tube.

I use a jet boat, a canoe, and a small raft on rivers, and I try always to use them in environments where my ability to control my craft exceeds the control the river will exert on me. I don't use my float tube in rivers because I think the equation tilts toward the river exerted more control than I can.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Wear a good PFD, that way they can find your body.

I have seen it done - for a very short time and totally unsuccessfully - on Vance Creek, trib to the Skok. One of our stream surveying crew thought he could save a bit of time and cover more water if he didn't have to walk all the way, so he put in the float tube and had at it. He got to the first riffle, hit the bottom, flipped over, and got soaked. This on a day with snow on the ground. End of experiment. :p

Wear a full wetsuit with a inflatable PFD. Swim from hole to hole . Just stay away from class 5 and 6 water. Inflate the PFD and float backwards to boondog:-)

Hey Buck, are you still considering the float tube? I see Lovefishies thinks we should do a trip. I've got one of those recreational tubes that is towed behind a boat on a lake that should be fine. I also have a lifejacket. I'll bring the jacket , but I'll probably just use it as a cushion to sit on in the tube. I don't know about you, but I'm in excellent physical condition and I think wearing a life jacket would hamper my ability to swim if I did encounter a problem. I'm having trouble locating my fishing pole, but I'm sure I'll find it soon. Let me know.

The Gut

Well Gutpile, since you are in such great phyusical shape, I don't think you should worry about a pfd at all. But I think I will head to Toys R us and get me a set of those water wings, I think tose would keep me safe It sounds like we would be stugguling for our life the whole way. I'll tell you what you go first and then if you make it I guess I may try it. NOT
Buck

Buck, sounds like the float tube trip isn't going to amount to anything, so I've come up with plan B, if you are interested. Springer fishing. If the run materializes and the sporties get a reasonable shot at them, I'd be up for a trip to the Big C. I've got a boat with ALL the safety equipment, new Merc and set up with all the fishing equipment we would need. I sincerly believe this would be a survivable trip. You could give the wife a kiss good bye in the morning and come home and see her that night. Can't gaurantee that on the goofy float tube trip. Water Wings are welcome!

The Gut.