The absurd image and video you see here is me taking one of my boats out for its maiden voyage a couple of weeks ago on the North Saint Vrain (thank you Charlie Bloch for the video).
We got said boat more for paddling fun on local creeks and rivers, and stealthy fish missions — but also as way to teach our five (collective) daughters how to row and decided to put a tiny frame on it. Man, is it fun!
I’ve never really had any boats that work that well for “surfing” waves until this one. Sure, I’ll try with my other raft and even my drift boat occasionally — which is not the brightest idea, but never with a ton of luck until I got this boat. It’s incredibly fun.
What, does this have to do with fishing you ask? Nothing really, other than it got me pondering about utilizing whitewater techniques for fishing and vice versa. I think we as anglers get very used to utilizing our anchors almost too much sometimes, which in turn can definitely scare fish when dropped or used too liberally. Even if done quietly… When you start utilizing the water’s power to hold and sit–you save energy and are far more quiet on your fishing approach. Techniques like “surfing,” but on a much smaller scale then what I’m doing here.
Behind rocks, just on the edge of eddy lines, below wing dams, you set your boat and angler up for a much stealthier approach where you can hold the boat with very little exertion and noise. Next time you’re out, explicitly try where you can get away without using your anchor and use the water to your advantage.