Although intended as food for thought, this may come across as flame bait.

DISCLAIMER: I loathe jetskis but do own a 16' sled.

Why is it that jetskis don't belong on the Sky, but a jet sled (of some length, but less than 22')does? Admittedly, running up and down side channels where chum and maybe coho are actively spawning seems like a case of out-and-out wildlife harrassment.

But as far as a river is a navigable waterway, what makes one form of watercraft more right than another? Let's see, since a raft, driftboat, or sled are well suited to my intended activity, that is, fishing, they are appropriate watercraft for the river. And since jetskis seem to be operated by lunatics whose apparent intention is to harrass wildlife, fishermen, and render the river unfit for other uses, like fishing, jetskis are inappropriate.

I brought this up because I heard of a young man a few years ago, clad in his neoprene waders, zipping around the Snake River from drift to drift, where he'd park his jetski and then fish by wading from the bank. Seems like a jetski could be used as a "mini" jet sled by solo anglers, even if it's an unlikely application overall.

And by what criteria does one decide when a given jet sled length is too large for a given river? I think safety is a suitable criteria, but that's not very specific. I think it can get pretty dicey on rivers like the Satsop and Humptulips, where the "thread" in a shallow riffle around a river bend can be quite narrow, and a drift boat coming downstream has nowhere else to go, and a jet sled heading up stream on step also has nowhere else to go (if he slows, he grounds out), and the "thread" of the stream is too narrow for both boats to occupy the same space at the same time. Ever see that happen, or almost happen? Yet I believe the navigational rules of the road are that powerboats must yield to non-power boats.

Your thoughts?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.