This post was last updated on January 9th, 2014 at 04:25 pm
If you or someone you know lost a boat on the river this year or maybe even last year, it has turned up..
I took these pictures today on the river, as I was attempting to film spawning brown trout. This boat is badly weathered and has been in the river for a while. I am not sure how it ended up right here really, because it wasn’t there last time I floated through in higher water. The current has stripped out most of the internal components, yet with a little fiberglass know how, this could easily be a functional boat again. There’s a chance this capsized even in 2012 and was finally released by the lowering of the river recently.
The Snake river can be a very dangerous place if you are not a seasoned rower. Often times in the spring during heavy runoff people from other areas come to do some fishing, unaware of just how violent the currents can be. Picture this: The current at the time of this picture was 1,180 Cubic feet per second(and this picture was a side channel). usgs.gov water data This will typically be over 20,000 cfs in the spring, often higher.. So 20 times the water volume can send you into a tree and upside down before you can even think about stroking an oar.
River Safety Tips:
- Pay Attention! Don’t try to untangle knots while you are also trying to row if you are in close proximity to the bank.
- Keep Your life jackets fairly accessible
- Try not to wear waders unless you really have to. Waders make it very difficult to swim if you need to do so.
- Keep your phone in a waterproof case: Even if your phone is in a cubby hole where rain could never get it, put it in a waterproof bag. Heaven forbid you have an accident, your phone might still be functional.
- Have Fun!
I hope the rightful owner of this clackacraft gets it back.