4th of July is going to be crowed with fishers on the Willy (or anywhere), I know. Got on the water by 8 am with the sled. Motored up to fishing water and passed 8 drift boats in about a 1/2 mile, plus rafts and bankers. Usually it's just me on the river plus maybe a couple drifters. Pretty friendly scene...usually.

Fished for a couple of hours for summer runs, and lost two caught none. Fishing was slow for everybody it seemed. Come back down the run and find the drifters anchored in the main channel so we kind of weaved our way through them (idling and no wake), but got an earful of expletives doing so. "Keep off my water", you Jac@ss, etc., even though we didn't suck up their lines and did not bump into them. Kind of hard to navigate with all of the boats and rocks around this time of year. I usually have the river to myself as I'm out every other day or so, but the 4th brings "holiday warriors", so it's crowded.

Wish guys would share the water with everyone like I do...

Moved to lower section of river and retained one long hen, so we had fish for evening party = good times for us, but made drift boater even angrier that we got one and he didn't. So, I can't win with sled?? Come to take out time and dude was not happy with sled in river, arghh, can't help it if I can't afford another boat (drift boat/waders) to play with you... I got what I got man, a beater 1981 sled! Just trying to unwind on the river like everybody else.

Just want to inquire on river etiquette if anybody has ideas for sleds in mostly drifter areas? One guy said haters gonna hate until they get a sled too.

Happy 4th to everyone,

drifters vs sleds, ford vs chevy, etc. Getting to be that time of year...

haters gonna hate. As long as you're respectful, all the whiners can get fuked.

+1

Just my opinion.......OK?
I hate sleds!
I get it that they are convenient in a number of ways, but to me they ruin the whole idea of relaxing on a river somewhere. The damn things are incredibly NOISY. I wish they would be outlawed except for rescue boats.
Again, just my opinion.
Nothing personal.

I hate everybody.

Now, if I just could get somebody to take me fishn'
I might turn that though around.

fp

+1. i bought my jet boat so i could get away from people, not crowd in on them.

Driftboat owner???? Want quiet????? Just go where jet boats can't go....upper Quinault, Queets, upper Hoh, etc., you get the idea!!!!!!

Nothing personal, just my opinion!!!!!!!!

I got the solution! You can't fish a stream over 25 miles from your home in a boat! Hows that? Probably upset some ...... oh darn ........

Sleds are noisy, obnoxious, and throw a wake. I hate sleds on rivers, . . . except mine.

Sg

I'd be happy with a banning of sleds on A LOT of water.

Maybe worse.

I would be happy in either, but I can see where there can be some frustration, personally I don't have any issue with a D/B or sled going past me on the bank.....as long as the sled guys at least try to slow down whilst they pass I have no issue.......can't we all just get along?

Eugene, first I would like to commend you for trying to show some courtesy. The challenge is simply this.
There are 2 user groups looking for a completely different exp on the water. The sled is fishing and hears his motor all day so thinks nothing of it. A DB is also fishing but looking for some peace and quiet hearing nothing but the dip of the oars in the water.
So when a sled comes motoring through its kinda like riding a motorcycle through church.
Is there a good answer? No. It could be dealt with "Forks style" where they cut up your trailer with a torch. That seems to have worked very well up on the OP. But that isn't the answer here.
Just remember that they yell because you are kinda ruining there exp that day. Thats all.
I will offer you this. If you would like to know what its like, invite some friends or family over for dinner. Then I will come and ride my MX bike around your house for a few hours. I then think you would understand.

Again, thanks for showing some courtesy. Many people don't.

Thanks guys and especially treefarmer.

I feel a little better today, and I see no options I could have done different except maybe staying off that stretch just because I knew it would be packed.

Anyway, it should be less traffic now, but whatever. I fish from my buddies drifter sometimes, and I have no ill feeling towards sleds that come past us. I will say that db's tend to be ruder than sleds (towards sleds anyway) in terms of low-holing.

Later,

Forgot to say Rivrguy, the ramp is 3 miles from my house, but it's also 3 miles from a lot of people's house. So, in this case that rule wouldn't help much.

I do wear my seatbelt on the way...

and Hank, db's with a kicker are looked at as not a sled (and enviously) by db's without motors down here!

Later,

Drift boat known section of river and your in a sled on a holiday...4th of July with the sun out..........Crazy.......I would have not gone or went to another system.I own both and see both sides very well.Although I prefere my drift boat on the smaller rivers I still run the sled on the smaller systems but mainly in the winter with higher flows which the drifters hate in the lower sections.Like said above "If you did not do anything that makes ya feel crunchy" then blow it off.Good luck,
SZ

All rivers should have some sections that ban sleds.
Nooch no sleds above the wier
Sappy no sleds above the westfork
Hump no sleds above reynnvan's
Green no sleds above Hwy 18

95% of the time I keep it on step and run behind the drift boats, which seems to piss the drift boats off just as much.
Most sledders are affraid to use the sled the way it was intended. If you know your river and know your sled, you will have little problem staying away from those pesky drift boats pulling plugs through a whole stretch of river and saying that 1/2 mile drift is theirs.
Now those smart drift boat guys I run into during the summer will wave me through the whole to stir up the fish and have many times seen a drift boat pull a summer run out of my wake, especially on the Sky.

think that it all goes back to the whole "treat others" way of thinking

Sleds? Depends on where and when. Everyone has a different opinion. I owned two sleds, finally got rid of the last one. Just not for me. But then the Cowlitz isn't for me even though it's a great river.

Oregon's Deschutes River has an interesting approach. There's a period of several days every other week where sleds are not on the river. This sytem seems to work well for everyone.

Still love pullin' on the oars at 65. But I have a 22' Alumaweld for Puget Sound, Columbia and the ocean.