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Note to self

gasman

gasman

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Jul 21, 2011
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Location
South Of The Hatchie
The Mississippi River sux.... A buddy and myself decided to fish the big muddy yesterday. That was the first mistake. Second mistake was actually going. Lost about $50 worth of gear (including a 20lb anchor) only to catch 1 little ol blue cat. Won't make that mistake again. :bash: Tennessee river from now on.
 
You definitely have to respect the mighty MS river. A reliable heavy and powerful boat is a good piece of insurance. There are some giant cats and that's the draw. It's only 30 mins from where I live but as I type this I'm lounging on a pontoon boat on the TN River. It's hard to beat.
 
my great uncle lived in ridgely and worked for anderson tulley. they say he swam across the river one time on a bet. i wish now id went fishing with him more and learned that river, but it scared the crap out of me.
 
If I could exchange my proximity to the MS River for the same distance to the TN River, I do so in half a heartbeat. That said, the proximity to good duck hunting is a decent consolation prize.

I have paid to go on a trophy catfishing trip (which went great), but I have been unwilling to take on the cost and personal risk to fish it with any regularity.

Honestly, it makes living in SW Tennessee sort of frustrating, as there isn't much "agreeable" water to fish in around here, even though there's plenty of the wet stuff around. Between the physical dangers and the pollution, it is pretty frustrating.
 
Crosshairy":3g05oye7 said:
If I could exchange my proximity to the MS River for the same distance to the TN River, I do so in half a heartbeat. That said, the proximity to good duck hunting is a decent consolation prize.

I have paid to go on a trophy catfishing trip (which went great), but I have been unwilling to take on the cost and personal risk to fish it with any regularity.

Honestly, it makes living in SW Tennessee sort of frustrating, as there isn't much "agreeable" water to fish in around here, even though there's plenty of the wet stuff around. Between the physical dangers and the pollution, it is pretty frustrating.
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I grew up fishing and hunting on the MS River, so it doesn't scare me, but I have the utmost respect for it. Anyone that hasn't been "trained" by an experienced river rat needs to stay away. So many people venture out without a clue and hit a dyke just under the water. That is inexcusable, but they are completely ignorant about the dyke locations and think if they stay close to the bank they are safe.

All that said, the MS River used to offer world class bass fishing. Just go to YouTube and watch the 1999 and 2001 FLW events held in Memphis. The crappie fishing was great. Tunica was famous for the bream. I think the quality catfishing is all that survived. Unfortunately, the Asian carp invasion ruined all that.

I agree that extreme SW TN isn't the best place for really close great fishing, but I try to look at the positives: I live 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes away from the best crappie fishing in the world depending on which lake I want to fish. People come from all over the country to fish the I-55 crappie corridor. I am also just over 2 hours away from Pickwick which is an excellent smallmouth and largemouth bass fishery. There are numerous smaller lakes with quality fishing within an hour.
 
I have never been on the MS river, as I didn't have access to a boat growing up. But I always heard how volatile the river was. Even though I have a kayak now, there's no way I'd take it on the MS River. I'll just fish from the bank at different access points.
 
Crosshairy":2xmsvbt2 said:
Honestly, it makes living in SW Tennessee sort of frustrating, as there isn't much "agreeable" water to fish in around here, even though there's plenty of the wet stuff around. Between the physical dangers and the pollution, it is pretty frustrating.
Click to expand...

True, and I thought the same at one point. There's decent fishing elsewhere within a half day's drive from West TN. Trout fishing in Arkansas, smallmouth fishing in Middle TN (something I've never done, but want to), crappie fishing in various lakes in the mid south.
 
I grew up camping, skiing, jugging on the Mississippi. My Dad went there and knew the river as did some of my friends. Some of my best memories are of the river. With that being said I'm like the other guy said you have to respect that river more than most. It's been so long now since I have been there I would be half scared and would surely take it easy there. A great place if you go there enough to know it.
 

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