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float tube resivor
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10-18-2003, 07:22 PM
the way i am inflating my tube right now is with a truck tire tube, i would like to go to the lighter, faster filling resivores, how much do they cost and are they worth it, thanks for the help.
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10-18-2003, 10:13 PM
[cool]What's the matter, FB2? You runnin' outta gas luggin' that heavy old tube around?
As I have stated in quite a few places, when discussing the things to look for in a craft, weight can be a consideration. And, the heavy butyl rubber inner tubes still used in many round models are definitely heavier than the thin walled vinyl air chambers included on most newer models. You have one of the "big man" tubes...with a 22" inner tube. I got the top of the line quality, so there is a lot of rubber in it and it is heavy. I'm guessing it weighs about 4 pounds. That is a lot of extra weight to carry very far...especially if you have other gear too. The only place I know that they sell vinyl bladders is on this web site: [url "http://www.shopoutdoors.com/floattubes.html"]http://www.shopoutdoors.com/floattubes.html[/url] They have a 22" vinyl air chamber for the Caddis Pro Line II that will fit your tube. You have to write or email them for exact prices and specifications. They only quote $25 to $45 on their site...plus shipping. If you get a price quote, also get a weight on the vinyl bladder. It should weigh no more than a pound or so. Otherwise, you will spend more money for very little weight savings. The other thing to consider is that the vinyl air bladders are not as tough as the inner tube rubber. They will puncture more easily...from stickers on the bank and from dropping perch or other spiny fish on them. If you want to do some hiking into the Uintas, you might want to save a few dollars and get a superlight tube. Some models are very light and fold up into a backpack easily. But, you still have to have fins and waders. Those high mountain lakes are cold...all year. [signature]
10-19-2003, 02:46 AM
Hi there TubeDude, I can feel fishboys pain. I have a confession. I got a big heavy truck tube at a yard sale and cut it down so that I got two pieces that fit perfectly on both the ends (tips to about the seat) of my Stealthrider. I felt like I was a german tiger tank with 6 inches of solid steel but it weighed a ton. I removed them after two trips as they add so much weight to (as you say) an already heavy craft. We sometimes forget that when you have NO LEVERAGE in the water, a pound will drag a lot more than elsewhere. Back to topic... Although you have given us many tips and directions on how to repair a tube shore-side, It might be cool to have a spare or maybe change bladders according to the type of fishing one was doing. Your thoughts? JapanRon [signature]
10-19-2003, 11:53 AM
[cool]Hey, JR, your suggestions are more than valid. I always believe in being prepared for any eventuality. Sometimes I believe more strongly than others and actually spend money on such projects. But, I have to admit that as many times as I have thought that it would be a good idea to carry a "spare"...or an alternative weight bladder...I have never done so.
The prevailing attitude among fishermen...tubers included...is that they are invincible and not subject to Murphey's law. Disasters only happen to other people...not them...and they will live happily ever after. That's kinda like we were as teenagers. Remember? But, that was at least a couple of years ago. The other factor that comes into play is that most tubers treat their craft as hobbies more than as a serious and primary fishing system. They buy as cheap as they can and seldom even expend the time and effort for preventative maintenance and cleaning...much less upgrading. Often there are budget concerns. A guy spends as much as he can to get a tube, but then the spouse puts a lid on the fishing fund. And, additional bladders ain't cheap. For a young lad like FB2, it might be as much as they invested in a used craft to begin with. And, if there are a hundred other places for them to put that same money, the extra bladder might be put on the back burner. Desirable, but not indispensable. By the way, on that protective shield idea, you might wanna consider a couple of pieces of naugahyde. I have used naugahyde "aprons" over the front of my round tubes for years. It is light but tough. It has prevented a lot of spine punctures. It will gradually succumb to exposure to the water and the elements, but it serves well, is easy to work with and is not too expensive. And, if you tuck it inside the cover of your craft, nobody will ever know if you get a good buy on "Savage Pink". [signature]
10-20-2003, 03:19 AM
you are right on tube dude, it is desireable, but not needed. i also would like to say that it isnt the weight that bothers me, it is that i have to have it full before i get to the lake, so hiking any distance is out, unless i want to spend a day at the bike bump bumping it up by hand. and ahh yes the invincibility, i am bullet proof, not perch proof, but close enough...[
 ]. thanks[signature]
10-23-2003, 02:32 PM
I've hauled my 1050R22 equipped float tube about 10 times into lakes as high as 12,000 ft. elevation.It s**ks but is worth it.I don't trust the wimpy bladders.By the way,I carry it full of air for up to 4 miles.Just pray it aint windy.
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10-23-2003, 04:56 PM
[cool]Right you are...on all counts. You can carry whatever you are willing to suffer through...and whatever your size and stamina allows. I also agree that I prefer the tougher air chambers for most fishing. However, for wimpy soft rayed fishes like trout, it is not as much of a consideration.
Down here in Arizona, we not only have to worry about spiny rayed fishes, but we have to be careful about bumping into the plant life on the way to the water. There are a hundred different kinds of spiny cactuses and just as many different bushes and trees with sharp points. Once careless encounter with the local flora and your craft will quickly lose it's lovely shape when you are on the water. The worst sound you can hear when you sit back to start fishing is P-S-S-S-S-S-S. Almost as bad as hearing a rattlesnake in the trail when you are headed back to the car in the dark. The tube that FB2 is talking about is one I handed down to him when I made a move to a Kennebec. It has the top grade thick 22" tube too. It works fine for protection, but does have the weight thing going against it. You mentioned that you don't want to carry a fully inflated tube in a stiff breeze. You should see what happens when someone tries to carry one strapped onto their back while riding a bike or motorcycle. The first vehicle that passes them...pushing air as they go...and if they don't go airborne they get dumped on the side of the road. Not recommended. How has the fall fishing been in Colorado? [signature]
10-23-2003, 06:30 PM
I carried my tube on my back on my dirt bike and it nearly tore me off the bike when a pine tree grabbed it.I havent done that since.A friend of mine was landing a cat of about 10 lbs. and the spines poked a hole in his heavy truck tube-you should have seen the look on his face!He did make it to shore alive though. The fishing for me has been just ok.The last couple months I been picking the wrong spots or the wrong day or wrong method-sometimes you just lose the touch-but I always manage to figger it out and catch a few.Ithink we need to get a cold spell to wake up the fish and me?
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10-23-2003, 08:14 PM
[cool]Yeah, it has been warmer than usual all over the west...along with being too darned dry. By this time of year I am usually getting into some pretty good topwater action on largemouth, and good activity with all species. So far this fall the water has stayed at summer temperatures and the fish are still on summer vacation.
Yesterday it was still over 100 degrees in Phoenix. That sets an all time record for the latest day in October for triple digits. It is supposed to drop into the 90s by the weekend, so we will be shivvering. [signature]
10-23-2003, 10:52 PM
Hi there TubeDude, Do we need to look out for Horny Toads and Gila Monsters too? I hear that if a Gila Monster bit your floattube it might get sick. We had horny toads in Oklahoma (that's what we Okies call'em) that I had for pets so I guess you would only have to worry about the two spikes or was it three on their heads if they made a suicidal charge for the tube. It goes with out saying, a good coupla snake fangs or two sets of hawk tallons and a beak would do the job too. Just thought I mention a few animate worries for fun. Ya, and how about those fire ants and killer bees? JapanRon [signature]
10-24-2003, 01:34 AM
[cool]Yep. If you started making an inventory of all the stickery critters and nasty flora in these parts, you might be inclined to order a Humvee instead of a flimsy old float tube.
There are "horny toads" all over the western states and down into Mexico. I think I heard there are about fifty different varieties. some of them...actually horned LIZARDS...have no head spikes at all. Others, like the ones around here, have several hard bony protuberances. However, you would just about have to slam your craft down on one to suffer any damage. The spiny critter would probably expire before the tube did. And, while I have seen a few gila monsters, they are mostly nocturnal and are seldom seen by anybody. They come out in daytime only rarely...when they get "horny" too. They do not have big fangs, like snakes, but have some nasty backward pointing teeth in the sides and back of their mouth. They use these to chew in their venom, rather than injecting it, like a rattler. The venom creates a lot of pain but is not nearly as dangerous as some of the local buzztails. One of the biggest hazards to flotation craft are the skeletons of expired cactus. They float around on the lakes and eventually wash up on shore...with the spines still very much capable of penetrating either flesh or air chambers...or both. I have had more than one excursion prematurely ended when I noticed a stream of bubbles coming up from the bottom of my tube...after having set it down on one of those hard to see cactus remnants prior to launching. Maybe on Halloween, when you are in the mood for a scary story, I will tell you about the rattlesnakes that come swimming out in the lake and see our tubes as good temporary resting spots. TubeBabe doesn't like any kind of snakes, and when a rattler is anywhere within a hundred yards, she does a great imitation of a Polaris missile launching out of a tube on a submarine. [signature]
10-24-2003, 03:27 AM
Hey there TubeDude, Funny stories!! We know that many snakes are really pretty good swimmers. Ask Bill Dance in his funniest outtakes for his show. Myself, fishing in the Sagami River I noticed a snake making a beeline for me from where I just had cast a Kastmaster. About 5 feet from the bank I started beating the water with my rod tip and the kastmaster extended out a foot from the time to make him avoid beaching right in front of me. Go figure!! I accidently snagged it right in the middle of his body so I had one  fanged snake. The minute I managed to grab his head (after pinning it to the ground) he immediately wrapped around my arm so tight I couldn't believe it! I looked at him he looked at me then I relaxed then he bit me with a shallow bite. I got in my jeep with the snake wrapped around my arm and away I went to a clinic nearby there was lots of excitement. End of story is that snake was harmless. I drove all the way back to his home and released it by hand over handing it off my arm and flinging it into the weeds.I didn't wait to see if it was following me I just headed up the bank as fast as I could. My snake story, Oh Ya it had red eyes and a reddish mouth wide open. JapanRon [signature]
10-24-2003, 05:11 AM
lol good one, you just reminded me of my first pet snake,
I was 5 and was watching the bigger kids out on our farm playing with a snake and about a week later I saw another snake pinned his head down just as you mentioned only I went biteless. I picked him up just behind the head just the same way the other kids had done a week earlier, boy I was so proud as a peacock that I had caught my first snake. I ran in to the house with my pritty snake with its funny looking tung yelling mama look what I found, can I keep him. my mom said bring it in here so I can get a look at it. I took it in and showed it to her and said, "look mama, its a snake!" she took one look at it and said David you take the stinky o'l snake out to the feild and throw it as far as you can, dont set it on the ground, I want you to throw it. then come back and see me cause I got something else for you. so I did, I hurried on out to the feild in excitement of what the surprise was that could be waiting for me, it wasnt my birthday cause I one last winter. scooting right along I gave the snake a good throw, almost 15 feet, it was after all a big snake! and I was only 5. excited about what the surpirse was I ran back in to the house to get my surprise. and boy did I get it, I got a sun burn where the sun dont shine....[  ] lol I learned that day what a rattle snake was. also got me a doctors apointment to find out I was particaly deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other. that was probably why I could not hear the rattles. but aside form the sore bum, on the way back from the doctors office mom stoped at the pet shop and bought me my first pet. for some reason I was drawn to a little white mouse with a pink nose and eyes. how ironic ma would let a mouse in the house but not a snake.... lol [signature] |
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