Floating Tubing in January

[road]

Well FB2 and I went to Jordanelle this morning and did a little float tubing around the boat ramp. There was some thin ice on that part of the lake but still plenty of open water. There were a few boats out fishing and one carzy out wakeboarding!!

The plan was to get there at sun up but FB2 couldn't drag his young behind out of bed until 8:30. The old guy was up drinking coffee at 6. We hit the water around 9:30 and fished in about 25 feet of water. I marked one fish on the sonar by the boat ramp. The sun was shinning there was no wind and it was a perfect January day for fishing. Well after one pass down the shore line FB2 said he feet were getting cold and starting to hurt so I sent him to shore to warm up. I continued to fish only I moved to deeper water. The water temp was 37 degrees and I was now in 45 to 50 foot of water and the ice was getting thicker. I was using a white foxee with garlic sent and tipped with a nightcrawler as the wax aorm did nothing. Now I get stopped by the ice. It's about a quater of an inch think and I cannot move the sheet. So I decide to rock the tube up and down and break through the ice. This works great and has one other advantage! I start catching fish! The jigging action of the tube attracts my first bow in a long time. Nothing big mind you about 14 inches but it still was fun. Now I have been concentrating on breaking through the ice and wondering what I will do if I poke a hole in the tube. I hadn't even looked at the sonar until after I had caught that lil bow. I look down and there at 43, 42, 44, and 41 feet are a group of fish mixed in with the structure. Thanks BLM, Tube Dude, and all the rest of you guys for the jigging tips. For the next 15 mintues or so I caught fish after fish for a total of 6. All between 12 and 14 inches and all on the white foxee. It was a blast!!! Well I wanted to float back to the hole again but now my feet were starting to hurt from being so cold so I paddled in to shore for a break. On the way in I handed FB2 a white foxee and the garlic sent and told him where and how I was picking them up. He headed for the ice pack like a seal. It wasn't long before I saw him hook-up. His first catch from a tube, and his only fish for the day I'm sorry to say. But we had a great time, the weather couldn't have been better, and we had no problems at all.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool] What's the difference between dedication and dementia? Not much when you are a float tuber. I gotta admit I have dunked my donut in a lot of water that saner folks would never attempt. People don't believe me when I say "My mama drowned all the dumb ones". But, you can't beat fun. Glad FB2 got the skunk out of his tube. Hope he doesn't teach that tube any bad habits. I spent a lot of time training it, and abused a lot of fish from it.

My best "stupid float tuber tricks" story was on American Fork Boat Harbor, on an early December day some years ago. I had been knocking the heck out of big white bass...all by my lonesome...for several days. I was the only nut fishing it. The water was still open and the whites were stacked up in there. Perfect float tubing.

One Friday afternoon, I took off early and conned a buddy into going with me. He took his waders, but balked at the tube. Oh yeah, there was a snowstorm in progress. He almost backed out all together. The snow got heavier and heavier as we drove from Salt Lake to Utah Lake. When we got to the harbor, it was covered with slush. The water was cold enough to float the snow without melting it.

While I was getting tooled up with my tube, my buddy cast a jig out and we laughed as it sat on top of the slush. I launched my tube and powered a path out into the slush for my buddy to cast into. He began hooking white bass as I moved out farther and opened up a large circle so I could jig vertically. We both caught an agreeable number of stupid fish, but then it got colder, windier and snowier. The open path slushed in and I had a heck of a time plowing my way back to shore. Almost spent the winter there.

One week later we were back drilling holes in 6" of ice.

You guys be careful, but enjoy the open water while it lasts. And, when you have to get out and do the float tuber stomp...to restore feeling to the toes...dance a couple of choruses in my memory. Been there, done that.
[signature]

[road]

Hey Tube I have a question for you. The Bucks Bags when seated in it leans way back. By way back it's almost like the front edge of the tube is out of the water. But not quite out if you can picture that. I adjusted the seat webbing and tried to move it forward, but that hasn't seemed to help. Did you have the same problem with a Bucks Bags? If so how did you correct it? I will try and re-adjust the seat webbing again, but I do need some place to put my legs LOL.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool] As I recall, you have some "extra ballast" around the middle, like I do. That's why we both need the bigger craft. But that's not the reason for your overbalancing situation. I don't remember it being that much of a problem. The only suggestion I can make is to be sure the cover is tight after airing it up. It is cut a little bit fuller in the back, to create more flotation. If you launch in cold water, the air contracts a bit and you lose some of that added volume in the back. I always carried a small bicycle tire pump out with me to "top off the tank" when cold water shrunk my tube (and other parts of my anatomy).

Another tip, for more comforable seating, is to find a good piece of 4" high density foam, and cut it to fit around the back and sides...with cutout for your legs in front. It's a pain to lug around but it makes you sit a bit higher and helps prevent "crotch cramps" from the strap. Be sure to squeeze all the water out at the end of the trip, and store it on end in the garage to let it drain and dry between trips.

That's definitely an argument for some of the Uboat and mini pontoon craft. They not only sit you higher, but have a lot more even flotation. Once you decide you are thoroughly addicted to flotation fishing, we can help you graduate to the next level. By then you will be experienced enough to appreciate the subtle differences and to be able to decide which options are worth the money, and which are designed to catch fishermen.

In the meantime, concentrate on sitting upright and don't rear back too hard setting the hook on that 15 pounder from Strawberry.
[signature]