Since this got bumped and it's that time of year, I'll mention that a drift boat works fine on this river MOST of the time. Out of the five times I've been, I rowed my drift boat four of those times.
The one instance that I chose my raft over a my 16' Clack WF (tank) is because we put on in extremely low water (180cfs @ Fort Logan). A buddy who came on that trip with his 14' Yellowstone Drifter had to get out an push over gravel bars about a dozen times on the first day, and was good to go after that. I got out 3 times to move push my raft on that day to put it into perspective. Since there aren't any real rapids to speak of on the Smith, a hard boat is much better vessel for 4-5 days of fishing, packing, and partying IMO.
Also, if anyone has a late May-early July 2020 permit that they intend on canceling due to Covid-19, gimme a shout, I didn't draw one this year.
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