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Hey there,
Using Google.com, input 'so cal fishing hot page' and you'll find the home page. Click the oval (salt) icon, scroll down that page and near the bottom, in one section you'll find, located at the top of that list something like 'Weather and Currents'. This is an interactive tide chart. Day, week or, month tide charts can be generated copied and pasted into a new, temporary Word document then printed! You don't even have to save the Word document, simply don't save. You can make it smaller by changing the font size too. This is what I do every week. Check it out!
Regards
tsurikichi
a.k.a. JapanRon
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01-07-2003, 07:53 AM
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yep no doubt that you have run up upon the greatest bunch of anglers on the net when you drifted in to this port.
that is how I feal about this port any way. Its not just the run of the mill port in a storm eather. there is a lot of solid down to earth anglers here who won't stear you on to the wrong tide eather.
with solid the advice provided by the expert to the beginner just posting a report here at Big Fish, you need not fear to ancor your self here do to fear of not knowing what you are doing. every one is welcome, they even let a clown join, and you cant be a bigger fishing fool that that.
I have never set foot in a tube, but am looking forward to the opertunity. I also am looking for any tips that you may have to offer as well.
what have you found in your endevors to getring started in tubing that you would concider doing over again differently if you had the chance?
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Hey davetclown,
I can Always be assured you've got something good to say. Here's some hindsight that I wish I had experienced and of which I don't really like reminding myself of to this day.
#1 I would buy a float tube that I could use in both the Big Salty and freshwater. Why: I wouldn't feel that safe going to Grisson Island if annnnny foul weather was ahead in my present.
#2 I would get the biggest or should I say the highest weight capacity floattube that I could afford. Why: The longer you tube, the more sophisticated you become, and the more stuff becomes (you think) neccessary!
#3 Don't be blinded and pay anything for the first tube you buy. Why: It's easy to not shop if you've decided to do something completely new, like float tubing. Also, there are some outrageous discount prices if you shop!
#4 Don't expect your float tube to have a big resale value.
Why: I paid big bucks for my tube but what's being sold for 1/2 that price new today is better than mine.
Regards,
JapanRon
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01-07-2003, 10:35 AM
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it is funny you should say that about buying something only to find it cheeper and of better quality latter on. that is good sound advice.
I did just that same thing nearly 20 years ago with a CD player radio some years back. I paid 450.oo for it and today I can pick one up for 50.oo all day long. on the one I bought the radio comes in and out on un predictable timming.
my major concerns are for safty since I swim like a rock with an ancor tied to me. so I am not afraid of paying a little for more sucruity in regards to safety.
I kind of antisapated that there was no resale value on such an item as a personal watter craft, especialy after all those soup beans I eat.
my aim is to justify my perches to the abolity of getting on to waters that I am not usualy able to venture on because of the lack of a craft of some type. I have faith on my skill to pull up dinner, all I need is the assurance that I can get back to shore with my dinner.
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01-07-2003, 11:47 AM
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Hey, JR and Clownman, I live by a lot of old expressions. Two that come into play here are 1. Hindsight is always 20-20 and 2. If you wait 'til all the lights are on green, you ain't never goin' to leave the house.
I agree with your looking back comments. Man, if I had known 40 years ago what I know now....in a lot of areas...well, I would probably still make most of the same bonehead mistakes. But, with the float tube thing, my education was a combination of trying what was available and a lot of trial and error experimentation. Heck, that's the fun part, even if it does get expensive when you put a price tag on it.
Up until about the early 90's, there were no good float tubes that featured the 22" tube size, rather than the standard 20". But, I bought two of the first models out...one from Bucks Bags and the other from Browning. I'm 6' 3" and two hundred and plenty pounds, so I appreciated every extra bit of space and flotation. In spite of an assortment of kick boats and pontoons over the years, I have kept those super donuts for launching through the surf, because they handle it better than the modern marvels...especially on the return through slop.
You're also on target when you stress quality. Look for sturdy zippers, lots of good D-rings and heavy denier nylon covers. I can't believe some of the cheap stuff they have dumped on the market over the years. Like many things available through our local tackletoriums, they are better at catching gullible fishermen than catching fish.
But, without a crystal ball, it is hard to anticipate that the new model craft you just bought will be outclassed by one that comes out a month after you have spent your "allowance". Spouses just have no understanding or appreciation of what the word NEED means to float tube fishermen. "What do you mean, you NEED a new float tube? That one still floats doesn't it?" They don't apply the same logic as they do to a new pair of shoes for the new dress they just bought...when they have one in the closet that still fits.
It is wise to look around and to compare quality, features AND price. Once you have completed your "due diligence", and you have settled on the make and model craft you will be trusting your life and fishing career to for the next two or more years, then you can start the price shopping. If you are not rushed, you can find some deals in the paper, and especially on Ebay. I know a guy who just scored big time on an almost unused pontoon craft. You usually won't have a lot of competitive bidders. Not many computer savvy flotation nuts.
And, unlike buying a car or a home, don't buy your craft just for its resale value. Use it up and hope for the best. Even better, donate it to a kid who couldn't afford it otherwise. Over the years I have downloaded a whole buncha donuts on kids that reminded me of my own youth...sincere fishermen but too broke to even dream of owning a float tube. The appreciation from them was worth far more than any money I would have received from selling it. Anyway, I would have probably just have spent it on more foolishness for fishing.
The really good news is that our sport is benefitting from the technology developed in other fields. All of the materials and components of a modern flotation system owe their existence to research and discoveries in totally unrelated fields. That's okay by me. I'm properly grateful. But, as JR pointed out, it can mean seeing better craft being sold for less than what you paid for a lesser model, as technology advances. But heck, I still remember paying two hundred dollars for a bulky hand held calculator in the 70's that couldn't do a tenth of what that little wafer thin thing I carry now can do...and the new one was less than $20. Hail progress.
Great question, Dave...and a good contribution by JR too. Gee, ain't this fun? But, I'd druther be dredgin' from my donut.
] I would like to say that since I post the tubing in long beach question I could not have geussed the inflow of information that everyone is willing to share. Thank you. I can only hope to have info to help with anything I can in the future. 