Water Levels in the Spring - Friendly Speculation

[dtrs5kprs]

34 minutes ago, Quillback said:

I'd like to see the Corps issue a press release stating what their plans are for all this dang water.  My guess is that they will do their best to pull TR down to 915 and Beaver down to 1120 as soon as they can.  As far as Bull, it seems they use Bull as a catch basin until they get the rest of the system where they want it.

Pretty good guess, but look at how long it took to get back down in 2011 and this year. Was it 2008 or 2009 when  they had to reopen the gates in the fall after a hurricane system dumped rain?

[Ham]

6 minutes ago, dtrs5kprs said:

that commercial channel it is enigmatically dangerous.

You can get hit by monster wakes that are so slow that the vessel that made the wake is out of sight before you start rocking and rolling. You really need to pay attention if you run the Mississippi in a fast boat that you don't hit that kind of wake

[dtrs5kprs]

1 hour ago, Ham said:

You can get hit by monster wakes that are so slow that the vessel that made the wake is out of sight before you start rocking and rolling. You really need to pay attention if you run the Mississippi in a fast boat that you don't hit that kind of wake

Should have told the guys who taught me to run and fish it up there. Man, I hate barge wakes. I rode about ten miles on that river once just south of Prairie du Chien, completely curled up under the passenger console of an old bassmaster classic ranger boat. Didn't want to see, wasn't sure I could hold on. Think the boat made eight of ten miles running on either gunnel as it pounded through wakes. 

Have seen some spooky stuff on that river. Closing dams are really bad too. They can box off an entire chute, but look completely open until you run over them.

[Guest]

We call them roller waves. A stout south wind combined with barge traffic & you're asking for trouble. In 1996, when the FLW made their stop in Memphis, there were boats tied to red & green navigation buoys. Blown motors, trashed lower units, outta gas, everything. I'm pretty sure they stopped visiting due to all the damage. Not to mention long runs from 40-110 miles. They had extra red gas cans strapped to the back deck, because there's nothing below Memphis. No gas, few ramps, fewer people. Plenty of rock jetties & barges & sand bars. 

[dtrs5kprs]

49 minutes ago, TrophyFishR said:

We call them roller waves. A stout south wind combined with barge traffic & you're asking for trouble. In 1996, when the FLW made their stop in Memphis, there were boats tied to red & green navigation buoys. Blown motors, trashed lower units, outta gas, everything. I'm pretty sure they stopped visiting due to all the damage. Not to mention long runs from 40-110 miles. They had extra red gas cans strapped to the back deck, because there's nothing below Memphis. No gas, few ramps, fewer people. Plenty of rock jetties & barges & sand bars. 

Yep. You would never think a river could be that rough until you see the wind blow against the current all day. Just stacks the water up. Honest 3'-5' waves,  at least up in the WI, IA, IL pools. Crazy days. I'll take TR every day over that mess. Lot of guys have been hurt fishing derbies on the river.

[Mitch f]

The worst I ever had was with Rick Lapoint, a Table Rock guide...we were fishing a Skeeter only tourney together in '03 in the Detroit River. We're were heading back to the weigh in going under the Ambassador bridge and it was very windy. The wind, combined with the rollers from the Freighters, combined with the reverb effect of the sea walls and current, was almost too much to bear. For the 45 minute buzz back to the ramp, I had one hand on the handle and one hand on my crotch trying to protect the boys. We were slamming so hard I thought the hull would collapse.

[Ham]

Not me man. I don't need to get beat up by a boat ride. 

[Guest]

Mitch I had a similar experience at Pickwick as a FLW tour co angler. Just brutal, I was holding on for dear life. My fingernails were digging into the fiberglass. 

Running thru blankets of heavy fog at 55mph was spooky. I wanted no part of that. Rangers passing us & you could hear them before you see them. I quit pro am style tournaments that day. 

[dtrs5kprs]

2 hours ago, Ham said:

Not me man. I don't need to get beat up by a boat ride. 

I'm too old for that crap. It was cool in my pointy boot and rodeo shirt days, not so much now. Give me a nice 21' ranger and the good sense not to pound her through that stuff.

[Ham]

The big two were smart enough to get away from the very dangerous shotgun starts at tournaments, but they have NOT figured out how to stop the insanity that occurs when they lock thru in a large group. I survived locking thru the Red River FLW event as a coangler. It was so bad and so unnecessary. I was holding on for dear life and trying to keep my rods from being broken or tossed overboard. 

I always ask the guys riding with me to let me know if the way I am operating my boat is uncomfortable to them. I want to provide them with a fun trip NOT a bad memory. Not everybody is comfortable running upper sixties/ lower 70's. I prefer 50-55 mph most of the time. Much more economical and plenty fast enough.