Riverpark 10/14/2006

[Dropshot]

Put in at the Riverpark around 9:30 and headed down river slowly (engine issues). Once I battled the rowers I finally got to my hole and quicly caught 10 spots, 8 of the keeper size and two in the 15inch size. Also lost a big fish reminiscent of the big cat I caught a couple of weeks ago in the same spot. This fish was on a couple of minutes before coming off. Never got to see what it was. Headed in around 2:30 battling the rowers and no wake and finally made it back to the ram in 45 minutes or so. Along the way hooked up with a BFL'er who was trying to get back for weigh in with a limit and ended up being 11 minutes late. Losing a pound a minute, he lost the tournament by 8 pounds. I bet he loves rowing...

 

[MrWiskers]

We got stuck in the rowers as well. Which is fine but they the boats telling everyone to slow down were jerks about it. They treated the boaters like we were in their way instead of the other way around. You pay all you fees and tax money and they treat you like you did something wrong to using the river. I bet none of those row boats had a registration.

 

[2jigs]

Yea it wouldn't bother me if none of the events that we had on our waters, didn't came back next year. The off shore races. With all the rude drunken cruisers. The rowers with their 3 mile no wake zone. Or the drag boat racers. Doesn't seem right to be able to tie up a river for three miles.emoBang

 

[Guest]

Excuse my ignorance here, but why are we required to have PFD's and they dont along with registration??? What do they contribute to the TWRA? The economy? Fishermen, and pleasure boaters at least buy gas, safety equipment, food, register our boats, obey laws. I agree, if they want smooth still waters, go someplace else. This is a major waterway for industry, along with some of the best fishing and boating in the country. I dislike jetskis, but they register their craft, buy gas, etc etcand they dont complain about my wake, and I dont complain about their wake (unless they are less than 50 feet away). Anytime I see the rowers I go out of my way to keep down waves, but I am not going to idle for 3 miles. We share the waterway, and try to be courteous, but that is a little too far. My .02 (until someone can enlighten me)

 

[Carl Guffey]

Chapman's Rules of Piloting

 

[MadBomber]

"In Tennessee, all mechanically-powered boats as well as sailboats that are used mainly in Tennessee must be registered." Quote from website!

I don't think rowboats are required to be registered in Tennessee.

Rowing regattas, Riverbend, are instances of annual events that we as Fishermen have to put up with. It's too bad the Fed Tournament Guy couldn't blast through the course at 80 MPH to get back to the weigh-in. Looks like poor planning on his part to me.

Every afternoon during the week, High School teams practice on the river. I simply try to be courteous and stay out of their way. I have passed many rowers without coming off plane to reduce my wake. I have never had one of them indicate to me in any way that they thought I was endangering them.

I have a friend who is a rower and will ask him his take on the issue and will report back.

 

[polo-dog]

The regattas are few and far between and there is lots of water out there. I know that it's a pain to have a large no wake zone but like us, they have a right to be able to use the water. Fishing below the dams and where beyond where there are no wake zones is risky in the sport of fishing and the guy who lost the 11lbs must be kicking himself for not planning better. I always wonder if I were to fish in a different pool, above or below a dam, where the weigh in was scheduled, how much time it would take to lock through. It seems to me that it takes a long time and if there were a bunch of people there to lock through or if there were others coming the other way that it would be a prohibitively long time to waste, not fishing. Some of those guys make those gambles and do well and some get burned. Some of those regattas bring in huge revenues to the city. The Head of the Hooch race that was in town last year was amazing to me in the numbers of people and boats that were involved. All of those people had lodging, ate and entertained themselves in our community. That brought a lot of money to our community and that makes a lot of people here in town happy. It's always a trade off and I would just plan to avoid those areas when those events are planned, luckily they are very rare.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the input. There is always two sides to the story, and I am more than happy to watch out for them. It doesnt make a lot of sense though to blast the bassboats, when I have been nearly turned over by yachts....I know, I know, 2 wrongs dont make a right, but it still stinks.
One more thought....the river is several hundred feet wide, and by the time my wake running 80+ gets to them, it cant be any worse than what the wind can whip up.......I would like to hear from the barge/tug Captains on this also...you might be surprised at what their ideas and regs might be.

 

[tarheel]

Yeah, those big slow barges can make some serious wakes. I wonder if they stopped them from moving down river past the rowers.emoConfused

 

[Skeeter]

Speaking of barges. I have been on the water there ALOT these past few weeks and i havent seen the first one. I know they are still running cause there always somewhere else then they were the previous trip.

As far as the Rowers. I usually dont even lift off the pedal. I do go out of my way to make sure i am NOWHERE near them. BUT... I cannot stress this enough.. PLEASE watch out for them. They are in a canoe that is about 5" out of the water. When you running fast you cant see them unless you are watching. The first time i went down there i cut one of them off to go to my spot. Made me feel like crap and a bully so i appologized and he seemed to understand. And if you get a chance say hi to them i have found most of them are really friendly and dont mind sharing the water at all. They proablly dont like cruisers than run 1/2 throttle, But who dose?