DB owner's rowing policy

[FlyChucker]

For those of you that own a driftboat, what is your policy for letting guests row your boat. The reason that I ask is, I invited a guy for a three hour fishing trip this afternoon. My guest continually harassed me about rowing. I finally let him row. Of course he didn't know what he was doing so he was all over the river and our plugs were seldom in fishing position. However we did catch a fish with him at the oars. We land the fish and put him away. This guy is so proud of catching a steelie he calls another buddy on the cell phone so now he's trying to handle the oars, the cell phone, and let line out to start fishing again. This is a little more than I can handle at this point. I run him out of the seat and take over the oars. He goes to the front seat hangs up the phone grabs my rod and stands with his rod in one hand and mine in the other like the Statue of Liberty. I ask if he doesn't want to put the rods in the holders. Of course he doesn't. We were close to the take out, so I said to hell with it suggested we go in.

By the time we took out, I was wishing that I had stayed at work and that is not what fishing is all about for me.

Thanks for letting me vent my frustration. It was either talking to you guys or choking my wife and y'all lost. Sorry.

Mike

[Firedog]

My Buddys are perfectly content to sit up front and fish while I row. :smile: I would have no problem letting one of my buddys row, but if we were all over the place I would have no problem telling them to get out of the seat I am taking over. It is my boat and I make the rules on how it gets handled, just like we go by thier rules in thier boats. :smile:

[RichH]

I'm with Firedog on that one. I've had some friends that tried to row and just didn't get it. Knowing how long it takes to learn to row a boat correctly I certainly wouldn't expect someone to get it right on the first go but it sounds like the guy you had was a bit of a jack a$$. I'd be thinking no more invites in my boat.

[Bait O' Eggs]

I guess the captain of the boat, should be the captain and make the rules and enforce them. :shocked:

Personally I think your first mistake was letting your buddy bring his cell phone. Actually bringing the phone is a good thing for emergency use. Using the phone while fishing to yap at another buddy goes completely against why I go fishing. I use to fish with a guy who would call 3 times per hour to check his stock portfolio. He now has his own boat since he still had the want to go fishing and no invites.

If somebody wants to row my boat, they can go ahead, as long as I am not concerned that water is ahead that they cannot handle. Everybody has to learn to row at some point along the way. Be happy they caught a fish while on the sticks this time, and use their behavior while in the boat as an indicator if they get to come again.

[Sadie-Lynne]

This would depend on how well I knew the person
and if I had seen them handle a boat before. I agree that every one at sometime is a beginner but before I let them row any type of real currant
I would have to see them handle the boat in some slow moving waters. That is the place to practice so that you don't have to go swimming.

[Wernergonefishin]

Flychucker congrats on the fish. As far as the rower After rowing your boat on the clackamas for the first time I understand that rowers arent made in day thats why you buy your own boat and practice. Hope the guy got the point you were tryin to get across. Well at least the day wasnt a total loss some of us had to work. Will take a back seat in your boat any day. :grin: Thanks hope to float again soon.

[Master Baiter]

There are some drifts that we do that it is mandatory for the novice to earn his keep by rowing through the frog water so the captain can get a break and novices get experience.

Definitely no more invites to ANYONE who acts like an ass consistently!

[Pete]

I definitely get frustrated if a guest doesn't keep my drifty fishing ... but it's a shared responsibility. There is some comfort in knowing that your passenger could handle the sticks when necessary, so I like to offer up the oars and help teach the skills of boat handling. I get to choose where that happens, so I generally don't miss fishing the better water. Eventually the skills of boat control and reading the water should make a regular guest competent enough that I don't have concerns if they need to take over.

[RiverMan]

Fly,

I can relate to every single word you have said. I too have buddies that want to row and at times I try to be patient enough to indulge them. I have found tho that some can row, some cannot! Two different friends of mine have rowed my boat a dozen times each and neither of them can hold the boat still in a slow current! I let my 14 yr old son row for the first time in a river last year and no kidding within 15 minutes he could for the most part control the boat. This year he is quite good at it. My advice to those having others requesting to row is to explain to their friends that they enjoy rowing and consider it part of the fishing experience, works for me.

RM

[Tanner]

NOBODY ROWS MY WILLIE BUT ME. I have let friends row my boat before and it drives me nuts. I have a very hard time sitting in the passenger seat of a drift boat. I guess I am just a control freak when it comes to drift boating.

[Phish_on]

Leave that guy at home and take ME.

I won't even bring a cell phone, I'll row if you ask me to! Otherwise you can do the work!

Sometimes I want to row just to warm up a little. Also, practice is a good thing.

IT'S YOUR BOAT! In my boat (no rowing under normal operation) it's usually "I'll drive, you catch fish." My buddies are all competent to take the wheel or the tiller as needed, though. [img]graemlins/icon_argue.gif[/img]

[FM2]

If I take someone who owns a DB sometimes I don't mind letting them row.

Doughys that ask, "Wait for the frogwater"

:grin: :shocked: :grin: [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

These new graemlins are cool :smile:

[Smily]

I think it is nice to have guest along as long as they behave. If they do not behave move along, I'm sure you can find a lot of other fishers. I still opt to go alone sometimes just for the peace and quiet. It gives me time to think. I'm sure your asking about what. Well just things!! [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

Giving somebody the sticks is a very important responsiblity. I know for one I wouldn't want to go swimming at this time of year to say the least. Also the investment of the boat and gear and all that stuff is very important and gonna be very hard to replace if something should happen. It is good to teach others to row giving the
right conditions. Remember Safety, :grin:

If he isn't someone you can't reason with, time to change.

My worthless nickle.

:smile: Smily :smile:

[Smily]

Hey FM2,

I know how to row sometimes and you still never let me row!!! :depressed:

Oh, I forgot, The takeouts. :grin:

At least it's rowing.

[Big Willie]

I think it's fun to let an oar rookie tackle the 6th Bridge...just to see how big the eyeballs get. Actually, I don't mind at all if they know what they are doing, if not they can row the froggy stuff. Don't forget the phone book for Stubby. :grin: :tongue:
-Gary

[Hoosier Daddy]

HERMISTON!!!
Where the hell do you drift in Hermiston?

Just kidding. Are you fishing the Umatilla? I lived there for 4 years. It's not anywhere as near as bad as the rest of Oregon makes it out to be.

[FM2]

Hey Smily,

If I take someone who owns a DB sometimes I don't mind letting them row.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Thanks for pointing out my bad, forgot to add at the takeout below the bridge!! :tongue: [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

[FlyChucker]

24 hours later my stomach knots are just beginning to untie from three hours with my ONE TRIP guest. I really don't mind letting someone new row the boat but the "I wanna row, I wanna row, I wanna row" six year old routine got old real quick.

Our Umatilla is pretty easy to row but there is one spot where an experienced oarsman swamped his boat not long ago. He had to winch it off of the bottom with a back hoe. So a guy can get in trouble even in a little 300 cfs stream.

I want my guests to enjoy themselves, even if it means changing our mission from fishing to rowing practice. I fish A LOT so it's not that big of deal but this joker blew it with the cell phone and made matters worse when he took control of MY rod. I guess he wants to write a book on how not to be a fishing partner.

Thank you for your replies. I can tell that my situation was not an isolated case. You all have provided valuable input. I'll have to set some firm guidelines. I never saw these problems coming with DB ownership. I fish and float a lot so I like to invite new people who maybe have never experienced a DB before. I will outline the rules prior to putting in.

When we lived in LaGrande all of our rivers where in deep canyons and I wished that we could use the cell phone to call for help or tell the wife that we're going to be late. But now I can tell that was and error in judgement.

'Nookie: Yea, Hermiston is a great place and the Umatilla is an undiscovered resource, even to the local folks. We float from Westland Bridge/Steelhead Park to a private takeout for our after work floats. On the weekends we do the longer floats like Stanfield to Buttercreek.

I know where you live. I gradated from Rex Putnam HS class of '72 (ya, I'm old) and my parents still live near Roethe and Oatfield.

Thanks

Mike

[Bigdog]

I let a good buddy of mine row my boat Sunday and we wacked 4 stealies. :grin: Fortunatley for me, my friend is a pro. Saturday I was teaching my father how to row so can take my boat with some of his friends. I found out the hard way that if your going to teach than that's what you have to do, fishing is almost impossible. :depressed: I don't mind teaching as long as they respect the people on the boat as well as the other fisherman on the river. If I see alot of preasure on the river then it's probably not a good day to teach someone how to row. It's one thing to teach how to row, it's another teaching a person how to respect other boats and bank fisherman on the river.

[Beer Waggin]

When I was in college I used to fish with good friend of mine. His boat, his gear, I was just taking up space and providing a ride back to the put in. Well not really. Having never oared a drift boat, I asked a few questions every now and then, but mostly just wanted to learn to fish and I thought it was the greatest thing in the world to just "show up". One winter day, I got my chance to row that big wooden pig. We had just anchored up above the forks where the North and the South Santiam come together and where letting out our lines to pull some plugs. Just as my bud puts his rod in the holder it doubles over with a very large and dark chinook. I reel in as fast as I can as he's instructing me how to pull the anchor and row down into the tail out, out of the fast water. Yea Right! The oars looked like Fred Flinstones feet. I don't think the bow of the boat ever pointed down stream. He's screaming at me to go this direction and I turn the boat and go the other direction. It was at that time he thought it was a good idea that I learn the sticks if we were to continue to fish together. We had a good laugh about it and released about a 25# native buck. It was only then that I realized how much work he did everytime we went fishing. Rowing is harder than it looks, that's for sure!

[Drachir]

You can always try the one we use. I row the boat, until the first fish is in the boat, then the one who caught the fish, is on the sticks. At least if fishing is slow you keep your over excited fishing partner at bay and off the oars.

Mike,
check your e-mail for Smoked Samon recipe, just sent it off to you. Let me know how you like it!! :grin:

[TJB]

You should remember that as owner of the boat you can be held liable for everything that happens. Even if your buddy is rowing and not you. So not only can your idiot passenger sink your boat but his widow can sue you for letting him row.

[Seefood Man]

Good point TJB. When I get back in action, I'm going to get a 2x6x12" board and write on it
"Board of Education" so if my guests can't learn the rules of the boat they get to walk the plank :shocked: . or at least be dropped off on the bank. By the way Flychucker, to me there is nothing more relaxing then being rowed down river and not having to worry about anything. I consider this a REAL GIFT when someone offers this to me. When I'm sitting in that front seat, I want for nothing, cause for the time I'm there, life is grand :grin: :grin: :grin:

[HT Buzzo]

I usually encourage guests on my boat to learn how and to use the oars, but not when we are pulling plugs. I like running floats out from the front of the boat and occasionally tossing spinners, which is hard to do when I'm on the oars all day.

Last spring this routine almost got my boat sunk on the North Santiam, however. It was running a little high and we were navigating below Mehama. I let my friend take over, and he did pretty good through a couple of corners. We came to a big S-curve with a big rock wall on one side with a boulder sticking out in the river about 7 feet from the wall. Next thing I know, he's got the boat sideways between the boulder and the wall with about 2500 cfm moving under. The upriver side of the boat was starting to take on water. I jumped out one side, he jumped out on the rock and we attempted to get it turned. I thought all was lost. We finally got it turned around, but it was stuck in the reverse position, and taking on water on the opposite side. We got the stern turned downriver and both had to jump in while the boat slipped down this chute between the rocks, unsure whether it was going to get stuck again. I'm very careful about when I let someone on the oars now, and I'll quickly jump back on the oars if I think there might be a problem.

Oh yeah, and still no cell phones, pagers, or cameras allowed on the boat- no stopping at certain gas stations or sporting goods stores either, for fear of the two words which ultimately jinx the day- "good luck". There's no luck involved. HT