Marty's Drift March 2000

The month of March will bring the final three shows in which ClackaCraft will participate. On March 11 and 12 John Lent will be at the Southfield, Michigan Civic Center for the Mid-West Fly Fishing Exposition. Then from March 16 through 19 John will be in Grand Rapids for the Grand Center Sport, Fishing and Travel Show. Also from March 16 through 19 there is an International Sportsman's Exposition Show in Salt Lake City at the Salt Palace. Jack Parker will be staffing the display booth at Salt Lake City. Stop by these shows and check out the new ClackaCraft models. Ask them about Show Specials.

The shows where we have appeared so far have generated a lot of sales. At each show people come up and tell us how friends or guides they have fished with give ClackaCraft boats the highest recommendation. In several instances guides have inquired about trading their current "Brand X" boat for a new ClackaCraft. I think it is safe to say that more guides row ClackaCraft Drift Boats than any other make drift boat.

When someone buys a new boat here in Oregon we always offer to go on the river with them on a "shakedown float." Usually we make a short float on the Clackamas River. Pictured below are some happy new ClackaCraft owners.

On February 17 Brent Richie and I went to the Nestucca River to give his new Fly Fishing Bench model a "shakedown" float. The Fly Fishing Bench model is a good choice for this part of the country. The front bench seat is great for salmon and steelhead drift and plug fishing, and if you want to fly fish from the boat you can always move a seat to the rear pedestal.

Brent and I spent the day drift fishing and using divers and bait for winter-run steelhead. It turned out to be a great day. The weather was clear and warm, and we found some biting fish. We hooked two on shrimp and divers and another one on a pearl pink Oakie Drifter. We lost the first two and landed the third.

Fishing from a drift boat is great fun. The best part of the year is still to come. Days are getting longer and warmer. Soon our rivers will have runs of spring Chinook and summer-run steelhead. In today's paper there are reports of spring Chinook being caught in the Willamette and Sandy Rivers. Before long the fish will spread out to the Clackamas and Santiams in the Willamette basin. In a month or two spring Chinook will also be entering the Wilson, Trask and Nestucca on the Oregon coast. Now is a great time to get a boat. Drift boats provide you much more river access and let you fish more effectively.

Give Marty a call at: (503) 655-9532

You can also call Idaho Falls at (800) 394-1345.