Fishing Forum

I was wondering if anyone here uses a tube or toon to fish primarily for bass.
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yeah, i fish for bass exclusively in my tube. It's probably the best way to fish a small body of water. Here are a few pics of some bass i caught earlier in the season:












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nice fish. my only concern is snakes when fishing farm ponds and small lakes.
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I hear ya. My biggest concern was snapping turtles, but not once was I ever bothered by one or snakes either. I have gotten fairly close to some snappers but they seem to stay away. One of the ponds I fish on a regular basis has snakes but i've never encountered one in my tube. The size of the tube would probably intimidate them a little, but I guess you never really can tell.
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Yes I do and no I don't have to worry about them nasty critters in my neck of the woods (so cal) [cool]
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[quote ATFISHING]Yes I do and no I don't have to worry about them nasty critters in my neck of the woods (so cal) [/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]There might not be many snapping turtles, water moccasins or 'gators in So. Cal, but there ARE plenty of other "nasty critters"...of the human kind.[/#0000ff]
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Most of those nasty critters are jet skiers and ski boaters. They really should look forward sometimes. I had to knock off the water snakes up at Topaz lake this spring. They don't bite too much but it kept creeping me out when they would slither around from the back of my tube. I think they just wanted to lay out like all the girls I was fishing in front of. Lousy fishing spot, but I stayed there all day...
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Is there any way to keep them off? It might get me to stop tubing. It goes beyond a fear to an intense hatred. I don't want to poke a hole in my tube as I try to stab one.

Jason
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[cool][#0000ff]There are many species of snakes that take to the water. Some of them have good vision and move toward potential spots to get out and warm up and catch some sun...like float tubes. They don't come toward you to attack you, but for someone who does not "appreciate" snakekind it can give you the "yips". My wife (TubeBabe) is one of those that don't care what kind of snake it is. "A SNAKE IS A SNAKE". On one occasion, in Arizona, a harmless little racer came across the water directly toward her and she beat the water into a froth with her landing net trying to convince the snake that she was not a friendly landing spot. And, when an errant rattler took a swim across her favorite cove, she almost got up on her fins and ran across the water to get the heck out of there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You don't have to kill the snakes, but you should be prepared to do so when in mocassin country. Carry a .22 with snake loads (shot), but also carry a short staff to either whack the snake first or at least flip it away. They will seldom bite unless provoked and they ARE defensive. If you convince them they are in danger by coming toward you they WILL swim away.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In reality, in all the research I have done, I have found no verifiable reports of float tubers ever being bitten by poisonous snakes. On the other hand, there are more than a few boaters who have been bitten by moccassins and rattlers...usually after the snake has dropped into the boat from above or has crawled in overnight and not discovered until somebody disturbed it.[/#0000ff]
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I don't know of many poisionous snakes around here except for copperheads. I don't think we have water moccasins, if so, I haven't heard of them. I always have my 7" Ka-bar in case I have to get up close and personal with something. I really hope I never see one though.

Jason
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I am with tube babe on this one.. if I were to ever get in a situation where one of those critters decided to come "visit" me Id be doing everything I could to make sure it knows it is not welcome as well as get myself out of there..

MacFly [cool]
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One lake that I tube has one snake that comes to me a few times as I was in his area. Doesn't bother me but he does get pretty close to check me out. All I did was tap the water in front of him with my rod and he takes off straight down the lake. Water is so clear I can see him swimming down.... Doesn't come back after that but does check me out again if I tube around there on the next outing. I told my son that snake is gonna check u out if you go in that corner of the lake and yep it did.
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A couple years ago, I came across a dead rattlesnake while tubing in the middle of a large reservoir. It appeared to have been "dispatched" by someone on the shore and tossed out into the lake. I have always wondered if I could have wacky rigged it and caught a state record that day. I did have an unexpected hitchhiker on a trip this year though. (Last Pic)

As for the original question, you need a $25000 bass boat and a ton of gear to have any possible chance of catching decent bass. Can't be done in a tube![][][][][][]


(Sorry, I an out of commission for fishing for a month or so and was going through some of the summers pictures tonight, enjoying the memories.)
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those are some nice looking fish ya got there..

just as a curiosity, what body of water were you on when you found that floating snake.. ??

MacFly [cool]
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I'm sorry this isn't tubing related, but it is snake and fishing related. A few years ago I was wading a small stream here in Utah, nymphing and occasionally switching to dries with my fly rod. I was having a bit of success by fishing promising holes, then trekking on up the waterway.

At one point while standing in a knee-deep pool near the bank, I heard a rustling noise in the brush about a foot from my leg and looked down to see a very large rattlesnake coiled. He wasn't rattling, just obviously annoyed and wondering what my next move might be.

I honestly can't remember being even the slightest bit anxious. I somehow knew that if I would leave him alone, he would simply retreat if I didn't provoke him. So I just stood there, admiring the patterns on his skin, not moving a muscle so as not to agitate him.

After a time, the snake moved off. As I watched it slither through the underbrush, I admired how large it was. I've been close to a handful of rattlesnakes in my life, and I've always let them peacefully go about their way, but this one's size was impressive, and I've always wanted to sample rattlesnake meat, as I had heard it is tasty.

I believe rattlesnakes and other large snakes provide a service to us by controlling rodent populations, and I am not one to kill an animal of any kind just to watch it die. This one was packing just too much flesh on its bones to let get away, however. I watched it for awhile until it had moved to a place under some brush where I could remove it quickly with a long stick and then dispatch it. I did so. A swift strike to the head with the stick did the job.

I threw it in the back of the truck, in the shade, and kept fishing. Once I got home, my two oldest sons thought I was pretty darn cool that I was about to eat a rattlesnake. They went and told several neighbor kids, and before long I had a small crowd at my home. After letting the kiddies admire the large snake from a distance, I cut off its head and stowed it away in the garbage where my kids or others couldn't come into contact with the fangs. I then skinned the long body, placed the skin flat between two long lengths of cardboard and taped the edges for it to dry flat, removed the entrails from the snake, then went to the sink and finished cleaning it.

I then sauteed long lengths of the rattler in a frying pan with a little olive oil and seasonings, and let me say, it was mighty delicious. Regrettably, my wife wouldn't even come into the kitchen with me while I cooked and ate, and further she would not allow my kids to even try it. My sons love to try exotic foods, and I still believe they regret slightly not being allowed to sample the snake.

I found the meat to be rather stringy but moist and tender. If any of you have ever eaten a wild turkey, I found the taste to be almost exactly the same. I still have the rattlesnake skin. It cured nicely. I let my kids play with the big rattle off the tail some time ago, and it was lost.

Hope this story didn't repulse any of you. I will say that probably 9 out of the next 10 rattlers I see will be left alive and unbothered, but if any of them are big and meaty, then they'll be invited home for supper as well....
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cool story.. and no I dont find it repulsive.. I have always heard the "joking line" that snake tastes just like chicken.. but now I know it is more toward wild turkey.. and since I have had that I now have a better sense of what a snake would taste like..

..I will also say that I have had very limited contact with any types of snakes other than in a zoo.. and I like it that way.. I am not sure I could of stood there as you did and wait for it to move away and then decide to go "get" it.. :-)... if that had been me once I saw where it went.. I would of gone the other way.. [:p]

MacFly [cool]
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I just started tubing recently and waded up my first stream last weekend. I have had a good time doing both. But I think I might quit after reading these threads. I don't think I could deal with these things.

Jason
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Re; what body of water were you on when you found that floating snake.. ??


It was at Jordanelle in Utah

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[#800000]the reason I asked is that a few years back I was on a local lake. minding my own business when a guy walking behind and past me yipped .. when I turned around he was jumping back and saying there was a snake.. turned out to be a young rattler that he had not seen and it had struck out at him.. it was probably a foot or so long.. it had been heading to the water to get a drink and would of gone right past me... he killed it and left it behind.. I picked it up and tossed it into the water figuring the fishies would have something to munch on for a while.. so when you said you found one in the water I thought it would be very ironic if it had been the one you found.. [/#800000]
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[#800000]MacFly [cool][/#800000]
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[ul][li]3 times this season I have had snapping turtles try to mount my fins. I think that their little misguided brains mistook my black fin for the turtle equivalent of a "foxy lady". Anyway the first 2 times were kind of humourous as the tutles were saucer sized. [/li][li]Third time up I get a sewer sized snapper comin' for me. So I kicked into overdrive to lose him but he doesn't give up so I hauled back and kicked him in the "chops" with the same black fin that was turning him on. Well with that, thank goodness he was "turned off" and he slowly disappeared into the depths to look for a more compliant customer.[/li][/ul]
God Bless,
Don
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