Prepare for a LONG READ! :)

This last weekend some of my friends and I decided to embark on an epic adventure. We knew what we were getting into before we left so no one was caught off guard or suprised by the charades that unraveled in the hours to come. To Preface this report, we are all skilled whitewater boaters that have paddled this stretch of river many many times, nobody should launch down this stretch unless they are familiar with the run, difficulty and hazards since it is technical class IV whitewater.

Sat morning at around 9am we launched our loaded boats (whitewater rafts, cat boats and a few whitewater kayaks) from the Headworks dam to spend the weekend fishing the gorge. We quickly pushed through the Headworks stretch not fishing at all since our target areas were in the gorge. We did pass by what looked to be a father and a son that had just caught a "10lbs rainbow", which looked more like a 5lbs late summer run that was turning black. We arrived at Kanaskat Palmer Park around 11am. We entered the Upper Green River Gorge at about 11:30 in a beautiful Snow Storm with water levels right around 750 cfs which is EXTREMELY Low for manuevering rafts packed with gear.

We had a few little bumps getting through the more technical rapids but everyone did fine. Just above the bridge over Paradise we started fishing. We caught a few resident trout and then in a pool just below Paradise we caught our first Native Steelhead. We ran plugs, swang flies, threw spinners and spoons and fished jigs under a float.

We camped that night at Hanging Gardens and woke up to a nice light dusting of snow with very cold gear. A few fishermen walked through our camp that morning to fish one of the drifts. We fished the same drift with no luck mainly using floats and jigs tipped with shrimp.

We continued down the river running plugs and fishing good holes and drifts with little action. We ran past the hatchery and had a few odd looks and comments which I shall address later. None the less little action was seen or had.

Just below the hatchery about one river mile we pulled into a super sweet little tail out dropped anchor and ran one rod with a black tad polly and one rod with a diver and shrimp. Tadpolly got hit first and then while bringing that in, the shrimp got taken down. Two more Nates both smaller a 23" and a 25" maybe 4lbs and 6lbs.

Finally a few miles later but a bit above flaming geyser we dropped anchor to eat, have a beer and fish the last good hole in a complete white out. Of course my buddy picks another native off with a spoon. This fish was missing almost his whole fin, at first we thought we were going to finally get a hatch fish but it turned out his fin had been chewed or bitten off, so we tossed it back. We were bummed but happy we at least caught fish. Usually we catch mostly nates above the hatchery which is obvious but this trip we did not see a single hatch fish below either. Oh well. Part of the fun of the trip is running more technical whitewater, fishing the river where NO ONE is able to access and of course all while being close to home!

------- Begin Rant --------

Now on to a little friendly comment to all fishermen who care to read this little blurp. I know this does not apply to everyone or even perhaps the majority but I feel obligated to share this. Fishermen are not the only users of the River. As a whitewater boater I have had fishermen throw rocks at me, curse and yell all for just passing by "their drift" or "their hole" doing nothing to spook fish other than quietly pass. I have seen fights break out between boaters and fisherman for the same thing. Try to be respectful and remember other people have just the same right to access and use the area as you do regardless of thier pasttime.

On this trip the later set of fishermen just walked right through our camp as we were eating breakfast, and I mean right through with one guy triping over a tarp line and knocking down our shelter. Then the guy gets all upset with us, and yells about why we would feel the need to pitch a camp right in an area known for fishing... My friends who don't fish started getting a little pissed, I mean the guy without even asking walks through our camp and then after pulling our shelter down yells at my friend for just being there... I come around the corner and the guy sees my fishing pole and raft and says oh... I'm sorry I didn't know you were fishing.... HOW that makes any difference I have no idea... I politely asked him to respect our equipment and fish where ever he wanted to... He and his buddy left shortly afterwards.

I mention all this because on the same trip 3 more fishermen in different spots became Irrate when my friends passed by, and then when they saw my fishing rig all decked out they stopped the aggressive behavior for the most part. One guy still yelled at me for spooking his hole... Again I know this is the minority but it happened 4 times in one day so there are enough people out there that I figure one might read this. It does not matter if a person is fishing, rafting or just freaking swimming down the river. Be polite or the whole group gets a bad name.

As we finished our trip in a blizzard a few of my friends that don't fish came over to me and asked me why just about all fishermen are so aggressive and mean to kayakers. I tried to explain that not all are like that! I have to agree though that the majority I pass are really mean although I do my very best to respect the water they are fishing. I also recognize that whitewater people in general are hippyish, granola eating, peace lovers that get offended easily, but I am not, and a few of the folks we ran into took some major patience to return polite words too and just float away. I will stop now.

------- End Rant --------

So all in all, amazing trip, it was a blast to plug and cover the mostly untouched water in our own backyard. I highly recommend it and for any of you hardcore fishermen if you ever want to ride along drop me a line because nothing is like getting whitewater and fishing together in one trip, deep in a gorge so close to home!

natetreat

1/16/2012 3:09:00 PM

That's par for the course, people are gonna be jerks. Especially when they aren't catching any fish! I don't see how a raft floating downstream on the river should give 'em the right to yell, the river isn't just for fishing. If they want seclusion they should go somewhere else. I'd've had words with 'em if they did pulled that garbage on me. At least.

That being said, I am starting to wonder if these fish are really "native". Supposedly the runs are threatened and endangered, and I've caught a few unclipped fish that seemed to be plain hatchery stock, not very much fight in 'em, and they are way early too. I bet these fish are just hatchery fish that spawned in the river.

jumpinjim

1/16/2012 4:01:00 PM

My pics never made it. Oh well here are a few links
http://professorpaddle.com/media/photoview.asp?File_Id=6864
http://professorpaddle.com/media/photoview.asp?File_Id=6865
http://professorpaddle.com/media/photoview.asp?File_Id=6866

paintermott

1/16/2012 6:46:00 PM

I hope you're not fishing from any floating device from the S. 277th Bridge to Auburn-Black Diamond Rd. Bridge Nov.1 - Jan 31st.

joechiro30

1/16/2012 10:24:00 PM

Sorry to hear about those rude guys...even as a fishermen you will run into a few guys that think they own the river...this comes with the fun of combat fishing....usually I just point out to everyone how unreasonable they are and they shut up....sounds like you got some decent action though

jumpinjim

1/17/2012 8:18:00 AM

@ Paintermott : Nope but we do pull plugs right up to the bridge! There is a great little spot about 200 meters above the bridge on river right where you can drop anchor and run plugs in a 6-8 foot deep channel. That is the spot I mentioned below the hatchery. Then just below the bridge we drop anchor again and get out to fish the shallow portion, about 1/4 mile below the bridge as the river takes a hard right turn there is a great head wall to fish also above and below the log that is hanging out. Spoons and spinners work great there as it is really deep, the best method is to let your boat run aground in the shallow gravel bar then get out and fish that hole before passing through. There is another couple of quality holes below there but most of the good water for running plugs is between paradise and the bridge.

@Joechiro30 : I know all about combat fishing and running into people that just have attitudes but it really does seem that if fishermen don't think your fishing, then you have no right to be around a "fishing area". Again I am not trying to piss and moan here just remind folks that there are a lot of types of river lovers out there and we all have an equal right to enjoy the resources.

Jungle Jim

1/17/2012 8:23:00 AM

Anyone who will float a river and camp on the banks in the middle of winter is a REAL MAN in my book. Catching 1 steelhead that way is worth a dozen at the hatchery any day.

I think Natetraet hit it on the head....people are always more pissy when they are not catching fish. Nice report.

jumpinjim

1/17/2012 8:33:00 AM

@ natetreat : I know what you mean, in most rivers like the Bog, Queets or even non coastal like lewis the natives are noticeably different, size, colors, attitude. The natives on the green seem like the same as a hatchery fish in all respects except for the clip. Although introducing new species or sub species into river systems is bad in most cases, it sure would be nice to have some of those hearty native fish back in the green.

Fish-Freak23

1/17/2012 3:06:00 PM

They don't look like like natives because they are mostly hatchery fish from palmer fish hatchery. There are a few exceptions to the case. But when they closed palmer down a little while back, the runs continued to end up there by the hatchery and the resulting smolt didn't get their fins clipped, thereby making them "natives". Now the muckleshoots bought up the hatchery and started running it again. They are also starting a larger chinook run in the green by releasing smolt this year. 3-4 years from now they are supposed to have tons of kings running up river.

yooper_fisher

1/17/2012 7:47:00 PM

Jim, I understand your frustration, but I would like to play devils advocate here. I fish rivers almost exclusively from shore, and as such have encountered those fishing from/using boats on the river. Most are like you, polite and courteous (as are most shore fishermen). Unfortunately there seems to be a disproportionate amount that think they own the river. They tend to take a hole or drift that one is using from shore, thinking they have more right to it since they are in a boat. The fishermen you ran into may have had this same experience and your group may have just been the straw that broke the camels back, but most likely they were just rude people.

jumpinjim

1/18/2012 8:43:00 AM

Yooper: I bank fish alot, so I can see the issue from both sides .... no pun intended. The bottom line is that I am not talking about hording quality water, or even a boat drifting down and dropping anchor in your run. When I started drift boating a good friend of mine taught me these things and I have watched over the years as other people are not so considerate. I can understand that frustration from the bank. What we are talking about here is clearly non-fishing boats getting flack because they are just on the river. Example I have been hit by a rock on the lower green in a kayak passing by Hanging Gardens before. No poles, clearly not fishing, and the guy yelled at me "Fn kayaker" just after he hit me. I turned to paddled over but he took off as soon as he realized he actually hit me. The issue here is resentment for Spooking or even being on the water, not fishing someones zone. In fact this last trip everyone that started rude to the first boat in our group was nice to us when they saw we were fishermen. The bottom line is that I have taught and tried to explain to every kayaker that to help this epidemic we need to go out of our way to try and be supportive of fishermen. I show non-fishermen kayakers that when you see someone running bobbers or a drift don't go over their line if possible get closer to there shore, quietly explain you don't want to spook the fish and either wait for them to retrieve the line or pass under neath if that is what they want. I hate to say this but it doesn't seem to matter how hard we try, I consider myself an avid fisherman and still if I am not sporting my gear there is little to nothing I can do to prevent fishermen getting angry when I go by in my plastic little tub. Again I am only bringing all this up because I think were missing the point, it is not about bogarting a stretch, it is about sharing a river with boaters that are simply passing by. If you don't believe me about how serious this is, I can include some links to ProfessorPaddle.com , BoaterTalk.com and a few others where whole discussions have taken place about fights on the river, trying to find ways to prevent this stuff and even an official request written by American Whitewater to Trout Unlimited. The bottom line is that most fisherman don't thing just yelling at a kayaker passing by is a big deal. but Imagine floating a river where you pass a couple hundred fishermen many yelling at you and some throwing rocks or trying to hit you with spinners and stuff. I wish I could properly communicate what I am trying to get at because I represent both sides and I am not accusing anyone just wishing my kayaker friends did not have such problems and my fishing friends understood what takes place in the grand scheme. Maybe this is best to just leave for a chat over beers at the bank.... Sorry everyone ... I promise I am done.

Fish-Freak23

1/18/2012 9:11:00 AM

The easiest way to fix any problem you are having is to open carry a revolver with a minimum 6" barrel. Give 'em a little peek at it as you pass by and they will start to think twice about throwing rocks at anyone again. There are some people who are really rude and they do get aggitated at the little things in life. Don't worry, karma will catch them one day. But it doesn't hurt to take care of it on the spot either.

JohnnyBME

1/19/2012 9:29:00 PM

Wow! You and your buddies are awesome!Fisherman or not. I really respect the fact that you guys floated,camped and fished the river during the winter time..Woo hoo! I was at the headworks last year fishing and a group of white water people came down and parked right in the hole I was fishing. I thought about being upset but realized that they had probably planned on that spot as a safe staging spot and had planned to use it to wait and meet up before going downriver.No problem I enjoyed seeing what they were doing. I have to say that since I have started using a pontoon boat there have been many times I have stopped fishing to just float and enjoy drifting down the river. I can certainly see why you guys enjoy it! Great story..too bad for the rotten eggs in the carton..so to speak...I wonder if taking your cell phone and calling the police on the people assaulting you with rocks would bring them to the reaization they cant do that...legally.. Good luck steelheading and floating!

RentonChris

7/29/2012 1:29:00 PM

For the most part they are just jealous. "Yeah I hit the Cowlitz and got skunked again, F'ing Jet boat ruined my whole day when he speed through MY Hole." Then a couple minutes later "Man I wish I had a Jet Boat". Class conflict is not a new concept.

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