Following @clarkman and his recent Canyon Therapy Trip, my brother-in-law and I did our annual canyon float, launching Monday and taking out Friday. We’ve been doing this trip for over 40 years. My dad used to join us and loved it. Now my BIL provides the shopping and is an excellent meal planner and camp cook. I provide the boat and gear. We have a tradition of having a launch beer. As I age, my launch beers have become non-alcoholic and I wonder how many more trips I’ll be able to row through the Class 4 water on the river, but this year my lines were clean and the trusty old 1985 high sides Clackacraft kept water out of the boat. The weather was fabulous with no “W” and sunny days. No W is unusual for this river. The stars at night were spectacular and the moon was a tiny sliver that rose very early in the morning. I landed three steelhead and lost one on the first three days and then not even a sniff the last two. My BIL was the opposite and didn’t hook any the first three days, then landed one and lost a big one that ripped into his backing in a big first run and jump. The big fish that you lose burn a solid memory in your brain and you don't forget them. The river was very busy with floaters and fisher people, both gear and fly. It was the last four-day weekend that jet boats have to be off the river and floaters get to enjoy a quiet river. Thursday night, three guys in a drift boat moved into a camp right above us. They floated 20 miles on Thursday from the lowest launch point to 5 miles above where the river flows into the Columbia. That evening and the next morning, we shared the water and it worked out fine. I hiked far upriver and fished a run that I have never tried right below the last part of a four-stage rapid. Great water but nothing pulled back. The new rod rack that I installed last weekend worked out great. It’s part of a system that holds rods on a vehicle and a stamp on the cross bar says 50 mph limit. We never tested that out, traveling at river current speed. My BIL and I agreed that this was one of our best trips even though not as many fish were landed. It’s all about being there for the therapy session.
