For you rookie oarsmen,, let me shed some light on Drift boat 101. I'm a self taught fly fisherman as well as for the most par self taught fishing guide. I shadowed behind some of the best guides in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana but never had anyone teach me drift boat basics. I learned a lot sitting around drinking beer with the old boys.
What you want to do is put your clients on fish not sink your skiff and hope your clients can swim to shore. Rule #1 make sure the plugs are in! Sounds elementary but believe it or not, It happens where a guide hit the sauce a little too hard the night before, shows up the next day a little fuzzy and forgetful and forgets to put his plugs in the boat.
Rule #2 Don't release to much anchor rope in high water as this will cause your boat to sway uncontrollably side to side. We call this lolli rockin', extremely dangerous as you could take on water over the gunnels. If it's just a little bit of water, make sure you have a sponge in the boat. Also, don't let your anchor drag as it may snag a boulder, pull the stern down and swamp last seasons profits. We call the laying cable.
Thirdly and most importantly, DO NOT TIE A KNOT IN THE ANCHOR ROPE! This is referred to as a "suicide knot" for good reason. If something goes wrong, you spaced something or forgot to take your guide mends that morning you can always kiss the inexpensive anchor roe and 35#lbs of lead goodbye - easier to stomach than kissing $7,000 buh bye.
Gotta run for now... until the next bit of foolishness, tight lines and remember to always kiss the anchor goodbye.
