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 Brazos River Quicksand
#12169099
04/02/17 12:50 AM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 59
dfwflyfisher
OP
Outdoorsman
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OP
Outdoorsman
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 59 |
I've just started reading Goodbye to a River by John Graves. In it, he makes several mentions of the quicksand and whirlpools in the Brazos. I've fished the river several times, but have never floated above Whitney.
Have any of you actually experienced either of these phenomena?
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12169144
04/02/17 01:19 AM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 77
spacemonkey
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 77 |
i have never personally experienced it on the brazos. ive paddled and fished most of the river from possum kingdom to below whitney. There could possibly be some places like that, but I would imagine that his accounts were actually from above possum kingdom. The river up that way is much more sandy. The red river has numerous areas like that. I got stuck in quick sand while retrieving a dove on the red a number of years ago. its not fun and I lost my boots...lol I would imagine the brazos is very similar to the red in places out towards Seymour area.
I have seen some whirlpools while paddling the river when pk had 4 flood gates open a number of years back. Nothing that would suck you down though...haha
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12169197
04/02/17 01:57 AM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 570
ben_beyer
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 570 |
I read the book too and I am with spacemonkey. Probably more soft sand than actual quicksand.
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12169230
04/02/17 02:15 AM
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,051
Catfish_Hunter
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,051 |
I dunno if it was actual quicksand, but I have stepped into solid looking Sandy/gravelly spots where I instantly sank up to my thigh or crotch. Wasn't terribly hard to get out of though.
No fish is too good for the grease.
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: Catfish_Hunter]
#12170211
04/02/17 07:14 PM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,163
Robert Hunter
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,163 |
I dunno if it was actual quicksand, but I have stepped into solid looking Sandy/gravelly spots where I instantly sank up to my thigh or crotch. Wasn't terribly hard to get out of though. ^^^ this +1000 weirdest stuff ever with that gravel. Next step just fine step after that back up to the crotch good Way to lose a shoe. But some of the new sand bars after the recent rises that are under water I would say are quick sand. It just starts dissolving as you stand there. I have never stood in one spot to see how far you sync but definitely feels like you could go down quite a ways.
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12171679
04/03/17 04:32 PM
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 989
RonL
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 989 |
I've never fished the Brazos but my dad use to a lot back when he was a youngster and he use to tell me stories of both QS and whirlpools . He never called them whirlpools , he just would say in areas where the water was acting like a big drain going around and around . He said he got stuck one time up to his waist but his friend come along and got help and he got out . Got his boots back tho cause they were tied n good and wouldn't come off . That's why he got stuck . His friends dad pulled him out with an old mule called Betsy . My dad had a lot of stories back then . Use to mention how everything would get flooded if you lived close to the river .
RonL
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12171952
04/03/17 06:45 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 19,390
COFF
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 19,390 |
It seems like all the quicksand stories always come from old timers (no offense intended). I wonder if development along the rivers like lakes, dams, and storm channels have changed the natural flood patterns? When left to flow naturally, most rivers will meander around and change course over time and each year the floods will occur in different spots. I would guess that the reservoirs being built have reduced the number of floods, and therefore quicksand is not as prevalent.
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12180764
04/03/17 07:30 PM
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 989
RonL
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 989 |
Have you actually been on all the Brazos River or just some areas ? It covers alot of miles in Texas . I've not read any other post concerning old timers other than if your referring to my dad being an old timer . If he was alive I might tell you exactly where my dad experienced the QS and whirlpools . However nothing has been mentioned of what exactly is meant by whirlpool . All a whirlpool is is an area where the water circles continuously in a given spot . I've seen those in lots of areas other than the Brazos . But whirlpools don't always last , depends on water flow and amount of water .
Last edited by RonL; 04/03/17 07:31 PM.
RonL
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12181838
04/04/17 04:54 AM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,163
Robert Hunter
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,163 |
I'm no old timer and I know I've been standing several places recently I wouldn't stay in too long. It's seriously feels like the sand is dissolving under your feet. Now I'm still pretty quick on my feet at that so I can't tell you how far you could go down. That packed down gravel that is solid one step and mush the next is a different story You stop about the knee or crotch.
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: spacemonkey]
#12181972
04/04/17 12:22 PM
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 676
Hawkpuppy 1
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 676 |
i have never personally experienced it on the brazos. ive paddled and fished most of the river from possum kingdom to below whitney. There could possibly be some places like that, but I would imagine that his accounts were actually from above possum kingdom. The river up that way is much more sandy. The red river has numerous areas like that. I got stuck in quick sand while retrieving a dove on the red a number of years ago. its not fun and I lost my boots...lol I would imagine the brazos is very similar to the red in places out towards Seymour area.
I have seen some whirlpools while paddling the river when pk had 4 flood gates open a number of years back. Nothing that would suck you down though...haha His book is a detailed description starting BELOW PK, not above and going down to Whitney...
Strip, strip....set
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12182974
04/04/17 08:40 PM
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 896
S-S
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 896 |
Been f'fishing below Whitney for 10+ years and if above is anything like below Whitney then he's referring to the ever changing sand bars that just wash away and bury your feet, very much similar to the coast. I've nearly pulled my hip outta socket several times there trying to free a bottomed out canoe.
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12192895
04/11/17 03:00 AM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 271
Mateo Clemente
Angler
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Angler
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 271 |
I have experienced the quicksand upstream of Millsap. The sand bars shift and the sand grains bridge over pockets of water. Waist deep quick.
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Re: Brazos River Quicksand
[Re: dfwflyfisher]
#12193342
04/11/17 02:16 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,177
hook-line&sinker
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,177 |
Any river that is subject to flooding will have areas with very soft soil simply because all the soil from the erosion upstream settles somewhere downstream. Until it has a chance to dry and compact it can be like jello. All the creeks I fish around Somerville are in sandy soil so there is lots of very soft soil after every flood and rise in the creeks.
>)));> Wishin' I was Fishin' <;(((<
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