Question for the guides out there...

[Russ&Judy]

heres are 2 cents worth--the river changes so fast from day to day, lots of rivers have dams, dead heads hidding, sand bars that pop up from nowhere, trolled past a few dead cows and deer that couldnt get out, just got scared to many times, dirty water but the best of eyes came out, I cant swim, in a pool let alone a current; fished above Blancherd dam in Rice for years, but I was the guy that never took his life jacket off and had brown shorts coming in;;

[huskminn]

This is a very interesting thread. To answer the original question, one only has to look at me....someone who has hang-ups when it comes to fishing rivers.

I have a certain amount of "fear" about fishing big moving water like the Miss, St. Croix and some sections of the Missouri. I am not a master boat handler, I can't swim worth a darn and I have nightmares about taking my lower unit off. Give me a stream or creek and I'm all over it. Give me a large river and I stare at it with mouth agape, wondering what submerged lower-unit monsters lurk under the boiling waters.

I grew up fishing creeks and streams in the Black Hills and Bighorn Mtns......I love fishing moving water....but then again, I don't.

Most of the larger rivers I fished growing up were always fished from shore. That is fairly difficult to do in Minnesota because the vast, vast majority of land on our lakes and rivers is privately held. I know one doesn't need a boat to gain access to good river fishing, but it depends on the river and the time of year. Those who fish rivers a lot have boats...we all know that opens up the options a bit.

I know fishing is tremendous on our rivers. I know the rivers are very diverse, very alive. As our natural areas develop, rivers frequently maintain the only remaining ribbons of wilderness. Yet, the two times I've been on a larger river in my boat, I've been uncomfortable and basically lost when it was time to try to find some active fish.

So, why the heck don't I fish rivers?

Someone here called it "ignorance".....for me it's really "qualified ignorance": I know that I should fish rivers, but don't fish rivers because I don't know enough about fishing rivers.

[stephendawg]

I've lived within miles of the Wabash river here in Indiana all my life. Granted, it's very shallow here near Lafayette but I know that some monster catfish are caught from it every summer. Plus the excitement of not knowing what's gonna bite next is a thrill. Have I fished it? Once. Am I ashamed? You bet! It's an untapped treasure. The key to safe and sucessfully consistant results on either a big body of water like Big Winnie or a diverse river system like the Miss is to have the correct watercraft with the correct equipment. Many fish have been caught out of a canoe on both, I agree. But the average fisherman (which most of us are) should have a boat suited for the water they intend to fish. I should give up a trip to the lake this summer for a run on the river again, don't ya'll think?

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...if I only had more time off!...
Dawg

[CrappieJohn]

Huskminn, It is like anything else in life....if you don't try it, you'll never know if you like it. Start in tamer sections of water, stay out of heavy mid-channel current( the bulk of the fishing will be at or near shoreline), and take it slooooow. Probably the best thing to do is to start by fishing with someone with river experience a couple times and pay attention to what is going on. Whitewater rafting down the Colorado river is a better example of your qualified ignorance. Go for it... the river fishing that is. Crapster

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Sure life happens- why wait

[Aquaman01]

Huskminn -
The one time I went out with an experienced river guide (Fishhead) he told me something that's absolute common sense, but I wouldn't have thought of it myself.
Always launch downstream from where you want to go. If something goes wrong, you have a better chance of making it back to the launch if you're drifting downstream.
My first times out in my 2.5 hp 12' aluminum this year I'm adding "don't cross the main channel" to my list. With a 2.5 hp I don't think slamming a floating stump, cow, car, propane tank or Jimmy Hoffa at 30 mph should be a problem, either! I'm a very strong swimmer, but I'm still gonna keep the vest tight and snapped.

In my case, anyway, the term "ignorance" was used in it's purest form - lack of knowledge. No derogatory implied.

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Aquaman
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Peace and Fishes

[huskminn]

Aquaman01,

No need to explain the context of your choice of words.......I only described my ignorance as "qualified" because I am aware of the great fishing opportunities, but lack the knowledge/experience needed to take advantage of them.

As far as the launching downstream thing...you are absolutely correct. Actually, I know that one already. I learned it as a kid having "stick boat" races on small trout streams.....if you didn't launch your spruce-stick-racing-boat well upstream of a good catching spot, it was gone forever.

CrappieTom is right. One just needs to do it...albeit slowly.