Krazy Kiwi wrote:
*snip* several very funny stories...

Wot funny things have you witnessed? Oh, other than watching a certain
somebuddy swim back to the WRONG boat ;-)) Viv



This story wasn't funny at all when it happened, but now I laugh and
shake my head in disbelief that I lived through it.

......Years ago, I lived in the Pacific Northwest, and did a lot of
steelhead and salmon fishing. I took my neighbor fishing one day, and
since he didn't have any salmon gear I loaned him some of mine. It had
rained, and the river had risen a little, but it wasn't too serious. We
decided to use my small inflateable raft to get to a large boulder
(about 12 feet wide) in the middle of the river because this would put
us in the best position. We put the raft in the river far upstream, and
drifted down to the boulder. As it happened the raft came to a stop in
the very center of the upstream side of the boulder, and for a few
seconds just stayed there. My neighbor, who was in the bow, was holding
on to the boulder, but I had planned to get the raft to the downstream
side of the boulder. As I was forming my thoughts of what to do next, I
heard the water begin to boil behind me, where I sat in the stern.The
water pressure on the stern was about to take control of the situation.
In slow motion I felt the stern begin to drop down several inches, and
then I watched my neighbor and the raft flip over my head as I sank into
the river. I still have a vivid memory of that instant, and even though
it happened so fast, it was like slooww motion to me.

It was the middle of winter when this happened, and I had several heavy
layers of clothes on. So, down the river I went, thinking this won't be
so bad. I'll surface eventually, and get to shore. But it was a long
ride, and when I finally surfaced about 75 yards downstream, I realised
part of the reason why it was such a long ride. I had unconciously
grabbed my favorite salmon rod and tackle box before I went under. I
made it to shore with all my gear, and looked around for my neighbor,
who was standing on the opposite side of the river, upstream about 30
yards. And the SOB had lost my other salmon rod!

...Brad