Sheepdog8404
07-28-2018, 11:18 PM
This evening my good friend and I were fishing for Stripers above the rapids at Sunrise on the American River. For those of you who frequent the river in motorized boats, you are probably familiar with the strange path that the channel takes up through the riffle. This is especially important with a prop motor as it sticks down deeper into the water below the boat. I am by no means a seasoned veteran on the river and rest assured that I have become well aware of my complacency on the river after today.
The channel that cuts through the rapid above Sunrise is a bit tricky to see at these flows. As the river flows, the channel begins far river right, maybe 15-20 feet from the bank, then cuts diagonally at an illogically steep angle to river left with shallow gravel bars on either side. While cruising up the channel at full throttle on a good plane, my fish finder recorded the average depth at about 2.8 feet, mind you this is simply a reading and I have no idea the true depth or how deep below the waterline my transducer is while on plane. At these flows, one has a bit more elbow room to not run aground but not by much. The river also piles the majority of it's water into the clay banks on river right just below the rapid. There are large submerged rocks and trees in this area as well. So with that in mind, here is what happened...
While my buddy and I were fishing above the rapid, we could hear the hum of a boat approaching from down stream. Since we weren't having much luck, I focused my attention on the rapid below. I could see the boat beginning its approach up the riffle, noting that they seemed far too close to the left bank of the river. Expecting them to change direction and head towards river right up the channel, they didn't, and instead maintained their heading almost straight upriver. I knew at any moment they were going to hit bottom and almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind, it happened. Their motor smacked the bottom and it lost power. The boat spun around and almost immediately started filling the stern with water. We could hear screaming and saw the boat beginning to pitch bow up before smacking into the clay wall where it completely capsized and went under. We reeled up and sped downriver as fast as we could to them. By the time we were at the bottom of the channel, we could see two distraught adults on shore and their boat barely floating upside down with the bow peaking over the surface down river. We shouted to them to find out if there was anyone else in the water. They responded with what we could best understand as "no". so we headed down to see if we could safely get a line on the boat and tow it to shore. After a bit of observing and planning we were able to grab the bowline still attached to the boat and tow it to the ramp. Next we went back upriver to try to pick the two boaters up from the right side of the river but they remained in the same spot and it would have been impossible to get in there without perhaps capsizing my own. But two guys were with them this time and they had swam down with life vests to help the couple swim back to the other side of the river. We ended up getting the couple, the boat and a few of their belongings back to the ramp safely. They were able to get the boat flipped back over, loaded up on the trailer and headed home albeit a bit beat up and shaken. They had just finished putting the boat together and this was their maiden voyage.
All in all, nobody drowned and it took a group of strangers to come together and help others in need. I am not writing this as a means to boast about my involvement. Instead I am writing this in hopes of educating some novice boaters about the dangers of the river. A little bit of inexperience can cost a life. Before you head out and try to learn the river on your own, PLEASE, go with someone who has a bit of experience. Learn how to read the water, maybe even take a few trips on a raft and take notes about sketchy places. Maybe even ask others how they navigate a certain area to avoid danger. Whatever you do, don't just head out there and try to figure it out on your own.
Stay safe out there and tight lines,
Gary
The channel that cuts through the rapid above Sunrise is a bit tricky to see at these flows. As the river flows, the channel begins far river right, maybe 15-20 feet from the bank, then cuts diagonally at an illogically steep angle to river left with shallow gravel bars on either side. While cruising up the channel at full throttle on a good plane, my fish finder recorded the average depth at about 2.8 feet, mind you this is simply a reading and I have no idea the true depth or how deep below the waterline my transducer is while on plane. At these flows, one has a bit more elbow room to not run aground but not by much. The river also piles the majority of it's water into the clay banks on river right just below the rapid. There are large submerged rocks and trees in this area as well. So with that in mind, here is what happened...
While my buddy and I were fishing above the rapid, we could hear the hum of a boat approaching from down stream. Since we weren't having much luck, I focused my attention on the rapid below. I could see the boat beginning its approach up the riffle, noting that they seemed far too close to the left bank of the river. Expecting them to change direction and head towards river right up the channel, they didn't, and instead maintained their heading almost straight upriver. I knew at any moment they were going to hit bottom and almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind, it happened. Their motor smacked the bottom and it lost power. The boat spun around and almost immediately started filling the stern with water. We could hear screaming and saw the boat beginning to pitch bow up before smacking into the clay wall where it completely capsized and went under. We reeled up and sped downriver as fast as we could to them. By the time we were at the bottom of the channel, we could see two distraught adults on shore and their boat barely floating upside down with the bow peaking over the surface down river. We shouted to them to find out if there was anyone else in the water. They responded with what we could best understand as "no". so we headed down to see if we could safely get a line on the boat and tow it to shore. After a bit of observing and planning we were able to grab the bowline still attached to the boat and tow it to the ramp. Next we went back upriver to try to pick the two boaters up from the right side of the river but they remained in the same spot and it would have been impossible to get in there without perhaps capsizing my own. But two guys were with them this time and they had swam down with life vests to help the couple swim back to the other side of the river. We ended up getting the couple, the boat and a few of their belongings back to the ramp safely. They were able to get the boat flipped back over, loaded up on the trailer and headed home albeit a bit beat up and shaken. They had just finished putting the boat together and this was their maiden voyage.
All in all, nobody drowned and it took a group of strangers to come together and help others in need. I am not writing this as a means to boast about my involvement. Instead I am writing this in hopes of educating some novice boaters about the dangers of the river. A little bit of inexperience can cost a life. Before you head out and try to learn the river on your own, PLEASE, go with someone who has a bit of experience. Learn how to read the water, maybe even take a few trips on a raft and take notes about sketchy places. Maybe even ask others how they navigate a certain area to avoid danger. Whatever you do, don't just head out there and try to figure it out on your own.
Stay safe out there and tight lines,
Gary