I was taught to keep one eye on your fishing rod and the other on the river watching for barges. Those running upstream are especially dangerous. They can throw a 10 to 12 foot wake. Don't wait till they are close, run for safety early.

Fact of life when fishing on the Tennessee River. But the wake boats and yachts are a bigger problem than the barge pushers.

Learned that lesson fishing the intercoastal of Louisiana.

I usually have to deal with one or two of these trying the old bent rod pattern on me