Boiling Springs To Mason Bridge

[huzzah22]

I'm a newbie to the site- love it! I fish the Big Piney a lot on the lower side and enjoy catching a LOT of fish. I purchased a jet boat recently and am planning a float from Boiling Springs down to the Mason Bridge access, but have never been on that stretch of the river. Just asking if anyone runs their boats over there....

Every time we float the upper part of the Piney and we take out at Boiling Springs, I see a high-dollar polished-up river boat sitting there next to the store by the take out, so I guess they run it somewhere...

Right now I'm sure the river is still up because of the flooding, but what do you think the fishing will be like once it gets back to normal pool?

[Al Agnew]

That stretch is marginal for jetboat use. You can run it during higher water periods like in the spring, IF you know the river. There are narrow, fast, twisty riffles that require precise maneuvering. I know there are people that run it when the water is right, but not many (and I think that's a good thing). It gets too low to run without significant risk of motor damage in the summer. I know that people occasionally run jets on the Piney as far up as Boiling Spring, but I think that mostly they put in and just cover a few nearby pools, rather than running long distances.

[brianbarker]

I've never ran one but I've been in some jets that have been a good ways below Boiling, mainly gigging and the water is usually a little higher than it is during the summer. Once you get about a mile below Boiling it will probably get a little better to run the farther you go. The fishing should be good, lots of goggle-eye and smallmouth stack up in the first eddie below the swimmin' hole because of the spring and will be starting to scatter back out. I have caught some pretty decent smallmouth in that stretch the first week of April but its slower fishing than usual. Usually the topwater bite sucks but I've caught them on jigs and crawdad plastics on jogheads.

[huzzah22]

I called Boiling Springs and talked to the young lady at the office and she referred me to a fellow that has a guide service right there by the cabins. He has an 18-foot jet boat with a big motor on it and he says that he runs it all year round, but advised that you had better know the river before you get out on it in the summer.

I grew up around jet boats on the lower current, but this is the first one i've ever owned. Mine runs out real well and power-to weight is really good, so I'm anxious to get out and run it but the river's got so much blame water in it right now...

Fishing will be out for a couple of weeks, im sure. the guide said that he won't bother getting out on the water for a few more weeks because he's afraid the river's changed so much and he's scared to run his jon boat. Guess we'll have to see...

[Al Agnew]

One thing that I always consider, and wish more jetboat owners would consider as well...there are stream stretches that may be POSSIBLE to run, but that you probably shouldn't. If "you better know the river very well", chances are it's simply too narrow and too low volume for a high speed boat. I spent many years fishing only from a canoe before I got my jetboat, and I swore when I got it that I wouldn't "push the envelope" and run the smaller streams. I could probably run a lot of small water that I know very well, but I remember the way it always annoyed the heck out of me when some yahoo buzzed by me on a stream the size of the upper Piney, and how those boat wakes pounded the banks in the close confines of a narrow riffle and stirred up enough mud that I was on a muddy river for the next half hour, and I simply refuse to do it to others or to the rivers. So to be quite honest...I hope you don't try the upper Piney.

[bryantsmallie28]

Haha me too. Thanks for stating your opinion Al. I think from seeing your posts we have a lot of common opinions on the creeks.

[huzzah22]

Ran my boat from mason bridge almost all of the way up to Boiling springs today- didnt have any problems kissing bottom, but that's probably because water was still about 3 feet high. I had cabin fever pretty bad, so I launched and worked my way up river, being extra cautious for logs and debris along the way. I didnt fish much, but had a good day out. I still dont know how small or delicate or whatever the stream up there is, but im not real sure I would be comfortable if the water was a few feet lower. I didnt see anybody all day, but I dont really know a lot of people dumb enough to be out on the river while its in flood stage