We cannot fish without making an impact on the rivers and fish. We've talked about sled wake and bankies walking and wading. Might as well mention that driftboaters often slash oars into shallow redds, drop anchors on them, and during low water they get out and scrape them long distances over shallows. And many more times of dritboats than sleds. We all impact the rivers - period! Then along comes mother nature with a big flood and does more damage in a few days than fishermen did all season; or longer.

All that doesn't mean any user group should stay away from the rivers. They are always in a constant state of change anyway. Just try to keep your own impact to a minimum, and quit trying to eliminate other user groups with BS.

In the floods of early '96, whole rivers sections were completely changed. They had new banks, new holes, and in many cases entire multi-mile long sections were completely moved into new channels; and different depths in the rest of the old channels. And more bank erosion than fishers made in the previous decade. While rivers all over the northwest had big impacts that Feb. '96, two that I regularly fish have been very different rivers ever since - the Clackamas and the Wilson .... until the next big flood.

RT