Fall river boat recommendation

[tcorfey]

Hi, new here to this forum.

I am thinking of expanding my horizons when fishing the Shasta Lassen area and would like to try my luck on the Fall river.

I own 3 boats a 17' Boston Whaler, a 10' Olympian fiberglass pram and a 9' Fish Cat pontoon. The only boat with a motor is a 75hp on the Boston Whaler which seems like overkill. I row the other two boats.

Which would you recommend as the boat to use on the Fall river and if it is the pram or the pontoon would you recommend buying a motor to get up river or could I row up against the current? The pram can handle up to 10 hp and the pontoon would probably be limited to 2.5 hp or electric.

Thanks in advance for the advise.
Tim C.

[BobVP]

Hi Tim,

Welcome.

The Fall has only two (public) places you can launch and one of those, the Cal Trout access, you can't have a trailer or use any gas engines (battery okay). There is a private launch, easy to get to and friendly folks at Fall River Boat Rentals (http://www.fallriverboatrentals.com/) but I don't know what they charge for a launch there. The only place I know of that you can trailer launch a boat is at the PG&E launch that folks use to access Ajumawi Lva Spring State Park. Map here: http://www.parks.ca.gov/Lat_Long_Map/?page_id=464
That is quite a distance from where I like to fish (above Cal Trout access) but with an engine not that far.
Personally I prefer to row/paddle on the Fall and it seems if your 10' pram will fit on the car or in the truck bed you've got it made.
Can't speak to the pontoon as I have never used one but I would think it might be difficult to anchor sideways to the river like I like to do with my canoe and it might be a bugger in the wind.
Regardless of what boat you use, the standard set up for the Fall is two anchors, aft/bow, with plenty of line and fish downstream while anchored up.
I would think the Whaler may seem a little large for the Fall...then again it may seem like luxury! Just be careful heading home after dark and watch out for us slow moving canoeists without running lights....That is another story.
One of my favorite places to be is the Fall. Stunning at dawn or at sunset.

[tcorfey]

Thanks Bob so it sounds like launching the pram at the Cal Trout access is the best and I should be able to row up stream in the current? When I last looked at the Cal Trout access about 4 years ago it seemed that the dock was about 3 feet above the boat which seemed like it would be quite hard to get in to the boat gracefully or even launch it. I just saw people at the dock but I did not see anyone launch. Any tricks about launching there? Note that when fishing Lewiston Res I could not row up current without the bow getting swung in the current. I could get my pontoon further up river than the pram but not much further.

[steveg137]

yeah I struggled to row my pontoon on Fall. Pram would be better. I've rented boat from Marty Lakey who has a farm up there, good guy. I don;t have his number to hand but you'll be able to find via online search. About $70 p/day with engine.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Your 10' pram should be perfect.

You might want two anchors.



I would buy a Minn Kota transom mount electric motor that is 50# thurst and 12 volt.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Electric-Trolling-Motors/Transom-Mount%7C/pc/104794380/c/104716980/sc/104645880/Minn-Kota174-Endura8482-C2-55-Trolling-Motor/1097068.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ftran som-mount%2F_%2FN-1100546%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104645880%3FWTz_l%3DUnknown%26gclid%3 DCNj09su6pLoCFQtv4Aod6Q0AAA%26gclsrc%3Dds&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat104645880



Get a good deep cycle battery and a charger for it.

It will push your pram nicely.

If you run it on the second to the fastest speed the battery will last much longer.

Also full charge that battery as soon as you can after fishing.


Lastly, I have 2 batteries so I have a back up for getting home.


I use one on the back on my 14' Jon boat in Florida and it pushes it plenty fast.

Early season in Fall River when the water is high you need a low gunnel boat to get under some of those bridges.

.

[BobVP]

Never been a problem for me to paddle my canoe up the Fall even at higher water, but then I have been paddling a long time and get into a sort of "groove" when I start out. I have been known to paddle past the third (fourth? I never have been able to keep count) bridge above the Cal Trout access.
The launch is easier than it was a few years back with the road leading right to the water/dock. "Launching" consists of carrying or dragging your boat to the dock as there is not a ramp.
I agree with Bill here that an electric motor can be a great asset. I got to use one once and it was not a problem at all to go up river and that was particularly high water. The current on the Fall is, in my opinion, very mild...but then I am used to coastal rivers with tidal current and up-river wind.
By the way: Like Steveg, I have also rented a boat from Marty and he is a great guy (as I mentioned above) but I am pretty sure his rates have gone up to $100/day for the rentals. Still a good deal if you do not want to drag a boat up there.

[tcorfey]

Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate the advise.
I guess I will use the pram.
I now have to ponder electric or gas for propulsion.

I assume if I get a gas motor I can still fish above the Cal-Trout access but I would have to run from the PG&E launch?

The reason I do not like electric as much is that a 3.5 hp gas motor weighs around 40 lbs but an electric motor with a large deep cycle battery weighs around 90 lbs. Also adding fuel on a multi day trip is easy, recharging the battery would require a hotel or I guess I can purchase a small gas powered generator. Has anyone tried using a small generator to recharge a deep cycle battery? I usually spend about two weeks in the Shasta Lassen area every year around my birthday.

Great fishing up there I wish I lived closer.

[trouterfan1]

Just returned from a 3 day trip on the fall. Fishing was good with a nice PMD and BWO hatch around 10:00-12:00 on Tuesday. All my fish caught with a parachute pmd sz16. Try and get up past spring creek to the scout camp by 10:00. Then make your way back down to zugbug alley and fish the swing. Did well with a slow sink polyleader and unweighted flies. A pram should be perfect! I rented a 10ft jon boat at spinner fall lodge and floated all the way to circle 7. Enjoy the colors!

[BobVP]

As many times as I have fished the Fal I have never been there with a guide or someone that knows the landmarks. Of course we can all find spinner Fall and the Cal Trout access but where are these other places you mention? Scout Camp? Zug bug alley? Spring creek?

Is there a map that shows these places?
Thanks.

[trouterfan1]

As many times as I have fished the Fal I have never been there with a guide or someone that knows the landmarks. Of course we can all find spinner Fall and the Cal Trout access but where are these other places you mention? Scout Camp? Zug bug alley? Spring creek?

Is there a map that shows these places?
Thanks.

Bob,

You can reference a map from Spinner fall lodge or Circle 7 guest ranch that depicts the aforementioned landmarks. I believe It's a locals knowledge map and not a global referenced map. Also if you go to CDFW website and filter through their heritage trout link you can find the fish surveys conducted on the river with a map as well that references some of the area. Specifically Whipple ranch on the fish survey map is the same area as zugbug alley on the locals map. Spring creek is on both maps. Scout camp is above spring creek going upriver on the left landmarked by numerous forest green colored bungalow cabins. I floated from spinner fall lodge all the way to circle 7 guest ranch around 8mi. Took all day but well worth the effort to gain knowledge of the river. By the time I made it to scout camp around 10:00 a big hatch of PMD and BWO was going off and the fish were looking up!

Hope this helps.