re: jet sking the wake behind barges on the MS river. Terrible idea?

During high water the current is very deadly, but what many don’t remember is the river isn’t always at that high water, deadly high current stage. As posted earlier,people have created tons of old wives tales about the Mississippi River over the years, such as the catfish the size of Volkswagens.

It’s been several years, but I’ve seen folks jump barge wake on jet skis at Vicksburg.

When I first moved to BR in '86 I was looking for a nice narrow river to ski in like I did growing up on Little River near Pollock LA.

Didn't take long to see that cool little offshoot from the MS River that people called the Intercoastal Canal. Perfect!!

Didn't jump any barge wakes but I'm sure we got too damn close to the boats.

It was all good till one day we were picking up a ski near the bank and noticed a big cottonmouth, and then another, and another and another.

On the next trip we traded our skis for a 22 pistol and just shot snakes. Haven't tasted that water since.

Lived through much more than I deserve to. Careful out there baws.

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Buddy got a ticket from MDWF jumping wakes behind a yacht in a busy river in Mississippi.

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your buddy was within 100' of the yacht (according to the agent anyways). Mississippi doesn't allow you to be within 100' of the vessel creating the wake.

And to think, my dad, his brothers and their friends swam their Boy Scout mile swim in the Mississippi River back in the 1950’s and 1960’s-without life preservers, of course.

It’s like any other body of water-know what you’re getting in to and don’t be stupid.

I have water skied the Mississippi river at Baton Rouge once. Will never do it again. Every time I would fall and had to wait for the boat, I would get bumped by big fish. I thought it was asian carp at first. But when I finally had both skies ripped off my feet I realized it was big hungry catfish!

I gave the hand signal to be picked up. Before the boat reached me one grabbed my left foot. My leg was engulfed up to the knee.

Before i knew what was going on I was under water. I panicked. I started kicking it in the head with my right foot but it was pointless. It was dragging towards the bottom 50 foot down. I struggled and eventually lost consciousness. My body was never found.

And that is why I refuse to ski in the big muddy any more!

True story.

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On the weekend we sometimes had large extended family parties on the sandbars with a dozen or so cousins showing up and swam our arse off and loved jumping in the tug boat waves as they came washing in.

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Damn that sounds like a great way to grow up.
Though y'all are super super lucky those sandbars didn't slide off into the river sucking you down with it. You know because in places the river is cut back 1/2mile under those bars leaving them suspended via magic.



All these people shitting on playing in the river makes me want to do it. I'm starting to suspect I may not be making it out of this world alive anyway.

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Some of you sure hold onto your old wives tales closely.

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I can't imagine how/why you think this is an old wives tale. Debris being kicked up by wheel wash is very common in areas where the channel is relatively shallow. (The river between BR and NOLA is pretty deep except at the channel crossings. The river above BR is relatively shallow.)

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Debris being kicked up by wheel wash is very common in areas where the channel is relatively shallow.

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Because at best it is buoyancy neutral, it aint shooting out the water.

I want to know why his PFD didn't turn him face-up as they're designed to do.