I hope I am not borrowing trouble by posting this, but figured I might as well "test" the waters now. I may have actually run into a few of you on the creek. I am that crazy kayaker you saw go floating by this summer. As I live close to Putah, I have started to become quite fond of Putah, much like the rest of you, but from a different perspective: white water kayaking.
One of my concerns is any possible clash of user groups when Putah starts seeing more kayaking traffic. I would expect it to start seeing more boating traffic this spring/summer, since it is a very fun and easily accessable Class II+ run with boatable water pretty much year round. So far, I have done my best to avoid any possible issues with fisherman by putting in either upstream or downstream from fisherman, and then ensuring to avoid their lines. I often try to pop a "How ya doing today?" as I float on by to keep the peace.
With the approaching summer season, I would expect there to start being more kayakers exploring this run. With that in mind, I was hoping to pass on any concerns and/or issues some of you may have to help prevent any issue before it occurs by fostering a culture and knowledge of mutual respect inside of the kayaking community towards fisherman specific concerns.
Now don't get me wrong, Putah is not a world class run, so don't expect hordes of kayakers, just thought I would throw out a quick heads up and open some dialogue to try and ensure that both fisherman and boaters alike enjoy Putah for the wonderful natural resource it is.
I have never had any problem with kayakers, but I tennd to gear up heavy when I go after them a 10wt and a 6/0 clouser works well, not much good for eatingthough they are a little chewy for my taste.