07_2025_REELLIFE_digital - Flipbook - Page 18
on the spot, I went home
that night and did my
research. Satisfied that it
was a good quality product
at a fair price, I came back
the next day and made my
purchase.
shoreline, the bubbling
chatter of the blade
drawing the attention of a
green-stripped pike knifing
toward it with a V-shaped
wake, the anticipation and
final smash of the grab – I
was literally hooked for life!
I was fortunate to have
moved to Washington
during a time when
hatcheries put out large
numbers of smolts, and
returns of hatchery fish
made for many memorable
days of steelhead limits.
My go-to rivers were the
Cowlitz, Skykomish, and
Satsop. I ran up and down
these rivers in an eight-foot
sport raft with an eighthorsepower prop (with
my own modified, raised
transom to avoid rocks). It
was a fun time, but there
was something missing.
I can only thank the
subconscious imprint
Mark Twain had on me.
At a winter Sportsman’s
Show, I happened upon a
booth where Dave Scadden
rafts and pontoons were
displayed. I stopped in
mid-step and took a closer
look at what would soon
become my new passion.
Dave had a variety of
pontoon boats on display,
but what really caught my
eye was a cherry red twoperson twelve-foot pontoon
boat. My mind immediately
began contemplating
the adventures I could
have with friends, and
two boys who would
soon be old enough to
join in on trips with me. I
remember the boat had
features that caught my
attention, such as being
able to easily convert it
from a two-person to a
one-person pontoon, and
a nifty storage system for
coolers or overnight trips.
Fighting the impulse to buy
The rest, as they say, is
history. My cherry red
pontoon took me on
multiple adventures,
including floating the
Wilson River with each of
my sons for fall chinook.
Many a water was explored
and many fish netted in my
fire-red pontoon. The years
added on, and the boat
served me well.
Twenty or so years later,
my retirement years
are coming ever closer.
Last year, my wife and
I moved to Great Falls,
Montana, to be closer
to our grandchildren,
and farther away from
the ever-growing Puget
Sound region with its
claustrophobia-inducing
congestion.
My backyard river is now
the Missouri. My son Matt
and I have floated the river
several times, and the
pontoon performed fine,
but I found myself gazing
enviously as drift boats
and larger rafts floated by.
I observed they offered a
more stable platform for
tossing flies and anchoring
up on this big river.
