10-22-2009, 08:11 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Whenever any of us is thinking about taking on a new investment or a new hobby (or both)...like float tubing...we like to play the WHAT IF games. And, since most folks are not fond of reptiles...like snakes and gators...those are BIG what ifs. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have tubed all over the US...including Texas and Louisiana. Plus Florida. Have I seen snakes and gators? Yes. But none of them have ever indicated even the slightest interest in me and I did not try to provoke "playtime". Are they potentially dangerous. Definitely. Are there a lot of problems with tubers being attacked by them? I have never heard of ANY tuber/gator encounters. I have heard of some snakes coming closer than the tuber/tooner would have liked, but evasive actions (whacking or shooting) took care of it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And, how about big toothy critters? There are very few gator gars left in their natural habitat. They are endangered. Plus, they do not make a habit of munching on people...unless you have them hooked or shot with an arrow. Then they bite anything that gets in range. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ditto for pike and muskies. They are usually spooky and don't like to hang around suspicious things like boats, tubes and toons. But, if they should come in to look you over, they DO NOT deliberately attack you if they can see you. You do not look like something on their menu and they are hard enough to coax into hitting a lure or even natural bait. Howsomever, if you hook a pike or muskie they sometimes go wacko and do a lot of thrashing and rolling and snapping their jaws. Not good for tube or tuber if they make contact. But very rare since most tubers do not deliberately fish for them. Although a lot are hooked accidentally by anglers fishing for other species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As has been suggested, you can sustain plenty of damage (punctures) to you and your craft by other fish. Catfish are a prime example. But, even the lowly bluegill, crappies and perch are capable of putting some pinhole leaks in an air chamber if they fall off your hook and bounce off your tube. Just like buttered bread, spiny fish always fall with the wrong side down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have fished in saltwater with sharks, barracudas and other nasties. No problem. But, I would rather do that than drive 10 minutes in rush hour traffic on the freeway.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have tubed all over the US...including Texas and Louisiana. Plus Florida. Have I seen snakes and gators? Yes. But none of them have ever indicated even the slightest interest in me and I did not try to provoke "playtime". Are they potentially dangerous. Definitely. Are there a lot of problems with tubers being attacked by them? I have never heard of ANY tuber/gator encounters. I have heard of some snakes coming closer than the tuber/tooner would have liked, but evasive actions (whacking or shooting) took care of it.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And, how about big toothy critters? There are very few gator gars left in their natural habitat. They are endangered. Plus, they do not make a habit of munching on people...unless you have them hooked or shot with an arrow. Then they bite anything that gets in range. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ditto for pike and muskies. They are usually spooky and don't like to hang around suspicious things like boats, tubes and toons. But, if they should come in to look you over, they DO NOT deliberately attack you if they can see you. You do not look like something on their menu and they are hard enough to coax into hitting a lure or even natural bait. Howsomever, if you hook a pike or muskie they sometimes go wacko and do a lot of thrashing and rolling and snapping their jaws. Not good for tube or tuber if they make contact. But very rare since most tubers do not deliberately fish for them. Although a lot are hooked accidentally by anglers fishing for other species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As has been suggested, you can sustain plenty of damage (punctures) to you and your craft by other fish. Catfish are a prime example. But, even the lowly bluegill, crappies and perch are capable of putting some pinhole leaks in an air chamber if they fall off your hook and bounce off your tube. Just like buttered bread, spiny fish always fall with the wrong side down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have fished in saltwater with sharks, barracudas and other nasties. No problem. But, I would rather do that than drive 10 minutes in rush hour traffic on the freeway.[/#0000ff]
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