Something I've wondered about, who owns the land between the levee and the river? Is it private? Did the corps condemn it and take it?
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Mississippi river
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MickThompson
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It's deeded all the way out
Deeded?
MickThompson
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Deeded to private individuals besides what the state has bought here and there. They didn't take anything besides the footprint of the levee. There's a lot of high dollar crop land
I was reading about the levee system and it seemed they were backing the levee off the river bank after 1927 and letting it revert back to timber as a buffer for the levee? Does the corps have a say in how the land is used?
Bgoodman30
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Wish they would! Wouldn't that be fun backwater action. Back several years ago when the river got higher than it ever had during duck season you could kill a limit from the levee. Insane number of ducks…
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I started duck hunting on the MS River in the 90s. Back then you could hunt anything that was flooded that you could access by water from the river without getting out of your boat. Seems the big money that is taking over hunting (especially duck hunting) is affecting the legal system too. Every year you hear about more trouble. The rich buy the islands and then there's a dispute about what water is public, when are you trespassing, etc. Nobody seems to know what the law really is. I hear things like "if you are hunting out of a boat and your boat is anchored or your decoy weights are touching the bottom you are trespassing." Then you have state lines coming together at the river and more confusion. Many of the lakes and chutes we used to hunt on the river are now private. Big money came in and bought all the land around the water and closed them down. Money and greed will eventually make any kind of hunting an exclusive sport for the rich.
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Been tried many times in court. You can travel over it but the minute you touch bottom you are trespassing. Know people who thought they could hunt, but after loosing in court they got an expensive education. In TN I am pretty sure your rights go to the sky except for certain riparian rights, meaning you have soil, subsoil, water and vegetative rights with property ownership. Those are limited if they impact the common good as no land is an "island".
What about the bars? Are they included?
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Bars in the main MS river are fair game, just need to watch what state you are in.
PSA: Anyone considering boating on the MS River needs to weigh the danger. It isn't like any other river. The barge traffic is constant with some barges putting out rollers 7 or 8 feet tall. When the river is rising it picks up full size trees and carries them. There are dykes everywhere that can be just barely under the water. The current is swift and if you lose power it could take you into extreme danger. You don't just launch a boat and figure it out as you go. In my opinion, if you go out on the MS River in a boat, especially at night, especially in the winter, not knowing what you are doing, you have a death wish.
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Agree 100%. The times I gone we ran several boats together, only going after daylight and we just used the river to access private property as the land access was flooded.
I prefer to run 2 boats together, but that isn't the norm. We do run in the dark, but it's an added danger. Mapping has made it easier, but the danger is still there. I was fortunate to have some friends that were river rats and taught me how to do it decades ago. But, no matter how experienced you are, anything can happen. We were putting in one morning to duck hunt and the temp was 11 degrees. A boat ahead of us took off across the river cutting across in front of a barge. His outboard quit and he was in serious trouble. Another boat ran out and pulled him to safety. I heard his fuel line froze up. If that barge had been going down river instead of up river he may well have died that morning.
@Andy S. might be a good addition to the thread to share some knowledge
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Even the trip I took with life long river rats it was a scary ride, they do it all the time, not me. Even with the excellent hunt we had, I would not want to think that was what I had to do every morning to go duck hunting. And as you pointed out, I saw some nice timber floating down the river that would sure flip a boat no matter how big.
When she's on a fast rise she picks up everything around!
I don't know how far north you are, but I wouldn't be surprised if I know your buddies. Or at least know of them.
X-Tennessean
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In-laws own and live on the river at Charelston Mo. That is all they hunt and have killed some dandy deer and a lot of fowl!!
There is one spot were it looks like a pond in the bar pit but is essentially just a mudhole that holds water year round. One of the best duck hunts I have ever had came from that hole, everything else was froze but the birds kept that hole open!!
I absolutely have no desire to ever be on the big muddy.
