With all the bashing that goes on by drift boaters about sledders here is a positive report.

Many times lately I have run into the situation on the river where a sled is coming up stream at Mach 90 and I am in a drift boat coming down stream. Plenty of river for both boats but I am unable to determine which line the sled will take. It turns into one of those situation where I am thinking is he going right, or left, no maybe right, oh crap I think he is going left. Not really a problem in allot of areas unless there is a rock or something I am trying to avoid and need to know which path the sled plans to take.

Anyway yesterday this happened and the sledder pointed his arm straight out to the right, motioning this would be his line. I had never seen this done before but it was much appreciated and left no room for doubt as to which way he intended to go.

P.S Kent's sled is fast

I thought I saw Kent (Reiter Rat?) in a sled last night zipping around the Cracker Bar. I was the bank guy fishing the bar and above the bridge pretty much all by my lonesome. No joy for me last night just a couple of suspicious taps. Saw a kid over by the boat launch get a big yank and lost it

Beautiful evening to get out though and surprisingly rather quiet.

BD

Yeah, that really helps. I asked Kent and he said he just wanted to make sure he wasn't going to run over our lines or the water we were fishing . When he motioned to the right the way he did and we waved the O.K. he took that direction. That was very curtious. Fishing from the bank a few years back my freind got spooled on a drive by.

That Reiter Rat is a nice guy

Did anyone get anyfish?

Its not up to the down stream craft to figure out anything as they have the right of way... Its a rivers 101 type of deal.

B-run

"Its a rivers 101 type of deal."

This is true but sometimes I wonder if the guy coming up river knows this. Just because someone owns a sled does not mean they took the time to learn any of these river etiquette/rules. With all the cracker sled jockeying I saw on the opener I have been a little cautious of the sleds as of late.

Or maybe it is my ignorance of how sleds work and someone who owns a sled needs to take me out for a full day of fishing in a sled so I can experience it first hand.

heres a situation i have run into and not sure how i feel about it.
my fishing partner has plugged the sky for most his life and i have fond plugging enjoyable myself. but the other day he wanted to go plug the sutan hole and hell i figure i'll learn somthing and catch fish like i alwas do when i fish with him.
so we launch and give all the bankies lots of room and start plugging. well nether of use knew much about boondogging but it bacame apparent that we were in the way.
now every one was cool and friendly but i couldn't help but to feel we were just in the way.

how would a drift boat pulling plugs fare in what has now become prime boondogging area?

That has become the big question as the numbers of fishermen (especially sledders)grow. Boondogging undoubtably is the easiest way to fish large crowds of fishermen, but drift boats can't do it as effectively in most areas since they can't come back upstream as easily.


If two guys in a drift boat take over a boondogging hotspot and that blocks access for a bunch of boondogging boats, tempers will flare. But the driftboaters certainly have the right to do so if they get there first.

The Golden Rule still applies I guess.

"If two guys in a drift boat take over a boondogging hotspot and that blocks access for a bunch of boondogging boats, tempers will flare. "

On the other hand, if it's along the riprap and there's 25 bankies swearing at the boondoggers, you'll make more friends than you'll lose.

i was just interested in what you all thought would be proper river etiquette

i was just interested in what you all thought would be proper river etiquette

The drift boat will have the right of way because its oar powered(unless running an outboard) whan ''navigating" waters. The drift boat cant get out of the way faster than a powered sled. Just as a sail boat has the right of way (aside from narrow shipping channels)

Index,

I don't see a problem with a drift boat pulling plugs in prime boondogging water unless there are boats already working that stretch of the river. At that point I would say you are elbowing in on their action. My temper would flare, but I would not say anything. I would boondog around you, and pull a fish out from under your boat.

The sledder can always go work another slot as well.

It baffles me how proper river etiquette seems to be a thing of the past...

Take for example this evening. I decided to run up to the river for a couple hours after work...

There were two trailers at Sultan so the river was more or less desserted compared to what it has been.

I was swinging my fly through the begining of the prime spot of a great little slot when 1 of the 2 sleds on the river runs up just downstream of me (just outside of casting distance...if I would of taken a quick 10 steps or so downstream, I would of been able to dump a fly right on his bow) and starts freedrifting through the slot.

It is pr*cks like these that give sleds a bad rap...it is people like these that will also create a large enough uproar one of these days that sleds could eventually get limited or banned on the river.

On the other hand though, you have guys like ReiterRat who are about as courteous and polite as they come...

Back before the large influx of sleds onto the Skykomish, there was your typical number of driftboats and bankies...among those at the sticks and those on the bank, there were a certain number of rude fishermen BUT because they were in a driftboat or were on the bank, they could only get in your way once a day.

But now, a number of those morons have purchased sleds...so now they can run up to a hole, be a d*ck, run back up and be a d*ck again etc. etc. etc.

So it really is not as much the sleds' fault as it as the faults of those who run them and just the fact, that the river seems to be much more crowded then ever.

It seems that if those who are creating the problems on the river can not slow down and be courteous to their fellow fishermen, certain actions might have to be taken.

One such idea would be a system that is in the place on the Deschutes. On the Deschutes there are "No Powerboat" days...they are a block of days where powerboats are not allowed on the river. This has reduced the fighting, complaining and brought civility back to the river.

Just a thought, as it would be sad to see such a stoired and treasured river such as the Skykomish, turn into a river full of pissed off, rude etc. etc. fishermen.

You know it works both ways?
I've been working a empty hole in my sled and have had bankies walk in and try to fish where I'm working.

"Common sense is not common"

ReiterRat did the right thing. I wish all sleders would point out their direction of travel. I have from day one.

It's just safer!!

As to boondoging a hole were someone is already pulling plugs, be curtious and go around them. Look at the angle of their lines to make sure you're not going to tangle when you fall back in behind them. Give them plenty of water behind their boat before you slip in. On the other hand if they pull into the hole you're obviously working, and start pulling plugs, they're being the d*cks by "plugging" or "corking" the hole. Expect a war out of me. I doubt you'll win when I start drifting with 100lb Pro Line. You may not like the attitutude there but you'ld hard pressed find a more curtious sledder under most other situations - unless you intentionally try to yank my chain.