Man that sucks. Glad to see you only lost one of the expensive toys on the tube, or I mean the tube. I am also glad to hear no one got hurt either. It is a good thing you still have the old jaws on back up. If not I would offer either my H3 or my wife old SFC any time you need it. They both need to see more water this year. As I feel like a bad dad and have not been out that many times this year, but hey that is life. We need to try and get on the water before this year is up and it is ice season.
What you need for your attack craft is a dual door trailer. In your case, I think that could be adequately described as a mobile hangar. Sorry to hear about the mishap but i’m glad that things weren’t worse from the fast lane because we all know how ugly that can get. I’m sure that smart driving played a big part in preventing the situation from getting any worse because anybody with the know how and thought to bring the reports that you do has got to approach any situation intelligently. I love your posts. You are a gifted writer and I know that nothing will stop you from hitting the water and bringing more great information to die-hard BFT’rs. Thanks for the report and i’m glad to see that your determination let’s nothing take the wind out of your sails.[;)]
Thanks for the kindly comments and the positive reinforcement. Glad you enjoy my ramblings.
In retrospect, there were a number of different factors at work that contributed to the catastrophe. Normally we carry both tubes inside my Jimmy, deflated and compact. On this trip, our vehicle was loaded with propane tank, fryer and a large box full of assorted goodies for the fish fry to be held after the fishing. So, I decided to carry my tube on the roof rack, rather than jamming it inside. I also decided to take it fully inflated, rather than deflated and strapped down, like we usually do for long distance trips where space is a problem. Third, I did not tie a good knot on the front tie downs. My bad. So, I have to assume the blame for what happened.
It could have been worse. I could have had more of my tube add-ons attached…like the rod rack and tool rack. Or, I could have had my tackle boxes for the day riding inside the tube. But I didn’t. That would have been a lot of hard work and expense scattered all over the road if they had hit the pavement. Thankfully, I was not so impatient that I preloaded the pockets with tackle. Mo bettah.
Big thanks to TubeDude and TubeBabe for providing most of what it took to make this event successful.
I learned a lot, had a great time, caught a few fish, and shared the water with some great people.
My sincere condolences on you gear mishap Pat. Thanks again for being so generous with your time, gear, energy, and knowlege. Filleting and cooking all those fish is hard work - even though you make it look super easy.
For anyone who hasn’t had the priveledge, watching Pat with a filllet knife and a mess 'o fish is to view a master at his craft. I tought I knew how to weild an electric knife, but the efficiency and speed with which Pat does it makes my efforts seem pretty weak. Not only that, but he’s a fun guy with a wealth of knowlege who generously shares. TubeBabe is also a great gal, and I very much enjoyed getting aquainted with her also.
I was especially glad you were able to join us. I think we agreed that it has been about 25 years since we last saw each other…at Matt’s tackle store where you used work with him. A lot of water has gone under the float tubes since then.
You did a pretty fair job of smacking a few fish around. Glad I could dazzle you with my sleight of hand with the fillet knife. “Watch carefully folks. Not once do my fingers leave my hand.”
Keep active on the boards and check in with me by PM if you can see some available time and want to hit the water together again some time. Lots of good fishing coming up soon.
You know my dad once lost a nice dresser drawer on Redwood Road in West Valley City. It simply fell out of the back of the car. And on to the road. Only thing was the cars down the road were far enough that you would think that they would stop and let him put them back into his car…nope…
they were up the road a long way and the idiots smashed his dresser drawer right there, no lie. Just ran over them. End of story.
In retrospect, “stuff” happens or something like that. Don’t be too hard on yourself. However, since the learning curve for something this disappointing is immense; if I see someone driving along with twenty bungy staps and two lock downs over an uninflated tube, i’ll follow you until you stop just so I can say howdee.[sly]
Keep active on the boards and check in with me by PM if you can see some available time and want to hit the water together again some time. Lots of good fishing coming up soon.
Thanks, I would really like to get out with you again soon! The next couple of weeks will tell how much fishing I’ll be doing. We’re submiting a bid today for a pretty good sized design/construction project with a rediculously fast tracked schedule. If we get the award, my fishing days may be very numbered for the rest of this year. If we don’t get it, I might have a lot of time on my hands. . . . We had to lay off 5 more guys last week. This economy has been pretty rough on the type of work I’m involved in.
Thanks for the kindly comments and the positive reinforcement. Glad you enjoy my ramblings.