Proud New Boat Owner, Lower Columbia River

[Vince N.]

Good morning all - I wanted to share some photos of a 14' TDB Classic we just acquired. We live in SW Washington and mainly hunt the Lower Columbia.

We have been around boats our whole lives but this is a first boat for us. We were both grinning ear to ear on the drive home. Any and all advice as a new boat owner is greatly appreciated.

Thanks and God bless,

Vince

 

[Todd Duncan Tennyson]

Hey Vince, sweet set up and very pretty co pilot. I spent years down between Ilwaco and up to longview (and their equals on the Oregon side) you live in the West coast equivalent to Chesapeake bay as far as waterfowl is concerned, and that boat should be a pretty good way to get around and explore down there. What is your dog situation?
Be safe,
Todd

 

[Vince N.]

Hey Vince, sweet set up and very pretty co pilot. I spent years down between Ilwaco and up to longview (and their equals on the Oregon side) you live in the West coast equivalent to Chesapeake bay as far as waterfowl is concerned, and that boat should be a pretty good way to get around and explore down there. What is your dog situation?
Be safe,
Todd

Thanks for the reply, Todd. We have a couple of field bred cockers that are littermates, see attached photos. I grew up primarily upland hunting, so we wanted dogs that can do both. Not the standard duck dog, but so far they've been doing really well other than that they obviously get colder quicker than a lab would.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Vincent

Welcome aboard and congrats on the new boat. You are now the member of a duckboat fraternity called "TDB Owners." Several of your frat bros are here, and well I guess it might be time to have little sisters.

 

[Vince N.]

Vincent

Welcome aboard and congrats on the new boat. You are now the member of a duckboat fraternity called "TDB Owners." Several of your frat bros are here, and well I guess it might be time to have little sisters.

Thanks for the warm welcome, Eric.

 

[Todd Duncan Tennyson]

Cockers are good dogs, I used to hunt with a guy out of Longview who had a springer. great smaller dog for birds. "Otis."

Otis was a springer, I believe, and he had a tail that beat furiously like he had a little outboard motor so that when the tide rolled in. he'd able to motor around the blind. That Spaniel was a great bird dog.

 

[Neal Haarberg]

I am also in SW Washingon and hunt the Columbia. If you have been around boats then I don't need to stress the dangers of the Columbia as you know it can get pretty nasty at times. For the boat be sure to maintain the outboard. During duck season there isn't to many poeple out there to help you out if you run into trouble. Remember a Duck isn't worth your life. In my younger days I went out on the river at times when I shouldn't have and have barly made it back to the ramp. I have hit dead heads just under the surface, nearly flipped my boat in the wind in the gorge, had to wait out a tide after hitting a sandbar.... I am more cautious now and have gone home or moved to a different ramp than planned after getting there. Have fun exploring the river and bays, your new boat will open up a lot more opertunities and your TDB should treat you well.

 

[Vince N.]

Thanks for the wisdom Neal. Grew up hunting Svensen area as well as Willapa Bay, so luckily my mentors have stressed the importance of safety regarding the Mighty C. Have even had a couple of close calls myself crossing small channels in standard kayaks (have since upgraded to aquapods). I don't think safety and the uncertainty of the Columbia can be stressed enough, so your advice is appreciated.

 

[Todd Duncan Tennyson]

That entire area down there is duck Mecca. There is so much tidal swing, and variations in weather and river conditions, Your boat should be good for most days out there. I used to take a run from near Puget Is area way down past brownsmead along the oregon side, to scope out the conditions on a low tide before the season opened. There are always deadheads and things to avoid that you want to know about before you are making the run in the dark in the wind and waves with a dog's ass in your face and your buddies holding on for their lives.

 

[Vince N.]

That's a great idea given the river is constantly changing, thanks Todd.

 

[Todd Duncan Tennyson]

Early in the season you are likely to get fog down there. It can be really bad. and unless you know the area very well, I wouldn't recommend running it until things clear up after dawn. It may be different this season.

I am near medford now, so our weather is likely drier here than up there. If you have a chance to scout around now before things get really ducky around thanksgiving then get out and look at the spots you might want to set up in.

You know to take in the tides, check the websites for in and out and times and all near where you want to be. They will be important to keep track of. Most of those spots I used to hunt I hunted from the shore, and only used the boat to run around...My boat was considerably harder to hide than yours, you should do well in yours hunting from the boat. I just wanted something seaworthy. I liked hunting divers in bad spots to get to.

Run the weather reports and watch the chop in exposed areas.

Your boat is small, but it is a good design to handle bad conditions. You should be good between now and about Mid november to figure out spots down there where you want to set up.

Right around thanksgiving (Give or take a week or so) you'll get a big push of birds from BC. and Alberta. Wigeons, and Mallards and pinners, and lots of them. By then you will know the places to set up and how the tides influence them.

Give yourself a load of extra time early in the morning, A lot of folks half hungover in the dark trying to back their rig up on the launch makes for some interesting encounters. Most of all, be safe. No hunt is worth your life... Take loads of photos and write it up. You are living in an historic time in a place that is very special.

 

[Brad Bortner]

Vince, congrats on the new boat. It'll hide well in some of the sloughs and back waters. But be careful it's pretty small for some of the reaches like Prairie or Clifton Channel. I have boated the same waters for over 30 years and have a 19 foot Bankes. Even with a much bigger boat I'm very careful out there. I'd never try to cross the shipping channel in a 14 foot boat.

I'll reiterate what Todd and Neal have said and you already know. It's a big dangerous place. I know of duck hunters dying out there every few years. As Todd said scout the deadheads and channels but they move. The tides have been great the past two weeks for scouting the dangers. I've been out marking logs with old crab buoys. But never become complacent because the logs move and sandbars change. I rescued a guy one time who completely rolled his 16 foot aluminum boat on a submerged log. I've seen the aftermath of a guy who ran straight into a piling at speed in the fog.

I never run in the dark and often warn hunters not to run with speed in the dark. It's hard enough to see partially submerged logs in the chop during the day. Be very careful especially in west winds and big tidal changes or when winds and tides are running in opposite directions. Don't be too bold, Some days it's better to turn around and go home than to launch and try to get out.

It's a great place with some great hunting. Enjoy it. But be careful.

 

[Vince N.]

Thanks for this Brad.

 

[Todd Duncan Tennyson]

One of the things that happened to me years back, is that we had run across the shipping channel to one of the islands when it was passable. Over the course of the hunt the weather turned,
We were totally stuck over there.
I was in a 16 ft alumaweld sled with a jet pump on it. No additional flotation, it was just an aluminum scow that would sink like a stone if it took on a blast of water, with 2 other guys and 2 dogs and decoys and gear. The weather was terrible, it was a great day for duck hunting.

We did our hunt and got a pile of birds...As the tide rose, we had to anchor the boat in the lee of the island but the anchor kept blowing out from the current.. .so one of us had to hold the boat there and we waited for the tide to turn while the other 2 guys picked up the decoys and gear.

when it finally did, the water laid down enough for us to make the run back, but upon reaching the shore in oregon, my buddy realized that' we were missing one giant bag of decoys that we'd been picking up during the tide flooding in so we had to go back.

We unloaded everything on the oregon side and made the run with the empty boat back across the channel to get his gear before the wind and tide washed it out to sea.. It was big wild rollers and insane chop i had to quarter into it with 3/4 throttle just to keep on track...

we made the run, but as i crossed over that big muddy churning river in that little boat i realized that i'd have to make it to the island, i couldn't turn the around to abort the mission where i was mid way or the ass end would've filled with water from the rollers and chop and we'd be crab bait.

we finally found the giant bag of decoys floating in the tall willows that had flooded, and we loaded up and returned.

It was a fun story and a memorable experience, but it was a stupid thing to do when i look back on it. I was younger and didn't think through the scenario clearly. It all turned out ok thank God, but it could have very easily been 3 of us and our dogs in the river forever.

 

[Carl]

I believe that all of us who have been at it for years have similar stories where we look back and say "what were we thinking" and/or "how did we make it back?".

 

[Vince N.]

I welcome all cautionary stories. I only have two humbling experiences on the Lower Columbia thus far. Good learning experiences with no harm done.

One was a questionable ride back across Prairie Channel From Russian in a TDB14 classic at age 16 with my father and his friend. It was a very wet and bumpy ride and nothing terrible happened, but I'm glad I have that experience in my brain as an on-hand experience to understand the boat and its limitations.

Another one was crossing the slough from Minaker to Karlson at dusk in a 10' standard kayak with wind chop. Never again on that one, what a stupid move looking back. The slough appeared harmless the week before as we traversed it in the dark with ease when there was no wind. And the paddle out to the island was smooth sailing too, but the wind started to really pick up just as we were done packing up decoys. It was only a 350 yard paddle across, but one I'll never forget. My buddy was 50 yd in front of me and he'd disappear as the wind waves went up and down. My wife paddling next to me with neither of us uttering a word as we were intensely focusing on getting across. What a relief it was to get on the other shoreline. I learned how quickly things can change and how helpless you really are out there if something drastic were to happen.