Spooky Deschutes boat rides

[Carver_OR]

The Deschutes..what a great river to boat and fish. One of my trips I was working for another guide Gene Clark. Gene would take most of his house up the river to set up a camp for his clients...Heavy stuff. I made it up river okay with four of his dudes in my 22 foot sled along with more booze than at a new years eve party. A new rapid called Washout was new to all of us driving the river. On the way out I had the boat over loaded with Genes gear and hit the rapids off filling the boat to my knees. I'm standing in water to my knees ( extra 1000 pounds or so)and a ledge is coming up fast. With all the extra weight of the water in the boat I could'nt get it back on step or have total controll of where I was going. It took at least 30 minutes of bilging. My stomach still gets queezy thinking about it. That was my closes time of sinking and going to the bottom....glug glug glug

Hook sharp?
Pat

[HOGTIDE]

Fished too late out of Locket one evening and had to make a hurried run down to Heritage Landing before dark. Evening wind was screaming out of the gorge down near Wagenblast. As I started to make the first left turn to enter Rattlesnake headed downhill (had given too much throttle already) a big gust hit me from the side. I think I was doing 35mph forward and 25mph sideways! "SMACK" into a huge boulder on the steep side of the rapid.

The concussion was so strong it killed the motor. My weight went forward so quickly, it snapped the welds at the base of the center console. Almost lost my partner out of the front of the boat. He had been seated just in front of the console and flew all the way forward to the tip of the bow. We drifted sideways through the non-navigable stretch of Rattlesnake. I was scared.

I threw open the motor housing to see if we were taking on water.We were not. Managed to get the engine fired up again and ran the boat right up on the shore. Joe and I had a strange moment of exhileration and laughter, once we realized that we had lived. The depression set in later, when it came time to belly up to the 'big dent' repair bills.

I had fished the Deschutes hard and was rather successful for over 15 years. And, although this accident involved an obvious boulder, the hidden shelves and boulders of the Deschutes, kinda spoiled my enthusiasm for running that river. Mid-river ridges and rocks;deceptively swift water and hydraulics make this a deceptively dangerous (and expensive) river to run. And more than that, it just never seemed like a very relaxing fishing trip with all of the challenges of the river factored in........maybe I just got old and slow???

Anyway, It is a beautiful stream and I tip my hat to the accomplished guides who tackle it daily, combining their knowledge, experience and skill to bring anglers on a safe and exciting trip!