Boy every time I see someone mention the word "sled" here on this forum, here comes a sucker-punch! Dang people! If i wanted that kind of action I would go down to pioneer square for one of its riots.

So what do you think? honestly!

Sleds are a good thing
or
Sleds are bad.

show us what you think.

That way we'll know who not to sit with on St Patricks day in a pub downtown...LOL

Sleds can, and usually are a great thing. It's the person who's driving it who can be the problem.

I love sleds when I'm in them, hate them when I'm in the drift boat. Like WA fisher said, it's not necessarily the sled but the driver.

Nobody runs sleds on the rivers I fish, so I have not had any bad experiences myself. I also believe it's the driver not the boat thats the problem.

I too agree the problem is only the driver of the sled,and the size of the river can make a difference too. But when your in thigh deep water and a sled flies within hitting distance of my jig rod(10½feet)that is what I really hate and it's happened to me before.


[This message has been edited by Eddie L (edited 03-07-2001).]

It's all in the driver.I own both a sled and drift boat,when I'm in my drift boat I hate sleds.When I'm in my sled I hate drift boater's.So go figure.They have there time and place.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I am not an expert, I do own a driftboat and enjoy this type of fishing. But from talking with people in the know, The sleds are supposed to be hard on the mid to small sized rivers causing bank erosion with heavy traffic and destruction of gravel and spawning beds in the river with the use of the high powered jet engines, maybe some of the jet sled users from this board can state some argument or experienced opinion on this subject.
Thank You.

As has been stated many times over, sleds are both a boon and a bane(good/bad). I fish out of them almost exclusively on big rivers like the cowlitz, chehalis and columbia. Most guys are considerate and knowledgable in my experience.

However.

The dim bulbs that run them on smaller rivers like the wynoochee is a whole other matter. It's not about bank erosion or churning up the gravel.....that is minimal. It's about the lack of common sense some guys use in that they feel it is justifiable to run a sled amongst 30-50 driftboats and dozens of bank anglers in relatively tight quarters; Like it is some kind of advantage. The reality is they probably don't catch a much higher percentage of fish using their sleds but they create a lot of tension in these tighter quarters.

What chaps my a** is the ignorance/indifferance these pilots show towards the river, people and the resource (on small rivers). "me first"

Everything has a line. In this case it's river size and common sense in my book. I truly believe some guys would sled creeks if given the opportunity. But, there are also alot of guys who know better and keep the sleds on apprpriate sized rivers.

Eric
Hey man how is the fishin in that low clear water. almost gin clear right

Most people give sleds a rap because the drivers have a lack of common sense.

O and yea I fish froma sled all the time and its a 14 ft. silver.

But we are very considerate of others if there are drift boats up about us then we stay and fish down below them and I dont mean right under them I mean we run down river.

We fish medium size rivers too and usualy have little problems with drift boats but its when the big river boats come in. Yea you guys know who I am talkin about. THe guys that fish the cowliz and otehr big rivers who think that it is alright to run over the top of some ones hole while they are fishin it. those are the type of people that give the few and fare between good guys a bad rap.

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work is for people who dont know how to fish

Don't forget that sleds are serious boondoggin/sidedriftin' machines, but I have yet to see a sledder pull plugs as accurately as a drift boat with a skilled oarsman. So I guess each has it's advantages, eh?

8 foot leader, or is that ringer? (grin)

Sleds are neither good nor bad. They are a machine to be used as a tool, wisely or not, depending on the driver. Me, I'm a sled hating sled owner. They are noisy and cause air and water pollution on their best days. And mine provides access to water I might not otherwise be able to fish. Although sleds may be annoying everywhere, I don't think they're inherently dangerous, except on small rivers where space for navigation is at a premium.

There was a thread a couple weeks ago about the angling public accessing public water through private property. If you recall, several BB members posted that they don't and won't allow access across their waterfront property.

So what's an angler to do? Given intermittent public access on most rivers, boats of one sort or another are most peoples' viable option to gain access to the public water. I have a sled among my small fleet because a motor boat is more economical than to always have someone drive a second vehicle to the river.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Im fine with driftboats, rafts, pontoon boats, and anything else without a motor. I believe sleds should be kept to our bigger rivers like the Columbia, Chehalis, Snohomish, lower Skagit, etc...... BUT for rivers like the Nooch' and the Sky i think they are more of a nusance, unless your the guy buzzing back and forth.

All in all sleds are fine with me if they are kept away from small bodies of water.

- BW

My fishin partner has driftboat I have a small sled, so we the have the best of both worlds. We end up using the sled more and more, so the thing is, when ever we go by a bankie or any other style boat, I ask my partner did we do right. I have never like't half a piece sign being waved at me. no one does, to sum it up, tillerman and oarsman just do it right. And remember ( the only water you own, is what you can drink )

I have a small sled and yes I do pull plugs miss my drift boat for pluging I could get in the tight spots But my sled is alot less work when you fish alone most of the time

I think most of the people who think sled pilots are inconsiderate would change their tune if they were holding onto the tiller. Sometimes you must run fast to make it through the water you are in, sometimes you have to run close to someone on the bank, depending on what the river conditions are. I know some bank anglers have thought me rude when I was trying to be as considerate as possible, what can I say? I am not going to go home just because some bankie feels the need to stand right in the middle of the slot to fish. He is the one being rude in my book anyways since he is standing right where anyone with any sense would want to fish.

i want one for my fleet.

There great if your in one.....but I hate them otherwise. I think they have their place in big river( bigger then the sky) and thats it. The story changes when your slayin fish in a 20footer doogin' though. Overall I would much rather have a relaxing or heart pounding day in a drift boat.

No if ands or buts about it. Don't like sleds on my home rivers. If i wanted to hear the sound of motors running I would stay in my truck and drive I-5. Keep them in the bigger rivers only. My nickels worth.

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HUMPTIME

ohhhhh i hate sleds sooooo much but they have a right to be there too :O)

In my case of the sled going by us within 10½-11 feet from us;we were only wading 7 feet from the bank and the rivers about 60 feet wide and deeper on the other side; can you figure whats wrong with that. I've even seen a guy on a sled fly upstream,turn off the motor and anchor up 35 feet in front of 2 guys drift fishing and 1 plunker;all that river and stops where the bank fisherman only had access to at that area.