November 06, 2025
By Blane Chocklett and Jay Nichols
Click here for Part 2: Fishing from the Boat
Click here for Part 3: Safety & Etiquette
In this video, Fly Fisherman contributing editor and veteran fishing guide Blane Chocklett details how to row a drift boat or raft for fly fishing. Oar work is key, and for most rowers, executing it properly is a little (or a lot) counterintuitive. From avoiding obstacles to keeping the boat a consistent distance from the bank and much more, Chocklett makes clear in simplified terms how to row your boat to catch more fish anywhere from Virginia to Montana and beyond. Whether you’re a newbie or a need a refresher, this video is worth watching.
Transcript:
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00:00:15.270 --> 00:00:48.275: Hi everybody. My name's Blane Chocklett, and I've been a fishing guide for more than 30 years. I've spent most of my time in rafts and drift boats fishing by waters of the James and New Rivers in the state of Virginia. Today we're gonna talk about raft and drift boat basics. Whether you're fishing in Virginia or Montana, all these principles apply.
00:00:48.275 --> 00:01:13.800: Rafts and drift boats are designed to row backwards. You don't push forward with the oars. You're always gonna be rowing back. Row backwards allows you to adjust your speed while fishing. It also allows you to keep the boat at a certain distance from the bank. It allows you to row away from objects. If you have an obstruction in the river point, the bow at that obstruction with a slight angle and row away from it back.
00:01:13.800 --> 00:01:38.940: Rowing ensures that nothing happens in a hurry. If you're fishing an outside bend and the current is pushing you into the bank, it's always important to have the stern of the boat pointing lightly out into the river, which will allow you to be able to row against that current to maintain the proper distance from the bank. Maintaining a consistent distance from the bank allows the angler to have a consistent cast.
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00:01:38.940 --> 00:02:00.090: When rowing, it's important to use micro adjustments. A common mistake that a new rower makes is overcompensating their oar strokes and their angles. A little bit goes a long ways. Making one adjustment with one oar to the right or one oar to the left is all you really need, except when you have windy days, which nobody likes.
00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:14.310: Don't dig deep with your oar strokes. You want to make 'em more horizontal, me meaning that the blades barely go into the water. This will be much more efficient and it will make your day on the water more enjoyable because you won't be tired.
00:02:14.310 --> 00:02:43.530: At the end of the day, make sure that you keep the oars low to the water or in the water at all times, that this will prevent the boat from faring left to right. But it also will keep the anglers from hitting the oar blades or the oar, which creates a lot of snags and problems. Make sure when you are anchored to have the oar blades pointing downstream and vertical, this will ensure that the boat will stay pointed downstream and not ferry left to right.
