Big Y staff have been using boats (particularly catarafts) to get some serious fishing done for the better part of two decades now. Fis...
A boat, when put in the right hands, can be the best tool a fisherman could ever hope to have. It can put you in water that would otherwise be inaccessible and offer a spotting advantage that can only be seen when floating down the river. It can also allow you to quickly and effectively cover a river in an efficient manner. A boat has the ability to store all rods, gear, food, water, and anything else you could possible want for a trip in one convenient location, right on the water. For people with a family, rafting can become a family activity that would otherwise only be fun for a member or two. Finally, you are able to stay on the water for multiple days and see more river miles than you would be able to do in any other way. Throughout this article, we will look at how all of the advantages can increase your time on the water, and inevitably, the amount of fish you will catch.
To start, a boat, at the very least, can easily triple the amount of water you can fish in almost any body of water. On lakes and ponds, you are able to get an advantage of casting into a bank, also into weeds that would otherwise be a nightmare from the bank. On rivers, you can access areas that do not contain roads. Additionally, people with private property cannot physically own the river, making any area below the high water mark fishable. Islands that were once just longed after are now only a few oar strokes away. Not to mention being able to quickly access the other bank which always seems to look better after several casts do not produce a strike. There are also a lot of rivers out there that allow someone to fish from a boat. Anchor setups can stop your boat at most locations you wish to fish, and in areas that would otherwise not be fishable. Lines can be fished for a longer duration without the need to recast. Flies can be presented to a fish more naturally when held up in the river above the run. Additional fishable water also means an additional need to scout and weed out the good water from the bad water.
A boat can offer one of the best ways to scout a new river or add potential fishing spots to one quite familiar to you. Being physically on top of the fish is the best way to do this, short of busting out the snorkeling gear. One trip down a section of water can spot more fish than a week of walking the bank. Even if the fish are scared off the second you see them, it is still a spot you know that will have fish on trips to come. The ability to stand on a cooler or dry box also gives you the closest thing to a bird’s eye view, short of renting a helicopter. Runs are easier to identify now that you have a perpendicular view and makes it easier to pick out which run fish are more likely to favor. But with good scouting comes with having the right gear, and it's damn hard to beat a boat for holding all your gear right at hand.
Many serious fly fishermen don’t carry just one rod and one vest, put rather 2 or more rods and just as many bags of gear. One thing that is probably the most time consuming about driving to each spot is the packing and unpacking of your gear. Rods need to be broken down, vests taken off, and in some case even wading boots to properly operate a vehicle. It takes time to pull out your rod, grab your vest, make your way down to the water, and cast out your line, while doing this over the course of a day that time can quickly add up. On a boat, your gear is all ready to go, and it is right at hand. Not only that, there is much less navigating through scrubs, trees and tall grass, that almost always tangle something up along the way.
When fishing with family it is not just the hassle of packing your gear and moving to a new location. There is also moving the family to a new location, and if you are with people that are not as into fishing as you are it can quickly become an annoyance. No matter how patient your significant other is, sooner or later they are going to give you the "we are moving again, and what is wrong with this spot" speech. As someone who has dragged my significant other on many fishing excursions, I can tell you there is much less grief (and even enjoyment) when they are able to sunbathe from a boat and have an ice cold drink in their hand. Additionally, a rafting trip is a great way to keep the kids occupied on the water, each new location is an adventure, the trip is an adventure, and an excitement of what is around the corner is brought in like no other.
Introduce the overnight trip. Many of my family vacations growing up were spent on the same section of Deschutes water, Warm Springs to City Park. I have more memories packed into that 42 miles section of river than any other location on the planet. Whether the fishing was good came second to being out in the open air, away from it all for 3 to 4 days. When we felt like fishing (which was constant) we pulled the boat over and fished. When we were done at a spot we pushed it back into the water to find the next. The amount of spots you can cover, water you can see, and fish you can catch is huge, on an overnight trip, when compared to a day trip or camping in a single location.
Now to what holds most of us back, the unknown. If you haven’t been on a boat before, or haven’t rowed one before, the concept can seem daunting. Things like boat size, frames, gear, oars, etc. can seem incredibly confusing and expensive, especially if it is not set up right the first time. Big Y Fly Company is a NRS dealer for one simple reason, we love rafting. Most of our staff has spent over 20 years rafting the rivers we love, and are quite versed in paddle rafts, catarafts and drift boats. We also understand the logistics of multi-day trips and can put you in a boat to suit your needs. Whether you spend the majority of your time on small coastal streams, or on big rivers we can definitely point you in the right direction. Don’t be afraid to give us a call, if we don't have an answer for you right away we will find it.
