I am typically not one to say names of where I'm at or any such specifics. But I'll make an exception here just due to the nature of this program and how infrequently I do it.
I live about 15min from the Sandy River. It is a similar thing to me that the Skykomish was for me when I lived up in King County: A gorgeous river that is an easy escape, but rarely do I expect catching a fish. The Sandy is even a step more special in my opinion. Despite it lacking the jagged mountain peak scenery that the Skykomish does, it doesn't have a highway going along it for most the floats I do. So once you're in there, it's like you've entered a whole different wilderness world. I've loved having that in my back yard since living here.
While I have indeed floated a different section multiple times in the last year for salmon, today was my first time back to this particular section since Covid lockdown 2020 when all the parks/boat launches were closed. Since I have a Commander, my buddy and I would drag the boats a quarter mile to launch and fish this section by ourselves. It was one of the most special experiences I've ever had winter steelhead fishing. Caught fish every trip and never saw a soul.
Today, I returned for the first time in 2yrs along with @WhosYourShaddy -
main reasons for not doing this in 2yrs:
Despite the difficulty level of rowing this float, it is extremely fun and honestly my main draw along with the unbelievable scenery. When I go up here, it's more to enjoy the float and make a few casts while I'm there. My mind is mostly on how amazing the place is and less on getting a steelhead.
You launch immediately in to a fairly technical boulder patch, and it doesn't stop until you get past the infamous pipeline rapid. The Pipeline Rapid will get you good and wet if you're in a small boat like this.
As you can clearly see, the place is a complete dump:
Obligatory beverage shot:
Obviously, getting exciting pics of all the fun boulder gardens and rapids is hard to do with oars in your hands, but here's @WhosYourShaddy getting rodeo'd by some very large wave trains. I've always been disappointed with how little a camera seems to be able to capture the real power of a river like this.
And for the really fun part! So on my last trip through this section 2yrs ago, my buddy accompanying me then snapped his oar. I was able to doctor something back together by making a splint for him and we made it through. So leaving the house today, I thought to pack some supplies in case such an event happened again. Which I expertly left in the truck. So naturally, my buddy today ALSO snapped his oar. Thankfully, he did it right after the very last tricky rapid, about halfway through the float. But at this point, the temp was dropping and we were getting cold, so our motivation to fish was waning a bit. My hands were also losing their dexterity and tying knots was hard. But we mended it back together by sacrificing some sink tips and a spool of 15lb Maxima!
We made it safely back to the takeout. It got MUCH colder as the day went on, and we weren't quite ready for it. So we pushed through the lower part of the float and just enjoyed the rowing and scenery. It's actually kind of cathartic in a way to just enjoy a float without any pressure or goal of catching a fish. No real stress or anticipation... Just enjoying the place.
Thanks for reading!
(Disclaimer: Please heed my warnings on the advanced nature of this float. If you decide to go up there and you haven't done it before, I advise researching or hitting me up first. It is not for beginners, or even some intermediate rowers.)
I live about 15min from the Sandy River. It is a similar thing to me that the Skykomish was for me when I lived up in King County: A gorgeous river that is an easy escape, but rarely do I expect catching a fish. The Sandy is even a step more special in my opinion. Despite it lacking the jagged mountain peak scenery that the Skykomish does, it doesn't have a highway going along it for most the floats I do. So once you're in there, it's like you've entered a whole different wilderness world. I've loved having that in my back yard since living here.
While I have indeed floated a different section multiple times in the last year for salmon, today was my first time back to this particular section since Covid lockdown 2020 when all the parks/boat launches were closed. Since I have a Commander, my buddy and I would drag the boats a quarter mile to launch and fish this section by ourselves. It was one of the most special experiences I've ever had winter steelhead fishing. Caught fish every trip and never saw a soul.
Today, I returned for the first time in 2yrs along with @WhosYourShaddy -
main reasons for not doing this in 2yrs:
- I have decided to severely limit my time targeting winter steelhead due to poor returns. So even when I do go, my effort is not what it used to be.
- This is a serious float. As @WhosYourShaddy said today: "It feels almost irresponsible to do this in these small boats."
Despite the difficulty level of rowing this float, it is extremely fun and honestly my main draw along with the unbelievable scenery. When I go up here, it's more to enjoy the float and make a few casts while I'm there. My mind is mostly on how amazing the place is and less on getting a steelhead.You launch immediately in to a fairly technical boulder patch, and it doesn't stop until you get past the infamous pipeline rapid. The Pipeline Rapid will get you good and wet if you're in a small boat like this.
As you can clearly see, the place is a complete dump:
Obligatory beverage shot:
Obviously, getting exciting pics of all the fun boulder gardens and rapids is hard to do with oars in your hands, but here's @WhosYourShaddy getting rodeo'd by some very large wave trains. I've always been disappointed with how little a camera seems to be able to capture the real power of a river like this.
And for the really fun part! So on my last trip through this section 2yrs ago, my buddy accompanying me then snapped his oar. I was able to doctor something back together by making a splint for him and we made it through. So leaving the house today, I thought to pack some supplies in case such an event happened again. Which I expertly left in the truck. So naturally, my buddy today ALSO snapped his oar. Thankfully, he did it right after the very last tricky rapid, about halfway through the float. But at this point, the temp was dropping and we were getting cold, so our motivation to fish was waning a bit. My hands were also losing their dexterity and tying knots was hard. But we mended it back together by sacrificing some sink tips and a spool of 15lb Maxima!
We made it safely back to the takeout. It got MUCH colder as the day went on, and we weren't quite ready for it. So we pushed through the lower part of the float and just enjoyed the rowing and scenery. It's actually kind of cathartic in a way to just enjoy a float without any pressure or goal of catching a fish. No real stress or anticipation... Just enjoying the place.
Thanks for reading!
(Disclaimer: Please heed my warnings on the advanced nature of this float. If you decide to go up there and you haven't done it before, I advise researching or hitting me up first. It is not for beginners, or even some intermediate rowers.)
