Bossman,

I bank fish, float, and use my sled on some rivers. I try to treat other anglers the way I wish they would treat me. My observation is that anglers, like most humans, don't follow the golden rule.

Perhaps jet boating is like driving. The real purpose of driving isn't to get from point A to point B. The real purpose is to pass any car you can see in front of you. (t.i.c.) With a jet or even drift boat, maybe the goal is to fish any piece of water ahead of any other angler you can see. I do agree that it's nigh on impossible to produce a logical explanation for some of the behavior commonly observed on rivers. But that's not restricted to boats, witness the styrofoam bait containers, miles of waste monofilament, etc.

Although I don't like to be low-holed either, my greatest concern is jet sleds and safety on small rivers. Sometimes there is only one thread for safe passage, both upstream and down. What if you're powering your sled up that thread and a driftboat appears around the corner coming downstream. The rules of navigation require the powerboat to yield, but if you cut power, the boat is likely to ground out in a shallow riffle, which can be dangerous in a lot of places. I'm inclined to take my sled only on larger rivers as a safety and courtesey consideration.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.