Kayaking the Lower Salt River

We were both nervous as we pushed off from the gravel bar. The Salt was running high but clear and it was really fast! Renita was especially concerned and the current quickly carried us around the bend. At one point it caught her and she spun one hundred and eighty degrees floating  backwards in the fastest water of the meander.

Meanwhile our friends Bo and Lizzie were themselves being spun downstream on their inner tubes. The water was not only fast but cold and they were both glad we had insisted on them wearing life jackets, (it is the law), along with their wet suits.
A day earlier, while playing pickle ball, we had talked with Jetty, one of the club members and instructors. She told us she had just floated the lower Salt River, from the Creamery to Mcloud. Excited at the prospect of our first float we drove the area and located the take out places, (they are about every mile), As Lizzie and Bo were going to float on inner tubes and I planned on fishing, we shortened the float by planning to take out at a place called the Swimming Pool.

I quickly found out that I was going way to fast to fish and so I stopped at several places to try my nymphs. Fish were hitting small insects on top of the water and they didn't even give my flies a glance as I cast again and again. As our friends disappeared around the next bend I decided to just concentrate on learning the river and stowed my rod.
Meanwhile Renita had mastered her control issues and now was taking images whenever she found a safe piece of slack water . Lizzie was steering by paddling backwards with her hands and Bo seemed to have found the balance point on his inner tube.

The current was so fast that we reached the first take out point in half an hour, ( we had been told it would take one hour). Checking with everyone we decided to continue on. The river was pretty snag free and so we enjoyed the next stretch of the river. Again no fish bothered my flies as I watched them feast on the tiny terrestrial bugs.
Changing to a dry Adams fly, they would swim up and take a look before declining my offering. Stopping for lunch at the next takeout point I talked with a wading fisherman who said he had caught four fish using a fly I didn't have, Lizzie was really cold and so she and Bo decided to takeout at that place and warm up as Renita and I finished the float to the truck.

It had taken about two and a half hours to float to that point so we again pushed off in a slower stretch. Forty five minutes later we pushed ashore at the place called the Swimming Pool. Others were waiting and we discussed the joy of floating the Salt and how while the fishing was great the catching was terrible, (everyone else we talked to had caught lots of fish, oh well).
Now we can't wait till we float the next stretch of river. Our friends George and Val are going to be here and Val is bringing here kayak. After picking up Bo and Lizzie we talked about our day and they said that the next they wanted to use kayaks! Clear skies