Self-learning to pole upstream - bow control and other tips?

[Steve in Idaho]

More about weight and hopping forward at the top of the ledge...
Hopping forward while topping out on a climb gets the stern out of the accelerated water quicker and releases you from its drag. But with an empty boat, you have to make this move really quick because the boat gets stalled before your feet are planted ahead. As mentioned above, added weight increases momentum when climbing. This is especially helpful during this hop-forward move. I'm not in the habit of adding weight when I'm day-tripping (might be rethinking that), but when I'm doing multi-day trips, I've always appreciated the weight for this reason. You want to make climbs easier when poling? Add weight.

 

[Steve]

Yup! Rockstar level! Nice long hold on that surf. I do the same as you described earlier where you pop up on top and then scoot forward to get the weight up past the drop. We are not doing those Harry Rock jumps over the yoke. I am not that brave (or in my case, stupid). Thanks for those.

 

[Tsuga8]

Very interesting discussion, thanks all. Lots to think about and practice. I'm not sure I'm likely to add weight for day outings, but I hope to do some poling on my Allagash trip this year, and maybe some others.

Thanks for sharing the videos, Steve - very cool to see the Coho. I wish Kaz still had the mold.