I recently purchased an Outcast Pac800 for drifting smaller rivers. The first time I took it out, I was surprised by several things. First, everytime I tried to anchor, it didn't seem to want to track straight even though I had the oars straight. It would turn sideways and start dragging the anchor downstream. Also, when I pulled plugs or rowed through rapids even though I had the anchor pulled all the way up it would still bounce back and forth each time I took a stroke of the oars which was quite annoying. It was also difficult to stand up and drift fish since the folding chair was in the way and it was pretty unstable. Has anyone had similar experiences? Does anyone have any advice on what to do to get these to perform better. Also, has anyone tried replace the folding chair with a piece of plywood so they can standup to driftfish. Any info would be greatly appreciate.

Hey Fish.- I'm not familiar w/ your brand. I just purchased my 1st one a few weeks ago at the Portland Sportsmen Show. It is a McKenzie Cat built By Bob Hill River Boats. I haven't had the prob.'s U describe. I suggest centering the anchor bracket on the back of the frame, then moving the frame/center of gravity forward a little to bring the back of the tubes a bit further out of the water so they won't catch & turn as much. If it still turns, I suggest buying or making about a foot longer anchor braket extention arm. All of these things will help stabilize your anchorups. W/ the frame furher forward U may feel a little closer to the water up front but the Cat will actually row easier thru rapids & when pulling plugs. Keep a small but secure knot that cinches up close to reduce swing & also glue a rubber section on anything it might still swing into. To totally remove swing U can attach a prymid shaped anchor holder & set it in that before running rapids. I have the 10.5' big tube version w/ a 2-man frame and it anchors fine w/ a 15# lead pyrmid. It rows a little sluggish w/ 2 but runs great thru about anything w/ 1 aboard! They are just excellant for running rocky sections of upper rivers that would be difficult w/ a driftboat. Access www.dhdriftboats.com to check out their Cataraft accessories which could be of help to U.- Tight lines, Steve

[This message has been edited by Backbouncer1 (edited 03-04-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Backbouncer1 (edited 03-04-2000).]

A 8' cat is not a stable platform to stand and fish off ,sounds like a balance problem,move the frame forward on the tubes( if you can) this will make it track better,does your anchor hang centered off the rear... this is critical.These are just some of the reasons why I fish a 12' cat even though it's bigger it draws less water,so it's way more manuverable,even with twice the weight on it...Good luck

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Tight Lines
FISH ON ------<*)>><
Men are like fish we get into trouble when we open our mouths to much!!

Be carefull dude, don't try that standing up trick in an outcast or your going to wind up in the water. An 8ft cat is not a real stable platform and moving the frame around on it is not really a smart idea. If you put the frame forword, which is what you would have to do to eliminate the problem you describe, a small hole or drop off that you had no problems with before is going to put you on your head... With waders on. I have a much larger cat. I don't use it for steelhead fishing. I have a drift boat for that. I know the owners of AIRE, and think that they would also suggest you stay sat down for safety reasons. Good luck and wear your life jacket.

P.S STEELHEADER BOY, White water forcast is looking up over here. Most snow pack over 100 % of normal, no summer runs like you wanted but that lower salmon run is a winner

Sorry fishaholic for not responding sooner, I had a glitch with my computer and have had a problem logging on for a bit. I once had the Outcast 8' and there's not alot you can do to improve things with it (besides by a new boat). First, you DO NOT want to try and stand up in one, even in flat, calm, lake water (Outcasts have a rocker hull and are made for maneuverability not stability). You will be hard pressed to keep much control on one except in pretty stale water. I put mine through the Hoh and it was about enough to finish my Outcast days. I have a 9' Steelheader and a 16' Aire Cat and they're the only way to go. Very stable and you can safely load up, anchor, and maneuver through anything you want to run it through (except for certain spots on the Toutle YIKES!!!!!). I'd suggest just using the Outcast like it is w/o any modifications. Run it on slower, slack rivers only (I have over 20 years on the oars and had too much work keeping it tracking on class 2 areas let alone anything major). Take care and tight lines. Listen to Steelheader boy, he'll help you out too.

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I have an 8' bronco (basically the same boat) and love it. I'm a bug slinger so I usually don't fish out of the boat. You have found the major disadvantage in that they are not meant to fish out of. They are most effective using them on smaller rivers where you get out of the boat to fish, or rivers where access is a problem or rivers that are to small to float with a drift boat. Just ask Hillbilly Redneck (friend of mine that posts on this site) what it is like to do the back flip off of the back of a pontoon boat in May!!! As for anchoring, they are not meant to be anchored in anything very fast or deep. In fact it can be rather dangerous as the anchor can actually pull the back of your boat under and cause the boat to flip. Hope this helps. tight lines.

Tim

fishnfool,
I've installed a diving board on the back of my Outcast to get more air.

I Have a Outcast pac 1200, two man boat has casting platform and leaning bar out front. It has amazed me time amd time again in white water. It has been down the Upper Sol Duc many times. I only use the anchor to keep the boat from floating away when I get out to fish. If you are rowing the boat you arnt fishing. I wouldnt stand up in the oarsmans seat on a bet. When your anchored up, I find If you center your weight and dont move the boat tracks straight, shift yout weight and boat tracks back and forth.
I love the outcast for what it is, sporty, good low water boat that you can carry around anything you dont want to go through.
One other downfall id the anchor system, having to turn around 180 degrees to pick up anchor had racked my back and left me at the chriopractor Insted of on the river.

Hey Joe I recommend attaching a couple of pulleys to your frame,you can use s.s. hose clamps and attach a cam cleat ( used in sailing ) works awsome saves those doctor bills..Good Luck

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Tight Lines
FISH ON ------<*)>><
Men are like fish we get into trouble when we open our mouths to much!!

Hey Joe, SteelieBoy is right, go with that setup on anchor. When I had my Outcast 8 I bought the pulley from Wright Marine and used Ubolts to set it to underside of frame (where your seat bolts onto). I then bought the anchor release out of Cabela's (It is grey and has a pulley in back and a cleat in front) and mounted that with Ubolts on the forward part of frame. (Make sure you either take out old release off your current outcast anchor system or directline the rope around the pulley and not thread it through the current system). Mine worked great while I had it. Yes, you're 12 ft outcast should handle those drifts alot better then an 8/9 ft, you have more boat on the water then them. But, if you ran the style of boats Steelieboy or I are currently running, it'd be like night and day. First, ours are designed for actual whitewater use and second ours are designed to hold ALOT more weight then the outcasts (my boat was designed as a packmule cat for whitewater trips). Yours is a good boat, nothing wrong with it, just stating that those extra couple feet make a world of difference. I have a 9 ft cat and mine is very stable to stand in and I even will anchor in swift stretches and stand up with no worry of tipping over (It has a straight hull with gradual upcurving ends instead of a rocker hull). I myself watched where I'd anchor in my outcast 8, and if I fished from it, I stayed in my seat, no standing. You can also fish from the boat on slow stretches. I actually caught a damned nice King Jack backbouncing from my old outcast on a slow drift on the Hump a few years back (talk about fun, it turned my boat around I thought I had a 40lb'er on). Just know your restrictions and never try to conquer anything you're not sure about.

tight lines........Jerry

I'm looking to buy my first cataraft and readng all the post is really great. It sure helps in trying to figure out what a guy needs and doesn't need. I'm leaning toward the 9 ft steelheader. thanks alot !!!
Bill

I am just woundering if it is possible to buy just the floats for one of these little bugers? I can make my own frame and all that but the floats are the only thing I am laking. I am thinking about something 10' or maybe 12'. I haven't decided on what style of floats to get I need to research that. I have a 17' Willie drift boat but for those low clear summer run rivers I know better than to even think about trying it. any idea of where to look for the floats would be appreciated!

thanx,
dcrzfitter

Check out www.nrsweb.com and go to the gear swap pages. I've seen lots of cat tubes listed there.

Thanx I'll give them a look.

dcrzfitter

Check out cataraft.com I bought a 11'6" several years ago. It's a great raft.

hey dcrzfitter,I see you live in Olympia also ,why don,t you drop me a e-mail and we can hook up I'll show you my boat and maybe save you some time and point you in the right direction,( cataraft.com please!!! we want a real cataraft

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Tight Lines
FISH ON ------<*)>><
Men are like fish we get into trouble when we open our mouths to much!!