Float the Clack?

[andy-ap emerger]

Since the big rains, I've been curious as to what the water looks like at Bonnie. Especially right below where Eagle Cr comes in...
Has anyone gone river R right past the mouth of Eagle?
I prefer the taller, faster water river L but with the new rain I am curious to know if that big sweeper finally fell in.

Anyone float Feldheimers to Barton lately?
Any new snags &/or rootwads???

Any reports would be greatly appreciated.

---AP

[FastAction]

I would like to know this info too. I have never gone left of the Island though.. even in low water I always take the Eag Ck side.. I have never had a problem riding the shallow side... The Left side of the Island looks like it could get you wet!

[Chris Nordling]

I haven't floated it in the last few days (they took a foot out of the height on Wednesday :whazzup, but I didn't see anything that was out of the ordinary last week(my first runs "up there" in almost a year).

I always go river right (by the mouth of the creek), skinny or not. The tree is now at the bottom of the island (where one of 2 splits feeds into the main channel), and requires a slight bit of jockeying(not for novices) to make it around some curlers.

Hope this helps!

Chris Nordling

[Chris Nordling]

FA-

You're ok going left too, you can 'skirt' the rollers no problem. When you get past the first set of big rollers, stay RL as the river splits again(to avoid previously mentioned downed trees) and you'll pop out into the main channel below the big boil that you would be rowing through if you had gone by EC.

Tight lines,
Chris

[andy-ap emerger]

Below the mouth of Bonnie I've always gone river L through the tall rollers because I had a very sticky-bottom aluminum DB. I would much rather go through big water than get hung up on very fast skinny water.
I have since then switched to a Clackacraft and am probably going to start thinking about river R now that the option of sliding over shallower water is more "do-able."

-Thx for the tips guys


AP

[FastAction]

Well Chris, I know you wouldn't be floating that section "Just for your health" so that is good news in its self!

[Chris Nordling]

Andy-

I have a Fish-Rite with Gluvit on the bottom, and have no problems, but I'm also used to skinny water jockeying on the Clack (coho). There is(was) plenty of water to dip in the oars to move around the tree, the skinny part is just above where the creek used to dump in, but it is still floatable if you have experience on the oars (again not for the novice newby to the sticks drifter run)in shallow waters.

On the other hand I also have cutoff levels in which I'll run sections of the river, so my version of skinny might be different than yours for that stretch.

It just so happened that the river got up and moving, colored into a nice green, a little closer to the hatchery just after a big rain,great lower fishing in the river just prior to the rains, a later returning hatchery stock on the first major rise in the river in months,lots of lower sled traffic and we had good eggs, you guys figure out what happened when we were there. :grin:

Game On!
Chris


ps- I guess it hasn't been that great this week. I haven't fished it in a few days, we were terrorizing them elsewhere . Just a few more steelies before it's springer time.

[rip lips]

Floated on wednesday and it was decent vis about 4+ feet. There used to be a smaller tree second to the rocks on rr but it has been pushed away it is now a easy row both ways either raft or clakacraft a little bit of manuvering but there is plenty of time. I did happen to see at the mouth of Eagle creek three fish traveling towards the mouth. One was a nice native about 8# on a wolly bugger. Those were the only fish I counted that day or hooked. I did talk to one boat that was pulling bait a wobblers they had come up empty for the day after 4 hours.