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Forum nameFloat Tube/Kickboat Forum
Topic subjectGood value in a tube
Topic URLhttp://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=15376
15376, Good value in a tube
Posted by Gartooth, Thu Jun-12-03 10:45 AM
Greetings...

I am new to the forum and am looking for some information on whether the Creek Company U-Boat II (price $62.00) is a decent value. I am certain the boat has limitations in performance but I am curious if the materials and mfg. of that model are sound.

I plan on moving up to something more substantial as soon as I can convince my wife that investing $400 in a one-man boat is a good idea!

Thanks,
Gartooth


15378, RE: Good value in a tube
Posted by , Thu Jun-12-03 11:16 AM
I don’t think you can go wrong with a U boat for under $100.
My buddy has a U boat from Creek Company. He really enjoys it.
He’s not able to fish every weekend and storage space is limited.
He explains to me if he was able to fish as much as he wanted
and if storage was not the issue he would look into buying a kickboat.

Nothing like fishing while relaxing ;-) in a comfortable water chair.
15379, RE: Good value
Posted by , Thu Jun-12-03 11:16 AM
:)
15380, RE: Good value in a tube
Posted by FIT, Thu Jun-12-03 11:38 AM
The Creek Company makes a great product and has great customer service. They are also a proud sponsor of the US Kickboat Open.


FIT
15382, RE: Good value in a tube
Posted by Gartooth, Thu Jun-12-03 11:45 AM
Thanks for the advice. Glad to hear TCC is a sponsor.
Need to start a club here in New Braunfels, TX! Lots of floatable water here.

Gartooth
15384, RE: Good value in a tube
Posted by Thorbolter, Thu Jun-12-03 12:44 PM
Don't you have gators down there?? We have them here in SE Oklahoma. *shrugs* Anyway, I prefer a round versus a u-boat. Yes, a bit harder to get into but I like to have a place for a depth finder and I like to lean forward sometimes and rest a bit while I am fishing. I just like the round over the u-boat so much better.
15385, RE: Good value in a tube
Posted by Gartooth, Thu Jun-12-03 01:29 PM
Yes, we have them here. My family's place has them in the stock ponds (1-20 acre lakes). We always left them alone over the years, so they flourished. Some of the lakes have 40-50 gators in them. Use to swim and fish all around them when I was a kid, but now I am not nearly as bold, and certainly would not let my kids wade around them.

The thought of sitting peacefully enjoying a new float tube while unkowingly dangling your legs down through the murky green water in front of a 12 ft. gator's nose is enough to keep me in on the bank. Truthfully, your chances of getting bit are probably low, but it would be aweful if it happened.

I have a round tube that I have had for about 15 years. Beginning to show some wear and tear, and I noticed that mice had sampled part of the seat. Thought I would try a new style of tube.

Gartooth
15394, RE: Good value in a tube
Posted by Doug T, Thu Jun-12-03 08:29 PM
Hey Gartooth,

I used to live in Austin and I really liked to wade the Blanco River and catch some of those big smallmouth and some largemouth too. I usually went to a few spots just north of San Marcos. I'm in Sacramento, CA now and haven't seen a smallie yet. Man do I miss Austin, the coolest city in the USA. But I have to admit that the fishing for largemouth bass here is phenomenal with the Delta and numerous small lakes with giant bass. They don't grow everything bigger in Texas after all.

I fished out of a u-boat for a while and just got a kickboat earlier this year. I would suggest a u-boat over a round tube for the safety and ease of front entry.

Doug
15396, RE: Good value in a tube
Posted by Chris, Thu Jun-12-03 10:26 PM
DUDE!!! The Sacramento River has some killer smallmouth in it. Oh boy, you need to do some exploring my unknown friend.
15412, RE: Good value in a tube
Posted by Gartooth, Fri Jun-13-03 11:31 AM

Yeah... South Central TX in general is pretty cool.

I have fished the portions of the San Marcos River east of IH35 with much success. Good bass and smallmouths. Rivers like the Blanco, Llano, Lampasas, Frio, Pedernales, and San Marcos are really fun to fish, and very scenic.

Lately I have been fishing Canyon Lake, west of New Braunfels. Deep, clear-water limestone reservoir. Canyon Lake is known more for bikinis than big bass. But, on weekdays the lake is quiet and there is good largemouth and striper action, as well as some spotty smallmouth action. I have my stash of levelwinds, but I primarily fish with a fly rod.

Gartooth