Back in the late fifties when I was just a boy we used truck tubes to float the local ponds with light weight spinning outfits and fish for gills, catfish and bass. Later when a little older the same tubes were used to float the Rogue River and fish for trout, steelhead, and salmon. We knew the river well enough to know what rapids we could "run" in the tubes and which ones to walk around. A few times everyone of us would try something we shouldn't and end up floating down a rapid hanging on to the tube with our arms. Wonder no one drowned but we all grew up learning to swim in the rivers.
Now, you can walk into any sporting goods store and find these marvels of modern invention covered in high tech fabrics and multiple modern synthetic air bladders with one way air valves . You can pay anywhere from 50, 60 bucks all the way up to a grand or more if buying one of those fancy pontoon ones.
I don't know for sure but I think I like the days of my youth fishing for gills out of an old truck inner tube. We didn't even know we were doing something new and revolutionary.
Thanks for taking me back Neil.
Last edited by Kerry Stratton; 07-21-2009 at 01:07 AM.
Reason: wrong name
"The reason you have a good vision is you're standing on the shoulders of giants." ~ Andy Batcho