Why is there a need

[catman529]

for people to chug their full sized bass boats up the Duck river? It's not that big of a river and I was just doing about half an hour of fishing down there today from the bank, and dang a bass boat, even going slow, will make an ocean out of the river and mud up the water quick. I guess if I wanted to avoid boat traffic I should go on a week day. I just don't see a problem with a small jon boat or canoe with a trolling motor. Perfect for navigating smaller rivers like the Duck...

Sorry, rant over... guess I am spoiled with the Harpeth river and lack of motorboats messing the place up.

 

[Hangnail]

Because, in their mind, it's all about them. They don't care how what they do influences somebody else. Either that or they're just stupid.

 

[BDS05]

Because, in their mind, it's all about them. They don't care how what they do influences somebody else. Either that or they're just stupid.

Not all boaters should fall under your classifications.

If y'all knew a few good spots up river only accessible by boat and you had that opportunity, would you pass them up?
Come on..

 

[Kimberman]

As an avid river fisherman, as well as someone who has a bass boat, I can see both sides. But if all I had was a bass boat and the only way I had to get to a good spot was by running up the Duck in it to get on a good bite, I would do it and not think twice about it. I seriously doubt you would either if you had a boat of your own.

 

[Hangnail]

You can assume anything you want, but that doesn't make your assumption correct. If you're gonna run up a river shallow enough to mud it up, you've got too much boat for that river. Yes, there are degrees of everything. There are boats made for small rivers and larger boats made for lakes and large rivers.

To get back on point, these comments above illustrate the exact thought process that I was referring to in my first post. The "whatever is best for me" wins.

 

[catman529]

Personally I'd get a canoe, kayak, or jon boat long before getting a bass boat. I like quiet fishing anyway, and a trolling motor would probably be the most power I'd have for small river and creek fishing. Just my opinion though....


If all you had was a bass boat, I guess there's no better way to get up the Duck river, but I'd say it would be more courteous to get a smaller boat and save the gas in your 250 Merc for the big lakes.

Anyway like I said I won't be making any more fishing trips in the Duck unless it's a week day...

 

[stryker]

I've got a bass boat myself and love to fish. I just can't see taking my bass boat in such low depth water if it makes everything muddy. It seems to me that the water is about to shallow to run the big motor. JMO My luck my lower unit on the big motor would be in the bottom of the river.

 

[Str8Shooter]

I hate it when people do that too but sometimes it stirs up the bait and the fish will bite better. Thats why I love it when a barge goes by me.

 

[catman529]

I've got a bass boat myself and love to fish. I just can't see taking my bass boat in such low depth water if it makes everything muddy. It seems to me that the water is about to shallow to run the big motor. JMO My luck my lower unit on the big motor would be in the bottom of the river.

This spot I was at was plenty deep, but the wake washed up on shore and made both sides of the river muddy. I was fishing cover near the bank so it was a bit of a pain.

I hate it when people do that too but sometimes it stirs up the bait and the fish will bite better. Thats why I love it when a barge goes by me.

That's an interesting thought... would suck if you are carp fishing though. If I want the bait stirred up, I'll go to the generators on old hickory dam. I think the Duck is small enough to be a quiet river that you would paddle down or fish from the bank. It's just not so peaceful with big motors going through...

 

[stik]

you gotta make do with what you got.

 

[Asaltwpn1]

Make do with what you got is correct. You should of seen people's faces when I went up the Collins river outside McMinnville in my 24' twin engine center console ocean boat. Now that was a scene.

 

[AllOutdoors]

I feel your pain catman. I know I get frustrated when I run my 18ft bassboat with a 90hp jet drive 15 miles up the Duck river to find a bank fisherman has "messed" my spot up. That being said, I see bank fisherman,canoes, and other boaters while out and always try to be curteous if there is enough water to allow it. Sometimes it is too shallow to allow your boat to come off plane. While a small craft with a trolling motor may serve some well in the deeper holes, you may find yourself in trouble by going over a shoal. Most at this time of year are much to swift and shallow for even a small boat with a large trolling motor to make it back up. This type of water describes the areas on the Duck that I fish. Maybe the area you were at is different. The Duck from Tn River to Centerville and even areas of Columbia is dominated by the same type of boats as mine. Hopefully by next year I will have a boat even better suited for fishing the Duck. It will be a 19ft boat with a 200hp Mercury sportjet. Good Luck with your fishing.

 

[Mossy Oak]

Probably the only boat they own. Can't really blame them for wanting to fish and certainly can't expect them to get another boat.

I try and be as courteous as possible when in my bass boat but sometimes you can't go too slow in smaller waters.

 

[Hangnail]

Gotta love some of the attitudes on here. Now I know where the ATV dudes are when not hunting.

 

[catman529]

I dont want to make anyone mad so i'll ask you "the expert" which of my 4 fishing boats can i have YOUR permission to fish from on the Duck?

1). My 21ft glass boat with a 225 Merc.
2). 16ft aluminum basser with 50hp Evinrude
3). 12ft Coleman Crawdad w/ 50# MinnKota
4). 8ft WaterScamp w/ 35# MinnKota

(Lord help if my wife wanted to go in her 22ft deckboat with a 150 Erude on it. You might blow a gasket!)

It's called PUBLIC WATER for a reason! If you dont like the public using it, then buy your own body of water! ;)
HL

Yes it is public water... but for example, if I were squirrel hunting public land with a shotgun, I wouldn't walk up next to a bow hunter sitting in his stand and start shooting squirrels. I know it's a bit different boating a river, but on a river the size of the Duck, I would much rather use a kayak or something small and maneuverable. I know people can and will drive bigger boats up the Duck but it's such a small river, I see it as a disruption of the peace when it comes to fishing or even canoeing. Like I said, I must be spoiled from fishing the Harpeth which rarely gets bigger than little 8ft jon boats due to its small size.

 

[AllOutdoors]

.Catman, where are you fishing on the Duck that it is so small? Like I said, some pretty big boats up and down the Duck has been the norm. for years now. There are even bass tournaments every weekend out of Centerville that allows you to put in anywhere on the Duck you wish. I have seen pontoons and jet ski's in the areas I fish. Im usually just glad to see people out enjoying the same things I am. To me this is kinda like the bow vs crossbow guys, or deer hunters putting down hunters who like to use dogs for deer. You know in the end, we are all in it for the same thing... the experience and fun of being outdoors, and I can just about garauntee its without the attitude that some are suggesting.Do you want to go fishing some time? Its quite a fun and scenic boat ride to where the big ones are.

 

[Football Hunter]

Because, in their mind, it's all about them. They don't care how what they do influences somebody else. Either that or they're just stupid.

Or ,its a free country,or was.

 

[Football Hunter]

You can assume anything you want, but that doesn't make your assumption correct. If you're gonna run up a river shallow enough to mud it up, you've got too much boat for that river. Yes, there are degrees of everything. There are boats made for small rivers and larger boats made for lakes and large rivers.

To get back on point, these comments above illustrate the exact thought process that I was referring to in my first post. The "whatever is best for me" wins.

Wont a flat bottom john boat "mud up" a small river with a 25 on it?

 

[Football Hunter]

I dont want to make anyone mad so i'll ask you "the expert" which of my 4 fishing boats can i have YOUR permission to fish from on the Duck?

1). My 21ft glass boat with a 225 Merc.
2). 16ft aluminum basser with 50hp Evinrude
3). 12ft Coleman Crawdad w/ 50# MinnKota
4). 8ft WaterScamp w/ 35# MinnKota

(Lord help if my wife wanted to go in her 22ft deckboat with a 150 Erude on it. You might blow a gasket!)

It's called PUBLIC WATER for a reason! If you dont like the public using it, then buy your own body of water! ;)
HL

Yes it is public water... but for example, if I were squirrel hunting public land with a shotgun, I wouldn't walk up next to a bow hunter sitting in his stand and start shooting squirrels. I know it's a bit different boating a river, but on a river the size of the Duck, I would much rather use a kayak or something small and maneuverable. I know people can and will drive bigger boats up the Duck but it's such a small river, I see it as a disruption of the peace when it comes to fishing or even canoeing. Like I said, I must be spoiled from fishing the Harpeth which rarely gets bigger than little 8ft jon boats due to its small size.

Try going up stream with the water running,a little canoe with a trolling motor wont do it,Ive been in the Caney,with a 75 lb trolling motor,fully charged,on high,and could just barely hold my place,much less go up stream.And yes if you head down stream,you eventually have to go back up.

 

[Football Hunter]

Personally I'd get a canoe, kayak, or jon boat long before getting a bass boat. I like quiet fishing anyway, and a trolling motor would probably be the most power I'd have for small river and creek fishing. Just my opinion though....


If all you had was a bass boat, I guess there's no better way to get up the Duck river, but I'd say it would be more courteous to get a smaller boat and save the gas in your 250 Merc for the big lakes.

Anyway like I said I won't be making any more fishing trips in the Duck unless it's a week day...

Whats the difference really,a little smaller wave?

 

[Football Hunter]

You can assume anything you want, but that doesn't make your assumption correct. If you're gonna run up a river shallow enough to mud it up, you've got too much boat for that river. Yes, there are degrees of everything. There are boats made for small rivers and larger boats made for lakes and large rivers.

To get back on point, these comments above illustrate the exact thought process that I was referring to in my first post. The "whatever is best for me" wins.

So,no river boating,because some one "might " be bank fishing,what a joke,do all the fish leave the river when a boat comes by?

 

[catman529]

Well I didn't mean for this to turn into some big argument. I just thought something didn't seem right that it's normal to run bass boats and the like up a small river like the Duck. Seems like these kind of boats are about getting to all your honey holes as fast as possible... I'm not saying it's bad but it's not the way I like to see it... I prefer to enjoy the peace and quiet by the river and if I'm on a boat it's usually something very small, and making a one-way trip downstream.

 

[catman529]

I'm not saying it's bad but it's not the way I like to see it... I prefer to enjoy the peace and quiet by the river and if I'm on a boat it's usually something very small, and making a one-way trip downstream.

Well catman let me first say I'm sorry if I came across harsh, and well I WAS with my first post! I just don't like someone else telling me what I should or shouldn't use on public water. I've carried my 21ft Allison several miles up into Horse Creek (from the TN River/KY Lake) and it's CONSIDERABLY smaller than the Duck. (Heck it's smaller than the Buffalo but instead of gravel flats it's timber filled!) It's my boat and if I want to risk damaging it then that's my biz, it's public water. Now water like we are talking about is what I bought the little Lowe for lastyear but sometimes I just want to go in comfort or access "skinny water" from larger bodies like Pickwick or KY Lake and it's gonna look funny having my big red mistress up in those places but like I said, that's MY decision.

Honestly I HATE it when some daddy warbucks comes rumbling up the middle of Pickwick/KY Lake in his 50ft mini-yacht half on/half off plane and pushing THE BIGGEST wake possible and rocking EVERY boat, dock and shorline within 3 miles... but what ya gonna do? He pays taxes just like I do so I just grin and bear it.

Besides that, if we are going to ban or reduce ANY watercraft from any public waterway lets start with jetskis, EVERYONE is annoyed by waterlice and the morons that ride them. :D
HL

lol I agree about jet skis.

 

[Hangnail]

Wow. The boat itself isn't the issue, it's the driver. Over the past thirty years the consideration for others using the same water has tanked to the point of being pathetic. There is a way to operate a boat of just about any size to show at least a little consideration to others. I know it's cool and all to blast up a small body of water like it's a race track. However, the others using the same water likely don't feel the same way. And yes, blowing through a small river can turn the bite off in a heartbeat. We all don't agree on things, and this is one of them.

 

[Football Hunter]

Well I didn't mean for this to turn into some big argument. I just thought something didn't seem right that it's normal to run bass boats and the like up a small river like the Duck. Seems like these kind of boats are about getting to all your honey holes as fast as possible... I'm not saying it's bad but it's not the way I like to see it... I prefer to enjoy the peace and quiet by the river and if I'm on a boat it's usually something very small, and making a one-way trip downstream.

well,nobody is stopping you from comoeing,its just like public land,everyone has a right,sorry it up sets you.BTW if you only go downsream?????

 

[catman529]

Well I didn't mean for this to turn into some big argument. I just thought something didn't seem right that it's normal to run bass boats and the like up a small river like the Duck. Seems like these kind of boats are about getting to all your honey holes as fast as possible... I'm not saying it's bad but it's not the way I like to see it... I prefer to enjoy the peace and quiet by the river and if I'm on a boat it's usually something very small, and making a one-way trip downstream.

well,nobody is stopping you from comoeing,its just like public land,everyone has a right,sorry it up sets you.BTW if you only go downsream?????

I don't do things just because I can, or just because I have a right. Yes you can drive your boat full speed up and down the little river every day - you have a right to and it's legal - but does that make it OK? I think there should be courtesy... If you're hunting public land that allows vehicles, you don't want any ATVs going by your stand in your small patch of woods when you're deer hunting do you? Personally I'd never drive to my hunting spot even if ATV's were allowed. The farthest I would go is taking my mountain bike, which is quiet and would get the job done.

Oh and if you go downstream... everyone I know who goes down the Harpeth river takes a bit of teamwork... leave one vehicle at the take out spot and put in upstream. Heck I even did it with my bike and an inflatable boat from Target, and got to enjoy the peace and quiet of the river.

 

[Football Hunter]

I dont hunt public land at all anymore ,but when I did,I knew the deal.Why is it discouteous for me to use a boat on public water?I dont get that at all.

Why would you expect no boat should be able to come by you while your bank fishing..

And what difference does it make,really,how fast its going?It will make a worse wake if not on plane.

 

[BDS05]

And what difference does it make,really,how fast its going?It will make a worse wake if not on plane.

I chose to bite my tongue on this thread, but this is exactly what I've been thinking the whole time..

 

[Football Hunter]

FH,
You are arguing with a teenager that knows it all. You might as well argue with a fence post! This same guy argued with me that Dr. Lovett Williams (the greatest turkey biologist on the planet) was wrong about not killing hens after he had 1 year of turkey hunting under his belt. :D

We were all once young, naive, and knew it all! :grin:

:)

 

[Football Hunter]

And what difference does it make,really,how fast its going?It will make a worse wake if not on plane.

I chose to bite my tongue on this thread, but this is exactly what I've been thinking the whole time..

xacery :)