Float Tube Fishing
Greg Myers

For those of you that have never fished out of a float tube, you just don’t know what you are missing. I enjoy float tube fishing because it is so relaxing and you don’t get into a hurry to fish a spot out and then move to a different area of the lake. You can’t run and gun all over the lake, so you fish an area out thoroughly and make several casts to the same target.

Float tubes are ideal for fishing ponds and small lakes. You can carry it in your trunk and air it up in seconds and fish a spot when you have an hour or so to kill. The only accessory that you need is an air pump that runs off the cigarette lighter in the vehicle.

I have noticed in the last couple of years that it takes a bigger bass to win big bass in a mini-boat tournament than it does a regular tournament. I have also noticed that it takes a bigger bass to win big bass in a float tube tournament than it does to win big bass in a mini-boat tournament. Now, let’s think about this for a minute. The big bass boats run and gun all over the lake. The mini-boats can cover quite a bit of the lake but when float tube fishing you have an area to fish and you can’t go check out other places on the lake like you can in the mini-boat and big boat tournaments. So, you fish an area out thoroughly and make several casts to the same target.

There are several different float tubes that can be purchased. I did a thorough investigation of float tubes. I found that the cheaper float tubes were easy to puncture and were not nearly as durable as some of the float tubes on the market.

I decided on an Outdoor Pride float tube. Outdoor Pride is an Oklahoma company based out of Oklahoma City. Betsy did a very good job on my float tube and I feel safe in it. To the right is a photo of an Outdoor Pride float tube in camouflage. Notice the backrest and the large side pockets to store tackle in. The Outdoor Pride float tube also has a quick release so the you can get out of the tube easily in case it turns over with you.