03-18-2007, 12:42 AM
Just got back from the lake (Hoover reservoir in Columbus, OH) and my first tubing experience. I'm an early morning fisherman. The temp was only 25 at 7:00 AM. So I waited until around 11ish. The temp...28 and flurries. Couldn't wait much longer to get my first launch underway though.
I hit the boat ramp at 11:30. I was its first customer of the year as evidenced by the debris still clogging the entry into the lake.
I was bundled in a cotton under layer, wool on top of that, various synthetics then snow overalls and neoprene socks for good measure. I was ready. Thank goodness. The water ranged from 34 to 38 degrees depending on how close to shore I was.
My maiden launch didn't go as planned. There were some gusts and an extreme case of inexperience. I was pushed about like a rubber duck in the ocean. Found myself in 50 ft of water in a hurry and still trying to get my turning down. The wind seemed to start howling. When I looked up to get my bearings I had been pushed about 300 yards downwind of my launch site and a good hundred yards out into the channel. I would have to fight that wind all the way back. Dang.
Finally got my turns down when I was nearing the end of my resolve to figure this tubing thing out. Good for me. Took me about 30 minutes of determined paddling to get back to where I started. I was exhausted. On the water for about 2 hours. But I had gained a lot of confidence in my ability to control things. Fishing was out of the question at this point. (Good tip TubeDude. I needed that experience without worrying about fish.)
Second launch around 2:45 on the leeward side of some islands at the north end of the lake. Much better. Like sitting in a bathtub, albeit a tad bit frigid. Watched my depth finder for where the fish were hanging out. Found them just sitting there at a drop off that went from 10 to 20 feet in a hurry. Hit them on their heads with jigs, plastics, shiny things, fished slow, fished really slow, fished faster... none wanted to play. We just had a son-of-a-gun of a cold front that hit us. Dropped 40 degrees in 24 hours or so. Hard fishing conditions. Got a familiar tug around 4:30ish. In my first fish of the year excitement, I ripped the grub right out of the fishes mouth before he had the hook. Darn. It felt heavy. I fished for another hour without any more consideration from the denizens of the depths. They weren't good hosts at all.
Oh well, all in all a good day. I learned to tube and enjoyed getting out. Got a couple pictures of my rig before I hit the water the first time. Then my camera went on the fritz. Just bought my girlfriend a camera for her birthday...I wonder if she'll let me take it on my next trip...hmmm. Oh yeah, I didn't feel the cold at all. Those ski overalls kept my butt from getting cold as some have reported on the site.
Hope to have a better report next time with some pictures of fish and me smiling. Have some pre-launch pictures. My rig is not as tricked out as the more experienced tubers. I'll get there someday. Again, thanks TubeDude. You mentioned the rod holders from Basspro. Picked one up. Works like a charm. You can see it in the pics.
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I hit the boat ramp at 11:30. I was its first customer of the year as evidenced by the debris still clogging the entry into the lake.
I was bundled in a cotton under layer, wool on top of that, various synthetics then snow overalls and neoprene socks for good measure. I was ready. Thank goodness. The water ranged from 34 to 38 degrees depending on how close to shore I was.
My maiden launch didn't go as planned. There were some gusts and an extreme case of inexperience. I was pushed about like a rubber duck in the ocean. Found myself in 50 ft of water in a hurry and still trying to get my turning down. The wind seemed to start howling. When I looked up to get my bearings I had been pushed about 300 yards downwind of my launch site and a good hundred yards out into the channel. I would have to fight that wind all the way back. Dang.
Finally got my turns down when I was nearing the end of my resolve to figure this tubing thing out. Good for me. Took me about 30 minutes of determined paddling to get back to where I started. I was exhausted. On the water for about 2 hours. But I had gained a lot of confidence in my ability to control things. Fishing was out of the question at this point. (Good tip TubeDude. I needed that experience without worrying about fish.)
Second launch around 2:45 on the leeward side of some islands at the north end of the lake. Much better. Like sitting in a bathtub, albeit a tad bit frigid. Watched my depth finder for where the fish were hanging out. Found them just sitting there at a drop off that went from 10 to 20 feet in a hurry. Hit them on their heads with jigs, plastics, shiny things, fished slow, fished really slow, fished faster... none wanted to play. We just had a son-of-a-gun of a cold front that hit us. Dropped 40 degrees in 24 hours or so. Hard fishing conditions. Got a familiar tug around 4:30ish. In my first fish of the year excitement, I ripped the grub right out of the fishes mouth before he had the hook. Darn. It felt heavy. I fished for another hour without any more consideration from the denizens of the depths. They weren't good hosts at all.
Oh well, all in all a good day. I learned to tube and enjoyed getting out. Got a couple pictures of my rig before I hit the water the first time. Then my camera went on the fritz. Just bought my girlfriend a camera for her birthday...I wonder if she'll let me take it on my next trip...hmmm. Oh yeah, I didn't feel the cold at all. Those ski overalls kept my butt from getting cold as some have reported on the site.
Hope to have a better report next time with some pictures of fish and me smiling. Have some pre-launch pictures. My rig is not as tricked out as the more experienced tubers. I'll get there someday. Again, thanks TubeDude. You mentioned the rod holders from Basspro. Picked one up. Works like a charm. You can see it in the pics.
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] It felt like a slight breeze on shore. Once I was pushed out into the channel, I found out otherwise. It wasn't white capping so in my ignorance I was thinking, hey this is safe. It was making heavy, rolling wave action in deeper water.
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