Fear No Rock ... Or Repair!

I love my Clackacraft 16LP MegaBox drift boat. The layout has tons of storage and is easy to access. The boat rows like a dream. And, despite having had a hard life as a working guide boat, she's in solid shape.

I also love companies who stand behind their products. Had it a year back with my Remington Versamax shotgun when not only did they replace a problem part I identified, but also checked and found a few others and sent those - despite being over a year out of warranty. Nice!

Recently I've notice that the rower's bench in my Clacka won't stay put. It rides on rails so you can adjust for different leg lengths, gear loads, etc. Even when thoroughly tightened, as soon as you get your feet on the brace and pull a good oarstroke, you slide back. Gets old fast.

So, I give Clacka a call this morning, figuring I'll need to order some new screws or something. As soon as I get the guy on the phone it's evident that he knows this problem well. "Do you have the plastic clip or the metal one...". Of course, I don't know as I've yet to take it apart. "No problem," he says "I'll send you out a set and some new screws. Just give me your address." Wow - impressive. No warranty questions, no hassles, and no charge.

And that, my friends, is why I'll likely never row another brand of drift boat. I truly value companies who stand behind their products. When I hit the Lottery ($152 mil drawing tonight, just sayin'), I'm ordering up a Clackacraft 16' Eddy in Central Michigan Chippewas maroon and gold.

Looking for a new drift boat? I can't say enough good about the Clackacraft brand. Well-built, and well-backed! Kudos!

-Sean-

Share the Love

Was talking with an angler friend yesterday about the state of the fly fishing industry and the need to get new folks into the sport. And then today Gink & Gasoline had a great blog article about taking a newbie fishing.

It's like the old angler's joke...

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he stays out drunk every weekend.

Seriously - if you're a fly type, take a buddy with you. Or offer to get someone introduced to the sport - take them in to the local shop and introduce them around. Our sport is full of gear, gizmos, and gadgets. It can be intimidating as hell. And there are still some arrogant a-holes around fly fishing who somehow feel compelled to make it overly complicated. You know the type -- has to catch every fish on a dry fly with a silk line or some such non-sense or it's not "real fly fishing".

If you've got a boat, you have the perfect opportunity. Often you'll have an empty seat. Might as well put someone in it. Heck, they might even buy the beer or kick in for gas. And if you bring someone new into the fold our sport stays strong. Plus you get a new fishing buddy. Teach 'em to row and maybe you get to fish more! I actually set-up a couple of extra rigs for guests (sorry, I'll take you fishing, but you're not throwing my Scott Radian...) suitable for trout, smallmouth, and even some steelheading.

And bonus points if you take a kid or a woman. We need kids who grow up into outdoorsfolk. And a lot of women are intimidated by our male dominated sports. But I know a number of women who've really gotten into the sport, once they got past the initial push.

What are you waiting for? We all know someone fly curious -- get 'em out there!

-Sean-

Streamer Technique for Trout - A Gratuitous Rip-Off

On my trips to Montana I got to be friends with guide Joe Willauer. Cool guy who writes a solid blog - Evolution Anglers. One of the things that I enjoyed about fishing with Joe is that we seemed to have a common outlook on what made an enjoyable day.

So rather than write my half-ass, newbie blog article on streamer fishing, I'd let Joe offer you some tips honed Out West. Plus, it'll drive some nice traffic to Joe's blog anyway!  :)

Technique Tuesday: Streamer Fishing from a Drift Boat

Solid work, Joe! Couldn't agree with this more. I especially liked the light line, heavy fly. On my last Montana trip I had the most success with weighted flies on the Rio Outbound Short Intermediate line. Easy to cast and really produced!

-Sean-

Be a Stud

Smartest damn thing I ever did was buying a second pair of Simms Rivershed boots after my last trip to Montana. I've written plenty about these excellent boots previously - great support and comfort, durable, and actually look pretty cool. But one boot won't do everything. Sorry, I've looked at Korkers, and somehow that whole interchangeable sole thing just looks like a huge potential liability on a frozen January steelhead day.

My first experience with studs was on a trip to Ohio's Steelhead Alley region with Mike Schultz. Schultzy insisted studs are mandatory for the Alley, and he wasn't kidding. Those spate river bottoms, with just a little algae have instant potential to become slicker than a freshly Zambonied hockey rink. Since then, I just left my studs in and found the increased grip was beneficial whether in a boulder-filled UP trout stream, or a frozen steelhead river.

Only one problem - boats. After two days of freelancing on the Madison in Montana (where studs were immensely beneficial), we moved to guided fishing at The Stonefly Inn. Dragging your studded boots into someone else's boat is bad form. Akin to playing golf without pants, I'm told. So we had to crank 'em out. Gigantic. Pain. In. The. Ass. Even if a someone doesn't mind you in their boat in studs, they're flat-out dangerous. Think of those childhood cartoon characters flailing wildly while walking on marbles. Yeah, you get the idea now.

Right after arriving home, I ordered up a second pair of Riversheds. Now I have a studded pair for walk-and-wade trips, and another to use when I'm out in my boat or someone else's. No wrestling with screw guns, mangling screw heads, or inadvertently punching a hole in your calf swapping out studs. Next week I'll be in the NY section of the Alley - once again, stud (and wading staff) water. No problem - grab the studded boots and I'm ready to rock.

Money well spent. BTW, I dig the Simms Hardbite Studs. Expensive, but worth it.

-Sean-

Milestone

I love milestones. They make me feel growth and accomplishment. Whether it's my first solo steelhead on the fly, or riding my bike over 50 miles. They mark progress and become waypoints on a journey toward proficiency.

Finally got a nice pic of my boat on the river!

Recently, I had a big one on the fly fishing front - my first "unsupervised" float on the Pere Marquette river. While I've had the Clack out a number of times, I've always been with an exerienced rower who could offer guidance and assistance when needed. This time, it was just my Dad and I.

On the recommendation of a guide buddy, we picked a target stretch (sorry, not revealing it -- find your own damn water, I'll be working this stretch for a while). As we were arriving and departing separately, we had two vehicles, so no need for a car spot.

Parking lot prep feels a bit frenzied. I don't really have my program down as to what goes where. Patience, Grasshopper. It will all come with time. So, I put the cooler on the wrong side (cupholder on the boat gets in the way) and then have to swap it and the boat bag. But I'm starting to get things figured out. Dad gets a new permanent assignment - his job is to remind me to put the drain plugs in.

Eventually we get rods strung up, gear loaded and the boat headed down the launch. My trailer backing skills are much-improved, so I nail it on the first try. Launch goes smoothly and we load up for a day on the water. After an initial bad call (oops, that log was shallower than I thought and we can't get over it), my rowing's going well. I'm able to control speed, and boat positioning is no longer a complete mystery. And, best of all, it's happening naturally -- which frees my head up to concentrate on good water to find steelhead.

We find some nice water, and even both get one on (mine on the swing, Dad's on the float) but neither lands a fish. I even rowed through a couple of tricky spots with confidence and poise, which feels pretty damn good. One did hang me up and force me to walk the boat through, but this isn't bad for a first run.

At the bottom of the float, we run into one of the top guides on the river - nice proof that I'm on the right piece of water. And, it validates our decision to run it again the next day.

Takeout goes smoothly with one exception. While my trailer backing skills have improved a great deal, I still lack in one area - trailer sans boat. Getting down a pretty broad, simple ramp has me zig-zagging all over the place. Eventually I get it down to the boat and get the boat on the trailer.

The next day goes similarly - only no fish on. But this was a great accomplishment for me. I've found a stretch of water I'm confident I can float successfully. I even feel like I could solo it readily. This was a proud couple of days for me. Plenty of room for improvement - like catching fish - but I've reached the next level. Feels pretty good.

-Sean-

Tweaking

I'd forgotten how much I like owning a boat. While I did a fair bit of tweaking to make the raft better to float, there wasn't really that much you could do with it. Now, with the Clackacraft 16LP, there's definitely been a few things to do. Some are purely cosmetic, some are personal preferences, and others are necessities. Thus far, here's what's happened:

• New bottom - courtesy of the crew at Stealthcraft. While "Fear No Rock" is a truth about a Clacka, as mine was a guide's boat, it needed some love.
• Trailer re-wired, converted to LED lights for brighter operation and greater reliability and pivoting tongue jack installed by SLM Trailers. If you need repair or upgrade work done on your trailer, these guys rock the house. Great work at a fair price.
• Tracked down new seals for the Dexter EZ-Lube hubs. One seal had torn, blowing grease all over the wheel, so I just started fresh on both.
• Replaced broken latches on two cargo boxes.
• Built a boat tool kit. Can't tell you the number of times I've been on someone else's boat when something broke and I found myself with a Leatherman as the only tool available. The Boy Scout in me can't stand not to be prepared.
• Upgraded the strap. Critical component, I don't need something janky failing as I'm bouncing down some UP back road.
• Moved the boat forward on the trailer to get it in the garage. Then back after I figured out that made the balance SUCK. By simply removing the anchor bracket, I gained the much-needed foot of clearance to get it in the garage, and have it properly balanced.
• Cleaned off all the decals. Guides love deeks, and from the look of my truck, I do, too. But I wanted to start fresh and make this MY boat. Once I got the deeks cleaned off, I discovered I liked it better. Shows off the boat's lines and cool color scheme.

Am I done? Of course not. I still have trim to install. And my bunks are shot, so I've come up with a high-tech system that will be durable, and make it slide like butter off the trailer. I had planned to upgrade the oars, but now I'm feeling like that won't be necessary. Cool - a few hundred bucks staying in my pocket.

Today I'm off in search of my 20" smallmouth on an undisclosed river. This will be my second float in it and I'm looking forward to every moment!

-Sean-

It's Row Time!

Well, OK, not quite yet. But the bottom should be re-glassed by the end of the month. I'm making arrangements to get the raft and it's trailer back downstate and listed for sale. I've just decided that for a recreational fisherman with a day job and a ton of other competing hobbies, owning two boats is pretty ridiculous.



This would be the "before" picture...

For those new to the blog, it's a 2009 Clackacraft 16LP. It's got some fishing mojo, as it's last owner was Mike Schultz of Schultz Outfitters (and a bunch of other places before that). If you can fly fish for it in the Midwest, it's been caught from this boat. Mike's a good friend and I'm proud to be the next owner of his boat.

The new boat came with some great advice from guides and drift-boat owning buddies. Some highlights include:

• "Dude - now you'll never fish. But your Dad will love this!"
• Buy some good oars - later. Learn to row on the beaters first. But after that a good set of sticks will make your life SO much easier.
• A drift boat is like a sheet of plywood. It'll never plane and a higher horsepower motor will only cost you a bunch more, burn more gas, and be heavier to lift on and off. 3-4hp will do you just fine.
• If you can't row, you can't go. I'm even applying this one to Dad. The wife might get a free pass. I suppose the dog will, too.
• Point at danger and backrow.

All seems solid. I've got lots to learn. But I'm already plotting floats to take and places I'll explore. Thus opens a new chapter as a fisherman. I can't wait.

-Sean-

Big Time Small Mouth

Had a great opportunity to get my smallmouth bass game dialed in recently. Was invited to float a mid-Michigan river that's been producing epic levels of fish lately. Don't have to ask me twice!

Original plan had been to fish topwater with poppers. But we also were prepared with streamers, and friend Jay wanted to have a shot at carp, if we saw them. During the first ten minutes of the float, we quickly discovered that Murdich Minnow streamers were the hot ticket as Jay outfished me about 10 to 1! So, I quickly switched over to the streamer program.

This is super-cool sight fishing, especially in the low, clear water conditions we experienced. Just like trout, you could easily watch predator chase down the prey. Well, most times...

I got warmed-up on some dinks -- in the 6-8" range. Pretty quickly we were shaking off the little guys to pursue the river donkeys. By early afternoon, I had my personal best 18.5" fish. Came out of the edge of a weed line to SMACK the streamer. I love that smallmouth fight -- even the little ones are fun. But the big ones like this can get you bent on a 7-weight steelhead rod!

Just the sheer numbers we stuck that day were a huge help in building confident and experience. I quickly got better at hooksets and fighting fish. Between three of us we likely boated at least 75 fish and shook of maybe that many little guys. A few other highlights of the day:

• Spent a good part of the day casting a Scott S4S (hey, it was already rigged and ready). Wow - there's a reason they're $700. What a rocket!
• Mid-afternoon I cut the popper off and fished my Scott A4 907/4. While not the S4S, this new rod did not disappoint. And, I got a couple of nice fish.
• Made my drift boat rowing deubt! My friends say, "If you can't row, you can't go" so time to man up and learn. Did very well at managing speed, putting us in the right places. Even managed to back-row up to retrieve a streamer from a tree!
• Murdich Minnow was MONEY, time and again. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it held up, too.
• Having a great new waterproof camera is excellent. Unless it's bured in the backpack at the other end of the boat when you land your personal record fish...

Many thanks to Brian and Jay for inviting me along on their float. I look forward to the opportunity to do it again.

-Sean-