03-29-2005, 03:52 PM
Thanks for responding, guys.
TubeDude, I lived in Redding for a good portion of my early life so I know the Upper Sac fairly well, both above and below the dams. Caught Trout, Salmon, Squawfish, and a few Steelhead there. I also spent two years in the city of Sacramento. Those were good days. I cut my fishing teeth on Shasta with my first bass coming on a bobber and worm out of my grandpa's boat when I was three. That was 51 years ago. I'm in Sweet Home, Oregon now - still as much of a fishing nut as ever. We have a summer run of Steelhead about 6000 fish strong that goes by about 500 feet from my front door on the S. Santiam. I catch a few of 'em.
Yeah I guess I am still a tubing rookie. Hard to compete with greybeards who started in the 50's.[
] As a kid in my teens I remember getting an old inner tube and trying to rig it up with a straddle strap. My mom put the kabosh on it. She wouldn't let me go out in it because she figured I would drown. "Who ever heard of a goofy idea like floating around in an inner tube trying to fish?" she told me. Had she only known.[sly]
I looked at some of your jigs in one of the other forums. Nice. I fish jigs for Steelhead, under handmade foam and balsa floats. Deadly method for summer fish. I tie and pour my own jigs as well. I've been a tackle tinkerer for as long as I can remember. Flytying, lure making, rod building, lead pouring - all the typical stuff, plus anything else I can learn. Modifying a float tube is right up my alley. Your ideas are top-notch. I hope you do get that book out. I have all the standard books on float tubing and have read them cover to cover. Most offer the basics. You've gone farther than anyone else I have ever seen. This is the best tubing info I know of.
I will indeed PM you with my address. I'd love to see some of your manuscript. You are very generous to offer. Who knows. Maybe I can toss you a few ideas to put in.
You mentioned GPS. I've been using my handheld GPS for locating and marking schools of Kokanee Salmon on a local lake (another passion). Haven't used it from the tube yet but its only a matter of time. Most of my tubing has been done in relatively shallow water trouting so finding and marking fish electronically isn't as much of a big deal in that venue.
As for the usefullness of the material on this forum and people actually reading it, be assured that it is read and used. While I haven't yet read every post, I'm sure that I soon will have. I especially read and re-read the good ones, picking up subtle clues that will help me in my types of fishing. I'm particularly interested at the moment in utilizing TubeBabe's rigid stripping apron idea. I'll be over at WalMart today or tomorrow, going through the plastic container section to find a lid that fits the FishCat 4.
Thanks for your hard work and the obvious love you have for this sport. I figure I'll be both a reader and contributor in the time to come.
![[Image: 11-10-04.jpg]](http://www.proaxis.com/~hwy20coc/webpages/temp1/11-10-04.jpg)
zonker
[signature]
TubeDude, I lived in Redding for a good portion of my early life so I know the Upper Sac fairly well, both above and below the dams. Caught Trout, Salmon, Squawfish, and a few Steelhead there. I also spent two years in the city of Sacramento. Those were good days. I cut my fishing teeth on Shasta with my first bass coming on a bobber and worm out of my grandpa's boat when I was three. That was 51 years ago. I'm in Sweet Home, Oregon now - still as much of a fishing nut as ever. We have a summer run of Steelhead about 6000 fish strong that goes by about 500 feet from my front door on the S. Santiam. I catch a few of 'em.
Yeah I guess I am still a tubing rookie. Hard to compete with greybeards who started in the 50's.[
] As a kid in my teens I remember getting an old inner tube and trying to rig it up with a straddle strap. My mom put the kabosh on it. She wouldn't let me go out in it because she figured I would drown. "Who ever heard of a goofy idea like floating around in an inner tube trying to fish?" she told me. Had she only known.[sly] I looked at some of your jigs in one of the other forums. Nice. I fish jigs for Steelhead, under handmade foam and balsa floats. Deadly method for summer fish. I tie and pour my own jigs as well. I've been a tackle tinkerer for as long as I can remember. Flytying, lure making, rod building, lead pouring - all the typical stuff, plus anything else I can learn. Modifying a float tube is right up my alley. Your ideas are top-notch. I hope you do get that book out. I have all the standard books on float tubing and have read them cover to cover. Most offer the basics. You've gone farther than anyone else I have ever seen. This is the best tubing info I know of.
I will indeed PM you with my address. I'd love to see some of your manuscript. You are very generous to offer. Who knows. Maybe I can toss you a few ideas to put in.
You mentioned GPS. I've been using my handheld GPS for locating and marking schools of Kokanee Salmon on a local lake (another passion). Haven't used it from the tube yet but its only a matter of time. Most of my tubing has been done in relatively shallow water trouting so finding and marking fish electronically isn't as much of a big deal in that venue.
As for the usefullness of the material on this forum and people actually reading it, be assured that it is read and used. While I haven't yet read every post, I'm sure that I soon will have. I especially read and re-read the good ones, picking up subtle clues that will help me in my types of fishing. I'm particularly interested at the moment in utilizing TubeBabe's rigid stripping apron idea. I'll be over at WalMart today or tomorrow, going through the plastic container section to find a lid that fits the FishCat 4.
Thanks for your hard work and the obvious love you have for this sport. I figure I'll be both a reader and contributor in the time to come.
zonker
[signature]