Out with the Old, In with the New
I recently returned from a two week long trip to South Western Montana, where I picked up a new boat, fished 4 of the most iconic Western rivers and spent some quality time with old friends and new. The genesis of this trip was that I put in an order for a new boat roughly a year ago with Adipose Boatworks out of Helena, Montana.
Now to be clear, I have always guided out of the same boat, a 2003 15’ Clackacraft Low Pro, which has been guided out of its entire life. As the old timers would say, “she’s been rowed hard and put up wet.” With a little encouragement from some of my clients, I decided to make the jump and order something that would fit the bill for the style of guiding I do most in Colorado.
On May 17th, I packed up my truck and hit the road with my 2003 Clacka in tow. I took her to her new home in Jackson, Wyoming, where she will continue to serve as a guide boat on the Snake River. From Jackson, I continued NW to West Yellowstone, where I caught up with the boys over at Big Sky Anglers before continuing on to Helena to pick up the new boat. I must admit, prior to picking up my new Adipose I had never even been in one, much less rowed one. I was a little nervous to say the least. Adipose did nothing short of exceed my expectations. They leave virtually nothing left to be desired and seemingly think of every single nuance that can make the rower and anglers lives easier.
Adipose has designed their fiberglass molds around a skiff style of drift boat, with low gunnels and a rather rectangular hull that sits flat on the water. My old Clackacraft LP, however, had low gunnels toward the center of the boat but as it extends toward the front angler you return to that classic football shaped dorey. Seeing as I run some technical water with mandatory drops and kayak waves, I opted for Adipose’s Runoff model, which is a classic skiff all the way from the stern of the boat until you get to the front seat, where you then get a 4” higher rise of the bow than that of there standard skiff. We certainly put this aspect to the test on the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers at high flows. There wasn't a wave train we didn't hit and despite our efforts, we never managed to take on more than a cup full of water. It feels a little bit heavier than my Clacka when pulling on the oars in swift water to slow the boat down but still maneuvers well laterally and can be slowed down when fishing the riffles. The bottom of the exterior is coated with teflon, which helps with durability, as well as overall slickness when sliding over gravel bars or exposed rocks.
Some of the other key differences of the Adipose Runoff, in comparison to the Clackacraft, is that the rod storage is a tray style, where anglers can simply lay down a rod and pick up another, whereas the clackacraft was a rod tube style storage, where the angler in the back of the boat had to insert and remove rods from their respective tubes. It is important to note that both the right and left side rod storage both pointed rearward, which was a pain when the front angler needed to switch out rods.
Both the front and back seats are pedestals, similar to that of an office chair. When the seat is fully raised my feet barely touch the floor of the boat. For the sitting angler, the casting braces in the front and back come out with a simple click of a button. Super simple, fast and convenient for some of my older clients or when fishing more technical water where sitting is to our advantage. With the casting braces out of the way there is a ton of space for either angler.
Storage is thoughtful but not overdone. There is storage under both gunnels, one of which is deep for pfds, rescue gear, etc, while the other gunnel storage compartment is shallow for fly boxes, tippet sunscreen or anything else that you might need readily accessible. Additionally, there is storage under the rowers seat for backpacks or rain gear and trays near the front and back angler for fly boxes, tippet, etc.
All that to say, I am very excited to begin the 2023 guide season in the Adipose Runoff. I’m hopeful that it will be a pleasure to row day in and day out, as well as a client favorite to fish out of this season and many more to come.
