MN float tube action'09

[MT_Pilgrim]

Well we finally said goodbye to a long winter with all the ice finally melting.With the warmer weather comes some good fishin' I met Casey on the lake , he already had a bunch of fish when I got out there and Jack went out too in caseys canoe
The crappies were on the bite, I had good action on the "float and fly" rig, a small float one foot above a 1/80th hair jig. I sweetened it with a couple of red spikes to tempt the occasional big sunfish that would also be in the shallow dark bottomed bays looking for bugs. I caught more fish than I could count. nice crappies and bluegills
Lots of pictures here:
[url "http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/04/first-float-tube-outing-sucess-4-11.html"]http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/04/first-float-tube-outing-sucess-4-11.html[/url]
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[flygoddess]

Man those are PORKERS....great job and thanks for sharing.
Now that you can get out....MORE, I NEED MORE[laugh]
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[brittlab]

those are some nice panfish. I took the boat out today and the water temps here are still mid 40's. too cold for the tube. I could strap on the waders but I prefer to tube without them
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[MT_Pilgrim]

[quote brittlab]those are some nice panfish. I took the boat out today and the water temps here are still mid 40's. too cold for the tube. I could strap on the waders but I prefer to tube without them[/quote]

Oh my! you would have a short tubing season up here in the northland![laugh]
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[MT_Pilgrim]

I bought another fishcat tube today, almost new, so if anyone wants to try some tube fishin with me I got everything but waders!

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[pontoonman]

I agree with you on the waders. Half the fun is being able to dip my feet up to the shins on a hot summer day into the cooling water of a relaxing river. My setup allows me to pull out my feet from the water completely to dry and warm them if necessary, so it is an excellent way to regulate your core body temperature. I do not like to be immersed to the waist level where all your private parts are immersed in microbacterial soup of water and you are constantly wet in that area though.

Pon

[quote brittlab]those are some nice panfish. I took the boat out today and the water temps here are still mid 40's. too cold for the tube. I could strap on the waders but I prefer to tube without them[/quote]
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[flygoddess]

[quote pontoonman]I agree with you on the waders. Half the fun is being able to dip my feet up to the shins on a hot summer day into the cooling water of a relaxing river. My setup allows me to pull out my feet from the water completely to dry and warm them if necessary, so it is an excellent way to regulate your core body temperature. I do not like to be immersed to the waist level where all your private parts are immersed in microbacterial soup of water and you are constantly wet in that area though.

Pon


And that is why GAWD created waders[laugh][laugh][laugh]
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[pontoonman]

[quote flygoddess][quote pontoonman]I agree with you on the waders. Half the fun is being able to dip my feet up to the shins on a hot summer day into the cooling water of a relaxing river. My setup allows me to pull out my feet from the water completely to dry and warm them if necessary, so it is an excellent way to regulate your core body temperature. I do not like to be immersed to the waist level where all your private parts are immersed in microbacterial soup of water and you are constantly wet in that area though.

Pon


And that is why GAWD created waders[laugh][laugh][laugh][/quote]


Yes, that's one solution that restricts movement, and may cause you to overheat in the summer. Some are a hassel to put on and take off as they adhere to your clothing and have to be massaged around to be comfortable. Wish you good luck when you have to use the outdoor facilities with them on, especially if you're in a hurry. That's not even counting the checking for leaks, condensation inside and having to clean and dry out between uses.

GAWD also gave man free will to buy a pontoon that sits well above the water and also quick dry fabrics to wear should you encounter the rare high wave.

Pon
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[flygoddess]

Speaking of GAWD, he also came up with a fabric called BREATHABLE. Light weight, no restrictions, no over heating (of course that one depends on what you are wearing underneath). Being a woman, for me there is no quick way to releive myself other than pull and squat. The waders really don't hinder that. The old man , well that is a pull down in the front and aim.
See, cotton and breathables don't mix, which means no LEVIS which means SCRUBS...easy to pull down, as no zipper.
And I MUCH prefer wet waders to wet levis.[]


Isn't this fun....your turn[angelic]
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[pontoonman]

Waders have their place in winter north country, of course. Good info on the breathables, guess they've improved them in recent times. How's the wear hold up in the shoe/fin area? I used to like neoprene for warmth and comfort and because they don't swamp as much if you somehow manage to fall or get lots of water inside. It's still good enough for scuba suits, last I heard.

Pee as you go is the best when you're out of area of visibility, don't like to lose time going back to shore. Fish haven't complained anyway.

Pon
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[flygoddess]

With the exception of a few, Breathables foot area are neoprene. Toes stay toasty warm...but again all in the under clothing.
The main thing that makes you cold is the wind, and any wader will block that.
I use to wear neoprene, but they are hard to get on and I did feel like a sausage in them. If I got hot...too bad, deal with it.
Breathables are all in the layering and you don't need to put on tons of it. You would be surprised how little it takes, thus the mobility is much easier.
I fish year round and that includes 20's. Don't go much lower than that on purpose as the guides ice up too badly and you really can fish anyway.
I wear one layer of Armor wear. Thin Nylon bottoms and tops. If in the 20's I put on a fleece bib over that. Wool socks and Jacket and I can fish all day.
If you walk in the water with breathables...you feel them tighten against your body. No slop.
Granted IF they fill up with water, as you attempt to leave you are pulling a giant water balloon, but neoprene will do that also. That is why you wear a belt...to make the hole to fill with water a little smaller and it works.

Just like anything else, you get what you pay for and specially on Breathables. You are spending maybe as much as 6 x's the price of neoprene for the top of the line. But they can take real abuse with no leaks and the pros to breathables compared to neoprene is a no brainer "TO ME".[cool]
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[MT_Pilgrim]

I just use cheapie waders uninsulated, I put on layers for the cold under the waders. as it gets warmer, less layers. once it is too warm with no layers of clothing needed, it is time to go waderless
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[flygoddess]

If I am on my Pontoon I can see the no waders thing, but not in a tube. The prune thing...LOL
I did once wear shorts on my Pontoon and got fried. I am Italian so I don't burn easy, but sitting on water for hours...OUCH!
Plus, then I agree on the critters and unknowns in the water...eeek!
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[MT_Pilgrim]

I went out for the maiden voyage for my semi new fishcat, I have dubbed the great pumpkin, cuz it is so big round and orange.
Andy SBF came out to try some tube fishin, i let him use my ol cat, which held him up great despite being over the size limit!
We got our sunfish on t.h.e. Jig tipped with gulp waxies, i also got fish on a JRs black and chartruse stub grub. The tiny bass and shiners followed me all around. I couldn't keep em off my baits, but we got some nice sunfish just about everywhere we tried. the crappies were in hiding or wouldn't bite, I got a couple.
All in all a fun day. I had fun just having my camers ready for some funny video of Andys first tubing adventure, but he did pretty good for a tube wookie!
All the pics here:
[url "http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/04/great-pumpkin-and-fishing-with-wookie.html"]http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/04/great-pumpkin-and-fishing-with-wookie.html[/url]


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[MT_Pilgrim]

I met andy at the lake for some bluegill and crappie chasing all day. the weather was alot nicer than predicted so we went to "work" looking for those big pannies. I brought my vexilar fl-18 flaher out in my tube for the first time, it worked great! I found weeds on a break from 5 to 7 ft and the nice gills were there and a few perch. unfortunatly tons of hungry yearling largemouth bass too that I cannot seem to keep of my hooks.
We wanted to get some crappies but only got one in the area so we decided to try in the middle while snacking, but no crappies there, didn't even mark one. kicked over to the east shore after snackin and started getting a few in 2 ft of water along with a zillion dinky bass. we went into a bay on the southeast end to get out of the wind and cha ching! found the slabs and lots of bluegills too most real close to shore. Andy had to go, I decided to stick around when fishface showed up with his daughter for the evening bite. Glad I did because the crappies really lit it up with a bite on every cast! Baits I used today Gulp!fishfry, JRs ringin stub grub, t.h.e. jig tipped with a exude microshad, berkley power tube 2"white.
More here, tons of pics:
[url "http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/04/panfish-tubin-action-4-25.html"]http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/04/panfish-tubin-action-4-25.html[/url]
SBF

MTbucket

Fishface

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[MT_Pilgrim]

Me and fishface mcfly got the tubes out on a small lake for panfish action. The fish were shallow and active. the crappies were just done spawning and the bluegills were getting readty to start anytime now. my fish were all caught on a 1/32 oz collerless leadhead tipped with a JRs stub grub black and yellow. FF got his on home made wooly buggers black and pink. we got over a hundred panfish and too many dinky bass to count!
All the pics: [url "http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/06/tubin-with-fishface.html"]http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/06/tubin-with-fishface.html[/url]

FF lands a big gill

the big gills were biting well!

and the crappies


plenty of bass, mostly small but fun on UL line!

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[MT_Pilgrim]

I got out for some bass action in the float tube saturday. they were biting pretty good, a few decent sized but no real lunkers.
I worked the shallows in weedy areas with a plastic swim shad, spinnerbait, and plastic frog.
[url "http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/06/saturday-bassin-6-27.html"]http://mtbucket.blogspot.com/2009/06/saturday-bassin-6-27.html[/url]





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[flygoddess]

NICE!!!!!
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[peter805]

yeah baby, that looks awesome.
I love that shot with the white frog and bass, how did
you get that shot???????

Peter
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[MT_Pilgrim]

I just released the fish next to the frog with the camera ready
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