Float tubes?

[mnhunter2]

Anyone ever fished or hunted out of a float tube, pro and cons?

[Eric Wettschreck]

I have. They definately have their place.

Here in SW MN you know all about shallow prairie potholes. If you can stay out of the wind, float tubes are great for getting into areas quietly.

Pros- super quiet, easy to transport, allows the angler to get in areas you could never get to in a boat, price is nice.

Cons- if you get caught in a walleye chop you may end up on the other side of the lake, select your gear accordingly as you can't bring 8 rods and 3 tackle boxes with you, if you don't have a tube with good neopreme waders and fins you will get cold.

For what it's worth, there is great crappie, walleye, and perch fishing to be had in SW MN in a float tube that you will never see in a boat.

[AngelicFatum]

I fished a small trout lake out of a tube and it was a good time. But they are definitely for small, protected or otherwise calm waters. It's a little difficult navigating them at first, but you get used to it. Not sure what you would do if you hooked into a Big Toothie though. ?

[Chode2235]

Look into canoes or kayaks as well. Most of the advantages of the float tube with mitigated disadvantages.

[rockman]

Swim fins/diving fins/float tube fins-whatever they are called, are an absolute must to be able to propel yourself from one spot to another.Moderate winds are a problem,so protected areas out of the wind are preferable.If I were to buy a tube now, I would get the newer standard u-shaped float tube, instead of the old round tube.I had a Browning round shaped float tube for years. It worked ok, but was a real pain to get in and out of for a big guy like me.Definitely consider the pontoon style boats for a little more money than a float tube.Kayaks, and canoes are another option, as was already mentioned.Obviouosly pontoons, canoes and kayaks are only options depending on accessibility to the body of water you are fishing.

[Tom7227]

Maybe 15 years ago I got one. Larry Dahlberg was on TV catching salmon in shallow water on Lake Michigan. I was headed over with a couple of guys and a big boat and so I decided to give it a try. Have the neoprene waders, #9 fly rod and flies. I got out of the boat and started in fishing. Unforunately I was in about 30 feet of water, and Dahlberg had been working 8-12 feet close to shore. I didn't realize it. I had wondered what would happen if I hooked the big one. Getting towed around the lake didn't sound like fun. So do you take the fish billy or a .38? The guys in the boat took off and there I was. I was at it for a while and all of a sudden there were guys up on shore with AR's checking me out. Ends up they left me off just out from a nuke power plant and I was making security real nervous. After about an hour the guys in the boat came and picked me up. Didn't come close to hooking anything but I ended up with some neat pics and a pretty good story.

I've heard about guys floating rivers hunting ducks in the fall but I haven't tried that one - yet.

Get one, crank up the imagination, and have some fun.

[upnorth]

I have a newer style one for fishing some tiny lakes I go to on occasion and it works nice. I wouldn't take on any larger lake or and river with current to speak of myself. But I find it pretty relaxing to just putter around the lake with fly rod or a Ultra Lite and cast a bit.

[Fish Fry Guy]

Float tube fishing is an absolute blast. I have a boat but will often times, when time is an issue, would rather take the float tube out. I only use it when the wind is very light, but I'll take it out on big lakes and small alike. I typically fish for bass, and in a float tube I think I have a much easier time manuvering around pitching to shore and docks. Also, there is nothing like battling a bass when your eye level with their jumps and such. You'll get splashed and will have a great time. A couple notes that will make your time on the water much more enjoyable. Go light on the tackle, bring an assorted sandwich bag of plastics and hooks. Always use snaps to secure your lures, you don't want to mess around tying on lures on the water. Never go without a good pair of fins (you'll be surpised at how easy it is to manuver). Buy a rod clip to secure your rod (in hand) to your tube, just in case you slip and loose your rod. Bring along a small landing net (I use a trout net), it's easier to land fish and keep you or the tube from being hooked, also, attach your net w/a rod clip to the tube so as to not loose it. And finally, get a simple 3 claw anchor (2 or 3 lbs or so) to keep you anchored on a good spot.

[Cyberfish]

Here are my pics from last year tubin!

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1019517/all/Float_tubers

I just caught a 7 pound eye and 5 pound bass in my tube this weekend, ill have the pics on my blog in a couple of days.

definitely get the v style with the seat, much better than the old truck tire tubes!

good fishin!

[AngelicFatum]

I forgot, they are a little hard to get in/out of. I think there are forward-swimming float tube fins available, i.e. you can move forward as opposed to backward as with normal fins.

[Carp-fisher]

I've fished out of float tubes for 15 years or so. The are highly effective for fishing. They are actually pretty good at fishing in relatively moderate chop (2 foot waves). Cyberfish and I caught some very decent fish on a windy evening; the people in the boats gave up. Just stay close to shore.

[Cyberfish]

I forgot, they are a little hard to get in/out of. I think there are forward-swimming float tube fins available, i.e. you can move forward as opposed to backward as with normal fins.

I have no problem getting launched in my fishcat tube, and I am so crippled I struggle to get on a RECLINER!

The backward kick fins are muich better, if you have those little things that you go forward in, you wont get too far and any wind will ruin your day!

[fishinJohn]

That really looks fun. Can you still wear fins if you are wearing waders (with boots)? Might be fun to use an ice rod and the marcum .

[Cyberfish]

That really looks fun. Can you still wear fins if you are wearing waders (with boots)? Might be fun to use an ice rod and the marcum .

Yes, I use outcast float tube fins that fit over any boot or non boot waders.

yes you can "icefish" using a flasher and vertical jigging in your tube!

[Cyberfish]

I decided to head out to Waconia Saturday afternoon becuase I was almost there anyways and did good Wednseday. I started working the docks at the marinas for some crappies with a two inch power minnow. they were biting well, but were quite small, but I was able to sort out enough to bag a couple of meals. towards evening I started heading out onto the flat area where i got the walleyes Wed. night, it started slow with no bites at first. around sunset ben came out in his tube and tried a fuzzy grub tipped with a leech and soon got a walleye around a foot long.

I decided to try my new Gulp! minnows, they come in their own little pail and look pretty real too. I soon was into a good eating sized walter,a chunky 15 incher, but released it because of the minimum 16 inch size limit on the lake.

Soon afterwards I hooked into a hard fighting fish that I thought for sure would be a huge wallygator, it turned out to be a big drum.

Ben then nailed a big drum too.

It was getting dark and we started working our way in when I got a goot bite. I set into a heavy fish that pulled good! During the battle she pulled me around in circles as I did my best to keep it from tangling the line around my feet! I thought mabye it would be a huge drum, but when it finally came up I could see the glowing eyes, it was a monster humongous walleye! it was 26.5 inches long but had to weight between 7 and 8 pounds, it was so big and piggy!

What an awsome fish, my biggest yet from a float tube.

Ben snapped a few pics for me and we turned her loose to catch again next spring.

We started seeing some lightning in the west, so we headed to shore, as we were coming to the landing I stuck another eye on the Gulp minnow, a good 18 incher. I gave it to Ben, since I already had some crappies.

Check out the pics here... http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2008/05/tubing-part-two-looking-for-lunker.html

[Carp-fisher]

Yeah that picture turned out pretty good. That was alot of fun, Mike. We'll have to do it again soon.