Having been commuting back and forth to Forks now for a decade I've had my share of disappointments. They always seem to come on the trips you plan with family members or buddies from the East coast, you know the ones you plan 18 months in advance...?

Here's just one:

Fall...late, previous weekend my buddy had slayed Salmon in our favorite (and everyone else's too) walk-in hole on the Duc. I figured what better way to initiate my friend, who had never caught a big fish of any kind into the OP big fish brothrhood....

Early in my fishing 'career' I didn't pay as much attention to the weather as I do now, mostly becaused I missed the forecasted five inches of rain Forks was due to receive this trip. We used to stay in a spot right on the river where you can look over the edge and see the river about twelve feet down below you....

Arrive at our spot, open door to truck, starts raining, river looks sweet though. Then it rains harder....and harder still. So hard we could barely sleep.

Wake up in the morning and the river was licking at the tire of the truck!!

Worse yet, it had actually been higher than that because there was a clear debris line running underneath the truck....

Come to find out later it rained five inches in six hours!!

Spent the rest of the weekend driving around trying to find every walk-in path on every river...

You've been 'hosed' on a trip to the OP too, I know you have....

I'll have to defer to my pre-guiding days .. otherwise I've got a list of sneaker rains & conditions a mile long.

I'll never forget my first experience with a "real" Forks rain!

I had quit my job and decided I ws gonna live out of my truck for awhile fishing the rivers around Forks. Back in those days, you used to be able to drive onto the bar at Tall Timbers ... so I set up camp there.

Big rains that night and I awoke about 4 AM to the river entering my tent ... I bailed off the bar as quickly as I coule and moved up onto the the top of the berm in the turnaround area. Sorta went back to sleep in the front seat of the truck and awoke a few hours later to water rushing through the parking area ...

Time to scram, round 2

Headed back to Seattle with most everything I owned totally soaked with first hand knowledge of just how fast these rivers can rise when Ma Nature cuts loose.

At least I had an option to run ... I've heard several stories over the years of those that had no way out ... like the fellas on Cottonwood Bar

Don't tell me andBob are the only ones.....

When the goin gets tough..............found some of my most precious spots in just that situation! Get out the Gazette fill the tank and start prospecting.

Sounds like a true drifter or should I say drifter squared

I'm with Oxcamp. Don't go home, go scouting. That's how I've found some of my favorite holes.

This thread reminds me of a time I got blown off the Hoh. I left my truck at cottonwood and a had a drop rig at barlows. The river went from 2000 cfs when we put in to............... in the trees. With the river on its way out we rowed on down. When we got there my truck was sitting out on the bar with 4-6" of water ripping under it. Coming out was nuts, I had water coming in my doors and over my hood. The drift boat trailer was floating/planing behind me. I got lucky, I almost lost my rig.