Hi, guys, I never float tubed in saltwater before, and I would like to try once. If anyone could share the spots where I can float tube, Please,.... Thanks.

You can tube pretty much anywhere it's safe to launch (i.e. little or zero surf). Wear a wetsuit, not waders if going in open ocean as the danger of filling up is too great with waders. Bays and harbors are a safer bet and you can wear waders there. Try baytubers.com for good float tubing info, locations, tourneys etc..


Big Hammer Swimbaits-Fishco/Hammerhead Jigheads
www.swimbait.com
Pro-Cure Scents
www.pro-cure.com

Hey there fongster,

See your posts all the time. Why don't you go to the baytubers website? Send me an email and I'll give you what you need to log on to our site. Oh Ya, I'm just a club member and not the webmaster or anything.


JapanRon
a.k.a.tsurikichi

Dana Point harbor is about as benign as it gets. You can launch at the launch ramp, park by the sportfishing place, and go through the pedestrian gate, or off the rocks by the fuel dock, a little tougher and no free parking, but also popular. Dana is nice because current is not a problem like in some harbors. All of long beach is pretty easy too.

As far as waders go, most guys do wear them, they keep you from contact with possible pollution, are warmer, more comfortable, and totally safe. The best are dry-breathable waders, cost about $150, but way worth it! I often wear mine to and from the beach, if it's cold, they dry off almost immediately, and are just like wearing a light wind-breaker on your legs and chest, nice.

There are also neoprene waders out there still, but they are nearly as uncomfortable as a wetsuit, and although you may find them cheaper, I have read that they are being phased-out by most manufacturers in favor of the much more comfortable and versatil dry-breathable style.

They can fill with water all they want, they CAN'T drag you down or drown you, that's an "old wives tale" that still persists despite numerous tests and demostrations to prove it untrue. ESPN just did a show on this myth. It is actually pretty hard to fill waders, if you have a waist strap, and in fact they trap buco air, and float you great!

If you do searches you can find various stunts where people have jumped off bridges into rivers, rolled in the surf and all sorts of things to show that they CAN'T drown you. I fell off my Kayak in mine, in deep water with the waist strap totally undone. I just popped back to the surface, grabbed my 'yak, flipped it over and climbed in. Budda-bing, woop-de-do...

Even if they somehow eventually DID fillwith water... the water inside the wader has the exact same density as the water outside, so you are neutral at worst.

In short go with what most everybody has found, waders are much more comfy, keep you dry and warm, and you can use them for surf-fishing, kayaking and of course, wading!

I did wear a wetsuit my first few times, because I surf/scuba and had one, but switched as soon as I got savvy to what most people were using, and how much better they are.

quietman

Quietman

http://www.kayakfishingpro.com

Samaki.. Here's a very good source for LA/OC saltwater tubing info:
http://www.baytubers.com

Good Luck!

E.

Hit the "locations to fish" link..

I never said filled waders would take one under but waders filled with water are the last thing I'd want to be dealing with in an open beach surf entry or exit. I got flipped at Aliso in a wetsuit and it was survival. I can't imagine if I had been wearing waders--trying to lug myself up out of the shorebreak with 30 pounds of seawater inside. Open beach entries with surf are guaranteed to put water inside waders. So even from a comfort level, I recommend against them. Now, beaches with a lake-like shore (doheny on a north or west swell, dana or newport harbor, long beach, etc.) are fine for waders.

Big Hammer Swimbaits-Fishco/Hammerhead Jigheads
www.swimbait.com
Pro-Cure Scents
www.pro-cure.com

If I expect to get water over me, like in my kayak through the waves, I wear a spray-jacket. I got the set-up from an east coast site where they paddle through surf in 45 degree water with nasty weather as well. The ultimate is warm fleece under breathable waders with a long-sleeve breathable spray-jacket. Bone dry and warm all day!

Waders are no problem in the surf or anywhere else.

...this has all been way-figured out by people doing it all the time...

Quietman

http://www.kayakfishingpro.com

John , you have your opinion and I have mine. I think the inquiring fellow needs to know all the options and scenarios. Just to fill you in on my mishap. I went over the falls head first into 2 feet of sand-stirred water. The force opened the o-neck of the wetsuit and filled the legs with water and sand which fortunately drained when I finally could kick out of the tube and stand. The shore that morning was very steep--steeper than normal--and it was very hard to take any steps up out of the shorepound. Had I been wearing waders, I'm sure that they would have taken in much more water and sand due to a larger opening and not drained due to their design. Don't get me wrong, I wear waders too. I only wear them in lakes, bays, or open ocean where there is zero to little surf.


Big Hammer Swimbaits-Fishco/Hammerhead Jigheads
www.swimbait.com
Pro-Cure Scents
www.pro-cure.com

OK...But I'm not really into opinions on things, especially to do with safety. The fact is waders don't fill with water, when the chest/waist strap is cinched. And my experience, being pitched head-first out of my Kayak in deep water was that very little water came in, and that was with the straps un-done.

The fact is it doesn't matter anyway if they "fill" with water, since it won't drag you down anyways They FLOAT YOU.

Wetsuits are uncomfortable, and COLD when worn above water unless covered in some sort of wind-proof layer, and then they are effectively waders.

Waders are safer and warmer, more versatile and more comfortable.

*fact*

That's why the professionals wear them, and so do I.

But do whatever you want, by all means! It's your right and you should do what you are happiest doing. It's just that a million opinions don't change a single fact... :-)

Quietman

http://www.kayakfishingpro.com

I'm with you on this one. Waders are the ONLY way to go. In winter I really like neoprene. It's just warmer than anything else. In summer, breathables will keep you from sweating too much and stinkin' up your waders.

I seem to have a fat layer somewhat like a sealion and I am quite happy to shed my waders really early in the fishing season in Long Beach and areas south. For me and a couple of other guys, our constitutions are awesome and we don't wear waders 9 months out of the year. I don't buy wearing them to protect oneself against scratches and scrapes or potential fishy encounters. A jellyfish would naturally do you a number though and they are not so uncommon here in the South Bay area. I have so much stuff on my tube that losing the waders increases mobility and reduces weight you have to both wear and lug around.

Floatation Considerations: My over-sized suspender PFD assures that I'll be floating right side up if the boat don't float!

JapanRon