Issue Of Passing Boats & Wake

I've both heard and read complaints about powerboats either passing too close or too fast by anchored boats. We should help awareness here with a discussion. As with most fishing conflict situations it usually comes down to common sense. But there are many that need awareness or reminders. It's quite obvious that if you are going to pass quite close to anchored boats it's safer and curteous to slow down off plane. At least within 30 ft.; and maybe even within 50 ft.? The exception is when a driftboat or sledboat is anchored very high in a hole on waters such as the Clackamas R. or Cowlitz R. such that a passing sled has to stay on plane to get thru shallow water and is forced to pass inside of 30 ft. There is another factor that many anchorup fishers aren't aware of .... I have passed by anchored boats from 40 ft. to 75 ft. away while staying up on plane and gotten dirty looks or worse. They seem unaware that during an off plane slowby (approx. 5 mph) the wake from my flatbottom sled is about 3 times bigger than when I'm on a 30 mph plane (about a 2X diff. for V-sleds). Many of these guys seem happier rocking in the much bigger wake and making 6 times as long of noise distraction for their fish than with the plane by! If jet sleds had to come off plane for every anchored boat they pass and replane on today's crowded big rivers they would have to spend $4000 every other year rebuiding the big OB/jetpump. On the other hand, on medium sized rivers such as the Sandy or Whynooche I think it's appropriate to slow way down thru marginally wide holes for anchored boats; and if the water is clear then shut the noisy big OB off and use the kicker to slowly pas wide of the fish holding water. .... So, at what distances do you feel sleds should come off plane, and why? At 40 ft. to 50 ft. distances safety is not a factor for passing. And do driftboaters that anchor in the upper or lower narrow ends of holes on big rivers know that jetsleds must stay on plane in order to negotiate shallow water? ... Any other boat passing situations you'd like to discuss, such as deep V boats passing, could help general awareness; and safer more pleasant days on the river. - RT


[This message has been edited by RT (edited 11-07-2000).]

[WaterDog]

I think 50 - 100 feet is a good distance. More if you can. I would prefer the boat stay on plane if it's a relatively shallow draft boat like a sled. It amazes me when people slow down out of courtsey but don't look behind them and see they are creating a bigger wake. Sometimes I just wave them on by.

And why do those idiots with the big deep hulled 25+ foot boats on the columbia insist on coming so close to the hoglines or other anchored boats? I see this so many times at frenchmans bar. If they are in the channel, fine, they can go as fast or slow as they choose. But, NOOOOOOO, they have to cut the corner and **** everyone off. I really feel for those in smaller boats. I saw a couple in a 14' alaskan scramble to put life jackets on when they saw one of these morons was going to pass within 50 feet of them throwing a 3 of 4 foot tidal wave.

Sorry for the rant that stuff just bugs me!

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EAT, SLEEP, FISH!

[ryan fish]

What makes me irate is the idiots that go hell bent between your anchor line and the beach,very inconciderate.

[HOGTIDE]

I batted 100% at the mouth of the Sandy one fall. Each and every trip someone either ran a skeg or trolled tackle through my anchor rope. Sitting in a hog line, the fools would troll back and forth over the tops of our anchor ropes each day. Hate to yell at people on the river, but it became ridiculous. They would actually ask us to pull anchor so they could get their rig back...ya right...40"' of water and fast current. The season finale' came when a big glass cuddy drifted over our rope, sucked us in to them and drug us down stream. Does anyone realize that the rope does not go straight down to the bottom ? .. of course it is those folks that I see anchoring with 41'ft. of line in 40' of water.

I get grumpy just thinkin' about it!!! Besides, I broke my foot in 2 places this weekend chasin' deer...the only thing I can do is sit here and complain about something.

[Dances]

My father and I fish the nooch alot and it we run as close to the bank as possible and when ever there is a bankie they will usualy move out of the way. Nothing personal to you guy's with big boats. But it seems like they are the ones who run either close to or on top of the fish. I am not sayin that everyone does it but most of the people that fish the nooch that I have seen out there do. For the people who ancor up on the nooch the river gets very narrow in some spots and yea when possible we do slow down but most of the time it is better to run by them on a plane. jsut my 31 pennies

[Drachir]

I agree w/ you RT a 40'-50' clearance is about as much as can be given on the Clackamas. It must also be understood by all boaters, the the downstream bound vessel has the right of way on our white water rivers. I know this topic can be debated forever, but a little common sense must prevail. Just treat all other boaters the way you would like to be treated with the roles reversed. If you are upstream bound in a jet boat, and come across an anchored boat, think of how you would like it if you were in the anchored boat, and then act accordingly, it's that simple!! If all of you would like some more info on this topic, contact me through my e-mail address, or Slutgoddess here on I-fish as well. We both belong to a Club called
The Whitewater Boaters of Oregon. Our mission is to educate boaters as to the rules of the road, or water, and try to make people aware of how a little common sense can go a long way towards easing the conflicts that we all face while on the water. Our club is 100 or so strong, and we have a Monthly Meeting coming up Wed. Nov. 8th @ the Clackamas Community Club at 7 PM. The club house is 1 block west of 82nd Drive and 2 bolcks North of Hwy 212 in Clackamas, and across from the Clackamas Post Office. All boaters and fishermen and women are welcome. We are having a speaker from the NMFS, this month.
It is a great group of people, and we work hard to educate people, so our rivers can be free from regulations, and conflicts.

[whitewaterbill]

Excellent post Rick, You said it very well. Think about how you would like to be passed if you were in the boat.....you are about to pass. Most of them will understand why you went by fast or slow. We can work on getting the rest to understand the process and that different rivers have diffierent standards for what is fast and what is close. It pays to go with someone that has experience on a river to help you learn what is acceptable.

Bill

[fishhead5]

As Jr said, I run the edges of the river. Even if I'm done fishing I still run the edges so not to mess it up for someone else. If I can when I come up to a bankie I'll stop well below him and tell him I'll run at his feet so not to stir up his hole. Most of them back up and let you come through and give you a wave. It seems like there are always a few, when you cant stop, have to try and get one more cast in. I have had to yell at them to hold their pole up and run underneath their line. I have also not gone up as far as I would have liked to so not to bother someone who doesn't have as much access. But after watching a lot of sleds on the rivers its no wonder they hate us. A little bit of common sense and courtsy goes a long ways.

Fishhead5

[Steelheader69]

I too have been on both sides of the coin on this one. I have a couple points to make. First, I feel alot of small rivers (i.e. the Nooch) should mostly be sled free. Especially on the upper river where the river gets small and tight. All the knowledge in the world won't help a sled runner when he/she comes around a corner and there's a boat there and nowhere to turn (I know my small sled can literally turn on a dime, yet big ones won't turn as fast). I also feel one shouldn't anchor in a spot that is low, narrow, and blind to anyone (or is also in a major waterway). I just put a new impellor on my sled due to a guy anchored up on the Chehalis on extremely low tide. As I spun around the corner on plane in an EXTREMELY low narrow slot near the first pumphouse I find a guy anchored up in dead center. The only place I had to go was nowhere at that speed. I shut down but not quick enough and sucked gravel. He was there first, but this was no slot, just a biway for fish to run through, not to hold. And to go with this topic, when I run up the Chehalis either trolling or anchoring and fishing I respect others. If possible (which you can only go on plane in a sled in tight areas or shallow areas) I pull down a bit. I agree with RT, it's more wake slow then running fast, yet it's the smile and the wave "thanks" you get from the other person that makes fishing a better sport. Sometimes the bigger picture is worth the small sacrifice. But, one thing alot of non sled owners/operators have to know is that a sled (or most sleds) will not operate effectively on low power. I have loss of control at lower speeds. So sometimes when we're flying by at full bore it's for a reason. But I myself don't agree with people who rudely pass by someone dangerously close when they have plenty of room to move. Well, I won't beat a dead horse.

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You haven't lived til you've rowed a cataraft. Friends don't let friends run Outcasts.

[StreamSide]

RT,

I have yet to venture into any of the smaller rivers with my Willy P. even with a 150 hp jet. I hope to some day. My question is on the return trip back down river, I would think one would have little choice but to stay on plane in order to maintain controll. I have been on the other side - when drifting, where a sled came down the Clack. I was glad to be close to the bank!

John

[fishbait]

When a sled is passing by me wheather I am anchored or not, I would just as soon see them do it on a fast plane. Yah it's noiser but the wake is so much less and I know that they have more control at higher speeds. In tight quarters, 20-40 fet is mininum, otherwise I like to see as much space as poss taking the contour of the fishing water into account.

Some sled operators slow down out of consideration, or is it fear of being yelled at if they go too fast. They must know that the wake as a very slow speed is 2-4 times greater but do all the other boaters?. Like a previous post, sometimes I just wave they by and hope they stay n a plane.

[Nuttinbutnet]

Some days you can't win either way. I was fishing the Siletz in my sled at Cayote Rock.As I returned to the marina at Hwy 101, there were two boats anchored on the river near some docks, one on each side of the river. For the sake of safety, i backed off and slowed way down. Both boats waved their thanks and on I went. As I was loading my boat, the marina operator came down and told me that one of the homeowners had just called from upriver very angry about a sled that had just gone by throwing a big wake that put his driftboat up on his dock! Sometimes you just can't win!!!!