Somewhere on the Current...

[Al Agnew]

Bobber, in his recent post, complained about the jetboats on the Current above Two Rivers. I understand what he's saying. I have always disliked jetboats. But, maybe it's a form of selfishness, or maybe not...last year I bought a jetboat. I did it for two main reasons; one was to be able to fish some streams in the winter that were not served by canoe rentals at that time of year and so shuttles for float trips were lacking. The other was so that I could take my 80 some odd year old father with me, since he can't stand to sit in a canoe anymore.

Today was one of those days I'm very glad I did.

Several weeks ago, I'd mentioned to Dad that I was thinking about going down to Current River in the boat. He immediately said to let him know, that he'd really like to go. I was fully planning on taking him anyway, just didn't know exactly when.

This week was the first week in several that I hadn't been so busy meeting deadlines that I had the chance to do an all day fishing trip. The forecast for today looked optimal, and at first I thought about doing a solo float trip. I find that I need those days alone on the river, especially after working non-stop for a while. But I also knew Dad was chomping at the bit to do the Current River trip. And I'll have plenty of days to go by myself...who knows how many more I'll have with Dad?

The river was on the high end of normal and a bit off color when we got to the access this morning. The sun was playing hide and seek with big gray and white fluffy clouds, the wind was going to be a factor, and the warmth of the morning after all those days of cold weather a week or two ago was very welcome. When we put in, there was one vehicle with boat trailer in the parking area, and another was just arriving. We hopped in the boat, started the motor and ran down through the first riffle just to make sure it was running (a wise precaution when you plan to fish downstream and motor back up; Dad had just told me about one time when he was a very young man, they put in on the Current and drifted downstream several miles, in the winter. They had two outboards, but when they started back upstream, the first motor conked out after a few minutes, and the second one a few more minutes after they switched them. As the youngest of the group of 5 men in a big johnboat, Dad had the task of dragging the boat up through every shoals).

Then we started fishing. Dad was the first to make contact, with a 12 inch smallie on a spinnerbait. Then I matched him. And that's the way the day mostly went...first one of us would catch a fish, and then the other.

I haven't spent that much time on Current River, and it never disappoints, with those massive, gorgeous bluffs, forested hills as far as the eye can see, big, clean gravel bars, and that amazing volume of clear, cold water coursing ever downstream. But Dad hadn't been on it since those days as a young man, and seeing it through his eyes was even better. And, though it may have been crowded on the stretch and at the time Bobber was on it, we encountered, the only people we saw all day was one family in a riverside campsite, and the lone guy in the jetboat that passed us going downstream, and whom we later caught up with.

In the afternoon, Dad finally hooked into a fish that was obviously bigger than the 12-14 inch smallmouths we'd been catching, and when he got the 17 incher in and held it up, he said, "Man, it's been a long time since I've caught a smallmouth this big." A few minutes later, keeping up with the pattern of the day, I caught one that matched his.

Late in the afternoon, we decided we'd gone far enough downstream, and motored back up, past the access, to spend the last hour or so drifting back down to the truck. It hadn't been a great day for numbers of fish, with 22 between us at that point. But with the later, lower light, the fish got a little more active. We caught several more in the 14 inch class, and then, just a pool or two above the truck, I hooked the best fish of the day. It was a 19 incher that was as strong as any fish I've hooked this year. I would have taken a photo of it, but when I got it in, it had engulfed the crankbait, and it took some careful handling to get the hooks out of its gills without causing excess bleeding. By the time I had the lure extricated, I was afraid the fish had been out of water long enough, and didn't want to take the time to get out the camera and snap a picture before releasing it. A healthy fish of that size released is more important than a photo.

Dad caught the 30th fish of the day within sight of the truck, a fitting end to a day I'll cherish for a long time...and the best thing is, from the way he talked about it all the way home, Dad will cherish it just as much.

[BrianK]

great report Al. thanks.

I fished the current about the same wknd last yr (first wknd of Turkey season) and was also not disappointed. hoping to make it down in 2 wks.

bk

[jdmidwest]

Sounds like a great time, were you spinfishing or flyfishing?

I think what bobber was talking about was the tendency for The Local jetboaters in the 2 Rivers area to gang up on floaters and try to swamp them in riffles and not jet boaters in general. I have experienced the same in the last few years in that area and would have hated to have been alone and undergunned. If memory serves me correct, the unpowered boat has the right of way in a shoal, least that is the way I handle it when in a jet boat. They have been down right dangerous, especially to a novice canoe operator that does not know how to turn into the wake. Last year we were bumped a couple of times by an oldtimer that was making fun of us floaters and trying to swamp our boats. He was about a paddle length away from being a floater himself.

Maybe the new rules for the Current River will curb some of that activity, but from the looks of bobbers post, its getting an early start this year.

Jet boats allow you to cover alot of water that could not be covered any other way. I was shocked at a local sports show this spring by a video for Gator Boats I believe. They are the all aluminum boats with an inboard motor. The videos showed them beaching the boats in crowds and other unsafe conditions to prove the ruggedness of the boat. My thoughts were how many of these dam boats will I have to watch out for this summer while paddling. At least it was deer hunter orange and could be seen.

[Al Agnew]

jd, although I occasionally flyfish for smallies, this time, as is usual, I used mostly very light baitcasting tackle. Short, medium-light action rods, small light reels, 8 pound test line. I do use spinning tackle, but probably 80% of my river smallmouth fishing is with the casting tackle.

I have to say that even though I've joined the "dark side" with the jetboat, I'm afraid of what will happen in the future. I have no problem with jetboaters like the one I encountered today, who was using the boat entirely to get to where he wanted to be to fish or mushroom hunt (I think he was doing both). He passed me once, I drifted past where he had the boat parked, then he passed me again farther downstream. That was all. And that's the way I operate mine. If I pass you once under power, it'll probably be while going upstream. If I pass you going downstream, I'll probably be drifting and fishing. What always burned my toast was the guys who went back and forth, over and over again, simply joyriding just to see how fast they could go up and down the river. And of course, the weekend warriors who terrorize the canoeists, though I have to say that, since I avoid all the popular rivers on weekends, I almost never encounter that problem. What I'm afraid of is that this is only going to get more popular, and/or that the technology will continue to "improve" to where smaller and smaller streams will be runnable. I can envision the day when we're either forced to limit the number of river users by a quota system, or that we give up almost all our rivers to the go-fast-go-rude crowds.

[Kicknbass]

Great post Al. I have spent many days fishing the current river with my dad, those memories will never leave me. I wish my father was still able to get out and go. He will turn 80 this June. This has been a tough year watching his mental health go south. He is suffering from dementia and is never comfortable away from home, yet he has begun to wander and we can seem to keep him home, weird condition.

Cherish the moments that you still have w/ your father, while you can.

[ColdWaterFshr]

Great post, Al. Taking your Dad out and having a day like that, how could you ask for more? Man, I just hope when I'm 80 I can still get out on the river. Catchin ANYTHING would just be a bonus.

My pops is in his final glide pattern with advanced Alzheimers, so I know what you're going through KB.

The solution to the jetboats is simple. We need to get with MODOT and the Farm Bureau to lobby for the construction of MORE slab-bridges.

[brownieman]

[i have to say that even though I've joined the "dark side" with the jetboat, I'm afraid of what will happen in the future.

Al,

I always ran a prop with a jack and crept up the shoals and drug my boat upstream when it got too shallow.

Just curious...with the damage being incured on river shoals from various reasons, what's your opinion ?

For a jet to run in 2 to 3 inches of water as they are noted for they have to be planed out from what I have seen. In water up to probably 3 to 4 ft. deep it is apparant they disturb the bottom of the river, you can see clean gravel stripes where they have run them due to the stream of water shot from the lower unit downwards.

Do you think this has a negative impact on shoal dwelling aquatic incects, minnow spawns etc.

Hellgrammite's (dobson fly larvae) sure you know that... used to be fairly abundant on the shoals, could drape a seine across the shoal and kick aroud a few rocks above it and get a few.

They are bar none one of the toughest best baits I have ever used...their numbers are minimal compared to years past from my experience where ever jet boats frequently are used...especially in the warm water streams which tend to be more condusive for them.

Just curious your feelings concerning this...I see so few anymore and wonder what has attributed to the decline in numbers.

[Gavin]

Sure, jets have a negative effect on the shoals were they run..The jet of water coming out the back scours the bottom like a big pressure washer when they are running really shallow. Probably doesnt do as much damage as their boat wakes do to the stream bank, but it all adds up. Cheers.

[Al Agnew]

Years ago, when people first started complaining about the negative aspects of jetboats on Ozark streams, MDC did a study on their impact. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a study (see, I can be VERY critical of MDC when they screw up in my opinion). What they did was compare the impacts of jetboats on the bottom compared to prop boats. They did it by repeatedly running both jets and props across a small, marked spot on Current River and observing how much bottom disturbance there was a various depths. What they found (naturally) was that prop boats had more of an impact in shallow water than jets. If it was shallow enough that the prop boat could barely run in it, the prop boat did more damage than a jetboat. Of course, they didn't bother to note that the jet could run in much shallower water, and thus impact spots the prop boat never would. Nor did they note that there were already 100 jet boats running river sections that might have seen only one or two prop boats during a similar period in the past. Nor did they measure the disturbance that jetboat wakes caused. They concluded that there was less of a problem with jet boats than with props. And since then, there has not to my knowledge been ANY kind of study of the impact of jetboats on Ozark streams.

The problem is that there were no studies of the stream inhabitants nor the stream banks and bottoms PRIOR to the advent of jetboats, with which to compare the state of the rivers today. It's the same problem we have, in my opinion, with studies of smallmouth populations on the streams prior to jetboats and river tournaments. You can't scientifically compare smallmouth populations then to now, which would be a key component of any study.

As to my opinion of jet boat effects...

Yes, they do have an impact on the bottom and bottom organisms in shallow water. Can't help but be so. Question is, HOW MUCH of an impact? Could that be the reason for the apparent decline hellgramites? Maybe. It would be interesting to see if there has been a similar decline on streams that are too small for powerboat use. After having operated a jetboat for a while, I will note that on streams the size of the Current and middle Meramec, the riffles can get shallow enough that the boat running lanes are pretty narrow, especially on the Meramec, so any impact to the bottom is only going to cover a relatively small section of the shallows of the riffle. Not sure how much that would affect the total population of aquatic insects and other critters. If the water is more than about a foot to 18 inches deep, the impact would seem to be pretty minimal, anyway.

Like Gavin, I'm more concerned with the damage done by the wakes of these boats to the banks of the streams. As I think I've noted before, a lot of people believe that the riffles on the Current and Meramec have gotten a lot wider, shallower, and less defined since jetboat use became common. I've also noted that floods seem to be doing more damage to what was once fairly healthy, tree-lined banks on the Meramec than they did before jetboats came onto the scene, and I think that it's possible that the repetitive pounding of narrow zones along the banks by boat wakes weaken those zones, and provide the flood water forces a weakened zone to attack. I'm also still concerned about the affects of the mud stirred up along the banks by the wakes on spawning activity of smallmouths, since the smallies tend to spawn near the banks in fairly shallow water.

I'm very much ambivalent about using a jetboat. I KNOW I'm causing some damage that I wouldn't be causing with a canoe. That's why I don't push the envelope by running river sections that are barely big enough--I only run the larger rivers; and I run the river as little as possible...run it one way and drift and fish the other way. I'm trying to minimize what impact I have. And really, if it wasn't for it allowing me to fish with Dad, I probably wouldn't use one at all except in the winter when I can't get a shuttle to allow me to fish from the canoe.