Having read the posts on catarafts and driftboats I have a question? Where can a person go and get lessons on either one or both. I do not want make a purchase leaving nothing but dust in the pocket book and not know if I can handle the cataraft safely. I want to be safe and confident in my abilities. Till then I will continue my hikes along the banks of our wonderful rivers. --- Boatless

Ya Dennis Dickson is a Fly guide and offers cataraft coarses for people who want to try it such as yourself. Hes up on the Skagit and Sauk. He does have a site but I dont know the address. I hear he comes highly recommended...A truely classic Bugwinger I guess!

good Fishen.

Bob D

Howdy Rustyhook,
Just a quick note you can search flyfishsteelhead.com to get Mr. Dickson's site. The collection of articals is great reading too. I've met up with him on the N.F., and enjoyed the respect he show's other angler's. Have some fun!

Don Hill of Don Hill drift boats gives lessons on proper rowing tecnniques. I believe his website has all the needed infor on the courses. Type in Don Hill Driftboats on your browser and I believe the address will come up. www.flyfishsteelhead.com should get you to the site mentioned in the previous post.

For Don Hill, e-mail either donhill@dhdriftboats.com or www.dhdriftboats.com . I purchased his 10.5 ft. premium tube version. They have state of the art, nearly indestructable PVC material. I love it! What a freedom machine. For a look at mine access www.ifish.net then click on "Free Wallpaper? RT Running the N.F. Falls" (edit- I just reread the caption underneath pic- I didn't write that; I'm neither fearless or in top shape!). If you learn how to row properly in strong hydraulics & cross currents with double oar pivots & corrections these things are capable of running almost anything. On Don's site I think he has some pics of guys running the Middle Fork of the Salmon R. in Idaho. Fun. And great little fishin' machines for rocky stretches of upper rivers that the driftboats can't do. - Steve

[This message has been edited by Reel Truth (edited 04-13-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Reel Truth (edited 04-13-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Reel Truth (edited 04-15-2000).]

You might also look into buying the puma raft by aire. A real fishing machine.
Tight lines


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Marty
www.steelheader.net
marty@steelheader.net

The problem with most small fishing catarafts is that they are designed for mellow water and not really designed for true white water.The only thing between and cold swim is 1- you,re ability and 2 the quality of you're boat, their is big difference in the way some boats handle,frame design vary in all types the big diff is the tube design and the material they are made from .Have fun checking them out ,depending on the make you will be amazed at how responsive they are.For a 1 man boat I would'nt go smaller 10', 12' is a better size in my opion , 1 of the main problems is guys tend to overload their boats ,so in this case size does matter,a couple hundred lbs in capacity makes a big difference.Drop me ans e-mail I can answer more of you're ? 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!!

Rusty-
You can buy a really good video made by LaMoyne Hyde (Hyde Boats) called "How to Row a Drift Boat". Look up www.flyshop.com/scripts/hyde/video.cfm and fill out the form. It's $24.95.

Also, there is a good book that gives even more details and talks about how to row in various conditions, goes over different water craft (pluses and minuses), and covers pretty much anything you want to know about floating rivers. The book is "Drift Boat Strategies" by Neale Streeks. It's $15.96 plus S&H at barnesandnoble.com.

Hope this helps - I really learned a lot from both. - Mark.

I'll second the kudos for "Driftboat Strategies." It gives a good overview of the different types of boats (glass, wood, aluminum and rafts), talks a lot about different river obstacles and gives some good instruction on rowing techniques. I still haven't mastered some of his strokes but it's a good place to start.

Bruce

Rustyhook,
Dave Mullins (425-743-7266) who is a guide out of the Monroe area gives one day lessons on driftboating. I took a lesson on sled driving from him, if he knows as much about drift boating as he does sled driving it would be money well spent.

Well, here's my .02. I've owned both driftboats and catarafts. (I still own two of my many cats, but none of my driftboats..hint hint). I like driftboats, but the few positives they have are well overshadowed by a cats maneuverability, cutting power, and overall performance. I agree with Steelieboy to go bigger. I have a 9fter I use only in conjunction with another boat (usually bigger). You try to cram too much on a smaller boat and the closer you get to maximum load the less friendly they are on the hardstuff. I have a 9ft steelheader and a 16 ft Aire cataraft. I'd personally go with a cat, and if you do buy as expensive as you can afford. You do get what you pay for. You can run hard stuff with small boats, but NOT as easy. I ran Oxbow last year on my steelheader and had a blast running the shoot, but was bounced all over the place. The extra 7 ft on my Aire made it a smooth ride (but not nearly as fun). If you're really in Puyallup, if I have the time maybe I can take you on a float trip (I'm in NE Tacoma). I'll take my little one and let you run the big one. Since the seasons are closed we could make a nice easy run uncrowded.

tight lines.....

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I own both and can give you some tips. the drift boat is a better steelhead fishing platform for a few reasons. 1) YOU CAN TAKE YOUR BUDDYS !!!! 2) They perform better when back trolling I.E pulling plugs. 3) You can just put it on the trailer and go home. A larger cat boat needs to be taken down.. unless you get a trailer for it which I highley recommend if you do buy one. 4) Drift boats are very low maint and can last forever. I have found that the trailers wear out way before the boat does. I am on my second one.

As for cat boats. Steelheader boy is right on target. The small outcasts and the like are really just float tubes. I have a Aire Cougar which is a larger boat and designed for heavy white water . I say 12 ft is the minimum if your planning on running anything that can get big. The people that I know who use cats for fishing also run rivers with them so its a trade off of sorts. If I could only have one boat it would be a drift boat, and I would stick to fishing. I love cats but its a case of the right tool for the job.

I semi agree with you B-run,I also owned a drift boat,both have advantages,I chose the cat because I can launch it places a drift boat can't and can get to water that they can't either,room is the problem ,you can add a buddie if you have a big enough cat,but for pulling plugs I agree on the drift boat.My reasoning is this I fish a lot of smaller rivers that don't have launches for drift boats and at certain times of the year when drifters just don't have enough water to float them .The problem with some catarafts is that the material the tubes are made have a short life span as in pvc coated material, it lasts about 7 to 10 years if you take care of them ,Aire found a way around this by using a bladder system this works pretty good except for now you have a zipper to content with which attracts sand and such plus a very thin material for the bladder, the urethane tubes are 10 times stronger than any thing else out there and the uretane last a lot longer and is not effected by Uv rays as much as the other materials.But Aire has been making cats longer than most and builds a good product...Cats are just a kick in the ass to play on, Her kitty kitty ...just my .02

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

[This message has been edited by Steelheader boy (edited 04-18-2000).]

I'm kinda glad I came back here to recheck this topic. I'm all with what Steelheaderboy said about the cats. Yes B run is right about plugs, but that's about it. I can run three people comfortably on my cat with NO loss in performance. Once my new frame is built I'll have room for four. I ran 4 days on the Hoh last week and had two people in front of me and no problems at all. They stood up and cast like in a driftboat w/o fear of falling. It's all in design and weight placement. I do have a first line Aire cat (it's about 10 years old) but I've taken damned good care of it, kept it hanging in my garage and put away dried out. I've had only one puncture and it was only an outer punch, didn't touch the bladder at all (I still have no idea how it got there). But they aren't indestructable, but I've had no problems with mine in almost ten years. As with Steelieboy, I too like to float some small rivers and some "odd" floats that aren't accessible to driftboats due to no launch. I can just drop the boat off the side and let it hit the water.

Also, it's nice to have a trailer, which is my next adventure. But my cat is only about 200 lbs complete so it's no problem for me to load on top of my full size Blazer. It makes it nice when I go for long trips I can throw my boat on top ready to go, hook up my travel trailer, and hit the river (like I did on the Hoh). All I did was unhook my trailer and head up to the launch. I never take down my boat until I'm ready to put it away. I can also pull plugs with my cat, I just have to work the oars and sometimes use my anchor as a holder and slowly release line. That's my only plus with a driftboat is pulling plugs. But, I rarely pull them, I prefer to actually driftfish then pull plugs, but I'm not against using them at all. I've nailed some nice fish using them and it's a kick in the pants to feel the cat move with a fish on. Well, I'll stop yammering and get off here......

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Thanks for all the posts and the email. I now have plenty of information. I am leaning towards a cataraft 10 foot or larger. ---- Reel Truth great picture maybe a few years of practice before I try that. ---- Steelheader69 yes I am in Puyallup I will send you some email, Thanks ---- fishrmn and B. Gray, got the book more information to digest. ---- All Thanks again --- One more question? I have seen some people using cats wearing flotation vests others do not have also seen some wearing the inflatiable fishing vest. Recommendations Please. ----- Enjoy the Easter weekend ---

As far as the floation vest goes I say I wear mine 80% of the time if I'm on a familar stretch of river and I know whats coming up then I might not be wearing it,I suggest buying a rowers or kayakers vest they are much more comfortable and allow freedom of movement .I just bought a new one and love it don't even know it's on .Since I don't wear a regular fishing vest any more try one of the new fannie pack styles you will have to down size you're gear a little I just put more in smaller containers and carry them in my ice chest...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!!