I was hoping someone could give me some advice on pool 19 I just bought a boat and tried launching out of Hamilton, made it to the 3rd set of markers before it turned into 8 inches of water. I don't want to trash the boat so can anyone tell me of some of the places to be cautious of? Not asking for anyones secrets but don't want to take the lower unit off either, thanks.
Anything out of the channel is a crap shoot. No better way to put it unfortunately. Took me YEARS to learn the river up here. The way I do it on unfamiliar waters is idle when out of the channel until I'm confident it's safe to run that path. A lot of times I'll tuck in behind someone and hope to hell they know where their going.... that's how I get around in Spring Lake on pool 13. Anytime you are out of the channel, there's a good chance you're going to find some shallow water. Get a good river map and let that guide you as much as it can, but hands on is the best bet. Be sure to mark where those wing dams are too!!!
Thanks Joe,
Where can I get a good river map the ones I have seen ate really vague. Ya that shallow water so far out was kind of an eye opener, like what the heck do I do now kind of thing.
There are plenty of silted in areas of the river. All this flooding and high water we have had are not helping any of that.
Sent you a IM Trucker
A lot of fishing tackle stores will have Iowa Fishing Maps for Lakes and Rivers. They're a bit expensive but they'll give you a decent map of all the waters in Iowa. I know our Wal-Mart has them. You may wanna try this. My computer is really slow for some reason (probably porn) so I can't get the maps to come up, maybe you can. http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil...dex=3
I am with Joe on this one. Anything out of the channel can be a issue. I have spent many years on pool 19 and know about half of it pretty well. When I get down your way, I would be guessing in some places.
The water is high now so you will get to places that you normally would not. Allot of stumps, rocks, and sandbars that can do major damage when the water finally drops 5' to its normal summer stage.
I would also recommend idleing if not real sure of the area.
Is the upper end of 19 from montrose north a better place?
Not necessarily. Agree with Joe and Martin on this one. There are really no short cuts to knowing where you can and can't run. A lot of it will just be taking your time and learning where the hazards are. And so much is dependent on water level. Pay attention to the water levels and note how it relates to the depths you are seeing. I will say that water levels do not affect the lower pool (Pool 19) as much as the upper pool in regards to having water to run in. I think that is because it is so wide and spread out in the lower pool. Things can change year to year, logs get floated into an area that they were not present before. Learning how to "read" the water will help too, i.e. waves have a certain action when they are breaking over shallow water versus deeper, etc. Don't want to make it sound too complicated, but caution is the best rule of thumb.
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by HELLR84 »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Not necessarily. Agree with Joe and Martin on this one. There are really no short cuts to knowing where you can and can't run. A lot of it will just be taking your time and learning where the hazards are. And so much is dependent on water level. Pay attention to the water levels and note how it relates to the depths you are seeing. I will say that water levels do not affect the lower pool (Pool 19) as much as the upper pool in regards to having water to run in. I think that is because it is so wide and spread out in the lower pool. Things can change year to year, logs get floated into an area that they were not present before. Learning how to "read" the water will help too, i.e. waves have a certain action when they are breaking over shallow water versus deeper, etc. Don't want to make it sound too complicated, but caution is the best rule of thumb.</td></tr></table>
Caution is the best rule out there of course.
There are places that I can run 3-4 times a week, and am always cautious in certain areas. They might have little bends or a blind corner, and dont want to save 10 seconds just to run through the area at WOT.
Logs are the biggest enemy I would say. They can get flushed in and out during higher water periods.
Reading the water is something that must be learned also. The ability to read your familiar routes and fishing areas are the biggest things IMO....I know guys get a little complacent when running the areas they frequent, because they think things are the same as they were last week...or 2 weeks ago.
I actually witnessed a guy come out of the water 2x and beach his boat while running WOT....he didnt realize there were new logs in the area....hit them hard and landed on the bank. Not a pretty sight. He wasnt hurt, and the boat wasnt tore up either. But it scared the piss out of him. The guy says to me "those logs werent there last week"....
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by trucker52632 »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Is the upper end of 19 from montrose north a better place?</td></tr></table>
There are times of the year that Montrose, FM and Burlington are killer....and Keokuk area is horrible.
But...the flip side is also true.
Local tournament about a month ago...top 3 came from the Keokuk general area. They weighed 15-18lbs for 6 fish.
The north end of the pool during that time was a little slower...and smaller weights.
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