Hi All,

Rusty, Jim & I  made the float trip from the Dam down to the Storage area( about ½ mile) .    Floating at the low flows is not something I have done previously. It was both good and not so good.  We scraped and bounced off  a few rock which made it exciting.   Nobody flipped and it made the trip fun.  The Predators performed exceptionally in both the shallow water and also going through the two rough rapids.  My oar got caught and spun me around, but the predator handled it perfectly as I went through the rapid/pillows sideways.

The north fork came up much quicker than I had remembered.    This is a beautiful little tributary.  A Tenkara would be the perfect rod to fish this water.  You could also short line or high stick this water.  Because of its size it is really a one person tributary unless one of you hikes up a ways  carefully not to disturb the fish.

The confluence is a beautiful area with the NF flowing into a large pool with two beautiful riffles running out of it.   There is beautiful nymphing water throughout this float.  Because of the low slow flows swinging was not productive.  I would like to try swinging when the flows are higher.

Shortly after we left the confluence we got into some shaded areas where hatches were happening.  I switched to dry fly and picked up a nice fish while chatting with Rusty.  I never saw the take, but the tug was something to remember.   The fish was a ways out there and I lost the fish when it started an array of aerials.    I quickly picked up another and lost that too due to aerials.  I need to get better at this.  It may be that they had taken the 18 BWO.  I had on my usual Turk Tarantula (TT) with the BWO about 18” off the back.  I had a gray TT, but I usually like the orange & red body TT.

As we headed downstream the water widened and slowed perfectly for dry or nymphing.  About 150 yards about the storage area take out the dry fly action really picked up about 6:00.  I lost 2  and landed 4 nice rainbows in the 14” to 16” range as they took the TT.  I try to let them get off by themselves once they are within landed range.  It is funny how they can get off easily while they are out there, but when they are close in and you want to release them they just will not get off.

My next float will be from the lake downriver.  I am excited about this float as I love the Gray Eagle pools and also that huge pool above the Cathedral.  I really would love to get into that 10 pound brown again and get a picture of this monster.   His family and friends are pretty large as well.   I will probably up my rod to a 6wt or 7wt the next time.

While there were times when I would have liked to have my fins to fish the large pools, the Predator makes it very easy to wade.   It is like a floating walker.  I am amazed at how easy it makes wading.  When it is around me, I feel like I can dance across the cobles and boulders.  With my bad knee it is a life saver.    What is really nice is when you see an area you want to fish you can just stand up and cast assuming you are not in water too deep to stand up.  You make a few cast and if you don’t hook something you just down and move along.  You do not have to worry about getting out or losing your unit as the bar prevents it from floating away.  It does not affect your landing a fish even without a net.  I am putting together an order for Scaddens and would like to have at least six units to qualify for free shipping and perhaps a discount on the wonderful rolling duffle bags.  I love these bags as everything fits in it and it is easy to  move around on the wheels.  The Predator normally sells for $1700 because it is made of Kevlar and only weighs 13 pounds.   Dave usually give me the show sale pricing of around $1000-1100.    The Renegade is a bigger version and weighs 28 pounds because it is not made of Kevlar.   The renegade is like riding in your favorite recliner.  It is very safe in any water and easy to maneuver.   I love fishing in it when I want to take a large cooler, dry bag etc.  It carries a lot.   If you have any questions, please feel free to call me.

Tight lines and keep your experiences coming along with pics. You don’t need a trophy shot of a fish to let us know how you did.  As you can see from this email there are plenty of pics to take without a fish in it.

Tom Bartos

President & Founder