A question for all you sled heads. I recently bought a 15 foot sled that is supposed to be out of the shop Friday (had the 70 horse merc rebuilt) and have never ran a sled before. Where would be a good place to practice running my sled? I was thinking the Columbia on a good day since there are no shallow bars and a lot of room to manuever not to mention trying for a sturgeon. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

I would probably go to a lake, and I wouldn't worry about doing any fishing. I would just mess around, putting the boat through all it's manuevers. It doesn't handle like a prop boat.There is a book offered in STS called "Jet Boats a complete guide" by Michael Kirnak, I would recommend it.Have fun!!!

BB, I agree with escapee. Take it to the lake, especially if you haven't run a sled before and get the feel for how it handles. Launch and load it a couple of times to see what works best for loading it. There's no current in the lake to bother with launching and loading and also less to run into until you know how the boat reacts.

Good luck and safe boating.

Doubletake

There are shallow places in the Columbia River...trust me, my dents are proof! HEHE. For practice...take it out on Lake Washington about 7am, all the residents will love ya! The other guy is right, pumps don't push a boat around like a prop does. Sleds have a tendancy to handle better at higher speeds, and at lower speeds they get mushy, sloppy, and more difficult. Thrust is the key. If your not careful you will become good friends with an aluminum welder, or worse you could get hurt. I elected myself to take a coast guard certification class for safety purposes, they have alot of helpful tips on boater safety and operating pump driven boats.

When you get ready to run a smaller river than the Columbia I would recomend the North Fork of the Lewis. I strongly suggest staying out of the lower river it hols alot of stumps. Put your boat in a Cedar Creek and run down but not lower than the Island Ramp just below the golf cours. Don't forget to call the river level before leaving home (1-800-547-1501). I would not run the river for my first time if Merwin Dam is flowing less than 3000 C.F.S.

I would suggest running upstream first when you get to a river. When running upstream you can stop(as long as the water is deep enough) and hold position while you scout out the best way. When running downstream you have to run faster then the current or it will direct where you go. One small rock in your grate will cause you to lose most of your power. Learning to back down shallow or tricky spots is a big plus. Tilt your motor up a little and practice backing down. It is the same principle that a drift boat uses, manuvering by objects using the angle on the current. Good luck!

Those guys are correct, take it to a lake and try some manuevers with it. You will be suprized how unresponsive the boat will feel at times with the pump on, especially if you are used to running a prop boat. I used to change from jet to prop in my Alumaweld, and whenever I would put the jet back on in the fall, the boat would feel like a slug for a while.
After you have taken some time in the lake, then you can move on to a deeper river with current and find out how you can use the rivers current to your advantage at times. One thing to do is to pull up to a bar from the downstream side and get out of your boat and feel how strong that current can be when you try to pull your boat against it. If you were to get in trouble on the upstream side of such a bar, you can't imagine the power of WATER, just ask a person that has ever seen a driftboat or a sled lost under a sweeper.
Another smart thing to do, is to read some of the posts on this site and others about boaters etiquette. Do a search on just this thing on the Wynoochee last year, give the guys on the bank, and in the driftboats a break, as well as others in sleds.
Just a few months ago, I was on the lower Cowlitz at the launch with the rest of the "Guides" for the sun to rise enough to get up river. Well in the dark, one sled decided to give it a try, all the rest of us heard the guy hit the large rock in the middle of the river and saw him back down and anchor until light. When it got light, it was like a bass tournament with all the big guide sleds taking off to get prime water. Well one fisherman takes off and isn't paying attention, he hits the rock at full throttle and his partner and Black Lab bounce off the side of the sled and into the water. Luckily, his sled slides off the rock and he was able to grab his buddy and the lab half crawls into the boat while half of him is out of the boat. To make a long story longer.....(Sorry).....it is very easy to make a mistake in these things and just be very careful. (I too have ended up with 18 feet of boat on the bank of the Satsop!)

Have fun,

Steve Ng....The FishNg1
99 F-350 Powerstroke 4x4 , 18ft Alumaweld Formula Vee Sled, 115 Yamaha.

[This message has been edited by Steve Ng (edited 11-29-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Steve Ng (edited 11-29-2000).]

Thanks for all the advice I'll need it. I do have some good friends with sleds who've taught me alot about etiquette on the river, even though a lot of bankies don't understand how boats on plane screaming by them is less intrusive, and hope to have someone take me out at least once with mine to teach me some things. If anyone else has some suggestions I'm all ears.

A good river would be the chehalis, you can launch at Aberdeen at cruise to Montesano

I agree with all who suggested getting to know it on a lake. The thing I would add is to hire a guide who gives sled lessons. I did this when I bought mine a couple of years ago, it was the best $150 I have spent. The guide that I used was Dave Mullins, we ran the Skykomish. Learned more in a day than I would have learned in a year. As for a river to run the Cowlitz from Blue Creek to the Mission Bar is at a good level to learn on right now, just have to dodge the 40 or 50 boats that will be out there with ya. Have fun with the new sled!!!!
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff