Washington Fly Fishing Forum banner

Maiden voyage with the new raft - Yak report

2K views 24 replies 17 participants last post by  Out of Here 
#1 ·
Well, finally got the new raft in the water today. Put in around 9:45am (later than I wanted) and floated from Red's to Roza. Holy hell, the bikini hatch was in FULL FORCE today...more on this later.

I took a buddy and my son Sebastian and I rowed all day. We threw hoppers of every variety and had good success with pretty much all of them. I noticed the more neutral colors seemed to work a bit better though. The Morrish hopper was probably the best in tan, but did well with pink too. For whatever reason though, my buddy was having a bit of trouble "sealing the deal" and couldn't hook easily 75% of the fish that rolled on his fly. Some of these mind you were HOGS and did the slow sip porpoise gig. I think he was a bit too quick on the draw and ended up pulling the fly out of their mouths. Towards the end of our float however, he was slowing down (probably due to heat exhaustion) and started hooking up. My son did great too as this was really his first real fishing trip. Normally he just goes and hangs out (I don't push him to fish), but this time he pursued fishing and even had a few pretty awesome takes. Proud papa here!

So back to the bikini hatch story...was below slab, right before Peg's hole and saw a guy in the water get separated from the floatilla, but wasn't a big deal as he was running on the rocks in the middle of the river. It wasn't until it started getting deeper and he started yelling, "I can't swim!!", that I realized how serious it was. I kicked it into high gear, spun the boat around and put in work to get down stream to him. I began yelling at him to relax and try to float and grab the raft rope when I get close. As I got about 10 feet from him, he began to bob. When he came back up he grabbed the rope...I asked him if he was okay and he said yes and then proceeded to let go...down he went again. He came up again and I pulled my oar out of the horn and stuck it at him, he clamped on fast. I brought him to the side of the boat and then could see, he was wearing denim! I instructed him to NOT LET GO as I rowed downstream to his "friends" awaiting his return. Once i got him to them, they casually say, "thanks...".............and that was it! If I wasn't so tired, I would have made it much more well known how dissatisfied I was. I pulled over to take a breather and my son goes, "Dad, that probably wouldn't have happened if he was wearing a life jacket." So, let this be a lesson, sometimes 8 year olds are smarter than adults. Anyway, if we were fishing for idiots, it would have been an epic day, but turns out it was just an awesome first day with the new raft.

Here's Sebastian ready at the launch.
 
See less See more
1
#7 ·
Handled like a charm! Really pleased with the craft. One major difference was how easy I can crab walk it compared to a drift boat... Comes in really handy on rivers like the Yakima. Can't wait for some of my other favorite rivers.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4
 
#6 ·
Nice job all the way around, Luke. Hope those rubber hatch morons realize what you did and learn a valuable lesson from it. Obviously your son learned a ton from this experience. Nicely done.

And oh, by the way.... that is a sweet lookin' piece of river navigation equipment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Luke77
#9 ·
Great looking raft, Luke, and great save on the dude too. I learned many years ago that if you can do a deal like that for someone then your reward is in the doing. Heck he could have died that day except for you being there, take your satisfaction from that and move forward. Your son will remember and you will be a no BS example of what a real man is all about.
Cool day Luke, thanks for letting us in on it.

LB
 
#11 ·
Had a throw bad actually boot. I'm on the county SAR team and am well versed in using them, however, given his size and lack of composure, a big raft that floats well and oars were a better option. I guess it was a slit second decision and I chose. Just glad it turned out well. Just want everyone to be aware, this is the reality we face everyday we're on the water. Nut checks come when we're least expecting them.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4
 
#19 ·
Had a throw bad actually boot. I'm on the county SAR team and am well versed in using them, however, given his size and lack of composure, a big raft that floats well and oars were a better option. I guess it was a slit second decision and I chose. Just glad it turned out well. Just want everyone to be aware, this is the reality we face everyday we're on the water. Nut checks come when we're least expecting them.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4
Wow, Nut Checks are horrible even when expected and completely different then Gut checks right?
I mean UN expected nut checks just sound hazardous as hell. Should we all be wearing protective cups on the river?
 
#14 ·
You still never elaborated on the the bikini hatch, except for saving some dude(good on you) floating a river who can't swim(now I'm thinking natural selection), wearing denim. I'm picturing Joe Dirt in my head. Hopefully Sebastian can describe some bikinis.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyfool
#18 ·
Sorry to leave you hanging trip.

So after we pulled over at a resting spot, along came easily 15 floatillas that kept us on the bank for a good 20 minutes. I'm amazed at floating contraptions people come up with to float the river. We saw islands complete with wood sound systems blaring their music...yes on an inflatable. We saw a raft island with a fully covered canopy, few loners in tubes, a guy with a dog on a paddle board and PLENTY of scantily clad women that had way too much to drink. After one such specimen passed, I said to Sebastian, "Well son, that right there is a perfect example of why they call this the bikini hatch." He got kind of excited and said, "So are we going to change flies...what do the bikini hatches look like" (obviously still completely focused on fishing). I pointed to a woman laying on her stomach on a raft, rear in the air, and said, "Bikini...as in what that woman shouldn't be wearing...." He wrinkled up his nose and goes, "that's just not right dad...." and RIGHT he was! On an up note, he did get to see several acrobats that missed their circus calling, performing all kinds of death defying stunts off cliffs into shallow water...truly remarkable. One guy even had a go pro pole rigged up to capture his idiot-ness.

So yea, I'd say it was pretty much a zoo and a big reminder why I don't fish on the weekends in the heat of summer. But the itch to float the new raft was too strong for me to say no.

Thanks everyone for the "good jobs" however I didn't do anything anybody else wouldn't do. Right place, right time is all. Sooo, who want's to go fishing today? ;) Kidding....

sort of...
 
#15 ·
It takes an IDIOT to float down a river when you can't swim. They all think it won't happen to them so they take no precautions. When I was young and couldn't swim I never went in water over my waist.

Good thing you came along when you did or he probably wouldn't be there today. Kudo's to you.
 
#17 ·
Luke, well played by a man of well crafted composure. Beauty of a raft, looks like Sebastian will find his way with your guidance just fine. There are many reasons to be proud of him, mostly due to the stellar example you set yourself. Cheers.
 
#21 ·
I'm always amazed when I hear of people who play in potentially dangerous waters without knowing how to swim or wearing any flotation device.

I was reading a follow-up article about the woman surf fisher who drowned here last weekend. She loved to surf fish, but didn't know how to swim. She had a pfd, which she left in her car. She usually fished with friends, and had gotten swept off her feet in the surf and needed to be rescued by them on one of her prior surf fishing trips here. So she should have known better. This last time they weren't around to save her.
 
#22 ·
I fished the Yak yesterday from Ringer down to Pines.
Not many on the surfaced. I had a newbie and he got alot of hits on small yellow hoppers (mainly joe's)
Nothing to big though. I am sure nymphing would have been a better option, but we were content to fish the surface.
I am curious to see what the upcoming drop in water will do to the fishing.
Great Sunday on the river though.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top