Float Tubing 10: Necessary Equipment for Beginners

A float tube can at least double your fishing fun, and it doesn't require gas, which helps the environment and your pocketbook.

I want to go over the items you will need to get started tubing:

Float tube - I have 2 because I'm a heavyweight and the first one was a U-Boat 2000 and it sat a little low in the water. Now I have a Fish Cat 4 and that sits up a couple of inches higher and I think it is satisfactory. I chose it because of a store credit I won at our annual auction from a place that only sells Fish Cat 4's. There are a lot of neat looking tubes available. I think if you weigh under 200 pounds that any float tube will perform fine for you.

Flippers - I use cheap ones from Big 5 over my stocking foot waders and my fishing partner uses cheap ones that attach to boots and there doesn't seem to be much difference. I seem to be a little faster, but he seems to be kicking about half as much as me. It would be nice if the flippers float since you can have a good chance at recovering a flipper if it falls off of your foot. If you have only one flipper, your speed will be ridiculously slow.

Flip flops - Since I am not wearing boots, I need some kind of shoes to get from the shore to my truck and they protect my wader soles. Because of the wader booties you can't use flip flops that fit between the toes. I use some that float and the big strap adjusts with Velcro. The Velcro makes them easy to secure around a piece of plastic clothes line that I tie to my tube.

Swim lessons - I think people playing around water should have some swimming proficiency.

Pump - Blowing up your tube is a very quick process with most pumps sold for float tubes. It seems like it takes around 60 seconds so I haven't felt the need to get an electric pump.

Life jacket - I often use one and most dead people from water accidents didn't.

Man-made material pants - Cotton inside of waders absorbs perspiration and feels like wet tissue paper after awhile. Polypropylene works, but tends to stink permanently after worn for a day so I don't use that particular material.
Wool socks are what I use, never cotton ones.

I use my breathable chest waders almost all the time and if I think it is going to be cold, I will put on 2 pairs of nylon or polyester pants and maybe 2 pairs of wool socks. They work like thermal undergarments and I bought the pants at TJ Maxx for about $15 each. Since they are inside of my waders most of the time, the fact that one is hot pink with flaming death skull logos and the other looks like the flag of Albania isn't a factor, only the price. Sometimes I use neoprene waders and then I can use a single layer of pants and socks for about the same temperature level. The comfort is basically equal since poly waders are somewhat stiff, but you need 1 less layer.

These items should easily get you through your early float tube career. Some additions you might consider are anchors, hand warmers for your feet, fishing rod leashes or holders and fish.

It seems like a longer rod is easier to cast than a shorter one and a sink tip or sinking line may come in handy, but not essential. I didn't have a sinking line at a lake once so I used a 100 foot tippet of 10 pound test mono on my floating line on a reel that had enough room and went trolling successfully (6 pound cutthroat). I couldn't cast anything, but that kind of arrangement can get you by when you need to troll deep.