Ferrying

[moguy1973]

Heh, it's funny because I found myself in situation #1 many times yesterday. The water wasn't moving very swiftly though and I didn't run into anything or flip... I usually just got out of the kayak and bank fished when I ended up facing upstream after a turn...

[Chief Grey Bear]

Now, here's the correct way to do it

Definitly a great way and a safe way to get through spots like that.

What I do is a little different than what you described. I slow as much as I need to but instead of back paddling. I rudder steer through. On the top side I will steer to the right to keep pointed in the right direction. (as per your illustration). Once I get to the bottom end, I hard steer from the oppisite side to keep pointed down stream and keep from "curling around". This may not be a good move for an inexperienced paddler though. You would have to becareful not to swamp your craft as it is trying hard to turn with the current.

It is just the way I do it and it works for me. I won't say it is for everyone and may not be he best way. Just another way though.

[Mitch f]

Great posts all!

[FishinCricket]

Great posts all!

How do you negotiate a riffle, Mitch? Head first?

:wink:

[Mitch f]

How do you negotiate a riffle, Mitch? Head first?

:wink:

I've never fired a riffle in my life, sorry

[Al Agnew]

In reality there's no hard and fast way to do much of anything on a river. Experience is the best teacher. I can usually judge when I NEED to use the ferry and when I can get through a curving riffle by Chief's method, or just by a few judiciously placed draw strokes. Often it's a matter of how fast the current is, and how sharp the turn and how strong the eddy is. On most Ozark streams, unless you're really inexperienced like the rental canoe crowd, you can get by with entering the eddy backwards as ColdWaterFshr said, but when you are in really strong current and there is a big differential between the main current and the eddy, entering it and leaving it as he said can cause you to flip. Ferrying into an eddy is the safest way to enter it, and leaving it while pointed downstream is the safest way to leave it.

But I too sometimes let the canoe enter the eddy backwards...if the spot I want to fish from the eddy is upstream from the eddy, it only makes sense.

If, as Fishinwrench was talking about, you've got an obstacle course in the curve of the riffle where you can't clearly ferry back into the eddy, then it takes a combination of strokes. I do a lot of draw strokes (reaching straight out with the paddle, holding it almost vertically in the water, and pulling it toward you (which is actually more like pulling the canoe toward the paddle).

And as wrench said, sometimes you simply misjudge what you need to do and run into big trouble with little time to do anything about it. I don't know of any desperation strokes that will save you in that case. So the key is to try not to get into those situations. Which means planning ahead. Have a clear plan of how you want to run a rapid, and if you don't have a clear plan, best thing to do is walk it.

[Chief Grey Bear]

In reality there's no hard and fast way to do much of anything on a river. Experience is the best teacher.

Couln't be said any better right there!

Hopefully what has been said here will help other in situations that they encounter.

Someday we should get together and shoot a video of methods that can get you through and what not to do.

[Brian Wise]

This is so much easier to do in a Drift Boat....

[TroutRinger]

I usually go into it without much of a game plan. So far I have made it out...:/. The key is to lean into the obstacle (I believe they got that right in the book).

all that said, I am definitely going to try that ferrying technique this weekend on the Current. As long as there isn't any mid-stream obstacles, it should be very effective. The person who will be in the front of my canoe has never been in a canoe (at least I would be shocked if he has) so his reaction to going into a bend nearly sideways should be worth the inherent risk of trying a new technique.

[Al Agnew]

This is so much easier to do in a Drift Boat....

Yep, in any craft that you row, basic ferrying is the way you do just about everything as far as maneuvering in moving water. And in rowing, it is very simple to keep the angle you need. It's actually the most difficult in a canoe with a single blade paddle. It can be a little unwieldy with a double blade when you need to execute several strokes in a row on the same side, but once you get into the correct angle you can maintain it easier with the double blade.