I mentioned tubing in another thread, and that reminded me of an article I read years ago in Outdoor Life. It was about Bob Brown and some of his friends who caught lots of bass and crappie ... in Oklahoma ... fishing out of a float tube. It was the first I had ever heard of such a thing.
Tubing is really big out west, but it has a lot of history in OK, too. I thought you guys might enjoy this:
When the phone rings at ODP Tubes in Oklahoma City, the question often asked is “if we are the direct descendants of the Fishmaster tubes,” says Kirk Smith of Edmond, co-owner of the business that makes float tubes designed for fishing.
“As soon as I say, 'Yes,' they say, 'Here is my credit card number.'”
Fishmaster float tubes were once a big deal in Oklahoma and the region. They were manufactured in Oklahoma City on north Portland Avenue near the Oklahoma State University Extension Center and owned by the late Bob Brown, a legendary angler in his day who was a fixture at the Oklahoma City Tackle Show.
“He got float tubing going,” Oklahoma City tube fisherman George Edwards said of Brown. “I cut my teeth on a Fishmaster in 1969, and I still use a Fishmaster.”
Keeping a legacy afloat