If You Can't Row, You Can't Go

So, I've rowed various rivercraft a little. Rowed a buddy's Hyde on the Flint River last
Summer for a couple of hours (at very low flow). And I logged some hours on the sticks on my raft. But, as I've been reminded - a raft is like rowing a balloon. One of my favorite comments came that morning from Chuck Hawkins, of Hawkins Outfitters, "Rowing a hard boat will be a LOT easier". That pretty much says it all about the raft.

Last Tuesday's float on the Manistee river marked the true beginning of my rowing instruction. The ever-patient Jon Ray agreed that our float was a good time to get me some time on the oars. I didn't know this particular section of the river, so I was in for a surprise. On my arrival, I find that it's big water - which is good to avoid playing bumper boats. But, it is WAY up from late Spring snowfall and melt. So this should be interesting.

We start out with Jonny rowing, and I stick a nice 15" warm-up brown. Before long, it's my turn. But first, a note about my river relationship with Jon. We met a few years ago through some business fishing and have grown to be good friends. But, I told Jon at the outset that I love to learn. And, if I'm doing something wrong he can yell at me. Like the best river guides, Jon's really gifted at figuring out how best to relate to the client to help them grow as an angler (and catch nice fish!). So our style is kind of "boot camp". He definitely keeps me on my toes, as I know I'll get a barrage of sh!t if I blow it. I've had lessons like, "If you reach for the reel, I'm going to smack you." when I was learning to throw streamers for trout. That lesson has stuck with me, and as a result, I land more trout on streamers.

Our agreement is I row, Jon fishes. But when he sees I'm in danger I won't know how to get out of, a quickly uttered, "switch!" and I'm grabbing the rod while he hits the sticks to set us right. In the first half hour, this happens a half dozen times. Did I mention Jon's patience? Yeah, he does this all without losing his cool. It's really pretty impressive. But after a little bit, I start to gain the muscle memory (a little) and some insight into boat position. Don't get me wrong, we're definitely still in survival mode, but I'm making progress. Fortunately, I've got a guy in the bow who can throw an entire fly line, so putting him in the perfect spot is less critical.

After a particularly chaotic moment my brain on vapor lock, it's decided. That I'm back to fishing. This time, however, I'm far more aware and alert to the subtleties of an expert oarsman. Boat position. Angle. Subtle strokes that make a big difference. And so much more. Oh, and in the midst of this, I stick and land my largest brown trout ever. Not bad.

When the river slows and widens a bit, I'm back on the sticks. And this time it's definitely better. I'm starting to learn to read the river, watch for what's coming up (not just what I'm grappling with at the moment), and set myself up better. Sure, we have a couple of "SWITCH" moments, but we also have a couple that I get myself out of!

All in all a really fantastic day on the river. Biggest brown ever. And I've started to build some solid rowing fundamentals!

-Sean-