I was on the Chehalis today in my small sled,
two other jet boats were near by. We were all fishing the same water and had about 20 feet between our boats and the bank. On the other side of our boats was about 60 feet of boat able water. Here comes the new sled with the new owner, he wants to go up river.
Yes, he plows right through the hole to head up river. If you are reading this post you know who you are, don't do this crap on the Chehalis, it's not the Cowlitz.

People these days! I was out on the sound fishing westpoint and I can't tell you how many 25 ft plus boats when zipping right by me, my wife and our kid. What in the heck are these people thinking when they do that???

Anyways I know that feeling when your in the river, nearly had a major collision with another sled cuz the thought it would be fun to do a spin-out right next to us while we were anchored up pulling plugs. I think you know what a spin-out is if you own a sled. Its out of control and very dangerous.

I can not say much about sled driver's on river's but in my past years of fishing off Owens beach in either the old wood 14 ft tug or my 12 ft alum boats, i always stayed close to shore. You know just about where the bottom drops off, well sure enough along comes these $50,000 -150,000 yatch's just busting ass between me and the shore line. Just was not enough water outside me to Vashon Island i guess.

Yes there should be a driver's test and a license required for any motorized vehcile over some base "cc" or "cid".

Need to get these knuckle heads off the water before they kill somebody. I quess common sense just does not work for some, you have to have some first.

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elmtree (woody)

this one hits home for me, as i am currently a boating safety deputy in northern california. anybody can go down and buy a brand new 20 foot inboard jetboat with an engine bigger than the one in my truck. they can put that boat in just about any river and have at it. now, anybody that has driven a jetboat can tell you that a prop boat and a jetboat are two different animals. this guy is an accident waiting to happen. you can't usually spot this guy until its too late. he's the one passing you on the right while oncoming. he doesnt slow down at crowded runs, because all he knows is that you gotta be on step to make that boat run right. all i can say is allways be on the look out for this guy. california has been trying for the past couple years to pass a boating safety course law, so people can get the basic boating law knowledge. for some unknown reason (ha ha) it has been stopped.

There's always going to be morons wherever you go, some people just don't give a crap. I had my drift boat parked on the beach on the Lewis when a guy in a sled who apparently wanted my spot rammed into my boat.

So tell me,,, does a drivers test and license make for a better boat handler? do they teach common sense? i think not! keep the feds off the river and out of are boats.

Having both a cataraft and a sled i've been on both sides of the coin. I can both agree and disagree with steelheaderdude. Having a license doesn't make you a better driver...BUT it will give you alot more insight on rules of the river/water. Most guys just buy a boat and go. It's these guys/gals that screw it up for all of us. The big problem is, that alot of these guys grab the boat, and do some exploring flying full bore. They have no idea what's around next corner and cause trouble. I always float a river first, get to know it's corners and holding spots, then run my sled after I know the path and where to be cautious due to blind corners in the river. It's all in experience and courteousness. Only problem is you'll never get away from types like this, just keep your ears open for the hum of a jet if you're floating/banking on a river and get the hell out of the way.....

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you haven't lived til you've rowed a cataraft. Friends don't let friends run Outcasts.

I just hate the thought of haveing to buy ANOTHER dam license, I give this dam state way to much money to fish as it is! I still say a license wont give these people any common sense, and or maners,,
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