I am super impressed with how easily you guys can maneuver those things, I floated the green a few weeks ago and those pontoon boats were everywhere. You should be good to go on the upper c and the blue below green mtn.
Silverthorne to Green Mtn though has boulder canyon near the end just below the campground and I would be a very hesitant to say you would be fine through there. It is a fast shallow section of river, where foot entrapment is a real concern.
As well as your pfd and wader set up. On mellow sections you should be fine but in any sort of whitewater I would be very concerned to wear that type of pfd, their are some great fishing specific pfd's on the market now and more coming out for next season please take a look at those.
The other thing to think about when running rapids is that you are wearing your waders, if you take a swim and they fill up you are then wearing an anchor. I could be wrong but I am not sure how well those belts create a seal to prevent water from coming in.
Good luck, boat with partners and maybe take a river guide training next season.
The teather you were talking about was probably a flip line. This actually isn't something you teather yourself to the boat, or something like that. That would be a very bad idea. In fact, you want your raft profile as smooth as possible without having equipment dangling around that you could get tangled in. Rafters and guides usually wear a flip line around their waist. Usually this is a piece of webbing, rope, sewn runner, etc. that is doubled around. It's usually about 6 feet long, and is worn like a belt, snugly, with a carabiner as the "buckle". Only use locking (I use autolocker here) carabiners (see above about not wanting to get tangled up with your boat and gear if it goes underwater). The flip line is used for rescue (take SWR class) uses as an anchor, etc. It is also used if your boat flips, you can climb on the bottom of it, clip the flip line to the chicken line or a D-ring, and fall backwards using the line to leverage the righting of the boat. Of course, your boat, being that it isn't a normal full size whitewater raft, you probably could just muscle it over in the water without climbing on the bottom.
You should get a "real" PFD insead of the CO2 rip cord one. In fact, Extrasport make a pretty sweet looking one that is a PFD and fishing vest all in one: Osprey - Extrasport®
As mentioned before, carry a knife and a whistle. Get a throw bag and practice with it. (So you can help your buddy or others on the river) Also, get a buddy, and if you want to get into more solid class III type boating, you will probably want a traditional river raft. Yours seems more like a hybrid raft/float tube.
I am super impressed with how easily you guys can maneuver those things, I floated the green a few weeks ago and those pontoon boats were everywhere. You should be good to go on the upper c and the blue below green mtn.
Silverthorne to Green Mtn though has boulder canyon near the end just below the campground and I would be a very hesitant to say you would be fine through there. It is a fast shallow section of river, where foot entrapment is a real concern.
As well as your pfd and wader set up. On mellow sections you should be fine but in any sort of whitewater I would be very concerned to wear that type of pfd, their are some great fishing specific pfd's on the market now and more coming out for next season please take a look at those.
The other thing to think about when running rapids is that you are wearing your waders, if you take a swim and they fill up you are then wearing an anchor. I could be wrong but I am not sure how well those belts create a seal to prevent water from coming in.
Good luck, boat with partners and maybe take a river guide training next season.
We must have posted at the same time. Guide school is where you could learn all the basics like Stingingrivers said. There are fishing guide schools (make sure you do one that involves boating or "oar cert" as the fishing guys call it, and you might learn some fish-related tricks too.
i wouldn't recommend this run for newbies. there are about 8 diversion dams you need to run and you can't fuck up. some are pretty good drops that tier off. it's all private land below the bridge with land owners who are more than happy to have you arrested for trespassing so you can't portage and you can't scout. you can't touch a rock. your oar can't touch the river bed. any of this is trespassing. and diversion dams are dangerous too.
and,yeah, get another pfd. nrs makes some good,basic,highly functional ones for $50-60. not something to cut corners on.
good luck,take your time getting the skills and be safe. fish ain't worth dying over.
I was also told to attach a rope to me and my raft, it would help pull me out of a hole that the boat makes it through or I could use my pocketknife or unclip the beener if I needed to be seperated from the rope.
Another thing to consider with using these types of rafts is that they usually have 2 or fewer air chambers. Rafts designed for whitewater have 4 or more chambers. You’ll appreciate the extra flotation after an “explosive decompression” on a rock in a class 3+ rapid.
As it has already been said - keep you feet out of the current! You shouldn’t need to control the boat with fins to bring in a fish. I’ll just toss the rod onto the floor and pin it with my foot while I work the oars. I’ve often hooked into a fish just above a rapid, pulled the fish thru the whitewater, caught an eddy and brought ‘em in. Sure you loose some fish, but you were going to let them go anyway.
Looks like a great fishing boat. If you want to run rocky whitewater, it'd make sense to get another boat built for the purpose.
Can't see the bottom setup in your pics, but to run any sort of whitewater you need a solid bar for your feet and back support so you can brace and keep your seat. Plus decent oars and a frame that'll take a bit of stress.
Another item is tracking (the ability of a boat to hold a line). In waves, short boats with rounded ends or a lot of rocker tend to spin sideways and then flip. Even on the relatively mild whitewater below Flaming Gorge Dam, quite a few small fishing rafts and cats get flipped. The drift boat guides (I'm told) get tired of rescuing swimmers tangled up in line with waterlogged waders.
Did anyone say never to wear waders or fins running rocky whitewater? I've seen fish dudes in waders fall off guide rafts in easy whitewater (between casting holes). In swift water, those seemingly tight-fitting neoprene chest waders can turn into water balloons. Get a farmer john.
Worst-case scenarios, perhaps. But you'd be better off fishing from a good whitewater boat than running whitewater in a boat designed exclusively for for fishing.
Here is some more randomn information... I'm from Alaska and those boats can be coveted. However, they are designed to be on Class I & II stuff. To again stress the importance of foot entrapment or even a pin... If you start to see any white water - your feet need to be out of the water & I am talking ripples... The reason that so many love your boat in AK is that they take a large power boat through the major rivers - then go up small creeks with a raft like yours. It is great - and can allow you to get places where walking isn't possible. This may sound crazy, but find a pond or a lake and practice... Go backward, and make corners, flip your raft while you are on it - then right it again... Of course take an occasional break and fish the lake fish too! - Like it was said before, if you were interested in going places that are Class II+ get a floor - and a support frame. (However with the cost, I would reccomend just saving for a white water raft.) Have fun!
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I've got some experience with your situation. I'm a rafter, kayaker and fisherman. I don't own my own personal pontoon but have been on several friends. Their's were quite a bit different from yours with cataraft type of set up where they have two pontoons, a metal frame in between, pegs to put your feet on, seat etc.... I'm sure if you do research you can find these. I'm not saying they were any better but seemed better manueverable and suited to whitewater than what I can see of your raft in your pics.
Those that I've been on also say they are rated to class IV. As someone who owns a raft and has boated class IV water I certainly question that rating as do the people that own them. However class III is not out of the question. I and also the owners have sucessfully navigated them down class III and felt comfortable doing so but would not without experience. All of these people have had a lot of experiences in water before they started down class III water. So I say it is not out of the question but it sounds like you should take some time and get some experience, go with others that know the river, take a class etc.... Also generally the class III water was lower and not at peak flows when of course the fishing tends to be better. One last thing there are different levels to class III and if you are ready to transition pumphouse (the upper colorado run) would be a good one to check out.
After a while if you continue floating and fishing you might find a desire to get a raft or drift boat. Especially if you go into D.R.E. and see some of their fishing set ups that will make you drool. If you get to that point but can't afford the luxury of D.R.E set-up and want some advice I'd be happy to give some recommendations on cheaper ways to do it.
Wow guys, thanks for all the info and advice. The blue river from Green Mtn to the Colorado is one that I am really hoping to float at some point, but I wasn't planning on it anytime soon. I figure I better know exactly what I am doing before trying that stretch. The blue from Silverthorne, it sounds like I would want to take out at the campground, no problem there, and that's another section I figure needs to be floated in the spring or during higher water than late summer.
For specs and other info about these rafts (the first link is the one I have): Big Sky Inflatables - Home of the Water Master One Man Raft Kickboat Inflatable Rafts Rafting Equipment Rafting Supplies
I'm pretty sure there's some video of these guys running some class IIIs, again though, I'm not aiming to whitewater, I want to fish. I just figure that I'll always have a good chance of having to get by one or two class IIIs throughout a day floating, so I want to be prepared and be able to handle it, I have full confidence that these rafts can handle low to mid class IIIs, I just need to get my skills and confidence rowing up. I've also read about the accidents and deaths that have happened on the Needleye? rapid above radium and that is a bit freaky to hear about.
So, am I right in saying that Yarmony rapid the last two weeks was a low class III? I was real surprised how easy it was to stay to the left side of that one the second time around, even after the first time I got sucked out into a bit bigger water than I intended and that was only my second time out but I was with someone else that has a couple years experience in these rafts.
As far as the pontoons are concerned, I looked into those a lot before I got these rafts. I didn't feel that sitting that high off the water in a personal pontoon would be comfortable and I have watched guys try to float and fish out of those and it just doesn't work well. I also looked at and thought long about a full size whitewater raft with a fishing frame on it, but several things made me think twice about those, gas, trailer, setup/takedown, must always go with two people if you want to fish while floating, it would cost me 3+ times as much money compared to these rafts, and lots of other factors.
My primary goals in getting these rafts:
- fishing new water, private water, and hard to access water. Knowing that, being able to float and fish at the same time was key for the private streches where you can't stop, touch bottom, etc.
- enjoy Colorado rivers in a new way and safely make it from the start to finish without losing any myself or any gear.
- float fishing alone, nothing higher than class IIs if alone and I'll be floating the popular sections too.
Trespassing is a concern as I don't want to invade on someone else's land, don't want to get shot at, don't want a ticket, etc. I know the rules/law regarding it, but I'm just curious how it is enforced for floaters. For instance, if someone "says" they saw you stopped or out of your boat, do they have to have a picture to prove it? It seems to me like an ahole owner could report everyone he sees float by.
Again, thanks for all the advice and info. I'm looking into the classes.
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