Fishmaster Tube wanted......

[go_cats_go]

Does anyone have the old round fishmaster tube? Would you be willing to sell it? I will pay for it & also shipping, please let me know since these tubes cannot be purchased anymore.

Thanks!
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[SHigSpeed]

Did you propose to your wife in one and lose it and have some sentimental sense of loss?

I can't imagine you're buying it for the performance...

Sorry, don't have one, but I'm curious.

I DO have a Buck's Bags Hi & Dri, but you can still get those...

_SHig
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[go_cats_go]

I have a Buck's Bags Hi & Dri and they do not allow me the flexibility as the fishmaster. I have been fishing catfish tournaments here in Texas for years and take my boat to where the thick grass & timber is and then get in the tube and nothing compares to the fishmaster & now they are impossible to find.
They allow me to carry more than one in the boat , they handle abuse and very versatile and set the right hieght to allow me to fish the way i do.

Go look on Ebay and you will be amazed at the prize the old styles bring (most of the time more than the new high-end styles sell for) A lot of people prefer the old style so I am sure someone will start making them again. Just wish I knew what happened to the Fishmaster company or the brand "Tournament Choice", which also sold the old style.
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[macfly55]

..have you done a google search for this tube.. you may find information on where to at least look for them.. you may also want to try ebay and see if anyone has one for sale there..

good luck and hope you find an extra tube or two out there ..

MacFly [cool]
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[IrishFloatTube]

I have a Fishmaster 20", new - or more correctly at this stage - unused , in the garage.
Yellow and tan colour scheme, and still in the poly-bag with their little brochure. I threw away the green paddle pushers in a clear out, on account of fins work so much better.
Got it as a spare tube way back, in case mine or my brother's Fishmaster wore out, got damaged or whatever. But we found that Fishmasters don't wear out!
Then we got Insul Dri tubes after so it never got used and it's still here.

They are made of an incredibly tough material, like PVC impregnated canvas.

Drop me a PM if you are still looking for one.
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[SHigSpeed]

Anyone have any good photos of these? I'm really curious to take a good look at one...

_SHig
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I was one of the early pioneers in float tubing, and made most of my own tube covers until the 70's. That's when I bought two or three of the "new" Fishmasters. TubeBabe and I used them for several years, finally moving on to newer and better tubes. However, one of our original ones was "downloaded" to TubeN2...who still has it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here are some pics from the archives.[/#0000ff]
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Two limits of bluegills taken from my original Fish Master tube. Pelican Lake, Utah. Notice the old Voit patriotic fins too.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9454;"][/url]
A night's catch on a "Gorilla Flotilla" at Willard Bay. Actually 4 people contributed to the catch. This is my Fish Master and the 15 pounder was mine too.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9455;"][/url]
An 8# channel cat and some crappies taken from the South Marina area of Willard Bay, from my first Fish Master, in August of 1978.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9456;"][/url]
TubeBabe fishing for perch in Deer Creek in the late 70's, when there used to be some perch.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9457;"][/url]
TubeBabe getting her Fish Master ready for a fly flingin' trip on Strawberry in the late 70's.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9458;"][/url]
TubeBabe wrestlin' a hefty channel cat from her Fish Master on Willard Bay.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9459;"][/url]
TubeDude and Fish Master on Willard Bay in the late 70's. Walleye and "bugle mouth bass" (carp)

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9460;"][/url]
Former friend and business associate who had only one partially formed arm. Note the custom rod and reel I built for him, so that he could fish cats from one of my Fish Masters at Willard.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9461;"][/url]
He managed to take his full limit of channel cats on his first float tubing trip. It wasn't his last.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9462;"][/url]
Another tubing newbie, broken in on a Fish Master on Willard Bay kitties.
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[IrishFloatTube]

Early 1980's piking in Ireland ...

and another ....

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[go_cats_go]

Thanks Irishfloattube! I sent you a PM! If anyone else has a fishmaster they would be willing to sell please let me know!
Thanks!
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[SHigSpeed]

Wow, great photos from the archives!

I still can't believe there isn't a more modern tube that'll cover your needs however...

I guess it's the same way some people cling on to their "fast" 1976 Corvettes...

_SHig
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[IrishFloatTube]

"I still can't believe there isn't a more modern tube that'll cover your needs however... "

I am sure that a "modern" design tube would float higher, go faster, and have bigger pockets.
But I have had a broken reed with a razor edge slice the cover of a "new style" Insul Dri tube cover once ... didn't go through the inner bladder since that was of a different material ... a 20" rubber inner tube. But it taught me the limits of the gear in one particular environment - pulled taut the woven cover can be cut - and by the way, is one reason I use urethane bladders inside my "modern" woven tubes.

OTOH you have to handle a Fishmaster to see how strong they are.
It is a similar material to what truck covers are made from, but cut and sewn into a tube.So for fishing in serious brush I guess the Fishmaster still reigns supreme!
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[Therapist]

Hey TD, who is that guy in your pics with the brown hair ???? He seems to be a bit skinnier also !!!!

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Distant relative...30 years removed.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I seem to recall that you were not quite so "substantial" in those days too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Did you recognize Rick's dad...Ray?[/#0000ff]
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[smallmouth89]

It's really cool to see those old 70's shots. I guess because you guys live out West you had access to some of the early tubes. Here in Ontario, Canada I had to sew a canvas sling to a truck tire inner tube as no one here even knew what a float tube was. Heck, around '77 I got my first kayak and started yak fishing. Again hardly anybody around here even knew what a kayak was.

Another cool thing about that time period is that plastics, especially here in Canada. were not available, except for maybe the old Creme "Rubber Worm". Consequently, I was able to have great success with my fur and feather jigs. Hardly anyone except experienced walleye anglers even knew what a jig was. Nobody ever thought to use them for bass or pike or trout. It was wonderful to be able to present something to the fish that they rarely ever saw.

Thanks for sharing those pics Pat. They show that you have put in a lot of miles in the seat (or crotch strap) of a tube which equates to a lot of wisdom and knowledge gained over the years. Having your wife along with you most of the time is a huge bonus that many, if not most of us, guys do not get to enjoy.

God Bless,
Don
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Bro.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I too started throwing "plastics" (Creme worms) as soon as they appeared when I was living in California...in the late 60's. Hair, feather and plastic jigs shortly after...and began making a lot of my own stuff by 1970. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My first float tubes were "tire slings" back in the late 50's and early sixties.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ah yes...memories.[/#0000ff]
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[Bluegillman]

Is the FishMaster MFG closed?gone? I remember looking in their site and they were still making them. I tried to find the site but found it nowhere now....Wonder what happened?
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]The company, started in 1947, was sold off a few years ago, but still continued to make and sell the old round tubes, the paddle pusher fins and other Fishmaster accessories. However, the declining market for round tubes put them out of business.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The name was taken over by another website marketing company that does not sell fishmaster tubes.[/#0000ff]
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[IrishFloatTube]

I don'tknow what happened to Fishmaster. Bob Brown must have been very advanced in years. I tried to find their website about 6 months ago and couldn't locate it then.

There is this link here:
[font "Arial"][size 5]Outdoor Pride Fishing Tube Floats[/size][/font]
[url "http://oklahomabassfishing.com/outdoorpride.html"]http://oklahomabassfishing.com/outdoorpride.html[/url]
This is apparently an ex-fishmaster tube sewer making tubes in the Oklahoma region..
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[Therapist]

No, not till you mentioned it. Good photo.

[tubeN2]

I still have my Fishmaster. I'm getting ready to rig it as an auxillary tube for carrying extra stuff as if I needed more stuff on the water anyways.[cool]

That one could be difficult to part with.[crazy]
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