Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: skitterbug on March 25, 2017, 03:18:51 PM
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We're offering a River Navigation Course Level 1 for this spring.
Link to course - https://kumsheen.com/contact/river-navigation-course/ (https://kumsheen.com/contact/river-navigation-course/)
Pricing – $419(2-day)
Dates – April 22/23, 2017
Course Hours – 8am to 6pm, each day.
Meals – Riverside lunch, each day
Accommodation – Camping at Kumsheen Resort is included.
Also Includes: In-class & on-river training, PFD/Helmet/Wetsuit
To register contact:
Kumsheen Rafting Resort
1-800-663-6667
Email: rafting@kumsheen.com
I came across Red's fishing shop(Washington) that does a 4 hr course for $150 US. The River Navigation Course from Kumsheen is $419 for 16 hrs, so for a comparison 16 hrs of instruction across the border would cost $600 US($800 Canadian)!!! In my opinion a 4hrs is too short of a course to adequately education anglers on river safety and navigation. So this course is a great deal! And includes camping and lunches for both days.
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I would not recommend this company. They are not very fisherman friendly and more then once on the Thompson, their guides brought their rafts way too close to where we were shore fishing. The guides ignored us when we told them that we had lines in the water - which was easy for them to see...but they did not care and we ended up pulling the lines until the rafts finally moved away.
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Wow! Really Birkenhead.
I can't comment on what the circumstances were, but the owner of Kumsheen is an avid fisherman.
Where were you fishing? Was the river narrow or wide? Motorized or paddle boats?
I guided for this company in the 90's and we were always respectful of ALL river users. I'm a co-instructor for the River Navigation Courses only and I approached Kumsheen to host this course. This course will give you the fundamentals to navigate safely and efficiently.
If you would like to email me the details of your encounter, I can forward them to the river manager. darrenwagner@hotmail.com
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Hmm,
Can anyone else provide some reviews and feedback?
This looks really cool I'm about 90% ready to sign up for the April level 1 course.
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I've taken the Level 1 Pontoon course with Kumsheen in September 2014 as well as their Intensive 14 day Guide Training & SRT Course in June 2015. Highly recommended if you can make it, and you will have a lot of fun! Great company, and great people!
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Here's some reviews from flybc.
http://forum.flybc.ca/index.php?showtopic=50071 (http://forum.flybc.ca/index.php?showtopic=50071)
http://forum.flybc.ca/index.php?showtopic=53536 (http://forum.flybc.ca/index.php?showtopic=53536)
This will be the 4th Level 1 course.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Cheers
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Even if you think you're ok on the "sticks" any chance you get to push your boundaries a bit in a semi-controlled environment is worth taking. Also, if you float rivers regularly and have never swam a river, this is something you will experience in semi-controlled environment found in a course and is something that anyone floats rivers should experience in the event something happens down the line. You're better off getting your first swim in a controlled environment so you know what it's like as opposed to something that happens out of the blue and becomes a bit of a shocker to you where you are not prepared for it. Your first "flip drill" will really reinforce why you need a non-inflatable PFD. The last thing you want to worry about when your boat topples over is inflating a PFD, you want to get to the surface! There also might be that one or two little couple tips or tricks you learn that totally change your outlook on things for the better!
Here's a video of me flipping in the Trailer park rapids a couple years ago (This is a Class 3 rapid): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf1WQfPSRlQ
The only "criticism" I have of the course is it'd be nice to have video feedback. Darren & Braden will offer you constructive criticism as you row and eddy out periodically which is the way it's been done for over 40 years for their raft guides training which relies on a lot of reptition and practice. And they are excellent instructors and people. But video feedback is another tool that some other (admittedly more expensive - search Class 3 and Class 4 rowing schools by NW Rafting in Oregon) courses use to reinforce what they are saying when they offer you constructive criticism where you don't have the luxury of much time like in the raft guide courses to change your behaviour through repetition . On top of the fact that people plain old just like to see themselves out on the water going through rapids!
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Hmm,
Can anyone else provide some reviews and feedback?
This looks really cool I'm about 90% ready to sign up for the April level 1 course.
Hi John,
I sent you a pm, I just want to confirm you received it?
Cheers,
Darren
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Hi John,
I sent you a pm, I just want to confirm you received it?
Cheers,
Darren
Yes I did thank you very much.! reply sent.
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Yes I did thank you very much.! reply sent.
I'll respond to your pm tomorrow.
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I forgot to mention, if you're interested in the course but you don't have a boat, Kumsheen rents them out. There's a limited amount, all were rented on the last course.
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Course cancelled due to the lack of enough participants.
There will be no future courses in the spring, the fall only.
Next course will be Sept 9/10.
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That's too bad Skitterbug. This thread had me interested but I wouldn't have been able to attend as I had already committed myself for the end of April to clip adipose fins at my local hatchery. I have never floated a river in my life but as I intend on becoming a freshwater fishing guide in b.c. and spend a lot of time on the flows, this course would be a valuable asset on my resume, and looks like a lot of fun! Maybe next time. I hope to see you re-post this info in a few months as fall approaches and maybe see you then!
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Not only look good on your resume, but you'll have a way better concept of rivers, safety and how to effectively navigate them.
We've taught approximately 30 people so far, and everyone of them had a blast and found it very educational.
I'll send a reminder pm to you when the course is approaching.
Cheers
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Look forward thanks
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Hey JK47 - one thing that would "look good" on your guiding resume is a 2+ day Swiftwater Rescue. Also, if your intention is to have a 2 day river course on your resume to show that you are somehow good on the sticks - enough to take clients out and float/fish them on a raft or drift boat in a river, remember that whomever your future boss is may ask you to show them your skills before they allow you to take their clients out on a boat down a river. This is where JUST a 2 day course will be no where near enough (unless of course you invest in a boat and plan to gain copious amounts of experience floating rivers after the fact...???). If I were you I'd be looking at raft guide training courses. Kumsheen offers a 12 day course plus 2 day SRT ($2000-ish for the course plus $300-400 for the SRT) - early course is full, late course starting May 30th has some openings last I checked - I took this in 2015 and had a blast! Chilliwack River rafting offers a 9 day course in May as well for around $850-ish. There are also some south of the border as well. Getting some serious time out on the water in a semi-controlled environment is key. Most fishing guides ain't gonna be taking their clients out on anything crazy in most cases, I know, but being over prepared for if/when sh*t hits the fan ain't gonna hurt.