Give Praise to Johnnycoho--Made a heroic rescue of a 68yr old woman stuck on a logjam on the upper Sauk. He skillfully and ran his boat on the UPPER Sauk -where no sled has gone before-and saved her life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thumbs up Johnny.

SRBC

Awesome Job!

Are you talking about his big Boulton? On the upper Sauk? YIKES!



Cudo's to John Koenig...glad to have you around these parts.

Mike B

I second that.

What in tarnation is a 68 yr old woman doing on a logjam on the upper Sauk?

John is a first rate guy, that sort of thing is his first nature.

I agree with what Mooch asked, just because i would like to hear the 'whole"story.....Fishy.....

Knitting?

Thanks for the Kudos guys, normally wouldn't have said a word, just doin my job.

Here's the story: Monday night around 7:30PM, just walked in the door when I got the call for a rescue on the upper Sauk.
At the time all I knew was some lady was somewhere on the upper river clinging to a log. Launched, (yes, my 22 ft Boulton) at the HWY 530 Launch and headed up-river.

Knew the lady had to be at one of 5 spots, just so happened to be the second, so I found her pretty quickly. For those that have floated the river since the floods; looking & going up-river it was near the bottom of that left braid (right braid comin' down river) just above where the river used to go by that dome home thats been falling in the river the past 5 or so years.

That channel braids all over the place and one wrong turn will screw ya'. Near the bottom ya have to go to the left or head straight at a sweeper. Thats where they flipped their raft.

Apparantly she and her husband decided to float the Upper Sauk that day on a little scenic trip, hit the sweeper there (dunno' how they made it that far,..they had to have some experience) raft went under along with her husband and she went on top of the log jamb. He made it to shore and walked out to call for help. Got her back to the ramp safely,..end of story.

Guys & Gals if ya get anything outta this PLEASE take the following advice;

1. If ya cant afford and or dont wish to hire a guide to show you the route down any given river please remember this golden rule;

WHEN IN DOUBT,..WALK IT OUT!!!!

In other words, if ya cant see whats comin' up around a bend in the river, stop the boat and walk down to check it out. Know the route ya wanna take and know the danger ahead. If ya cant row it safely,.. drag your boat around it, WALK IT OUT.

2. There's been a ton of new water craft showing on the rivers every year, leading to numerous rescues and even more chances of an accident about to happen; especially on the bigger rivers where sleds share the water with smaller vessels...and especially in low visibility situations (fog and rain)

- if you own a smaller water craft such as a pontoon boat or raft, even a drift boat in really limited visibility,...
MAKE YOURSELF LOOK AS BIG AS POSSIBLE
(DO wear bright reflective clothing,..anything to make yourself visible) For those that know me you've probably heard me joke about the pontoon boats, "Speed Bumps",..sometimes we just cant see ya till' were just about on top of you. DONT become a "speed bump" make sure we can see you!!

- Sled Owners; in low vis situations,
IF YA DONT KNOW IT,..DONT RUN IT!!!
Especially in low vis situations,..and if ya do know the river and decide to run in low vis please use your running lights,...and go just fast enough to kep your boat on step,..and DO listen for other boats. Rob Endlsey and I always get a kick about some of the guys we see runnin' their sleds in the fog and where most end up (stuck on shallow bars) and at the same time it does worry us, because most dont use running lights and you cant see them till their right on top of you. Robbo, always jokes about my running lights (I've got 2 krypton buld head lights on the front of my sled), he says I look like a 747 coming in for a landing on the river.

Dont become a rescue for me !!!

Ok,..I've rambled on enough. Off to Alaska next week.

BE SAFE THIS SUMMER GUYS!!!

I have floated the river with my brother in law a quite a few times before the flood and I got comfortable with it I was rowing his drift boat but we did it back in March and he has floated it a couple times before then and he said that it changed a lot. Then we floated it and it didnt look the same sauk that I have drifted a few times before. I didnt dare to take the oars. It has changed a lot. Fishing was good though. The old holes arent there any more so you got to find the new holes.

John,
Thanks for detailed info on the rescue and expert safety advise!
I've floated the Sauk in my DB once in April 2003 and remember those braids you talked about.
Luckily, I was following group of guys who knew the river and guided me thru safe navigation path.
I still can't believe you were able to take your 22ft sled all the way up to upper Sauk.
Man you're good and a true pro!!
You're gonna be my Skagit Sturgeon guide in the near future!

Johnny, great story and even better advice. Having watched people die doing stupid stuff on the river, I understand what you are saying. And even though the Darwin awards may be at work here, these folks are somebody's loved ones. You perform a great and valuable service and I appreciate it. May your voice grow hoarse from shouting "Fish on" up North.