What's the Largest Body of Water You Used Your Float Tube?
I have to be honest I am a little nervous of taking my tube into large/deep bodies of water, even though deep down I know that if anything crazy were to happen without a pfd I would be just as dead in 7' of water as I would be in 150.
I guess in larger bodies of water you have more to worry about, such as wake from larger boats / waves from more wind because of the open water and simply the distance you can possibly drift from shore. I am just curious what you are personally done. I am pretty sure to date the largest body of water I have been in is wedge pond ... which certainly not that big at all. I have only had my tube a relatively short amount of time and have already thought of taking it to some of the nooks and crannies of larger reservoirs. Where would you draw the line? When you are in a boat or even a canoe a channel 400m wide seems just wide enough to troll around and make big wide turns but when you are in the middle 200m from shore with only a pair of fins to get you around it seems a little careless. Anyways perhaps I am just inexperienced. I know with my old inner tube style there is literally no way to fall out of it so I guess you would only worry about deflating, and with my newer fishcat there is nothing to actually keep you in your seat so even though the ride is warmer and more efficient there is more risk. Let me know what you think |
What is stopping you fron wearing a pfd?
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I used to have an inner tube belly boat as well, and never had a life jacket. A few years ago I bought a Fish Cat 4, and it didn't feel quite as secure / safe in it, so I bought an inflatable life jacket. Honestly, the PFD probably save my life back in June on Lower Kananaskis Lake as I did actually manage to fall out of my tube trying to net a fish. It was windy enough that my boat started to float away from me, and without the life jacket, I probably would have drowned. Trust me on this.... BUY A PFD!!!!
Getting back to your original question, the biggest lakes I have had my tube on are Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes. The thing about big lakes is the wind can get bad, and also it takes forever to move any place very far away, so you're sort of limited to the area you can fish. |
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If there was a simple seat strap there would be no need for a pfd since you couldn't fall out. And a float tube is essentially a huge inflatable pfd. |
Ahh OK. Boat traffic can be a concern so wearing a visible color is inportant. Wear a pfd. A float tube is a pfd..... until there's a hole in it.
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Having been in a float tube that developed a "fast leak" in a small lake - get an inflatable PFD! When a tube deflates it wraps around you and it is virtually impossible to get out of it.
As for "biggest body of water": the Pacific (though admittedly close to shore - due to currents and sea mammals). A friend had a horrifying experience with a large male sea lion in his float tube... he invested in a boat. |
I think it is natural to get that nervy feeling when are out on the water in a float tube. Make sure you have a waist belt at the least. When I am out I always try to have an escape plan as to me the biggest hazard is the weather.
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Also an inflatable pfd is only a pfd till it has a hole in it. I would think the tube would be made of tougher material than the pfd. |
I regularly go on a lake that is 4 miles long and a mile wide. I go wherever I want. Once the wind gets up to about 25km/hr I will start to think about moving closer to shore, but before that there is no concern about going anywhere.
Haven't fallen out in 30yr...don't plan to. Get a kayaking/paddling life jacket if you don't trust an inflatable |
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Again I am only debating the thoughts on pfds, they are obviously safer than not ... all redundancies are, that's the point of having backups in the first place. But on the other hand the point of a float tube is usually accessing water in remote locations requiring hikes km's long where every ounce of gear counts. Is it worth not having a pfd ... probably not but like I said before. My tube has four different inflated cells ... how badly do I need a fifth if I just had a "seatbelt" to keep me from being separated from my tube. |
When being operated in open water all safety equipment is required according to Transport Canada Guidelines if an inflatable is categorized as a water toy and not a pleasure craft. This is how its been explained to me F&W on two occasions.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/...ty/TP-511e.pdf "These requirements do not apply to inflatable self-propelled water toys. These toys are not designed for use in open water. If you do choose to operate these toys in open water, enforcement officers will treat them as pleasure craft that are subject to the same strict rules." |
Here is a little food for thought.Friend now deceased,was like you new to an inflate able.He was at Bullshead res.PFD was strapped to the cargo carrier deck behind him.Water temp was a few degrees warmer than liquid ice.Seems he slid of the seat into the water,suffered a massive heart attack[dead].Do to the cold of the water ,it indused the ht attack2ND Buddy brasen as hell new pontoon boat[outca t].Fishing in a small lake in sw ab..Wind waves got up very strong & high in like 15mins.The wave came up under the ptoon bt. &he turtled upside down into the water.safety strap on.He couldn't right himself. Dead....
Morale;;Fish with a buddy,get off the water,when things get dangerous.Wear the safety stuff,because it may save your sorry ass. |
ONCE AGAIN ... I was not asking anyone whether or not I should wear a PFD ... I was asking plain and simply how far away from shore you have gone in your tube.
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Too Far.
When we lived in the Western Arctic, I had many occasions to visit the Yukon North Slope. After watching the local Inuit catch a good number of char (gillnets), and having a look at what those fish were eating, I decided to bring the belly boat along... On days when the Beaufort was clear, the char would stay outside of the range of the nets. I soon discovered that by hovering a little further offshore in the belly boat, the char (seemingly had no fear) were at my mercy. I'd tied up a whack of off-white scuds with dark eyes, and they absolutely murdered those fish!! Occasionally I'd end up hundreds of yards offshore, but even then had an eye out for the weather... Likely the most dangerous though was fishing BIG Lakers in Husky Lakes out of the tube. Got dragged around many a time, and one simply never knew just were you'd end up. Always had a pursuit boat (10 - 20 Lund) with for those forays, so was sort of thinking of the safety aspect... Cheers, Nog |
Not with a belly boat but this summer I had my first experince with a inflatable fishing pontoon.
Something like this; http://www.refinedguy.com/wp-content...-4-520x371.jpg We used it on Great Slave Lake, or rather a bay on Great Slave Lake. The furthest I took it out was about half mile from shore. It felt very safe. I was not even a bit concerned being out there, not even when I hooked a 14 pound pike and had to drag it to shore to unhook it. I was wearing a PFD but would have felt the same without one. BTW I do not know how to swim. I've never used a belly boat or float tube. To be honest I don't think I'd feel safe in one unless I was on dry land. To my mind they are too much like a PFD and I don't have much faith in PFDs. I'd rather put my trust in a good boat and wise decission making. |
Farthest from shore... Probably a few hundred meters. I have gone out on some very large lakes, but fished around only in a small bay on such lakes. Wave action can get gnarly even when in a bay if the wind direction changes.
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I am a pretty good swimmer, but I would draw the line at a distance that I felt I could no longer swim in the case of an emergency. With safety gear you could easily stretch this distance longer, but I would be very cautious of the wind and current as those light boats and tubes are pretty susceptible to both. You would also have to factor in water temperature. Cold water can suck the energy out of you in an instant which would lead me to be more cautious then in a warm body of water in the summer.
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Does bone fishing from an inflatable SUP on flats fringing the Atlantic Ocean count?
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Always make sure you have a wader belt on
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Pacific Ocean off the west side of Van I
Pfd or not, It was a little hairy ....but I did catch fish!! I was young and stooopid!!!! |
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Though if I was going out farther in a boat, I would want a PFD. I don't know why you wouldn't have faith in one. They are all closed cell foam, and if you have it on right, you can't slip out. And they weigh next to nothing. And if I was going far out in very cold water regularly (or more than a few times) I would be investing in a Mustang 2 suit, meant to keep a person alive in frigid water. Have you practiced getting into your boat from the water in the event you fall in? |
Sounds like a lot of people use their tube in areas I probably wouldn't try. I was thinking of taking it to twin valley ... its is only a couple hundred meters wide and after fishing there in a boat it seems to get deep pretty quick so I think it would be fairly safe ... just wondering about going after pike in a float tube at all hahaha.
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