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| Everyone Loves the River |
| By Jon Mitzel | 06/12/07 |
| It's getting very crowded at times, and everyone wants their space |
I can’t recall a time when there has been more traffic on the Missouri River in the Bismarck/Mandan area than this spring. The congestion was partly due to the Big Muddy Walleye tournament held the last Saturday in April. The days prior to the tournament, boats heavily occupied the low waters from several miles north of Bismarck/Mandan and south to the Hazelton boat ramp.
The two weeks prior to the tournament boat traffic was so heavy on the river it was difficult to locate a fishing hole that no one else knew about, a practice that’s otherwise not a problem. But boat traffic was intense leading up the tournament and from what I’ve seen and heard, some folks weren’t happy with the activity.
There were a few instances where problems arose. One of them took place during mid-to-late April south of the Bismarck area when a boat heading south continued traveling downstream past a shore fisherman while up on plane. Witnessing the event I didn’t think anything of it until I noticed the gentleman from shore waving obscenities to the boater.
Another event took place south of Fox Island (Bismarck boat ramp) when an older gentleman thanked us for slowing down as I headed up river toward the ramp. I figured he was tired of waves pounding the shore where he was trying to fish. The truth is, however, the only reason I slowed down was because the boat ramp was only a short distance away and I was done fishing.
Another instance involved a letter to the editor in the Bismarck Tribune where a Mandan woman expressed disappointment she had for anglers fishing from boats that passed her and her group at high speeds while they were kayaking south of Bismarck. Noting that only 2 of about 15 boats respectfully slowed as they passed her group, others flew by nearly tipping one in her group, making it a terrifying experience.
The Missouri River sure has become a busy place. It was tough to find a spot to fish that didn’t already occupy a fishing boat during April. After the Big Muddy, where 101 boats competed for $10,000 top prize, the river settled down. But only temporarily.
With the increase in boat traffic there’s going to be obvious problems. With many, many people using the river for recreation, folks are going to find themselves upset at someone. Anglers fishing from shore, boat fishermen, jet skiers, water skiers, pontoons, jet boats, kayaks and canoes all have rights to the water, but often interests conflict with one another.
Only weeks ago while three of fished the river in the Bismarck/Mandan area we slid into a small walleye hole on the center of the river. At that time, a wake-board boat routinely traveled up and down the main channel only 40 yards away, creating a 2 1/2 foot wake that eventually pounded the sandy shoreline. Shorty after we began fishing the hole and had caught a few walleyes, a recreational ski boat, out for a cruise, puttered downstream directly at us.
The hole we fished was cleverly hidden and not easy to get a boat into. The spot was 15 yards east to west and 20 yards north to south with a rock bar partially submerged on the upstream side and an exposed sandbar on the south end and a hole in the middle -- the hole is where the walleyes concentrated. The boat worked it’s way behind the rock bar and directly over top of our fishing hole, Then, realizing that it had just passed only inches of rocks, the driver pondered how to get out of his predicament.
We continued to pitch jigs into the hole now only a few feet from this boat. It turned, went forward, went in reverse and eventually 5 minutes later nestled over the rock bar and back to the main river channel. Our fish spooked. We could only sit and chuckle, but inside felt disgusted.
We moved and found another spot.
My point is this: With so many folks using the river there’s bound to be problems with congestion. Fishermen certainly don’t like jet skies or wave runners flying past them at 50 mph while quietly trying to get a fish to bite. Kayakers don’t obviously don’t appreciate maneuvering in 2-foot waves. And shore fishermen, well, they don’t like any of it.
It is extremely difficult to fish with so many other activities taking place and boats constantly running up and down the river. While fishermen rule after ice out, when weather warms to summer, they become the minority on the river and there’s no way you’ll get boats to slow down so that you can fish without being tossed overboard.
Here’s what I know about the growing congestion on the Missouri river: If you’re planning to shore fish stay away from boat ramps and heavy boat traffic areas. Same goes if you’re planning a canoe or kayak trip. Chose a stretch of river that doesn’t get heavy traffic like the Steckel (Wilton) ramp area north to the Tailrace and Hazelton ramp south.
The Missouri River in our area will continue to see increased traffic. It’s going to get crazy at times. Sure the fishing is great, but there’s also many other great places to catch fish, most of them without the traffic. But I get caught up in the river fishing, too, and find it hard to push myself away it. The river walleyes are just to fun to catch, great eating and I enjoy learning the ever-changing dynamics of the system. It’s interesting how sandbars change from year to year, week to week, sometimes daily. Fish are in one spot today, gone tomorrow. When the main spring walleye migration peaks there are fish in many places in the river and you can fish and potentially catch fish in spots that normally wouldn’t hold fish.
The Missouri River is truly a wonderful place, full of history, wholesome recreation and beauty. But on those over-pressured, over-fished days it wouldn’t seem like it. When the traffic slows and folks start moving to other productive waters, you can still have a relaxing, fish-catching day on mighty Missouri River. • |
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