We are going to be 10 years old soon

So it has been something I have been watching for the last few years. In January 2020 the Float Tube Fishing Forum will turn 10 years old. I am going to take this thread and paint a picture of how this all came about. I will talk about the highs and lows and will discuss how some of the ideas we had came about.

We will post up some old pictures from years past and share some memories and we finish out 2019.

I will start with this, the forum was started with the kind pushing of my wife. I was looking for other people to float tube with on another forum like (FNN and HookUp Sport Fishing with no luck) so she simply said start your own forum. I did and here we are almost 10 years later. It was a slow start but once it got started it took off....... MORE TO COME.....

So our original logo was a picture of my mother out for her first float tube trip on Puddingstone lake. The logo was originally the actual picture of her. I choose that picture because it was a shot of her way in the distance and you could not tell who it was just a small silhouette. the last logo before the current logo that you see today came about because of our first run of shirts.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The need to clean up the first logo was needed as there was no way we were going to get the original picture on a shirt. So, someone, I don't remember who stepped up and cleaned it up to what you see above. This logo was our logo for years until Nick Arent with Narent Designs redesigned our logo without being promoted. I will explain this more soon..............

I'm enjoying the short stories and I'm looking forward to reading more about your interesting history with FTFF Jeff.

Now that is a cool story Jeff.

That is a cool story

So back in the first year, we did our very first gathering and it turned out pretty good I must say. This was unique for us we had our first sponsor (Smith Handpoured Baits). Smith Handpoured is no longer in business but I still do talk with Judy from time to time. Anyway, they were the first to see what we could do and figured the would take a chance. They sent us over a grip of baits some pretty cool stuff as well. The goal was to promote Smith Handpoured Baits and give away there lures to as many people as we could.
So we set up the first gathering which was to be at Santa Fe Dam. We set it up in October I believe all I remember was it was freaken cold out. But we did have about 18 people show. Everyone got some free baits and we just went out to fish for fun. The funniest thing that happened that day was this. As we were waiting there the Life Guard to be on duty (that is the way Santa Fe Dam works). We were all dialed in with inflated tubes and waders on just talking when we heard a huge POOOOOOP. Waxon67's tube popped just sitting on the ground in the cold. I think this was a good thing to have to wait as Waxon67 would have been on the water when it blew.
It was funny but eye-opening at the same time. I had brought an extra tube so it was not all over for him. We all cheeped in and got him back on the water. This was so successful that we decided to this would not be the first and of course not the last. We had a lot of other gatherings after this and I will talk about some of them later. More to come on this recap of 10 years of FTFF memories.

I'm totally luvin' the history of FTFF read Jeff!

So when we first started there was only 3 members, Me, Sonarbp, Flyfishingfool (I still talk with them from time to time. For almost 8 months it was just the 3 of us no other members joined. I was ready to close it when forumotion said you must ask the other members if they want to take it over before we close it. I choose to just forget it and give up.

About the time that happened, I got a new member waxon67 (What the Heck) then another member and another. It slowly started to build and this allowed me to reach out to companies to see if they would support us in our direction. Smith Hnadpourd Baits which I mentioned before. But I know I had something when back in 2010 I got Big Hammer to join up and donate their baits to us. I could not believe they would support us as they did and still do. Then I got greedy I want a float tube company and the first one to jump on was Creek Company. I thought this would be a great thing and at the start, it looked good. But there contact person that I dealt with was just simply a pain in the neck and as I started to hear from members about poor customer service I pulled the plug.

This lead the way for first Cover Bonanza the clearance house for Classic Accessories, and then shortly after Classic Accessories join in on the fun. CA sent me my first Cumberland Float Tube which soon became the Forum's go to float tube. Since then we have supported and been supported by many other companies that have come and gone. We have also been able to help some companies get there starts and grow with the help of our member's support. As I have said before FTFF members are the best members out there thanks everyone.

Jeff I am proud of what our forum has grow to. Sorry I haven't been on in a long while, life has been pretty hectic, but I plan on changing that.

I look forward to meeting all the new members at the NPH gathering.

See you all there.

sonarbp wrote:Jeff I am proud of what our forum has grow to. Sorry I haven't been on in a long while, life has been pretty hectic,  but I plan on changing that.

I look forward to meeting all the new members at the NPH gathering.

See you all there.

Cool sonarbp looking forward to getting back on the water with you. Hey, thanks for being one of the first to join up why back in the day.

Congrats Jeff! It's amazing how quickly time fly's. I still remember Hookup Sport fishing and all the jokers on there. I didn't realize you originally started this forum back in 2010.

steve-aka-fishy wrote:Congrats Jeff! It's amazing how quickly time fly's. I still remember Hookup Sport fishing and all the jokers on there. I didn't realize you originally started this forum back in 2010.  

Yep 10 years in January from humble beginnings at the Hookup Sport Fishing page to what we have here now. Here is to 10 more years after this (not sure I will survive )

Did you know we have given away over 4 dozen float tubes over the last 10 year. All tubes given away have pretty much been Classic Accessories with few from Creek Company. The first float tube we gave away was a Grand Teton float tube way back in the day. Later we gave away some Togiak float tubes and Bighorn Float Tubes. Those Bighorn Float Tubes are workhorses and a lot of guys really like them.

But I think our biggest claim to fame is the Cumberland float tube. Once we started giving these boats away and offering test rides, the Cumberland was moving off the shelves fast. I still have to say the Cumberland Float Tube as to be one of the best out there on the market. Classic has been with us for the last 10 yaers and I hope they will be with us for another 10 as well.

I just so happen to be one of the recipients of a brand new Cumberland float tube give away by FTFF and I totally luv mine!

All I had to do was to get involved in one of the frequent “Toy Drives” or “Fishing Tournament” events that FTFF conducts for it’s members.

For nearly the past 4-years I have enjoyed all of the FTFF events, the camaraderie and the friendly competition of the tournaments, I also look forward to being enrolled in many more events in the future!  

BIG thanks to you Jeff and a BIG thanks to all of our generous sponsors!

PS ... luvin’ the 10 years of FTFF read Jeff!  

SP Dan     <“))><

I had to share this we have already talked about it but I found it the original Logo. This is what I used in the very beginning this is the shot of my Mom in Puddingstone Lake in the distance. Made a great image to explain what we were the Float Tube Fishing Forum.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

What a great picture and memory of your mom!
As always, thanks!

SP Dan <“))><

So our job here is to grow our sport and one way to do that is to bring all the new items to light. We at the FTFF enjoy new products new float tubes and new ideas and we work hard to make sure everyone knows what is out there. Classic Accessories knows this also and decided to send us a unique float tube to give away. The Ponderay float tube was unique, to say the least. One of the first float tubes I had seen with Oars on it and it was called the frameless Pontoon boat. It was a privilege to receive this boat and be there first to inflate it and review it. I just wish I could have been the one to test ride it LOL but the job is to get it to other people. I wish I could remember how this was given away but I am sure I will figure it out all I know is this was one unique tube at the time. Check out this tube.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I really like the design of this Ponderay!
Thanks for sharing Jeff!

SP Dan <“))><

I do remember the Ponderay.

It was 7 feet long and and I wondered how someone could get it to the water if they needed to walk a ways. I never seen one on the water and don't know anyone who has one.

They are no longer sold so I guess that says a lot for the boat. It was pretty cool I just think too long and the oars were kind of poor design.

So I tried to look it up and I couldn’t find it ... and then ... I read your last reply on it Jeff! Ha ha ha!
Well .... no wonder I couldn’t find it! lol

Yep they no longer for sale did not do well, they had to versions the Blue one and a Marron one as well. It was neat looking but it seemed to be more of a hassle then a benifit. I have talked to Classic About new ideas, while the like what we do they are not in the market for new ideas maybe someday but not now.

Man 10 years already!?
I remember posting pictures of my daughter when she was only 6 months lol she’s 9 now lol

One of my most memorable moments of the last 10 years was when I first got to talk with Wade of Fishfindermounts.com Wade had started Fish Finder Mounts about the same time the forum started and through some searching, I found his product. At this point, we were now getting some minor and small advertising payments coming in. I reach out to Wade about the options we had to offer for advertising. At the time it was just the link ads you see on the side of the main forum.

I had spent hours and hours trying to figure out how to create these link ad's and somehow I am not sure figured it out. Well, Wade took a look at what we had going on a called me the same day. He wanted in and was willing to pay. But he had a request he wanted his link ad under our main logo. I was kind of concerned I was not sure how to do this but I said let me look into it. He said call me back when you figure it out. Not wanting to lose this contact I got on it right away. It took me a good 2 days of research and practice but I figured it out. So Fishingfindermounts.com is the reason for the scrolling banner ads you see under our logo.

Since Wade's request, we have been able to open that scrolling ad section up to other advertisers. I would love to tell you that we make a lot of money from these ads but that is so not the case. Wade, however, has been a good friend and supporter like Classic Accessories for the past almost 10 years. We hope to add more to the list over the next 10 years.