How To Row a Drift Boat: We Asked The Professionals - Fly Fishing

We met up on the Green River with our good friends over Spinner Fall Guide Service, Scott Barrus and Charlie Card. These are two of the best fly fishing guides and drift boat rowers we know. Together they have over 50 years of rowing experience.
In this "How To Row a Drift Boat" Video Scottie teaches us the basic yet critical rowing stokes used when navigating a river. The back stroke, front stroke and crab stroke. He also shares basic drift boat etiquette when fishing on a busy river.
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[@flyfishscook]

Great video! There are only a couple online that are good. This is definitely at the top of the list!

[@dblkluk]

This video should be played on a loop at every ramp on the Henrys Fork during the Salmonfly hatch..

[@chorizobandito8943]

Ok cool local guy

[@chorizobandito8943]

Have a nice link of sweet succulent chorizo you goof ball.

[@dblkluk]

Doesn't take a local to notice that stupidity and lack of etiquette sure seems to congregate there that time of year.

[@chorizobandito8943]

@@dblkluk all I know is I'm putting a tiny, tiny dab of Berkeleys special edition Captain America dough bait on the tip of my bug when I'm fishing there, just enough to cover the barb

[@dblkluk]

@@chorizobandito8943 You seem like a barb guy.

[@jmort6]

We needed this about 20 years ago, Curtis knows what I’m talking about😀

[@mikekuczynski1552]

One of the prettiest floats around , my wife and I have floated this section many times at a lot of different flows. I think the best advice I ever had when I first started floating rivers was “ Bow to danger “ going down the V is always good . The first time I went through the Mother in law I was off line right and the river throws you towards the wall and I was back rowing hard and came face to face with the wall but never touched it , but it sure got my attention. After that stayed more left and cruised through . This is a great video I especially like the pointers on etiquette it should be mandatory that people floating rivers understand what’s expected. Living on the upper Madison River I get to see a lot of what not to do in a drift boat or a raft, it can bite you . Thanks for the video

[@PVW1960]

Hey i pastor a church here in Alaska! Dont send them all to practice in my parking lot😂. Fun to watch though👍!

[@ethanemery5535]

I miss the Green, Charlie, and Scott. Glad to see you are doing well!

[@brett9382]

Charlie seems like maybe not the safest guide but definitely a fun one. Think I would go with him

[@lukeramirez8060]

Scott is awesome. I’ve hired him a few times over the last 10 years. Great guy!

[@hntrains2]

Watched it to the end, to my surprise. Good job!

[@glennklinger8204]

Great Video!! I feel there isn’t enough rowing videos out there and with all the new rowers we see every year this is very important for them to see and take seriously, not only for their safety but for the safety of others in their boat. Great job as always guys!!! 👍👍👊

[@gscotty311]

MUCH needed! Thank you!

[@mannymayer9250]

I wish I had this video before I started pulling sticks some 30 years ago. I had to learn by the “school of hard knocks” made several mistakes and somehow never sunk my first drift boat. Grateful for you educating newer boaters.

[@default9740]

Yeah, thanks for this. I live in New Zealand, drift the Upper Clutha in an old Alumaweld 18' driftboat. Drift fishing is not a thing here, so luckily I don't need to worry about other boats at all! But a lot of things learned from this video, especially on the subtle strokes. Have rowed for decades, but a drift boat is way different from a single scull! My boat is set up for two anglers in the front, but I may adapt it to have a bow and stern angler, looks easier to manage.

[@Wogger46]

Excellent video guys!

[@DryFlyGuy74]

This content is awesome! I really appreciate the instruction.

[@joenelson1994]

Great video!

[@skillznmagik99]

Best modern video I've seen in rowing! Only thing I would add for new oarsman is start reading and rowing away from dangers earlier than you think. The most panic I have seen is when the inexperienced rower does not read or see a feature and tries to over correct at the last minute

[@perrymcaward7215]

Very helpful and informative 👍 best instruction video I've watched for drift boat techniques!

[@bighornangler6628]

This is awesome guys! Scott and Charlie are the dudes!

[@eklarsen1459]

Very good video, covered most of the fundamentals and common issues. Thank you for posting it.

[@ronkreed]

Another great video by FFF. Spinner Fall is a great guide service on the Green. I've hired them a half dozen times over the years. Great guides. Have had the great pleasure of Scott Barrus being my guide a couple of times. They are patient teachers for first timers too.

[@decolonizedmeateater]

Great and important instruction video

[@jamesyates5191]

Great video. Thank you Scott.

[@Paul-dv4dr]

Good tutorial! Greetings from UK

[@onisgagan2481]

Very well done gentlemen…

[@teamhalibut4129]

thank you! my dad just got us a fly craft and i’m a little scared but definitely learned a lot from this and there isn’t a lot of stuff out there it seems for this

[@pmdun45698]

Here's a tip. While you are getting your boat & gear ready in the staging area, double check to see that your driftboat's drain plugs are properly secured in. Keeping a spare one in the safety kit isn't a bad idea.

[@classiiimalfunction722]

Outstanding video! And posting this comment 17 mins in. This is why you pay these guys what they deserve.

[@fishpimp8584]

very informative. I'm relatively new with my drift boat and this video was extremely helpful. Thx!

[@FlyFishFood]

Glad it helped!

[@barnman73]

Excellent production quality. Learned a ton.

[@thomaslorah4261]

Thanks for the video, I’m gonna be coming from a raft to a drift boat, I ordered a pavati legacy for the kenai river up here in Alaska, great video and pointers. Do you like the pavati?

[@ejmacewan8942]

JUST W O W !! WHAT A SUPER,,, INTERESTING,, INFORMATIVE,,, AND UNIQUE VIDEO,,, ; THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND PASSION IN BRINGING THIS DYNAMIC INFO,, AND WELL SHOT WITH BEAUTY VIDEO…. WELL DONE 👍 GENTLEMEN,,,, VERY WELL DONE 👍… PLEASE BE SAFE AND CAREFUL,,, TXS

[@wesnoble510]

Nice vid! Curious for comparison to MI- how much is a car spot on the Green?

[@k9er233]

Never a bad idea to practice an oar replacement or "simulated broken-oar drill" as well as just a slipped-oar recovery. Before you need it, is a good time to learn what it is like to do it. Safety third! 😁😁😁 Be safe out there.

[@timthompsondp]

So is it considered bad etiquette to pull your boat over and go wade fish a spot mid float? This video came perfect time, my raft comes this week.

[@lennoxtime3222]

I had to pause and replay the intro parking lot statement and play it for my wife... so true

[@jayk.2276]

I was just at the green a couple weeks ago with my cousin and a buddy walking and wading around Indian crossings for 3 days and a guide with his client came right on top of us drifting directly towards us right down the middle of the run in water we hiked in 3 miles to fish on 2 days in a row.. Definitely going to stay away from the green for awhile.

[@timtollett8513]

After 50 years behind the oars I would recommend a couple of safety tips. First, keep your strap attached to the front hook UNTIL the boat is in the water. It only took me one time to realize this is a necessity as swimming in cold water after an escaped boat is not that fun. Second, turn your oars in the oar lock so the paddle is sideways as this way they won't slip out, even if you put the oar handle in the back of the boat. Another "One Time" issue that I really don't want to repeat. Rule of thumb-don't introduce accidents.

[@HalfInsaneOutdoorGuy]

I am proud to say I was the 69th upvote…NICE! …I’m still 14…

[@donotrobme9295]

That is a beautiful boat. I thought I’d been in all of them. What is that. Any more vids on the boat

[@oak8728]

Pavati’s are the Escalades of the drift world. You don’t need them, the price reflects a large profit margin for the company not a large c.o.g, but I guess some will like them.

[@donotrobme9295]

@@oak8728 thx

[@Boutros4g]

14:12...good lord you're making a video haha. all good like the content

[@krisfaver1775]

So how do you get your boat back to the dock, seems like it would be quite difficult going back upstream through the rapids

[@FlyFishFood]

You shuttle the trailer downstream and take out there.

[@shadrach1999]

Bass fisherman has joined the chat.. haha.. 😄 🤣 😂 😆 Shuttling the tow vehicle to the takeout spot is the biggest pain for this type of boating. There are shuttle services in most areas that will move your vehicle for you for a fee. It can vary by how far you need the vehicle moved. Usually about $30 - $50. Some people have a motorcycle platform on the back of the tow vehicle. They leave the bike at the takeout spot and just ride it back to pick up the tow vehicle. But it's still harder than just a ride back to the dock.

[@SigmaWolfOutdoors]

Learned to row on that river in an old wood drift boat ....can't bounce off rocks ...n much more quite ...

[@elsuperpollo2273]

I want to get a drift boat, especially since I'm near a river in Alabama

[@stephenbennett9481]

Curtis, do you even fish anymore??

[@FlyFishFood]

Haha, Steve, yeah with our two camera/social media guys in Brig and Spence, I'm not touching the cameras much and this was a blast to row around with the Spinner Fall guys. Come fish!!!!!

[@mattp6355]

Damn hope that guy on the oars gets bonus

[@elsuperpollo2273]

Do drift boats come wired for music and lighting or can it be rigged up

[@markabendroth1774]

I remember when that happened to Josh

[@droper40]

You missed a great opportunity to learn from Charlie there he is the most skilled angler/guide on the green!

[@FlyFishFood]

He was there too

[@FlyFishFood]

Stay tuned for an upcoming video with Charlie!

[@donotrobme9295]

It’s becoming popular to add buckets or just drag anchor to go slower down the river. So everyone gets linger floats and shorter shuttles. Seems not right to me

[@moosepasshippie]

In Alaska the fishing regs address that practice and is illegal. There was a problem with boats dragging anchor through salmon spawning beds

[@Belbivdevoe]

Forgot the #1 rule... always have a lifted bro truck and a flat bill hat

[@FlyFishFood]

No need to mention obvious rules.

[@glennklinger8204]

💯🤣🤣

[@if_vandal]

This video showed me why Utah sucks...holy boat hatch!

[@crunchycrails1436]

Rich Hobbit boats. I fish DEEP with scuba gear.

[@glencamblin]

Because cheech is a big un

[@CenturyofTerror]

I'd rather be rowed in a drift boat while I fish

[@uramag7]

LOL .. WHATS WITH THE LIFE JACKET MY GUY.

[@FlyFishFood]

Yeah. Hey bro. I say this without any cap in my tone. This statement would definitely qualify as deadass when I say that it’s the law to wear a life jacket on the A section of the green.

[@gumbyfish64]

Required in Utah

[@kolinsg206cmg]

Looks like you row a lot of rubber.

[@FlyFishFood]

There are so many directions I could go with this.

[@davidforce1012]

All except the start...your boat should be ready to launch before ever backing down the ramp. I would be annoyed watching guys remove straps and place oars while on the ramp.

[@FlyFishFood]

Placing oars and taking off straps doesn’t work here before launch. It’s a steep ramp with a few lanes. Oars would hit other rigs and strap keeps boat from sliding off trailer while you turn around.