Pontoon on the Clack

[Fly_n_Fish]

I was planning on taking my pontoon down the clack this Friday and was wondering if any one had any words of wisdom. I found some good pointers online like take a rope so you can walk it through the sketchy bits. I've only been on some lakes so far, so as you can imagine my experience is pretty low. PFD is a given. Some of my questions were
How long should I plan on going from McIvers to Clackamette park
What about anchors? I plan on pulling on shore to fish but I was still wondering about anchoring is it just a bad idea or is it ok in calmer spots.
Any Thoughts on what fly patterns to use and tips on how to fish them. I've been fly fishing for a long time but I'm new to steelhead.

Also if any one was planning on going that day you could PM me and maybe we could meet up. I wouldn't mind some advice along the way.

 

[Modest_Man]

Do not anchor a pontoon in a river. Without a keel things can get sketchy quickly. How big of a pontoon? Sounds like it's a small (one person) pontoon and I would not put in at upper McIver. I think McIver to Clackamette would be a multi day trip if you fished, though I have not done it myself. McIver to Barton or Barton to Carver would be a good trip. I have Friday off and could possibly be convinced to float the Clack, though I throw gear for steelhead.

 

[veilside180sx]

Upper McIver to Barton takes about 4 hrs for a straight drift, and Barton to Carver is the same. If you tried to float all the way to Clackamette you'd be looking at close to a 12 hr run w/o stopping to smell the roses.

I'll throw you a bone...this is what you have to look forward to, and this is just the park section.

https://vimeo.com/39874594

That stretch of the Clack is not the most newcomer friendly, if you have no moving water rowing experience.

 

[Fly_n_Fish]

Thanks for the info. I was pretty sure the anchoring thing was a bad idea and my time frames were way off.
My pontoon is 9ft and feels pretty stable. Modest_Man I will message you in a bit with more detail if your still thinking of going. I live in Woodburn also. I'm pretty mellow I'm just looking for someone to yell things like "Don't go that way!" and "Swim for the shore!!"

 

[Fly_n_Fish]

Oh one more thing what about shuttle service should I be calling now? How do they work? Do they drive the truck down or do they drive me back to the truck? Do I have to worry about leaving the pontoon while they take me back to my truck?

 

[Modest_Man]

Yeah let me know. Feeling stable is good, but from what I've seen those aren't much good beyond class I or maybe some class II rapids. So keep it low-key.

The shuttle services I've used you lock a spare key in your vehicle and tell them the time frame, put in, and take out along with your vehicle information (make, model, color, license plate, etc.). When you get to your destination the car is magically there. But I haven't used one on the Clackamas.

 

[Fly_n_Fish]

I sent a message but I don't know if it went through

 

[Modest_Man]

Yeah I got it, twice!

 

[veilside180sx]

Clack shuttles are vehicle moves.

Coastal shuttles are almost all person shuttles. (at least North coast)