In September 2003 I spent 9 days on
a wild river in British Columbia
with Dave Inks. We were 35
miles from the nearest road.
Five of us were dropped off by
helicopter and we floated and fished
over 30 miles of one of the most
beautiful rivers in the world.
Dave is without a doubt the wisest
woodsman I have ever adventured
with, an expert rafter, fly
fisherman and a true gentleman.
I watched Dave start a fire with wet
wood in a BC downpour, boil enough
water for 5 people to make coffee in
less than 4 minutes with his Kelly
Kettle, land monster steelhead and
run Class III whitewater in his
Water Strider raft without a hitch.
Much of Dave's success comes from
detailed planning in advance.
You can read about planning for a
wilderness adventure here.
You can see some of our adventure on
our Adventure DVD and also watch
Dave's instruction on how to set up,
use and pack up your Water Strider
raft. He's pretty spry for a
mid 60's guy.
Dave has traveled the world
fishing fresh and salt water since
1968
in Alaska, Argentina,
Costa Rica, Belize, Florida,
Montana, Idaho, Yukon Territory,
Canada, Norway, Sweden, New
Zealand, Panama
and Christmas Island,
just to name a few great
places.
He has been the IGFA
(International Game Fishing
Association) world record holder
for yellow fin tuna on a fly rod
for 20 pound and 6 pound lines.
Dave has developed the patented
Water Strider Raft System from
many years of fishing and
rafting experience and has field
tested and uses all of the
equipment you see here on the
Water Strider raft web store.
The rivers of the world are
accessible with the Water
Strider
raft travel system.
You can pack up your Water
Strider raft and take it with
you by car, plane or helicopter
to fish and raft anywhere in the
world.
Dave says, "I spent many
years in a float tube being
uncomfortable while
trying to fish better. I
got my first pontoon boat in
1985 and this started me
thinking there is a better way.
I worked with Tote-N-Float
making design changes in the
early 90's and went on to build
the Water Master
raft factory
and design and build the Water
Master
raft. After Water
Master I designed and built the patented
Water Strider Raft
System. Water Strider is
the most advanced and
best engineered one
man or one woman raft
kickboat in the world. It
is designed with
the input of experienced
fishermen and built by the
best raft engineers
in the world. All
parts are automatically cut with
precision by computer
controlled equipment and
assembled by master craftsmen
and women.
It is built for survival in the
most demanding wilderness
conditions and will last a
lifetime if you take care to
keep it clean and dry before you
stow it away between adventures.
The Water Strider Raft is the
toughest kickboat raft on any
river."
I bet my life on my Water
Strider in some pretty hairy
Class III rapids in BC while
carrying 100 pounds of camping
gear and my big Pelican case
with $10,000 worth of video
camera gear. Water Strider
rafts are really amazing.
When I go fishing or adventuring
my Water Strider raft is the
first piece of gear on my list.
Join the club, get yours today!
Cheers,
 |
Dave sharpening his Bowie knife.
Rafts loaded up ready for the rapids
Dave's patent for Water Strider
rafts
Get the Water Strider DVD here! |
