I took my father in law who is out from New Jersy Brrrrr! for his first float tube trip Saturday. I fugured we would take a warm up trip to Goleta Bay to get him aquainted to the tube and then make a real run Sunday morning. Saturday everything that could go wrong, went wrong. First the tube I borrowed for him leaked and was almost folding in half, then the spool feel off the reel I let him borrow and I had to pull up all the line to get it back, then I realized the spool popped off because the shaft was screwed up and I couldn't reel all the line back in. Fortunately I had 2 rods with me, so I set him up with one of them. On my second cast I scored a small flattie and I ended up with a jack smelt on top of that for one hour of screwing around and 1.5 hours of actual fishing. My father in law came up empty.

After spending the night patching holes in the tube, I found 4, we got up early Sunday and hit Haskel's. The surf was a bit bigger then I would of liked, but he was game so we went for it. I left my tube on the beach and helped him launch by pushing his tube out into chest deep water. Only minimal splashing / wetness. I launched dry and we fished for about 2.5 hours. He scored his first float tube fish, a halibut about 14 inches and I managed a barred surf pearch and a jack smelt and quite a few short bites. All fish both days were caught on 3 inch "Sea Wolf" colored Big Hammers.

The best part was when we decided to come in. I told him to stay outside and I would land my tube and then wade back out to help him. I made it in through the surf dry and I was walking up the beach with my tube. He had steadily been drifting in closer and closer as I landed and just as I was steping out of my tube, a big set wave loomed up and I knew he was in trouble. He ended up in no mans land and the wave broke right on him. I just dropped everything and ran. He flipped over and was swimming in waders, while getting nailed by about 3 waves in a row. Fortunately I had taken the rods with me and all that I had to collect was him and his hat. The tube washed in to the beach by it's self. He ended up soaked and cold but otherwise OK. The waders were full of water up to about his knees. He actually fared pretty well for someone in his late sixties and we ended up laughing about it afterwards. Could have been much worse though.

Bowlboy