Ban All Sleds on the Sandy! Take 2

[Bryan]

Dear Jerk,

This little love letter goes out to the fat old man graemlins/berry.gif and his potty mouthed old wife graemlins/stupid.gif who was running a sled on the Sandy River yesterday, 4-19-02. The sled was the only sled on the Sandy running with the passenger compartment covered by the weather guard. It was also the only boat with a man and woman in it! You must know who you are by now I am going to tell all what you did.

It was about 4:30pm when you came running at FULL SPEED while heading up some rapids. We first spotted you about 1000' down river and yet you came right for us :shocked: . We were anchored within, maybe 40' from the bank, fishing a slot just above a tailout in a medium to small drift boat. There was PLENTY of water on the other side to pass us. I am talking HUNDREDS of feet of water to pass us. But NO, you had to pass between us and the shore and I might add AT FULL ******' SPEED :mad: ! You COMPLETE BAD PERSON graemlins/berry.gif ! You came within 10' of our anchored drift boat when you passed us AT FULL SPEED! Were you durnk, blind or just plain STUPID :whazzup: ?

I am not sure why you had your head so far up the place that the sun don't shine? The waves you created almost swamped the boat! You came with in inches of knocking both my partner and I into the water . You nearly dumped EVERYTHING we had in the boat because you had to be an idiot . You saw us when we tried to wave you off but you kept coming. All I can say is that you're lucky that you were in a motorboat and fled the scene of the crime graemlins/icon_argue.gif ! It's idiots like you that makes everyone else hate sleds graemlins/berry.gif !

If people like you endanger the lives of others who are otherwise safely complying with boater safety on our rivers I would say that we need to end all sleds on rivers smaller than the Willamette! Why should an innocent person pay the price of his life just because an idiot wants to race up the river like a bass fisherman with his hair on fire? That's what is going to happen. A sled going a full speed with a careless driver is going to swamp a smaller boat or worse just flat-out run into one, and a person who would otherwise go home and kiss his wife and kids is going to be dead.

I know that most people are safe when it comes to sleds but there are those bad apples that are not! Why should I or anyone be asked to be on the same river with these incompetent people? Are there even any requirements for anyone to drive one of these? I'd say that driving a sled is a lot more dangerous than driving a car. Can any idiot buy one and the next day take it out for a spin? Are there any boater safety classes these people have to attend? Is there some sort of license a person has to attain so that in the case of an incident like yesterday a license can be revoked?

I have not meant to offend to safe sleders ,
bryan

[PittsburghD]

Hey Bryan, next time you are holding on for your life, try to take a look at the license number on the boat and write it down. There may be a chance to report it and get the state to send a message to him. I know patrols are picking up all over and they would love to hook up with these folks.

Nothing like some redneck from the woods who won on video poker buying a sled and ruining the rivers for us all.

---D :mad:

[Rocky]

Yea Bryan I feel your pain...seems like everytime We go out, someone has to run 10-15` next to us at full tilt instead of using the other half mile on the other side, could be they just "dont get it" or just dont care.

While we are at it, why do some people at the ramps park 5 or 6 feet from each other instead of parking a little closer? Just enough space in between to say "sheesh, if he would have parked three feet over I could have squeezed in there with room to spare"

[TeamYeeha]

One jerk in a jet boat dosen't mean we all are. If you could hear what they were saying you should have got the boat #'s to. Not that you were, but I have seen guys anchored right above rapids and on corners in the slot where it may be the only place these boats can go. Don't ban jet boats just report unsafe jerks as required.
Even on the Willamette jerks will blast right by you. At least no one was hurt...... At ten feet I would have thought about taking a swing at them with the paddel. Just report them
Good luck fishing
When in doubt run a North River :grin:

[Jooky]

well when i drift down with my drift boat I try to pass people on the side they are not fishing, usually the inside of them. maybe the sled didnt want to run over your fishing spot. And he proply didnt want to slow down because he was scared that it might be too shallow....but then again I heard of a sled that did cookies infront of bank guys one day.

[Jennie@ifish]

And a great big hand from me for being able to write something like that without one filtered word
NOT an easy task.
I would have been SO upset.
I've had that happen with the bassin boats on the Willamette.
I get so mad, but Bill is SO used to it! He just shakes his head and keeps trolling.
I guess it is normal?
Normal rude people?
Jen

[OldRedSled]

I run the Sandy allot and that sounds unusualy odd? Where was this? There are 2 places that i know of where water detph does dictate the path for a sled, but i have not seen the Sandy lately so i dont know the current river levels. Even so it sounds very inconsiderate for that person to do that.
BUT in defnese of sleds! I encounter Drifters ALL the time on the Clack and Sandy that, most of the time theres no issue but sometimes there is. When you anchor on one of those two rivers you have to remember sleds are present and they dont always have the option of where to run becasue of river levels. There has been 2 instances where i had too choose to beach my boat inorder to not hit a Anchored drifter. One instance was me coming around a blind corner off a droping rapids during last years Coho run. the water levels were LOw so i had no options and this darn drifter was anchored SMACK at the bottom off the white water in a chute that was only 10feet wide (also only 1/8 mile below the dam boat ramp). :shocked: My choice was beaching my boat and it took me a soild day to get it off, And oh yea the drifter at the gumption to yell "slow down A*****" right as he pulled anchor. :mad: The second instance was also on the clack during the springer run same story difrent blind corner only the guy was alone and on the oars. Again on the beach. :shocked:
SO moral of story, drifters dont own Sandy or CLack rivers, nor do sleds, and we need to be aware of the conditions and how that might effect others on the river. graemlins/icon_argue.gif But the Drifters can put themselves ANYWHERE and sleds are confined to certian paths (sometimes certian speeds also) due to water conditions. SO please be aware everyone.

ORS :wink:

[crabbait]

As a sled owner, I have often wondered how the powers that be have left owner/operators unregulated.

Where else can you buy a 20'+ machine with a 502cu V8 capable of speeds in excess of 60mph and, as long as you have the cash, its, "Have a nice day!" No classes, no license, no speed limit and no brains required. You can't do it with a truck and certainly not an airplane!

Be careful out there. Most folks are thoughtful and considerate but there are some big morons with big motors! :hoboy: :hoboy: :hoboy:

[Doc Spratley]

During last year's smelt run on the Sandy, my wife and I were in the DB fishing for steelhead and early springers. As we were drifting by the beach at Glenn Otto Park, I noticed that someone in a fancy North River was positioned under the bridge by Jack's in such a manner that you couldn't possibly get by him given the low water at the time. It turns out this guy was anchored both bow and stern, broadside against the current in the middle of the navigable lane. :rolleyes: There were 4 guys and 1 woman, all dipping for smelt. When I asked them to pull an anchor so I could get past, one of them gave me the finger, they couldn't be bothered while dipping for smelt. (Picture pi$$ed fisherman now blowing stack. :mad: :mad: ) Finally, the woman got one of the guys to move the boat for us. They were torqued that they had to move for me.

When I got down to the landing at Lewis and Clark, I couldn't believe it. There, in the lot, was a State Patrolman. I told him what happened and he said "no problemo". The patrolman took off and caught them in the act, once again anchored broadside under the bride blocking "the slot."

The only part of the story sweeter then having these yokels get busted, my wife caught a 6 pound summer steelhead that went right onto the barbeque when we got home. :grin:

[M W Sheller]

Power boats, and drift boats have their own specialized nitch, on their own type of water. When you take your drift boat on to large water ways,i.e. Willamette below I-5, McKenzie below I-5, So. Santiam below Waterloo, you're in the power boat turf. On the other hand, when you take your power boat above these points, and many more small rivers that I'm not familiar with, you've crossed into the domain of drift boaters. Since I, as adrift boater am essentialy power-less, I do believe I have, at the very least, the right-of way. When you go into someone elses home, yard, place of work, any place they might call their own, you must mind your manners, or conflicts WILL arise.
It is my personal opinion, that there has to be a seperation between power boaters and non-powered craft. I don't take my drift boat below I-5 on the rivers mentioned, because it's not suited for fishing that type of water. I would think that a rational power boater would make the same judgement, and keep their craft off rivers that are more suited to drift boats. Unfortunatly, that is not the case. So, I expect to see, in the near future, a ban on powered craft above certain points on most navigable rivers in the northwest.
Even the most polite, knowledgable, power boater, has no place on smaller rivers, when he interfears with non-powerd boaters.

[FishinMission]

It isn't really a "boat" issue...It's an "operator" issue, if you ask me.

And for those that think jet boats don't belong on "drift" boat rivers....jetboats were made for drift boat rivers.

Shall we not see drift boats out trolling in Tillamook Bay, or the Willamette, or the Columbia??

Nonsense...Some folks are just dumb-a$$es...I see them in drift boats too. Reality sucks, sometimes.

Cheers...

Mark

[Wild Chrome]

It's sad that a few idiots cause so much grief, but it's the same everywhere, not just on the river. On the Clack, where I bank fish usually, I intentionally fish times/places where I know there will be few boats.

[TJB]

To me it is pretty clear. The law states the boat under power must give way to the boat that is not under power. If the boat under power cannot then it is being operated in an unsafe manner. There really is not a lot of room on this issue.

[Doc Spratley]

I should have been more clear in my earlier post. It is completely an issue of ignorant operators, not the craft itself(be it drift boat or power). I have certainly seen some behavior coming from driftboaters every bit as obnoxious as any I've seen from the power boat crowd. Boater Education can only do so much. In the end, common sense and curtesy for others is a skill you either have or you don't. :wink:

[Salmonator]

Since when has the Santiam below I-5 (or the mckenzie for that matter) not been suitable for driftboats? :hoboy:

[ 04-21-2002, 06:53 PM: Message edited by: Salmonator ]

[Dan Christopher]

MYSELF BEING THE OWNER OF A JET BOAT AND A DRIFT BOAT I SEE BOTH SIDES.(ALWAYS GIVE WAY TO A DRIFT BOAT ALWAY ALWAYS ALWAYS.)I HAVE SEEN DRIFT BOATS ANCHORED IN A SLOT MY FIRST TRIP DOWN RIVER AND ON MY SECOND TRIP 5 HOURS LATTER THERE STILL THERE IN THE SAME SPOT.(BAD BAD THING.)I HAVE SEEN DRIFT BOATS SITTING IN THE TAILOUT AND YOU CAN HEAR A JET COMING SO PULL UP GUYS AND MOVE OVER.I HAVE ALSO SEEN JETBOATS THAT THINK THEY OWN THE RIVER .THEY GO BUY YOU FULL SPEED IN LONG DEEP WATER.(IF ITS DEEP, SLOW THE HECK DOWN WHEN PASSING DRIFT BOATS.(RULE #1 LITTLE OR NO WAKE)YESTERDAY I WAS FLOATING THE SANDY AND A SLED CAME BY A 2 MPH .I MADE A POINT TO SAY THANK YOU.HE CAME BY LATER AND I NEVER FELT THE WAKE.SO BE NICE AND SHARE.POINT IS ITS NOT THE BOAT ITS THE DRIVER.AND KEEP A PEN HANDY SO YOU CAN WRITE DOWN THOSE NUMBERS..P.S VERY SLOW IN THE SANDY :depressed:

[jayman]

Love this topic! :grin: The guy may have THOUGHT he was doing what he needed to do but that is where my point comes in: To own a sled or any boat that has a motor, you need to be able to prove that your IQ is higher than the horsepower of your boat! :cheers:
jayman

[Flatfish]

Thats pretty much why we don't drift the Clack or Sandy when there is enough water for the sleds.They are sled rivers.There are other waters where I can catch the same # of fish and not fight the traffic.Should sleds be outlawed?NO.Are certian people bad drivers no matter the vehicle?YES.Do the sled rivers all you want when it's too low for the powerboats to travel, or get used to it.As the boats become bigger, the path that they can follow shrinks.We do run these waters in sleds but thats pretty much it.Why fight it when there are alternatives?We have also seen drifters cause unsafe travel conditions based on where they anchor.On both sled and drift only rivers.I'm not implying that anyone in this instance is guilty or innocent as I was not there.Just trying to say thet as our population ,and economy grows,these situations are unavoidable.The best parallel that I can think of is the fly only water on the Umpqua.Fly folks take more room to make a presentation so there is an area that these folks can go to without competing with conventional gear anglers that need 8 feet between them and the next guy.Some folks don't like this but there are only a handful of rivers that can be run in a sled and if we close the Sandy it will only make the Clack,Lewis,Cowlitz,Deschutes,Etc... even more crowded and dangerous than they already are.Now that is not a smart idea is it?
Sorry for the long post.
Mark

[Dan Christopher]

TESTS ARE TESTS AND REAL LIFE IS A WHOLE OTHER STORY.IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR CAR DRIVERS LICENSE TEST AGAIN WOULD YOU DRIVE THE WAY YOU ALWAYS DO, ONE HAND ON THE WHEEL TALKING ON THE CELL PHONE.I DONT THINK SO. BUT AFTER YOU PASS YOU WOULD BE.SAME THING WITH BOATS.THE JERKS WILL STILL BE JERKS AFTER THEY GET THERE LICENSE.SO I SEE 2 OPTIONS GET ALONG AND JET BOATERS MAKE A POINT OF GOING SLOW AND SAYING HI OR ITS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THERE BANNED FROM THE SMALL RIVERS.FISHERMAN NEED TO STICK TOGETHER OR WE WILL ALL BE UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.LOOK AT HUNTING,THEY TURNED PEOPLE AGENST THE HOUND HUNTERS,THEN THE TRAPERS,NOW THERE GOING AFTER THE BOW HUNTERS,THEN THE MUZZLE LOADER.AFTER THAT IT WONT BE LONG BEFORE NO ONE CAN HUNT.THE POINT IS GET ALONG AND DONT LET IT HAPPEN TO FISHING.. :cheers:

[Corkie Monster]

I say just carry a pen and pad, catch the offenders and slap them with a hefty fine :tongue:

[PittsburghD]

Like I said, write it down and report it. That's about all we can do. As for TJB, I have to agree one hundred percent. Just as in skiing or boating on a lake, the powered craft has to give way to the non-powered craft. That's the way the rule is writtne and that's how we all have to follow it.

I run all kinds of boats on all kinds of waters. The one consistant thing I see is that almost every trip (with a population around) seems to have an idiot somewhere on it to try and spoil it for the rest of us. Meanwhile, they are going home right now too, saying, "Those dang people screaming and yelling at me telling me what to do with their Ifish stickers and their holier than thoun attitudes. I'm sick of them getting in my face. *******' schmucks with values, they make me sick. Hey, Ethel, what's that website address? WWW. ifish.com, ...net?

We shall overcome.

---D

[Smily]

That person what Doc Sprately said almost took me out as well. I must have been either ahead of you or just behind you Doc. I couldn't believe my eyes of all the Moronic actions some people pull. There will be mostly nice people and some people that need lessons as well. I think it would be nice if there was some kind of Education and Ettiquete courses that all the people should attend at least once to say didn't you learn anything that in clASS? Everybody was a Newbie at somepoint. If maybe we all had the same rules or lessons to learn by, we would all be in the same Boat? Of course opinions will always vary. But there would be some ground rules set. Just my thoughts.

:smile: Smily :smile:

[Deleted User]

I have yet to take my sled up a small river. I want to take a class that teaches you how to read the water and handle certain situations. Maybe they should require a boater to take such a class to get a permit to run these smaller rivers. I hope it doesnt take a death to put something like this in affect.
:depressed:
Fool

[Corkie Monster]

Nothing against sleds, but SOME operators are just plain rude and disrespectfull. While at Bonnie lure park this winter I was fishing a drift and wadeing about up to my waist. A 20+ ft sled came flying up the river not even 20 ft from me(I tried to get away but was'nt fast enough) The guy had plenty of water and plenty of depth to Slow down and be a little further away. Let's just say I had water inside my waders and almost took a unwanted swim. About 10 minuts later the same guy came back down the river and stoped right were I was casting(he knew it)and begin to fish. After about 15 minutes or so went by he went back down river at a high rate of speed. About 10 minutes later I hear another sled flying up river, Same guy. Still hualin butt.(this time I made out of the way) What does he do, He does a cookie right in front of me and high tales it back down river. What a Friggen JERK. Somtimes I wish I had a Paint ball gun or somthing. Now most of the sled Operators are pretty nice guy's, but there are always those fine specimens out there that think they own the river, just as with anthing or anywhere else in the world. There is always a handfull of people out there to make life interesting. :tongue: So better get used to it.

[Wet_Willy]

Changed my mind...My post wasn't necessary. Thank goodness for edit...
WW

[ 04-22-2002, 08:14 AM: Message edited by: Wet_Willy ]

[Phish_on]

Oh, c'mon ... everybody knows jet sleds make hardly ANY WAKE when they're on plane.

:rolleyes: yeah, right.

I've got to remember to send in my stuff to get that Boater Education Card ...

[hustlerrjim]

this is the reason I have fought power boats on all rivers and will continue to do so.
if you people think this is bad wait till the electric motors show up in large numbers on the wilson and nestucca rivers.like they are on the siletez.
people have found they can slowly slide down the river with an electric motor and side cast into the steelhead drifts with amazing results.
the problem is they have also run back up the river and repeat this method time and time again.
suddenly we have two way traffic.
The solution is very simple---- ban all artificial power on all the rivers above tide water.
years ago the marine board banned jet boats on the nehalem and above solly smith on the wilson and the nestucca this has been seen as one of their smartest decisions
This has been acclaimed as the solution to the problem the only problem problem is they didn't go far enough.

[Corkie Monster]

I think they should ban all boats on all rivers. Pure innertube fishing from now on... :grin:

[Thick-N-Thin]

Lets be totally fair about this. If you are banning powerboats because there are some idiots that drive them, then we need to ban all boats and bank fisherman and lets see the cars that they use to get to the rivers. I'm sorry but I am a fisherman, sportsman, outdoorsman and I love to site see. The rivers are not just for us fishing people. You ban one you need to ban them all from using the rivers. I guess we need to protect our self from our selves! We all make mistakes and I guess here I will be the first to admit to it. Don’t tell me you haven’t ever ****** someone off from a mistake you made! While you drive a car, anchoring, rowing a DB, backing in a ramp, loading your boat, parking to far from someone or casting from shore. The list of items goes on that you can ban for things idiots do. Just doesn’t solve the total problem here! There will always be those idiots and hey sometimes those idiots are us. What stupid things have you done lately? Think about it! We are not all perfect as some may claim here.

[WheresMyBobber]

Mojo & Thick-N-Thin, you guys hit the nail on the head. Good posts. :smile:

Time to kill this thread.

[lovetofish]

Yeah, every time I see the title of this thread I get upset. Ok, so someone thought that someone else should have run their boat a little differently. There is a big step from that to banning all jet boats from the river. Geeez!

And no, I don't own a jet boat. I actually have a drift boat.

The other morning I was in my friemd's jet boat. We were going upriver (not the Sandy) on plane (so yes, at speed).
We passed a boat and the guy gives us the finger for going fast. I would have liked to go back and explained to him that we actually caused much less wake when we were on-plane...but what are you going to do? Some people can't figure it out.

How does a thread get closed?

[Wild Chrome]

Anyone can be a jerk. Only the jets can be a 40 mph 2000 pound jerk putting out a 2 foot wave.

[Mojo]

hustlerrjim,
I think they need to ban all drift boats from all rivers! Sound a bit inflamitory. I really feel they ought to ban all jerks.
If everyone treated otheres like they would like to be treated if they switched boats, then there would be no problem. Banning any boat type just makes one group the outsiders, and the outsiders are always disgruntled.
I own a sled. My fishing partners own Drifters. I spend time in both, and run the rivers differently in both. I can honestly tell you bans will cause more bad blood between DB guys and the Sledders. Take a few minutes to politely explain things to those you find fault with. If they get rude, then leave without starting a fight. There are losers everywhere, don't lower yourself to their level.

[Dan Christopher]

hey there i saw your big blue jerk with the full cover again today,i was there last week when he did this i was just pulling out.but i got his boat# for you(OR 811 UZ)there have fun with that..he plowed by me 100 yards from the tail out in the duck hole.i was 10 yards from the bank he was in 8 feet of water with about 30 feet of room (5 feet or more deep)on the right but came with in 15 yards of the boat in the hole not the tail out and never tried to slow it down at all.now i got a 17 foot boat and the water was lappin at the top.he went up, 5 min. later he came down.it didnt **** me off that much but i got his # on the way down for you so go get him.. :mad: :mad:

[ 04-28-2002, 06:21 PM: Message edited by: MADWIZERD ]