Nat Geo Channel - MS River

[quack_a_tack]

I have swam in the river also, I have even knee boarded in it. I realized one day that I jumped off the boat and within the time it took me to surface I had traveled 30 yards from the boat. Thats when I learned to truly respect and be careful on the river. I only wear a vest when the water is up and nasty, or in a bass boat.

[BR549]

I have swam in the river also, I have even knee boarded in it. I realized one day that I jumped off the boat and within the time it took me to surface I had traveled 30 yards from the boat. Thats when I learned to truly respect and be careful on the river. I only wear a vest when the water is up and nasty, or in a bass boat.

I too have swam in it, skied on it, played on it all my life. I've run every inch of it from above Memphis to below Natchez in everything from bass boats with 250's on em down to 12' johns with a 6hp motor on it too. The river is nothing more than another body of water. Yes it has currents, some of which can turn deadly. But with that said anyone that has grown up on it and uses a little common sense about it has little fear of it. I've been scared out on it. I've been broke down to the point of having to spend the night on it. I've also spent the night on it for saftey reasons too, knowing it was too dangerous to try to cross! This is where common sense and knowing the limits of your equipment and/or ability comes into play. I've seen whirlpools large enough to engulf a house in them. Sucking so loud you can actually hear them over your motor running! I've seen whole trees pop up out of the water too! But for every whirlpool you see or debri you see unnatural like that, there is usually an explanation for it. Most all of your dangerous currents have something in common. Points, Jetties, Dikes, bottom contours, things like that. Learn where these spots are and simply either avoid them or know what the hell you are doing when going thru them! Traveling that river @ 70mph in a bass boat things happen quick! In fishing tournaments it's usually a race against time so we don't have the luxuary of slowing down and thinking about some situations. You've got to know what you are going to do in a split second should something arise! Sure you run it enough and there will be accidents. When you are crossing over the channel from point a to b you know you are running trecherous waters and expect the unexpected. The biggest fear I have of the river is getting caught up in a fog bank. Your blind! Nothing you can do about it but ease on thru and hope for the best! You are not even a blip on the radar of those tows. But remember how they set up for each turn of the river from good times and dodge those areas. Follow the rules of the road. The same works on water. There's not going to be a southbound tow on the east side of the channel if he can help it. Same with a northbound on the west side. In heavy fog northbounds are going to stop anyway, usually on the east bank at that! Run the insides of the bends when possible. It's also the shortest way from a to b! Learn that river in good times, where these dangerous spots are, and watch how tows navigate it. Tows can be your best friend or your worst nightmare depending on how you take it.

[MudHog]

I understand that, but sitting here jumping on every piece of trash is stupid, just like not wearing life jackets. I've hunted Wax Lake and to get there you go down the Calumette Cut. You start off travelling the Intracoastal Waterway. In a sense, it's a version of the MS, but two separate bodies of water. Barge traffic on the ICW and currents and trash and fog on the CC. I've never, repeat NEVER, thought to myself the safest area is directly in the middle of a river. Even on foggy mornings going to make a hunt, I'd travel the bank. Worst case, it's a shorter swim to get to safety.


My argument is the simple fact that they were on a body of water and they had no life jackets on and were on public TV advertising just that. No, it's not a law to wear them, unless your in a boat less than 14' and drive by a stick steer, but you can not survive underwater. With a lifejacket, atleast you can float and swim enough to steer yourself to the bank instead of having to swim to keep yourself afloat AND steer towards the bank.


What I fear is that there will be some group of kids in a party barge trying to take on a barge wake sideways after seeing it on TV.


Then I agree in that there was nothing informative about the show which was why I had tuned into it. Not to watch some guy stand on logs, jump on a floating roof or try and stand on some rogue tire and axle thing. I guess people may have found humor in that, but I found disgust. The one person who knew the river (the pro angler) said it himself on the show that they probably shouldn't have been on the water, much less in that type of boat. Which brings up another thing, why would anyone want to put people on a party barge? Why not put them in a river boat with a cabin? It seems they were the only group that had a covered boat to begin with, besides the River Rat's that had the little hut.

[Relentless]

BR you don't always drink beer...but when you do, you drink dos equi's right?

[BR549]

BR you don't always drink beer...but when you do, you drink dos equi's right?

Somethin like that! Ask Delta Cottonboy what it's like? He got him a good dose of it for 3 days there. We prolly ran a couple hundred miles in 3 days. Dodging logs and crap going over rock dikes, jumoin tow wakes, fightin your way thru logjams in ditches.

[farmerc83]

BR you don't always drink beer...but when you do, you drink dos equi's right?

"Sharks have a week dedicated to him"

[BR549]

Don't get me wrong here. Im not trying to say the MS river is safe by any means. I didn't get to see the show yall are referring to either. Im just saying the river is not as dangerous as some make it out to be. It's just another body of water with some perils in it. You learn those perils, learn to respect it's power and enjoy the MS river. For it is as beautiful, bountiful place you can ever visit!

[Relentless]

I hear ya brother...I was just kiddin...

[Grommet]

Don't get me wrong here. Im not trying to say the MS river is safe by any means. I didn't get to see the show yall are referring to either. Im just saying the river is not as dangerous as some make it out to be. It's just another body of water with some perils in it. You learn those perils, learn to respect it's power and enjoy the MS river. For it is as beautiful, bountiful place you can ever visit!

I agree BR. I just get pissed when people who have never been on or in the river talk about how dangerous it is. You mentioned a whole tree shooting up out of the water and getting sucked back down...I've seen that a few times freaky isn't it. To me the damn jetties are the most dangerous areas you never know what that current is going to do around those things I just avoid them best I can.

[ntzhunter]

Here is the pic of the people that floated down on the raft..I saw em floatin down river and they landed at Natchez Under-The-Hill....let em use my cell and rode em into town.....

[Grommet]

Here is the pic of the people that floated down on the raft..I saw em floatin down river and they landed at Natchez Under-The-Hill....let em use my cell and rode em into town.....

So which one were you hitting on and don't worry I won't tell Mary?

[ntzhunter]

And another:

[farmerc83]

Here is the pic of the people that floated down on the raft..I saw em floatin down river and they landed at Natchez Under-The-Hill....let em use my cell and rode em into town.....

Ra-tards. Its folks like that who end up wasting a bunch of govt resources on a rescue or search for bodies.

[ntzhunter]

It was one guy and two girls....they said Coast Guard had em stopped for a couple days upriver for some reason....well mannered and very nice..just different....im sure they got some strange looks downtown after i dropped em off haha

[jwayne]

First of all...THERE IS NO WAY IN HE!! Im getting in the Mississippi river with some crazy booty pro bass fisherman driving....

Second of all...THERE IS NO WAY IN HE!! Im getting in a pontoon boat that has a JB WELD repair on a hole in the front of a pontoon in the Mississippi river