Holston River Fail

[TheBassWhisperer]

Well I went to Nance's Ferry launch point this morning for my first river trip. BY the time I got there, through gravel back roads and making a few turns based on intuition alone I chickened out. I've never been on a river by myself before and the water was higher and ALOT colder than I thought it would be, especially that far downstream from the dam.
Anyhow I had ran poor, poor directions from the river to Cherokee lake launch point, well after driving around lost for about an hour I finally flagged someone down to get directions and she was so grateful that I was flagging her around that she just smiled and waved and drove on by I finally found someone at a game checking station and got directions.
Well I finally got to the lake about 2 hours after I wanted to and all I have to show for it is a tiny spotted bass and a sunburn On the plus side I covered a little over 3 miles of water on the lake and discovered if I throw my legs over the side i can slide forward and access my storage in the front of my Yak(bulkhead?), which I didn't think I could so that was a HUGE boost in Yakin' confidence.As always I was happy just to be out.

[Yak4Fish]

Your intuition to abort was a good one. Listening to your self sense of preservation is always a good thing. It's always best to be safe than sorry as well as not paddle high or new water alone.

[oubassman]

Hang in there. River fishing is a game that can take awhile to get the hang off. Sites like this make it easier, but still nothing can top time on the water

[HookUp]

You can always beach the yak & pound the shore line.

Good call on knowing your limitations.

[Alphahawk]

I have been reading posts from this site for quite a while. Picked up my 2 Jackson Coosas in March and I told myself that I would do nothing stupid with them.....stupid on purpose. I spent a lot of time on lakes before ever hitting the Caney. I even flipped the kayak on purpose in abut 4 feet of water to see just where the tipping point was for me....I read that somewhere a while back on this site. Good move on your part. I know my limitations and will not push them. I am getting a lot of seat time in my kayak and am fortunate to be retired and able to have so much time to learn.


Regards

[TheBassWhisperer]

Thanks for the back up fellas, now I don't feel quite as wussy as I did before Yak anglers are just SO spread out here in TN it's hard to find anyone close enough to do a river run with that's close to my location.

[MidTNKayakAngler]

Sounds like you need to recruit a few anglers.

[CrX970]

Sounds like you need to recruit a few anglers.

Or meet some in the middle

[BMP]

A river trip is never a failure unless you don't come home.

I am much braver on the river when with a partner or in a group than solo. It's easy to get into trouble fast on a new stretch of river, especially if you don't have much experience with moving water.

Cold and high water levels are not a good combination for beginner trips. Probably a good call to back off, though high river water can create some amazing fishing as long as it's not beyond your limits of boat control.

[Capncrunch]

Maybe try just floating downstream. Anyway, keep at it.