Joel Thompson
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I recall one instance on the Upper Delaware where I was in my drift boat, anchored above a pod of large rising trout. They didn’t note my presence and I was preparing to make a cast to them. These were easily the fish of the trip.
A local “guide” rowed his clients right beside me, didn’t say a word, drops his anchor. At this point, I am standing at the front of my boat false casting. His front guy proceeds to get up, taking direction form his guide. I was in disbelief. I asked them WTF they were doing and he informed me that he was a guide and his paying clients deserved every right to have a shot at those fish. He said since I didn’t have any paying customers, he was in the right away for these risers. What rule is that? WTF? I told him if he didn’t leave I would drop my anchor through his floor. They were that close.
Not sure how things work in your state Dave but in Montana every commercial outfitter and guide has to display his license number on the side of his boat where it is easily read by anyone. If you see a guide behaving this way all you have to do is let the Montana board of Outfitters now of what happened and that guide or outfitter is going to be in trouble.
As an Outfitter I have to “endorse” each one of my guides BEFORE they can even get a license. As the endorsing outfitter it is my responsiblity to make sure that guides are qualified to do their jobs and that they always act in a respectful and professional manner. If I every caught wind of one of my guides doing what you described above I would would fire his ass in a heart beat. They are respresenting me every time they go out and that is not the way I want people to think of me.
On the lines of River etiquette I hate the guy who doesn’t give you your space. I feel that if you are closer than 250 yards you are too close. Back off, relax, and have fun.
Joel
This is my fishing buddy Riley. Some of you on the board have had the chance to meet Riley in person and know what a great dog he is. That said he is not much of a fisherman. Fish jumping or splashing means retrieve aparently to him. Love him to death but he can sometime really test your patients while fishing. This is a classic example in this picture. I just caught a nice cutthroat on a dry dropper combo and Riley decided he needed to help. I was telling him NO but at that point it was too late. He is a big strong dog too so once he puts his mind to something he is probably going to succeed. Anyhow I did manage to get the fish but not with out getting the dropper stuck all the way into my hand. My wife thought this was very funny and took this shot.
Joel
It went very well Mark! Love the feel of the gun and there were a lot of dusted clays out there as well. The only thing I didn’t like was the two boxes of magnum shells I had to shot through it for the break in. Even with the gun being an auto those magnums still have a good kick. The gun handles them a lot nicer then my O/U did though. The other thing I hate about those magnum loads is they really dirty up the gun. 🙁
Joel
Some great ideas guys! Thanks for the input!
Neal, where did you get that photo? That is awesome!
Joel
My boat ramp pet peeves:
#1 People who give you a dirty look when they have to stop fishing/swimming to move their chairs, coolers and kids off the ramp so you can launch your boat. >:(
#2 folks who pull up to a boat ramp with one of those trailers that hold a dozen canoes/kayaks. The boat ramp soon becomes littered with wetsuits, paddles, pfds and kayaks while their owners casually put on sunscreen.
Drifter,
My biggest pet peev is tubers!! One of the lauches on the Blackfoot has turned into such a battle ground that they have to have a deputy patrol it. Tubers have NO respect for anyone else using the river.
J.L.- Great thread and great advice. This is a big one for me as well. A lauch should only take a couple of minutes at the most and the same goes for when you pull your boat out.
Once again, great advice JL
Joel
Whoever comes back alive wins the $125 TFO 5 weight.
Woa woa woa Zach! we are in tough economic times here buddy! I was thinking more along the lines of a homemade willow with some string and a hook attached! 😮
Seriously, has no one here ever tried to tie up something from nature before? I guess I live in the land of road kill. Dead deer, dead elk, every size, color, and shape of dead bird. Dead ground squirrels, dead muskrat…you get my point. Plus I have seen all kinds of different vegitations that I think a guy could tie with.
Joel
That boat truly is stunning Alan. Your work is simply amazing. If you didn’t count your time what does a boat like that cost a guy if you don’t mind me asking?
Joel
I think that is a guy that has had WAY too much time on his hands over the years. Damn impressive though!
Joel
Hey All!
I still have some stuff left. I willing to consider reasonable offers on the wading boots as I need the room for my new inventory coming in the first part of March. Please only make offers if you are serious.
Thanks!
Joel
John, my trip is two weeks and as much as I would prefer to buy a lens over renting it I was just looking for a less expensive alternative. The lens I have now is a 70-300mm. I didn’t get the kit lens with the camera as everyone I talked to said they were junk. I got the bigger zoom because of all the wild life at the ranch I work at and was wanting a way to get a little closer.
Looks like I will need to do some head scratching on this one…
Joel
The fit is really good at this point Mark. I will be shooting the gun for the first time on Wednesday and should have a better feel after that.
The owners manual recommends shooting a heavier load during the break in period. I have never been a huge fan of magnum loads but I was always shooting my over under which meant my shoulder was taking the brunt of the kick. It will be interesting to see how much this new auto takes in the way of the kick.
Joel
Mark I wouldn’t dedicate any shotgun to just shooting clays! After all it is in the guns nature to go after “real” birds at some point and time…right?
No hints yet but her birthday is not until June. Hopefully I will be able to take care of that present on the New Zealand trip…
Joel
Allan, the problem with that boat is it is almost too pretty to put in the water! With all of the hours you have put into that boat you will be going nuts the first time somebody steps into it with a muddy boot or the first time they put that muddy boot up on your nicely finished wood.
Damn sexy boat for sure but the stress of taking people out in it would be too much for me to enjoy.
Joel
Great information, Mike, thanks. I’m surprised to learn you aren’t doing your own fiberglass repair (yet). I was under the impression that lots of Western driftboat guys basically overhauled their glass bottoms once every year or two.
Zach
I think most (at least in the case of guides) trade their fiberglass boats in every two years and get a new one. At that point whether it be Hyde, Clacka, or RO they all put a new bottom on those boats and sell them in their used fleet. It is a great way to pick up a good boat at a good price. Guides can usually justify doing this as they get a pretty sweet pro deal on the new boats and most of the above mentioned companies let you trade up every couple of years for mere $1000 difference. Not a bad way to keep rowing the latest greatest.
That said you never have to worry about that if you buy a Boulder Boat Works boat. The stuff they make those boats out of is darn near bullet proof! I pulled my boat over all kinds of rocks at the end of the season last year and you can barely tell the bottom is scratched.
Joel
Zach, I think a lot of the Big manufacturers have their top of the line and then the more affordable models. Unfortunately at the time I bought my Aire I was looking for the “best” deal. I wish I had waited and spent the extra cash and got what I wanted. Aire for instance makes some of their product in Boise and their less expensive stuff is made over seas. My boat was made over seas and you can tell as the quality is just not the same. The one thing I hate most about my raft is the floor. It has a bladder that is zipped into a cover to try and make it look more solid and uniform. The problem is the bladder is a weaker material and I have had to replace it twice in the four years that I have owned the boat. Plus the cover that this bladder zips into takes on water which adds weight to the boat which makes it ride lower in the water which causes more drag and makes it very heavy when it comes time to take the boat out of the water.
I think the two absolute best boats on the market (in terms of rafts) are the Sotar (#1 choice) and the NRS. I bought the Sotar for the ranch I work for. I got the Sotar Elite 13 footer. I like the smaller rafts for fishing out of personally as you can get them in tighter situations and on the windy days they are less affected. The nicest thing about Sotar is each raft is made to order. That’s right you can’t just buy them anywhere you must order them. This is great because you can have it made just the way you want! Plus the they have the best warranty in the business which I believe is 7 years. The air valves are on the inside of the tubes in locations that fly line does not get tangled around which I think is huge and something everyone should look at when purchasing a raft for fishing out of. Their floors are very solid and have a pressure relief valve on them for those hot days when expansion occurs and the floor are a true self bailing floor.
I think NRS makes the next best boat. They are a little heavier than the Sotar but they are built very well and will hold up over time.
Guys if I could give one piece of advice it would be to spend the money and get the boat you want. Really a raft should last you a very long time if you take care of it. Getting the one you want will always make you happy over the course of that boats life. Saving a few bucks and getting a boat just because you want one will leave you disappointed every time you row it.
Zach I am not sure if that is what you were looking for. Having not bought a raft for over 3 years now has left me a little fuzzy on all of the things I compared when I bought the Sotar. I do know that I would buy another in a heart beat and there was no comparison with other rafts when I was doing my research.
Joel
Do yourself a favor Robert and get yourself a pair of Sawyer Dyenlite Oars. I promise you will never regret the purchase after rowing with them for one day. Light weight, durable, great flex, and great purchase in the water. I won’t own anything but these oars from here on out. A little more money but well worth it in the long run.
Joel
Sorry Ron. Had I known there was going to be free beer I may have planned differently for the New Zealand trip… 🙂
Joel
I think you guys have pretty much hit the nail on the head with the major differences between the two. I own both. I have an Aire 13ft raft and a Boulder Boat Works Low Profile drift boat. I prefer to row the drift boat. It is made out of a polymer plastic so it is WAY lighter than a fiber glass boat. It rows extremely easy and glides over rocky bottoms with ease compared to the raft. That said, the raft needs less water to float in so it may not scrape bottom where the drift boat will.
As far as going through technical big boulder type water goes it is true you worry less with the raft as it will handle scrapes and bumps fairly well. However, if you are an accomplished oarsman than you should have no issues taking a hard boat down the same water and you should be able to do it with any problems. There is no place that I can think of that I wouldn’t take my drift boat down that I would take my raft down.
Zach, I think you pointed out the major advantage that a raft has over a drift boat. The ability to shlep a raft down to the river. There are many places on the Blackfoot River in Montana that this is the only option. A raft is must lighter and a couple of guys should be able to get it over or around most objects in order to get it to the water.
From a client stand point I feel like the majority of my clients prefer fishing from my drift boat. I think they like the option of being able to fish standing up or sitting down. With most rowing frames that rafts have the only real option is to fish sitting down. I know they make some frames now that have platforms for standing on and knee braces, but in my opinion this defeats the purpose of owning a raft as it adds a considerable amount of weight to it. If you are going to do that you may as well buy a drift boat as you will be happier in the long run.
The storage thing is a HUGE advantage of a drift boat. Everything has its place and your boat never feels cramped. It is a constant struggle to find the room in a raft and still be able to access things easily.
Joel
I am a little surprised at the lack of response to this post. Bryan thanks for the heads up on this and I for one will certainly make some phone calls and send some emails today in support of good access. This is one of the single things that threatens ALL fisherman and if we want our water ways to remain open for us all to be able to fish then we ALL need to get involved!!
Bryan I think the biggest thing you can do is to get a local chapter of Trout Unlimited involved if they already aren’t. Trout Unlimited is HUGE in the state of Montana in protecting our stream access. Can’t say enough good things about T.U. and all they do!
Joel
