05-25-2006, 02:33 PM
[reply]
[#0000ff]That was a good proving ground for your. It probably gave you a lot more confidence both in your own abilities and in the "seaworthiness" of your tube.[/#0000ff] [/reply]
You're right about both the personal confidence level increase and the experience with seaworthiness of the tube. I didn't expect to be able to continue fishing in these conditions. Though it was slow going (I got those "looks" from the guys on the shore when I, a lone tuber, launched amid the boats and toons) I found that my mental attitude was the biggest issue. (Don't get in a hurry, put one foot in front of the other, stay closer to shore until you're sure of your footing, strap on the PFD snuggly, if it doesn't work you can turn around and come back in.) When I came back in though, it was a different story. No one else that I talked to had caught any fish. They fought the elements and lost. (To mitigate the difference in results it is important to remember that many Oregonian fly fishermen don't know how to fish for bass and are fishing here for them for the first time. I suspect the local shops have experienced a upsurge in purchase of new 8 weight fly rods.) I was in a position to expound (humbly) on the virtue of the lowly tube as a fishing tool. Don't know if I made any converts but I did give a couple of them pause to reconsider their misunderstanding of such "entry level" craft and their rush past it in pursuit of more glamorous vessels. More speed would have been nice, and perhaps a little more potassium in the diet for the leg cramps, but other than that the tube is a fine fishing machine.
z~
[signature]
[#0000ff]That was a good proving ground for your. It probably gave you a lot more confidence both in your own abilities and in the "seaworthiness" of your tube.[/#0000ff] [/reply]
You're right about both the personal confidence level increase and the experience with seaworthiness of the tube. I didn't expect to be able to continue fishing in these conditions. Though it was slow going (I got those "looks" from the guys on the shore when I, a lone tuber, launched amid the boats and toons) I found that my mental attitude was the biggest issue. (Don't get in a hurry, put one foot in front of the other, stay closer to shore until you're sure of your footing, strap on the PFD snuggly, if it doesn't work you can turn around and come back in.) When I came back in though, it was a different story. No one else that I talked to had caught any fish. They fought the elements and lost. (To mitigate the difference in results it is important to remember that many Oregonian fly fishermen don't know how to fish for bass and are fishing here for them for the first time. I suspect the local shops have experienced a upsurge in purchase of new 8 weight fly rods.) I was in a position to expound (humbly) on the virtue of the lowly tube as a fishing tool. Don't know if I made any converts but I did give a couple of them pause to reconsider their misunderstanding of such "entry level" craft and their rush past it in pursuit of more glamorous vessels. More speed would have been nice, and perhaps a little more potassium in the diet for the leg cramps, but other than that the tube is a fine fishing machine.
z~
[signature]