WHAT IS YOUR WORST RIVER DUNKING

CHUMSALMON · 09-05-2001, 06:33 AM

I thought i'd start another one today, the fish hook experiences made me also think about my worst river dunking i've ever had.
well here is mine. I was fishing Gobar creek, and trib. to the kalama, the creek was flooding, and there were lots of Steelhead in there. well, i hooked a steelhead and was trying to move around a clump of trees when plop! in i went. Next thing i knew i was latched onto a rock on the other side of the creek! And guess what i still had that fish on! I couldn't do anything with it, i was on this little tiny rock, couldn't go up or downstream just had to stand there and fight the fish, well the fish ended up breaking me off. Now i had to decide how to get back to the other side? I was backed up to a sheer rock wall that went up about 15' so there was no climbing up it. It only left me with one option! I decided to through all my gear across to my buddy standing on the other side, who was laughing his *** off, after that i figured i was wet already and had nothin to lose so i gave a big jump and in i went for the second time, didn't jump far enough, ended up hitting the deep spot! floated down stream about 25 yards before my feet caught solid ground, and walked out of the water. man was i cold!!! Of course being a die hard fisherman i tried to fish for awhile longer, but this was November and it was snow mixed with rain, so i lasted about another 10 minutes and had the shivers so bad we had to go home!!!
I'm sure there are better stories than mine out there so lets here them? [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

Dogfish · 09-05-2001, 08:35 AM

These are not river dunkings, but they were both pretty interesting.

The first one happend at Green Lake in the middle of Seattle. I had just loaded my gear into my canoe, that I have had since I was 11, I was 22 at the time. Just as I was getting into my canoe at the boat dock, some young "Hotties" walked by, and I looked at them, instead of looking at what I was doing.
That was the only time that I ever flipped my canoe where it was unintentional. Luckily the water was shallow, and it was a hot summer day, so I just picked up my gear from the lake bottom, and went fishing.

The second dunking was out duck hunting on the Niqually flats. I had pulled my canoe up on the mud and went jump shooting on one of the many islands in the delta. When I got back to the area where I left my boat, it was gone. I looked across the 40 yard wide slough to see me boat beached on the other side. The incoming tide and wind had set my boat free! It was about 4:00 pm in December and there was snow on the ground in areas above the tideline, so it was colder than a witches mammory gland. I stripped down to my underwear and swam across the slough, jumped into my boat, and quickly paddled across to where my clothes were. I got dressed, drank the last of my now warm coffee, and paddled the mile back to the boat launch. I always tied a stick to the end of my anchor rope from then on to stick into the mud.

Sean · 09-05-2001, 08:57 AM

Had to pull my father from the Metolius in December after his own dunking (bad knees = bad wading in fast water, but he never listens...). Resulted in my own set of full waders about two miles from the car. Long cold walk in the snow.

fishchaser · 09-05-2001, 09:07 AM

This wasn't my dunking but a friend of mine who was Sturgeon fishing up at Bonneville. STZII and a friend of ours was out fishing for oversizers one day out by Horsetail Falls. He went to raise the anchor and got caught up in the rope and it pulled him overboard. That was the most scariest moment I could think of. He wouldn't help himself. He had given up after 30 seconds in the water. STZII had to pull him up by way of the swim platform. He won't go fishing for oversizers anymore. We almost lost a close friend that day. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Firedog · 09-05-2001, 09:08 AM

Fortunately my deepest dunking came in the summer while wading the upper
Kalama. I was Fly fishing just below my grandfathers place and decided to wade a
spot I hand never crossed before and with fly rod in one hand and fly boxes in the
other (since it was a warm day out and I wasn't wearing waders or a vest) well I
slipped an not wanting my fly box soaked I was able to keep my hands above water
until I go to shore, my partner got a good laugh out of my hand sticking out of the
water and the rest of my body under water. Not to bad as far as dunkings go.

Chumsalmon, I grew up fishing the Gobar. The little house that was down at the
mouth was my Great Grandparents place. Caught my first steelhead out of there 29
years ago when I was 5. Love that creek, have a lot of great memories up there. I
still will go up and cast spinners for the Cutthroat once in a while. I take care of my
grandfathers place which is on the Kalama back down the road a couple miles. Take
it easy. Ever want to talk old Gobar and Kalama stories shoot me an e-mail.

Firedog.

SteelieSteve · 09-05-2001, 10:28 AM

A cold icy January morning on the Clackamas. I was working upriver walking on a steep rock ledge when a foot slipped and I went in the water in a deep spot, over my head in my neo's. Can you say walk on water!! That river was about 33 degrees and I got out of it in record time but it did ruin my fishing for the day. I'd been working that area a lot and had been steadily hooking fish for weeks. I've had my share of spills in many of the rivers around here but that was the coldest and deepest. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

CATCH AND EAT · 09-05-2001, 12:09 PM

[img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] This year during the springer run at Bonniville I was poised to net a fish for my dad. Striving to get better position on the fish to net it I stepped onto a rock that was just under the water. It was slick and in I went backwards. I did net the fish although it was a stinkin so called native. Got wet for nothing.

Provided a big laugh for everyone around. Luckily it was a nice warn spring day and the sun was out. Just stripped down and wrung out the cloths and back to fishing.

smilesforu · 09-05-2001, 12:46 PM

Worst would be flipping my raft on the ... and losing 600 bucks worth of equipment. Glad it was a warm day
Coldest would be trying to step up on the snowy river bank and catching my foot on a root...then fell over flat on my back in the river...brrr.
Weirdest was on a calm day in the saltwater running full speed and my brother lost control of the big motor and I ended up in the sitting position under five feet of water in hip boots. Never touched a thing on the way out of the boat.

RichH · 09-05-2001, 03:18 PM

I was fishing Three Rivers one cold January and was standing on a rotten stump close the the river when I shifted position and had one of those slow motion, "Aw crap" kind of falls to my neck. My buddy was standing about 10 feet away laughing his a$$ off. The funniest/stupidest I've witnessed was drifting the Kilchis one very cold February and the same fellow and I were plugging a particular run when we had 2 boats go by. The first boat was manned by a couple of 25 to 35ish guys that had obviously drifted the river before. At the lower end of where we were fishing the river makes a right turn but the current pushes under some overhanging limbs on the left. In low water this is a good spot to walk your boat thru which the first boat did. The second boat was manned by two fellows that looked to be 50ish and they decided to row thru [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
Well, they didn't make it past the brush and hung up and flipped. The good news is the first boat was still sitting close by and helped these two out and also helped retrieve their boat and tackle. I guess one guys lunch floated off in the sunset but other than that they got everything back.

They continued to fish even though it was not much above 30 degrees that day. When we got to the ramp my buddy went up to one of the two and said "Man, that looked kinda scary" to which the guy replied "Not as scary as the first time we did it!" [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Krome Brite · 09-09-2001, 08:03 PM

A few years back, I was standing on the big rock down at the island boat ramp on the North Fork Lewis. It was the middle of January. Around the time the temps dipped into teens and the river was running high. I was looking in the water and then for some reason I looked up into the sky. Well, I got dizzy [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] and in I went! Right up to my head. Got out and embarrassed, walked up to where my dad was standing bs'ing with some guys that had just pulled up their boat. They asked if I'd p***** myself. How could I p*** myself from head to toe. [img]images/icons/blush.gif[/img]

09-09-2001, 09:39 PM

Washougal River in the summer of 1975. I had just built a new fly rod and was taking it out for the First time. The Washougal river bed seems to be comprised of an abundance of basketball size rocks. Cover these rocks with slime and the scenario for a "drift trip without a boat" was set. Sure enough as I was wading across to an island I did what amounted a to a two-footed punt and down the river I went. By the time I washed ashore,on the island side mind you, I had collected about 50 gallons of water in my waders and had lost my rod,reel,fly box and camera. Recovered the flies but that's the last I saw of my new fly rod.
Stew

Krome Brite · 09-10-2001, 05:11 PM

So can we call ya driftboat stew from now on? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Gobbaworms · 09-10-2001, 07:19 PM

Nisqually River 1985. Being a high school junior of meager means, I figured the only way I could fish this real nice cut bank was from that big rock in the middle of the river. Next day, I packed my chest waders and one of those one-man inflatable rafts complete with a miniature set of oars just upstream of the rock. After I waded out a ways, I plopped myself into the raft and successfully rowed out to the rock. After fishing there for a while, I found out that I went through a lot of trouble for nothing. The problem was, given the steepness of this rock I was on, there was no graceful way of slipping back into the raft. I was about out of angles to try to get my rear into the this squirelly thing until it hit me, just jump on. I can barley remember landing on that thing before it flipped me quicker than a poorly hung hammock.
However, I do remember the murky green getting darker and darker as my chest waders filled with the swift current. Then, in a blink, I was upstream from the rock gasping for air. The only explanation is the hand of God scooping me up because I don't think any amount of adrenaline could make me swim upstream in chest waders.