Did a couple of laps from South Bank to 5 Mile on Wednesday night. There was some talk going around that the Duke was in town, and that on tuesday night the Duke himself had harassed some private boaters doing some fishing after work. According to these guys, the Duke was madder than a skinhead on Martin Luther King day. Apparently, the Duke told them "to go to hell" as his parting words.
We ran it twice and spotted a few motion activated cameras set up in trees, and on bridges and buildings. We were even paid a visit by ol Don, the ranch manager, who was hollering and flapping his arms something fierce. He took our picture and made some calls, then hopped in his truck and met us down at the takeout. To my surprise, he was not there to sell us copies of the photos he'd just taken, but rather to snap a few photos of our license plates.
They did clear the wood from the bridge though, and we were able to get under it clean on both the left and right sides. If you go right, watch your head - they've installed some angle iron with sharp points on the bottom of the bridge. I wonder what for?
At any rate, it would appear at this point that they've decided to lay off the commercial boats and harass the private boaters instead.
If you plan to run this one any time soon, feel free to PM me and I'll give you all the info you need to get through clean, and perhaps catch some of the Dukes pet fish for dinner.
Big thanks to OutbackJack, boatenbert and a few other buzzards - see you next week guys.
I should add - the photo on bottom left is kinda crappy, but there's one of those motion activated game cams strapped to that willow tree. It's the black spot just above the fence line. We counted as many as 5 total, but there may well be more that we didn't see.
It is pathetic that these guys have nothing better to do than harass boaters/anglers. I was fishing through the middle a few hours after you on Wednesday and a Harmels waitress actually stopped her interactions with customers to run to the rail and photograph us floating through and fishing. We waived to her and told her to have a great day (I think it may have pissed her off).
That's the way to do it, smile, wave, be friendly, and keep floating it.
I have to wonder about the legality of angle iron installed on the bridge with metal spikes!?! Sounds like a booby-trap intended to cause bodily harm!?!
I'm going over there again soon. I take out at South Bank but now I may float on down with cameras of my own rolling and get some video of this buffoonery for youtube.
I'm going to try to get pics of the angle iron on the next trip, at a glance though, there appeared to be no earthly purpose for it.
Theophilus - don't forget to bring a rod when you go. If I'm reading the situation correctly, they're taking the position that it's okay to float through, but not to fish while doing so. After all, this issue never really was about rafting - it's always been about fishing.
the ranch boss (who is there every day of the year) wont give your problems if you just float through quietly and shut your mouth, and keep your fly rod on your boat. if you be quiet and respectful, then they wont give you any shit. but the minute your drop your line into the water, you can expect the be followed and photographed.
i really dont get why it is such a big deal to you- how many miles of public, open water is there available to you above and below this stretch? and on countless other rivers across the state? So why do you have to come and ruin it for all of us? "making your point" and insisting on fishing is only making it WORSE, not better. youre not making a stand or making an issue, youre just screwing over other boaters. im tired of you people thinking the river is yours, and cant just deal with this. its plain and simple: float through, and keep your line off the water, and you wont be harassed. end of discussion. but if you just cant hold back and just have to be THAT GUY, and just HAVE to drop your line in, then you should expect to get photo'd, followed, and harassed. and i hope they bust your ass for it, because you fuckholes are ruining it for everyone!!!!
Wait minute. The people fishing are NOT the ones ruining it for other boaters. They have every right to fish where ever they want. Don't try to shift the blame from d-bags making this an issue (the land owners).
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing."
-Edmund Burke (paraphrased)
First post in almost two years, had to lead off well.
Yeti, your position is contemptible. We, as free men, DO OWN THE RIVER. Every time I drive past there and see the herculean effort that asshat has put into prohibiting an approach to "his" riverbank with those ridiculous wooden obelisks and strung wire I have to think of puppies and butterflies and big fat titties to quell my rage. I regret that the whole of science and engineering to this point in history has not succeeded in making a silent chainsaw. Those posts would burn brightly in my stove for free men everywhere!
Kudos to you, slave. If not for men like you, this post would be in Deutsch. I for one cannot believe that this jackoff out of state landowner hasn't been drug behind a pickup yet. In the backwaters of Penn's Woods from whence I came a pitchfork mob would have decided his fate long before a legislature had the chance.
I don't fish, but I see this as a call to arms. If every man, woman and child in the Gunnison Valley put on the river and fished to they're little heart's content there's not a damn thing ANYBODY could do about it. Take all the pictures you want, jittbag, I hope my cock and my middle finger fit in the frame!!!
Sounds like a call for a mass fish/float. I don't fish much nowadays, but I would break out my fly rod just to see if I could catch some of Shaw's fish. Holding a fish up to his camera's as we float by would be worth it!
Yeti, I've remained silent as you've embarrassed yourself and this entire community time and time again on Mountainbuzz, but this is over the line even for you. Pathetic.
Joe
I don't fish ... much. I don't run class II ... much. But hell, I'm tempted to drive over taylor pass soon just to say hello to Mr.Shaw.
Yeti, you sir are much more fun when you keep your mouth shut. Your acting like this is YOUR river. You are rolling over just begging to have all river access taken away. Stand up to the man or get run over.
Well, Well, Well. It looks like some of you have woke up again, congrats! Yeti, you are a fool and a coward. Your stupid profile shows it all. My profile shows who I am and my position has been on the Buzz and in the local papers. I hide behind nothing and noone!! I planned on posting today before I found out that there was another forum in the works. I have been very disapointed in the private boating community up to this point. Everyone talks a good show, yet only Slave has shown up to float OUR river. Dont get me wrong, locals have been floating and fishing, yet we need to show that the boating comunity is not just a bunch of hot air. Mr Shaw has told local outfitters they cannot let any of their employees float through the middle Taylor even on their own time!! This class 2 run has some of the bigest drops on the river thanks to landowners. The local sheriff has said publicly that it is not illegal to float and fish down the river!! Smile, Wave, and be polite, we can win what is coming if we band together. Come to Gunni and lets float and fish the river!!! Get ahold of me, any who are serious. Yeti, you are entilted to your opinion, however if you hide behind a false face, for all we know you are Shaw himself!!! I will be floating and fishing tomorrow for anyone interested, should get done working around 4 or 5 and head to the river!!!
Somewhere with his old gravity-stretched junk flapping in the breeze, no doubt. He could be of use in this situation, for sure. Nothing turns the stomach like naked old dude.
No doubt!!! BS, so glad to have you back. Welcome...
Yeti, you have a sad perspective on freedom. Congrats to those that challenge this. That said, do not over-do this. Feel free to flaunt all that is your right and legal, but always stay in the boundary.
We will never cross the line. This battle will be won by those who make no mistakes. We smile, We wave, We do not park on rocks, we do not anchor, we do not get out, we do not touch shore. We eddie out and, thanks to shaw, float and fish in his pools as long as we want. Show respect, do not argue, report any acts of aggression to the local sheriff.
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Mountain Buzz
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