June 2008

Hi Dave!

Thanks for taking the time over the weekend to show and sell me a WS.

My boat had her maiden voyage on the Beaverhead yesterday, from High Bridge to Henneberry. It was awesome. I have a lot to learn in terms of keeping my arms, legs, the rod, the fly and the boat all going in the same direction, But from the start I was able to fish more water, and for more drifts, than I have been able to do before. It's better than a pontoon boat (even without using the fins, although I did use them), because when I got to a spot I wanted to fish and then wade, I could just stand up. I am a pretty aggressive wader generally and the WS both extends my range and increases the safety. I don't have to worry about how am going to back upstream on a downstream wade or back to the bank from a tough wade to reach a middle river or opposite bank pocket. All I had to do was sit down and float, and then stand up again at the bottom of the run, or just continue on through. As a wading assist machine alone, the WS is worth the price.

The water was not deep (the Beav' was running at about 120 cfs), so it would have been wadeable without the WS. But I was able to cover much more water and get to many more spots in a shorter period of time. It was a seamless combination of floating, wading and fishing that kept me in fishy water more or less constantly. I was nymphing most of the time, and I think I more than doubled the amount of time I was drifting my bug in good water compared to what I would have done in a pontoon boat or pram. Also, because of the ease of stopping and starting, I could stop and throw a few extra casts in spots where I would have had one or maybe two shots only as a passenger with someone else on the oars, even with a good guide willing to work the oars.

I am looking forward to developing my technique to fully utilize the WS, particularly fishing on the run. What I had in mind in particular in buying a WS was being able to fish while floating, with the kick boat aspect of the system giving me the ability to control the craft to hit the banks with streamers and to cast nymphs and dries to otherwise unreachable pools and pockets. But now I can see that in addition to allowing me to fish spots solo that otherwise would require a trip with someone else on the oars, the WS will allow me to expand the range and intensity of my wade fishing -- all with the safety of having a "life vest" I can sit back into when the water gets a little to deep or the current a little to fast and I otherwise would be going for a swim.

Regards,

Paul N.