Rojo's Maiden Voyage

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Posted this on the Utah Board first. I have some mods to make on the tubes before taking them out again on Thursday. Then, over the weekend I will put together my comprehensive report on the Rojo Twins.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]" [size 2][blue][b]TubeBabe and I just got our red (rojo) H3 float tubes and wanted to take them on a shakedown cruise. Invited road along and we were all on the water at Rock Cliffs by 6:30. Air temp 43 and water temp 64. Lots of tiddlers (planters and chubs) popping the surface, with an occasional larger trout squirting into the air. Water is still way up.

All three of us went different directions. TubeBabe tried the flats between the ramp and the south side. Road headed for the far SE corner and I wandered up the north bank to some structure that often holds fish this time of year.

TubeBabe scored first, nailing a chub right off the ramp, before road or I even got launched. Yahoo. She got a lot more of them before we left at 2. So did I. They were playful.

I started by casting plastics along the steep banks and whacked a few small smallies. Biggest might have been 15". Nothing fast and nothing big. I decided to try for some perch. Found some fish on the bottom in 26 feet of water and sent down some small jigs tipped with worm. Turns out they were mixed perch and chubs. Got a lot more chubs than perch, but did get a few decent perchies. I did get one little planter rainbow too...about 10 inches. A "finless Freddie".

It was a busy morning at RC. Several tubers and tooners joined us, as well as several boats. A couple of the boats came and left WIDE OPEN...in flagrant violation of the no wake zone. Saw a few small trout taken but nothing outstanding by anybody on the water this morning.

The breeze started out from the east, as usual. And, as usual, it switched to te west wind about mid morning and got gusty at times. Had to work to maintain position when I found a few fish on sonar.

Just as I got into a good school, a large group of canoe fans hit the water. Most of them were kids and they really beat the sides of the canoes with their paddles...bangety, bangety bang. The fish marks disappeared from my sonar. Several of the canoes ran right over the top of where I was fishing. One even went between me and the bank to which I was casting. One of the kids inquired "Are you casting at us?"

Game over for me. I fished for a while longer but because of a poorly adjusted seat on my new ride my back was bothering me. I need to rig up a PVC support like I have had on other tubes. They just don't make backrests for big guys like me.

Road and TubeBabe finished up along the south shoreline, each catching a few more perch. TubeBabe kept molesting the chubs with regularity too.

All in all, I was happy with the slightly larger size of the the H3, and the extra stability of the elongated design. It rides well, with little "rock and roll"...and tracks well in the breezes. My only complaint at this point is the lousy twist valves on the inflatable seats (not pressure activated) and a couple of other seat ralated issues. I will work on it.
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[doggonefishin]

Thanks for the preliminary review and report. It was great to chat with you back at the launch ramp. Thanks for letting me take a peek at the "new arrival" there. Those bright red H3's could be seen all over the bay. They are a sleek looking ride. Bummer about the seat design, but I'm sure it won't be hard to adjust, like the Fat Cat seats. I did have one observation I wanted to ask you about. When my Fat Cat was parked next to your H3, It was apparent that the Fat Cat was, well, fat. The H3 is much more sleek. I can see that it would be helpful in handling, but were you as high out of the water as the FC? Also, was there any water splashing over the sides of the tube in choppy water?


As for my fishing today, the bassin was pretty good. Nada on perch. Not the fastest action I have had, but the quality was good. Here's a little bassin "eye candy" from some of todays better fish.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey Barry, sorry I neglected to mention our meetup. It was good to see you again. Glad you got into some bigger bass. I did not even throw any plastic larger than about 2" today, so I was kinda keeping myself out of competition on the bass. I was more interested in seeing if I could find some perch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is definitely a visible difference in the "girth" of the air chambers between the FC and H3. That will be one of the issues I cover both verbally and pictorially in my ultimate side by side comparison.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am a big guy, and floatation is always an issue. My perception is that I float slightly higher in the H3 than in a well aired SFC. And, the overall capacity of the H3 is rated higher. I can also testify that the elongated design makes for a noticeably more stable ride. In my SFc I rock back and forth more easily. In the H3, it stayed rock solid when I leaned back or forward. It is the only float tube rated for white water running. And no, I did not get any splashes...except from canoe paddles when they got too close.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I always have mixed feelings about bright colors on float tubes. On one hand, it makes us more visible to the power squadron...ostensibly to prevent getting run over. On the other hand, it makes us better targets. They like brightly colored pylons for the slalom courses...and a bright float tube makes for a good single course...time and time again. There have been too many times, on too many lakes, when I have been the only craft of any kind on the water and the first boat off the ramp spies me and heads directly for me...clear across an empty lake. Sometimes it is better to be in stealth mode.[/#0000ff]
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[flygoddess]

Tube Dude, it is a different feel for sure. I don't know if you have met Larry Tullis, but he is how you put it "A Big Boy". He told Alan to let some are out of the backrest and adjust it accordingly. Alan did and he is quite happy. I don't know if this will help you or not, but an easy fix if it does.
As for me, non of the seats bother me[laugh] but, I did tilt mine back quite a bit.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for being so concerned about my personal comfort. You teensy, skinny little thangs jest don't got the same problems as us big ol' dudes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Don't worry your pretty little head none, 'cause I already done been out in my tubatorium this mornin' and I gots a bran' new fancy backrest all fabbed up and installed.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Gonna give it the ol' water test tomorrow morning down on your carp honeyhole.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]News and pics at 11...or whenever.[/#0000ff]
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[flygoddess]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][red][size 6]STYLIN' and PROFILIN'[laugh][cool][][/size][/red][/font]
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