Well, I'm Still Alive...barely.

[Al Agnew]

Just a few other notes after a day to assess it.

The ledge was river-wide, but we went over the one point on it where the deepest channel was, which was why so much volume of water was pouring over it at that spot that it created the hydraulic. The other two rafts went over the ledge a bit to the left, where the volume of water pouring over was less and the hydraulic was a lot tamer, and they still had a bit of trouble. It was pretty wicked. And that rapid was just created with the floods of this spring on the Stillwater, which is why Tom didn't know it was there. It seems the ledge was always there but the hole at the base of it had been scoured out much deeper than what it had been, which made the ledge taller.

Missouri Tom was okay today but tired. Montana Tom, in trying to hold back the raft (for a while with three fingers through the 3 inch diameter metal ring attached to the back of it) has very sore fingers and huge bruises on his legs and the bottom of his foot. He had lost one sandal in the flip and was trying to use his feet on the rocks on the bottom to slow and stop the raft. I ended up with a scrape on my lower leg which was nothing. Tom's son John, who was tossed out of the other raft, has several bumps and bruises.

The thing we can't quite figure out is why none of us got stuck in the hydraulic when the raft went over. Typically that's what happens, and the hydraulic sucks you under and (hopefully) spits you out at the bottom. But we all came up almost immediately, downstream of the hydraulic.

Today we floated a very tame section of the Yellowstone. Didn't catch many fish, but it was a very relaxing float through class 1 water with only a couple of class 2 rapids, and the only reason they'd be considered class 2 is because of the great volume of water creating 3 foot standing waves.

[Mitch f]

Just a few other notes after a day to assess it.

The ledge was river-wide, but we went over the one point on it where the deepest channel was, which was why so much volume of water was pouring over it at that spot that it created the hydraulic. The other two rafts went over the ledge a bit to the left, where the volume of water pouring over was less and the hydraulic was a lot tamer, and they still had a bit of trouble. It was pretty wicked. And that rapid was just created with the floods of this spring on the Stillwater, which is why Tom didn't know it was there. It seems the ledge was always there but the hole at the base of it had been scoured out much deeper than what it had been, which made the ledge taller.

Missouri Tom was okay today but tired. Montana Tom, in trying to hold back the raft (for a while with three fingers through the 3 inch diameter metal ring attached to the back of it) has very sore fingers and huge bruises on his legs and the bottom of his foot. He had lost one sandal in the flip and was trying to use his feet on the rocks on the bottom to slow and stop the raft. I ended up with a scrape on my lower leg which was nothing. Tom's son John, who was tossed out of the other raft, has several bumps and bruises.

The thing we can't quite figure out is why none of us got stuck in the hydraulic when the raft went over. Typically that's what happens, and the hydraulic sucks you under and (hopefully) spits you out at the bottom. But we all came up almost immediately, downstream of the hydraulic.

Today we floated a very tame section of the Yellowstone. Didn't catch many fish, but it was a very relaxing float through class 1 water with only a couple of class 2 rapids, and the only reason they'd be considered class 2 is because of the great volume of water creating 3 foot standing waves.

From the water you're describing, Its hard for me to imagine being able to fish at all. I assume you find a quiet spot and spread out on the

the bank. With the river being only 30 yards wide with 3 canoes full of people, You're probably lined up 200-300 yards downstream. Also funny that mans best friend is the one stuck in the raft. I've duck hunted with labs for years and they are such good swimmers. I guess he was so bouyant that he popped right back up quicker than you guys did. Or maybe he thought the raft was a safe haven.

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, the dog came up under the overturned raft, and could get his head out of the water in the space between the floor and the water, but probably couldn't see much of anything and couldn't think to duck his head to swim out. Wilson isn't known for being smart, anyway.

Actually we seldom got out of the rafts. We floated 17 miles of river, and all you do is hit the spots as you go by. Mostly fishing the banks with "hopper and dropper", a big grasshopper imitation with a small nymph on an 18 inch to 24 inch length of line hanging off the hopper. So it's cast, get about a three foot drift, pick it up and make the next cast. Water was very clear, so the fish could see it well but had to make a decision quickly to take it.

Another of our friends floated the same river the same day, but put in upstream from us and took out upstream from where we did. In the upper section the fish were really on, and he had an 80 fish day. Our guys probably caught about 50-60 fish between the five or six that were fishing instead of rowing.

Today we're probably going to wade and fish the West Boulder.

[techo]

Wow! Awesome story. Reminds a guy of the important things.

[Mitch f]

Yeah, the dog came up under the overturned raft, and could get his head out of the water in the space between the floor and the water, but probably couldn't see much of anything and couldn't think to duck his head to swim out. Wilson isn't known for being smart, anyway.

Actually we seldom got out of the rafts. We floated 17 miles of river, and all you do is hit the spots as you go by. Mostly fishing the banks with "hopper and dropper", a big grasshopper imitation with a small nymph on an 18 inch to 24 inch length of line hanging off the hopper. So it's cast, get about a three foot drift, pick it up and make the next cast. Water was very clear, so the fish could see it well but had to make a decision quickly to take it.

Another of our friends floated the same river the same day, but put in upstream from us and took out upstream from where we did. In the upper section the fish were really on, and he had an 80 fish day. Our guys probably caught about 50-60 fish between the five or six that were fishing instead of rowing.

Today we're probably going to wade and fish the West Boulder.

Love the name Wilson for a lab

[RogerH]

Al, keeper hydraulics are strange creatures. Some will flip and spit out the craft and occupants while others will hold the same for what seems an eternity. It's all dependent on the water volume and the way the drop is constructed by Mother Nature (and her sister, River Goddess)!

Make sure you learn from the experience. My takeaway from this is to always wear that PFD on Western rivers since they tend to be high volume and cold!

Now here's one for the wall!

[flyrodman]

Al, keeper hydraulics are strange creatures. Some will flip and spit out the craft and occupants while others will hold the same for what seems an eternity. It's all dependent on the water volume and the way the drop is constructed by Mother Nature (and her sister, River Goddess)!

Make sure you learn from the experience. My takeaway from this is to always wear that PFD on Western rivers since they tend to be high volume and cold!

Now here's one for the wall!

Wow!

[Ham]

I think I'd better stick to fishing class 1 water.

[Gavin]

Is this the spot?

[Al Agnew]

Is this the spot?

No, that rapid wasn't too bad, probably third in difficulty of the ones we came to. There is another video on u-tube that shows the same rapid from upstream, with the bridge just below it. I wouldn't have recognized the rapid otherwise; apparently the lower water level when we floated really tames that one. The rapid upstream was worse, and the one we flipped in was a little ways below the bridge. I suspect those people took out at the access just below the bridge, so they missed the bad one. Interestingly, the bad one is now the final rapid on the river, nothing but class 2 or less below it.