[cool]HO HO HO...THE BILL "DUNCE" SHOW. As much as that guy fishes, and as much as he supposedly knows about fishing, he don't know diddly about float tube fishing. I have seen a couple of shows in which he is demonstrating to everybody just how little he really knows.
He goes out with his tube only half inflated, tries to get into a round tube with his fins already on and then tumbles ass over teakettle. He also goes only to private lakes, and fishes only where he has previously located a school of receptive fish. He does this on just about all his shows on bass fishing. There are many farm ponds and private lakes in his home area and he probably pays well for the use of them for his shows.
About the "Paddle Pushers". That is definitely a tipoff that he is not an experienced float tuber. These things were designed a hundred years ago, by the founder of the old FishMaster company, in Oklahome...for good old boys that fished the shallow ponds in the area. They liked to be able to move around in their tubes, but also to walk on the bottom in shallower areas. Almost never did they have to propel themselves further than a few yards on any of the puddles they fished. Here is a website for those contraptions. [url "http://www.fishmastermfg.com/paddlepushers.htm"]http://www.fishmastermfg.com/paddlepushers.htm[/url]
Here's a pic of the pair I have owned for over twenty years...used only once.
![[Image: SCOU1712CustomImage2201489.jpg]](http://web.ecomplanet.com/SCOU1712/ServerContent/MyCustomImages/SCOU1712CustomImage2201489.jpg)
They are almost worse than not having any fins at all. They were designed to be used in a round tube, and you lean forward against the crotch strap to propel yourself forward. Tha blades are pointed backward on the forward kick, and then flap out to catch the water on the back kick. At the very least they give you "crotch cramps". The worst case scenario is that you can cancel your appointment to have a vasectomy. No longer necessary.
As we have established in previous posts, propulsion is a combination of power of thrust, blade size and the design and stiffness of the blade. The most effective fins for float tubing will give good power on both the upward and downward thrust.
I can only imagine some poor fool trying to use these in a high seated craft like my Fat Cat. He would have to thrash the water to a froth, and would probably succeed only in sliding off the slick seat, which has no crotch strap or other restraining system.
If anyone still wants to try them, I got a pair...CHEAP. But, hey, waitaminnit. If I hold on to them another 20 or 30 years, I might be able to get back my original investment if I take them on the Antiques Roadshow.
[signature]
