Ocean kayaks on the river is it safe ?

So this is a quick question I have some ocean kayaks 13 feet and 15 feet we want to take them on the rogue river from lost creek dam down to shady cove on a float/fishing trip . we float this all the time in tahitti rafts but want to take the ocean kayaks and fish this route.
Do you folks think it would be safe in such a long boat I have only taken them on flat water . has anyone done this any advice would be appreciated . thanks

I bet this would be the year to NOT try to go down many rivers due to the weather conditions. You may beat the holy hell out of your yak with the low water levels. Just a thought...

You didn't mention the models of your kayaks, but I have a 13' Trident.  It turns slowly, so I take routes through rocky areas which don't require fast maneuvering and changes of direction.  But if you're familiar with the river, you should do fine.  Don't worry about grinding your kayaks over rocks and gravel bars.  While some flatwater fishing kayakers seem concerned about maintaining pristine and unscratched bottoms on their kayaks, plastic kayaks are relatively indestructible, and whitewater kayaks handle years of massive abuse with no problems.

Transducers could be a different story.  The transducer on my Trident is mounted in the scupper hole pocket in the scupper hole in the right foot well, and the front corner of the transducer sticks down below the bottom of the kayak a bit.  I worry about whacking the transducer on rocks, and when I beach on the shore, I shift my weight to the left side of the kayak to minimize the abuse of the transducer.

You didn't mention the models of your kayaks, but I have a 13' Trident.  It turns slowly, so I take routes through rocky areas which don't require fast maneuvering and changes of direction.  But if you're familiar with the river, you should do fine.  Don't worry about grinding your kayaks over rocks and gravel bars.  While some flatwater fishing kayakers seem concerned about maintaining pristine and unscratched bottoms on their kayaks, plastic kayaks are relatively indestructible, and whitewater kayaks handle years of massive abuse with no problems.

Transducers could be a different story.  The transducer on my Trident is mounted in the scupper hole pocket in the scupper hole in the right foot well, and the front corner of the transducer sticks down below the bottom of the kayak a bit.  I worry about whacking the transducer on rocks, and when I beach on the shore, I shift my weight to the left side of the kayak to minimize the abuse of the transducer.

My transducer is mounted on the inside of my kayak. I have a big game prowler 13 and an old school scupper 15 

I just took my trident 15 for 4 days on the John day in low water last year it was high water. You have to know your boat very well and be able to make very powerful turns to get it through the rocks. If you like your hull scratch free don't do it. Mine has taken some good shots but she shrugs them off and keeps going. Make sure you are comfortable paddling moving water in a smaller craft and have good general paddle skills whitewater experience really helps.

With an unloaded boat it's a lot easier.  With food camping gear and 5 gallons of water it's tough.

Class 2-3 is doable.

I think there's a general rule about what's appropriate for what type of waters and then there's also the skill of the paddler. I've been amazed at what can be done with all different kayaks in rivers. Todd (Yaktrap) is the dude to ask about this.

Here's a link for you to bookmark for your trip:

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_00010=on&cb_00060=on&cb_00065=on&format=gif_default&site_no=14337600&period=120&begin_date=2015-06-24&end_date=2015-07-01

Shows you the river for that reach, gives you the last 120 days of water data from our gaging station below that dam.  The water is getting warmer, the flow rate is significantly lower than the long-term average for that location (yellow triangles in 2nd graph).

Jim (that all comes from the databases I work with...)

The skill of the kayaker is the most important in the river. However to answer the question a sea kayak does actually work better in the river than most sit on tops if you apply them appropriately. As opposed to most sit on tops a sea kayak will usually cut across the current better, sit in the eddy better as the water drafts around the kayak and they can go upstream better. I've spent the last two years honing my river fishing skills and started off with a sit on top. After running rivers like the Sol Duc, there's no way I would go back to using anything other than a sea kayak in the river unless I had no other choice. My sea kayaks are 18 feet long. When you get into class III water, depending on the rapid, it can be a little difficult to turn in the big whitewater but otherwise the boats do well. What you have to consider in a sea kayak is when entering whitewater the hull is fully enclosed and buoyancy is improved in this type of hull. Best of luck and be safe.

I used my old Scupper Pro in many rivers, including a bit of Class III water. I used thigh straps so I was better connected to the boat and could execute pretty fast leaned turns. Leaned turns aren't a difficult skill if you're 'connected' to the boat, but do require practice, and any gear needs to be secure both top side to avoid donations to the water gods, and heavy objects inside the hull, like drinking water, that can shift the balance of the boat.

Another valuable skill is learning to back paddle pretty fast--it slows down the action and allows  you to ferry across the current to choose a better line while keeping your eyes downstream. Depending on the shape of the hull, you can get a lot of 'directional input' from the force of the current on the stern of the boat, so you'll need to practice this skill as well.

I agree with DARice that thigh straps are very useful when paddling and maneuvering in rivers, and particularly in whitewater.  I also agree with DARice that  back ferry maneuvers are very helpful when paddling a canoe, sea kayak, or fishing kayak in situations where tricky maneuvering is required.  But back ferry maneuvers require a fair amount of paddling experience, and aren't intuitively obvious to a beginner paddler.  A typical example:  You are approaching a large rock in the middle of the stream, and want to move to the left of it. Rather than pointing your nose to the left and charging forward towards where you want to go, you point your stern to the left (keeping track of the angle at which the current is hitting your stern) and back paddle, with your nose pointing at the rock, so you slow up and back ferry to the left away from the rock.  This kind of maneuver is very useful when you're paddling a canoe or a fishing kayak in tight situations, because they slow up your downstream speed.  But if you don't know what you're doing, the current can grab your stern and spin you or shoot you off in the wrong direction, which can result in disaster.

With an unloaded boat it's a lot easier.  With food camping gear and 5 gallons of water it's tough.

This is exactly another condition where the sea kayak excels. With added weight it doesn't displace any more water. But it will likely take some more effort to turn. The sit on top kayaks generally displace more water and are more negatively impacted by additional weight. Doing overnight oceanic voyages it makes an even more significant difference between the two as well.

And the biggest mistake I see people make in any kayak on the smaller rivers is leaving their poles in the rod holder six to eight feet in the air and smacking tree branches. Let's not forget it also makes them more prone to breakage in this position. Lay that stuff down and bungee it, tie it or whatever to secure it.

This is exactly another condition where the sea kayak excels. With added weight it doesn't displace any more water.

Ummm ... this literally defies the laws of physics. 

-Allen

Quick summary be a good paddler know your boat secure everything. Go have fun and slay fish if you feel your up to it.