Impromptu float

[autofisher]

Yesterday, my family sprang a last minute trip to the river. To even further my surprise, my fiance suggested that I just float and fish and meet them at the rest area. Holy crap! This is exactly why I'm going to marry her. So after running around to get a tube and borrow oars so I could float and my buddy could relax while I fished, I ended up with two complete sets of oars and two complete pontoons. Doing the math.... Holy crap! This is gonna be awesome!
We finally get to the boat ramp where we're taking off from and get ready to assemble everything. I'm going to put the frames together since my friend has no clue what he's doing. He had the simple yet unenviable task of blowing up the bladders for the toons. While I was scrambling around putting the first frame together he got his first one done in no time. He looked like a mad high school freshman that just "discovered" things. As he was halfway through his second, I finished up the first frame. That's when I heard it. "Uh oh." This big galoot had literally pulled the handle off of my pump. It pumped no more!
After jimmy-rigging the handle assembly with a cast of duct tape that would make most of my relatives proud, 4 cigarettes, some sweat and some prayers we finally got on the water.
I had some nibbles and fought a couple just chuckin spinners. Only landed one squaw. Still, I had a blast and love just being out there.
Tight lines guys hope you're out having as much fun as I am.

 

[DrTheopolis]

Hey, your inexperienced buddy didn't place a fully inflated bladder on hot blacktop (or didn't pay for the mistake), so it was a good trip (at least it wasn't me when that lesson was learned, but dang, my buddy was pissed).

 

[bagold53]

Hey, your inexperienced buddy didn't place a fully inflated bladder on hot blacktop (or didn't pay for the mistake), so it was a good trip (at least it wasn't me when that lesson was learned, but dang, my buddy was pissed).

I will have to remember this.

 

[lizardman]

Good for you Auto for getting on the river.

Might I suggest a trip to one of the rafting supply or Sportman's Warehouse so you can pick up an electric pump? No not the cheesy little plug into the cigarettel lighter and take forever to blow up a balloon type pump, but the type used by commercial river rafters that hook to the battery of the automobile.

These make inflating anything from whitewater rafts to air matteresses a breeze to inflate (pun not intended). Mine ran right at $150.00 and is still going strong.

Dave

 

[autofisher]

Hey, your inexperienced buddy didn't place a fully inflated bladder on hot blacktop (or didn't pay for the mistake), so it was a good trip (at least it wasn't me when that lesson was learned, but dang, my buddy was pissed).

I saw a guy do that one time but we left before it blew. Pretty sure I heard it as we were floating down and never saw the guy at the end