SSSF Spring 09 Group Float Photos, Pic Heavy

[Chinook SSSF]

Here are my photos from the group float. More great photos by Willisteal linked here.

We could not have asked for better wheather, fishing was slower than the last group float we did in the winter. Alot of great anglers in the group with cold but decent water conditions. Guess this means we have to do it again! The Sandy does tend to have an on again off again way of being and you can bet it will turn right back on again as the water drops.



I would like to thank everyone on the float. I feel it is always a group effort that makes these so much fun, everyone involved lends a hand in some way to make the day go well. I can think of something to thank everyone for from that day for the float, lunch, tips, storys, photos, shuttles, bait and a host of other things that all make it work.

A big thanks to Dave [Rollinon]for his role in setting this dinner & float up for everyone and earmarking a list to help get an idea of our numbers prior to the float.



Personaly from me, Ed thanks for the super day, always a pleasure to seat in your boat If you get tired of me, to bad, I have come to depend on you! heehee

Wade, thanks for the kick butt BBQ chicken, beat the pants off my PBJ!



Off we go! Enjoy!



Our float this spring took place on the same day as the Sandy River Spey Clave, a well known spey event that takes place each year at Oxbow park near Troutdale Oregon. Anglers practice their casting in the morning sunshine while Mark B. caters to a large crowd of spey hobbiests.





Ed Fast on the oars..."You row, I'll navigate"



One of Ed's favorite steelhead plugs..





Time for lunch on the Sandy! RiverDrifter breaks out the BBQ..







"Just point the bow downriver" I did!



Off we go again! lol Stuffed even...



RiverDrifter sits under the shadow of ancient's. These tree's spent hundreds of years under the sand only to be exposed once again by floods in the this century. Always impressive to see this section of the Sandy. The tree's are free to rot away into the dust all over again now and as we know the history of the Sandy, this site will certainly change again sometime soon. Everytime I pass through here I try to find a different way to capture this section in photo. Here is a super photo from that section of the river I used for a new blog we are working. Seeing Wade dwarfed below the stumps gave me the solution for this trips capture.







Thanks for a great day on the water! Lets do this again soon

[GW]

Those are good photos, but the photo that you linked to on your blog is incredible. Sounds like you guys had a great time. I was camping up at Drano getting my butt handed to me by the locals. I'll make one of these trips eventually.

[williesteal17]

Wow that Camera and you are Dialed in Matt Beutiful shots. Is it posible to have some of those made into prints to put on the wall? I was wowing at the fly line swirling though the air by the spey guys and I had to do a double take and realised my boat was in the background. I realy liked that shot.


Enjoyed those

[RollinontheRvr]

I have to agree with everyone else Matt. You are "Johny on the Spot" with that camera. Nice shots, I had to go back and look at the Spey guys with Willie's boat in the background. That was definitely a cool shot. I showed my wife your pic of the reflection on the side of my boat, she gave a very good review of that shot. Way to go. Let's do it again.

[ryank]

Man, I wish I could have gone looks like a blast I hope there is a fall or winter float!

[RollinontheRvr]

Man, I wish I could have gone looks like a blast I hope there is a fall or winter float!

It definitely was and there definitely will be...

[Ed Fast]

I have to agree with everyone else Matt. You are "Johny on the Spot" with that camera. Nice shots, I had to go back and look at the Spey guys with Willie's boat in the background. That was definitely a cool shot. I showed my wife your pic of the reflection on the side of my boat, she gave a very good review of that shot. Way to go. Let's do it again.

That's the one that jumped out at me! The colors and 'geometry' going on in that one got my attention.......then I saw the reflection! Geeeeesh, did you wax it during lunch?

Nice pics, Matt. I like that pic of Wade, too.

[Chinook SSSF]

Thanks for the kind comments These are all shot in 10.2 megs and should blow up nice. Wallmart does em cheap now to a pretty good size. Been saying IM going to try a few

[RiverDrifter]

Wow that Camera and you are Dialed in Matt Beautiful shots.

Without a doubt! Great photos Matt.. I can't wait to do it again.

[Chinook SSSF]

Sorry for the large size and for stretching the post but I thought it would be cool to see a few larger ones, to see how they look on here...


Here is the wide shot from the blog header. You can see how the rivers current direction slams straight into the soft sand back, and how during periods of high water the bank gives way showing the burried stumps. Ed Fast also pointed out how odd it was that the tops of the trees are rotted off at about the level of the top of the sand bank.......so at one point there must have been another interesting sight to see here, the top halves of the trees sticking out of the ground like in the St. Helens valleys. Ed and I also speculated that it would look odd if a major flood now washed out the St. Helens valley exposing those trees again the way it happened here on the Sandy River valley but in a much larger scale.





Another shot of Daves Clacka, think I might send this over to bruce : )