White River Fishin Do's/donts

[Redhorse]

Thanks Ham, you happen to have a picture of that set up, sounds very effective? Also how much and what size section of chain should a person use?

[Ham]

Thanks Ham, you happen to have a picture of that set up, sounds very effective? Also how much and what size section of chain should a person use?

I got a piece of vinyl coated chain intended to be attached to an anchor on close out. Most of the vinyl is gone from rubbing on bottom, but it has enough color for me to visually locate it. I'd guess it is about 4 feet long and fairly heavy guage. It needs a certain heft to stay down. I'm NOT trying to slow myself down that much. I AM trying to keep the boat straight as I drift down. Much easier to fish that way.

Some guys tie to the middle of the chain so that it forms a V point downstream. That seems like it would increase the number of times it hangs. I am tied from one end of the chain,

Some guys wrap their chain in duct tape. Maybe it hangs less that way. Not sure. It would be quieter when bouncing on boat bottom.

Do take care not to leave a wet chain on the bottom of your boat. The chain will rust and stain your boat's interior.

I could easily take pictures of my drag chain. I'm terrible at uploading them here. Shoot me an email and I can forward you a photo or two, but there isn't anything magic about my setup.

[Hogs on the Fly]

Good stuff Hambonito! Also, make sure your chain isn't long enough to tickle the prop when you do go back up river!

LB

I got a piece of vinyl coated chain intended to be attached to an anchor on close out. Most of the vinyl is gone from rubbing on bottom, but it has enough color for me to visually locate it. I'd guess it is about 4 feet long and fairly heavy guage. It needs a certain heft to stay down. I'm NOT trying to slow myself down that much. I AM trying to keep the boat straight as I drift down. Much easier to fish that way.

Some guys tie to the middle of the chain so that it forms a V point downstream. That seems like it would increase the number of times it hangs. I am tied from one end of the chain,

Some guys wrap their chain in duct tape. Maybe it hangs less that way. Not sure. It would be quieter when bouncing on boat bottom.

Do take care not to leave a wet chain on the bottom of your boat. The chain will rust and stain your boat's interior.

I could easily take pictures of my drag chain. I'm terrible at uploading them here. Shoot me an email and I can forward you a photo or two, but there isn't anything magic about my setup.

[gotmuddy]

Thanks for the helpful tips, do you just avoid other boats that are drifting down river. Gotmuddy, I am RutStrut on the Tinboat.net forum, we had corresponded the other day. Thanks for the advice on spider bases, I contacted Deans and he seems to have what I need. Where do you get or find out how to make a drift anchor? Is it possible to fish and drift the White by yourself or does it require 2 people, one to steer and the other fish?

IF your setup right and quick with your wits you can fish any shoal you want by yourself on the white. Norfork is a different animal. Anything above 1 unit gets scary quick and IMO not worth the risk to fish. I have my trolling motor on my front deck and it is handy when fishing by myself.

[Ham]

I can safely take other folks to fish the Norfork at 6000 CFS, but I can't fish. I just run the boat . No promises that you'll get your bait back when you hang up. Some places are just tough dangerous to put the boat into.

[Greasy B]

Good stuff guys, thanks for the insight. I fish quite a bit of moving water in my area (including the Mighty MO) and I understand how dangerous moving water can be and how fast you can get in a bad spot. The sudden dropping of the water is my biggest concern I guess. It should like it would really be possible to be left high and dry if you're not careful. Sounds like we might just have to bring the boat and only plan on using it when they are generating plenty of water and stick to deeper areas to reduce the chance of getting stuck somewhere.

A sudden drop is not really a concern on most of the river. it rises very quickly but drops out gradually. Down at buffalo Shoals it might take two days for the water to go from navigable to dead low.

[gotmuddy]

I can safely take other folks to fish the Norfork at 6000 CFS, but I can't fish. I just run the boat . No promises that you'll get your bait back when you hang up. Some places are just tough dangerous to put the boat into.

IMO norfork isnt worth it at 6000cfs

[bluebasser86]

A sudden drop is not really a concern on most of the river. it rises very quickly but drops out gradually. Down at buffalo Shoals it might take two days for the water to go from navigable to dead low.

Thank you for that info, that puts my mind to ease a little bit. I was having nightmares of my boat getting beached or high centered on a rock that wasn't there earlier. Big rocks and logs are still a big concern I'm sure. I know a big log can be a few inches under the water on the kansas river and you'll never see it in that muddy water. The good thing is we'll have 3 sets of eyes to look out for stuff, a fast starting and good running motor, and a strong trolling motor to help out also.

[gotmuddy]

norfork will drop really fast. If your fishing by the dam be mindful because if the water drops off you cant get back down the shoal.

[Ham]

norfork will drop really fast. If your fishing by the dam be mindful because if the water drops off you cant get back down the shoal.

Read this again. He's right. Havings waders with you is a good idea because you'll have to get out of the boat to drag it thru some shallow spots.