# Military use/public use of yellow river



## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

Have any of yall ever been run off of yellow river by the military? I was fishing yellow river thursday night just up from boiling creek,and heard a boat engine coming down river and it got closer and soon it was on top of us,but it was 2 boats running about 50 MPH with about 20 feet between them. Here is the kicker,they had no lights on,nothing,completely blacked out.I dont know about you but if something is coming at me fast in the dark I'll spotlight it to see what it is.Well that pissed them off and they pulled up by us and told us we had to leave,they were doing night maneuvers.When a boat pulls up with a machine gun mounted on the bow and tells ya to leave ya leave.
My ? is how in the hell can the military run you off the river? Its public right?It really pissed me off.


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## fisheye48 (Sep 28, 2007)

if they are on maneuver/training it could be for the safety of the public


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## CountryFolksCanSurvive22 (Dec 3, 2010)

See them all the time down around that way pretty common. The reason they got so ticked is that there night vision is pointless with a Q beam in there pathway. I see them reguarly and have never been told to leave. Now I have heard of folks up boiling creek and other tributaries on the eglin side of the river being told to return to the river but as far as the main river channel thats odd. Just know that an ordinary person running the river at a high rate of speed would def be navigating with a light so if this occurs again its obvious its the military so dont shine lol. The thing that pisses me off is there high rate of speed even during daytime. Have seen several boats almost sunk. There was actually a case where below Harold last year a man and his 7 yr old son were thrown overboard and their boat sunk and from what I heard the special ops caught some serious heat from it.


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## CountryFolksCanSurvive22 (Dec 3, 2010)

Me and a friend were down around that way years ago cooking on a sandbar about to go run our lines when they came around the bend screaming doing atleast as fast as you speak of. Almost sunk the boat had atleast 80 gallons of water in there.The only funny thing about it was that we had one remaining line out that we were unable to bait becuase we had run out of minnows. WHile bailing out the water I found a huge minnow that had been swept in from their wake and stuck it on that hook and we got a 26 pounder.


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## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

Ranger School uses the Yellow River during the Swamp Phase! We would perform night patrols/ scout swimmer/ and boat ops fam courses all there. Night and day


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## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

Brad King said:


> Ranger School uses the Yellow River during the Swamp Phase! We would perform night patrols/ scout swimmer/ and boat ops fam courses all there. Night and day


 I wonder how many boat motors get tore up at night from hitting stumps? I doubt the night vision sees into the water very well.
I know night vision dont work when a Q beam hits it at about 100 feet.I think thats why they run us off,they were mad cause we spooked them.We were tied to a stump close to shore and it had a bush sticking out in the river,so we were hidden from their view until they were on top of us.
I have a 16' tri hull and can stand anywhere on the sides,but we almost got swamped.
There is only 3 or 4 boat ramps on yellow river,if they would post when they are training I would stay off the river,but I guess thats to much to ask for,specially from our high and mighty government.:thumbdown:


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## fisheye48 (Sep 28, 2007)

drifterfisher said:


> I wonder how many boat motors get tore up at night from hitting stumps? I doubt the night vision sees into the water very well.
> I know night vision dont work when a Q beam hits it at about 100 feet.I think thats why they run us off,they were mad cause we spooked them.We were tied to a stump close to shore and it had a bush sticking out in the river,so we were hidden from their view until they were on top of us.
> I have a 16' tri hull and can stand anywhere on the sides,but we almost got swamped.
> There is only 3 or 4 boat ramps on yellow river,if they would post when they are training I would stay off the river,but I guess thats to much to ask for,specially from our high and mighty government.:thumbdown:


once again its a matter of safety! im sure you have never wore military grade nvg's but you can adjust them to let more or less light in...and i know that if you shine a 1/2-1 million candle power light into them its not pleasant! How happy would you be if someone shined that light in your face while running at night?


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## CountryFolksCanSurvive22 (Dec 3, 2010)

Theres atleast 16 boat ramps on Yellow that I have launched at off the top of my head. The only ones I know of the Rangers launching from are Bleachers on Eglin side between Guest lake and Garner Landing, The GIn Hole landing above Wilkerson Bluff, and Boiling Creek. Problem is when there training they cover so much ground its hard to stay away from them if there even remotely close to one of those launch sites.


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## Doomsday (Jun 30, 2010)

fisheye48 said:


> once again its a matter of safety! im sure you have never wore military grade nvg's but you can adjust them to let more or less light in...and i know that if you shine a 1/2-1 million candle power light into them its not pleasant! How happy would you be if someone shined that light in your face while running at night?


I think the point is being missed. How safe is it for them to run their boats under those conditions on water open to the PUBLIC? If they're going to do this they need to inform the public before they kill someone. I spent the last 5 of my 20 years in the USAF at AFSOC units so I'm not some anti-military lefty. The military owes a duty to the public and if they're going to train on PUBLICly accessible water they need to get the word out.


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## CountryFolksCanSurvive22 (Dec 3, 2010)

And I doubt with there technology and engineering put into their equipment that they tear much up. I've seen those boats take off at a dead stop through 6 inches of water for a good 75 yd stretch with no problem accelerating with a 150 on the back.


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## fisheye48 (Sep 28, 2007)

Doomsday said:


> I think the point is being missed. How safe is it for them to run their boats under those conditions on water open to the PUBLIC? If they're going to do this they need to inform the public before they kill someone. I spent the last 5 of my 20 years in the USAF at AFSOC units so I'm not some anti-military lefty. The military owes a duty to the public and if they're going to train on PUBLICly accessible water they need to get the word out.


true but how "safe" is it to shine a spotlight at a running boat in a river? you dont know who it is or how they are gonna react, you could end up causing more harm than good


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## EODangler (Apr 7, 2011)

I don't think the spotlight would have been used if they weren't running and gunning without lights on...I could be wrong though.


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## DMC (Nov 28, 2010)

I am sure it is the rangers. They still can't run you off the river. They were just mad about the spot light so started talking a lot of bs.


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## fisheye48 (Sep 28, 2007)

DMC said:


> I am sure it is the rangers. They still can't run you off the river. They were just mad about the spot light so started talking a lot of bs.


or maybe they didnt feel like getting shined everytime


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## fisheye48 (Sep 28, 2007)

EODangler said:


> I don't think the spotlight would have been used if they weren't running and gunning without lights on...I could be wrong though.


train like you fight and fight like you train...pretty sure they arent gonna putt around in a training situation


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## EODangler (Apr 7, 2011)

fisheye48 said:


> train like you fight and fight like you train...pretty sure they arent gonna putt around in a training situation


I agree, but now we are way off topic


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## fisheye48 (Sep 28, 2007)

EODangler said:


> I agree, but now we are way off topic


how they were in a training situation so im betting they were treating it as a combat situation hence running BO and moving with a quickness


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## Doomsday (Jun 30, 2010)

fisheye48 said:


> how they were in a training situation so im betting they were treating it as a combat situation hence running BO and moving with a quickness


Because we've moved from safety to train like we fight...

Training full out is fantastic and it saves lives, but when you're going balls to the wall on PUBLIC property you need to warn people for SAFETY reasons...


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

I loaded my boat up 1 time and they whipped in there unloaded 3 boats and were gone in about 2 minutes.....All blacked out!!! Awesome to watch, but I'm sure it would be freaky as heck to have em wizzz by ya all blacked out too!!!


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## fisheye48 (Sep 28, 2007)

Doomsday said:


> Because we've moved from safety to train like we fight...
> 
> Training full out is fantastic and it saves lives, but when you're going balls to the wall on PUBLIC property you need to warn people for SAFETY reasons...


ive never heard or seen the navy/af put anything out when they are doing things in the bay with rescue divers in the water


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## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

fisheye48 said:


> ive never heard or seen the navy/af put anything out when they are doing things in the bay with rescue divers in the water


 The bay is a might bit bigger...If you were to meet one of those boats on yellow river when they are wide open,in one of the many curves,it would end badly.I know I dont slowdown,but I am running 4 driving lights and usually 2 spot lights are going if I have a passenger.You can see my boat coming from a good ways off.
If they were to post at the local landings that they are running then they would have no problems from me,I'd go home.
Running blacked out up the river aint no different than driving down the highway blacked out.Lets see them do that and see what happens when they kill some one.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

> Running blacked out up the river aint no different than driving down the highway blacked out.


+1 What if local LEO decided to start running down the highway at 80 mph with NVG?? Should you get a ticket or asked to leave because your headlights hurt their eyes? No.


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## Sleestac (Feb 29, 2012)

If you are out there after dark, then you are wrong. You can only be in designated camping area with a permit. I get the high speed concerns for what could be a public access area. Not sure what time you were out there, if it was late, then they should not expect anyone to be there. And also I do not what area of the yellow river you were on, but if it was on the reservation, remember that is military land. Just my .02.


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## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

Sleestac said:


> If you are out there after dark, then you are wrong. You can only be in designated camping area with a permit. I get the high speed concerns for what could be a public access area. Not sure what time you were out there, if it was late, then they should not expect anyone to be there. And also I do not what area of the yellow river you were on, but if it was on the reservation, remember that is military land. Just my .02.


Yellow river is PUBLIC not government owned.I have a fishing license that is all the permit needed for yellow river.It is open 24-7 So there for I can fish all day or all night.I was not wrong. What is wrong is running a boat with no lights.Lets see some one from the public sector do it and a state officer catch you doing it.I'd just about guarantee you would get a ticket.How is it that the military is above our laws?
I understand the need for training,but common courtesy goes a long way.As I posted before,IF they were to post at the boat ramps that they were doing maneuvers I'd go home.


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## DMC (Nov 28, 2010)

fisheye48 said:


> or maybe they didnt feel like getting shined everytime


 
They should not get shined. If you are not in the the main stream there should not be a problem. I have a friend who is a ranger and I know they run the river a lot doing training. They still can't run you off.


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## Brahma Bull (Feb 23, 2009)

Just call the FWC with your story and express the safety concerns and that you were run off. The land surounding is all Eglin property but the main river should be public use 24-7.


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## tips n tails (Mar 2, 2011)

Drifter I wouldnt worry too much about it. To start with its USAF property, to where Range Patrol DAF Police or Security Forces have the authority to enforce local, state and federal regs. Its proprietary jurisdiction not exculsive. No big deal. If you want PM me and I ll give you some info to keep on you if your out on the river. Ive seen them quite a bit out there in twelve man rafts training and never had any problems my ownself.


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## tightlines (Oct 1, 2007)

I was headed down yellow river last summer after bass fishing till dark and almost had a head on collision with them coming up river. A near miss that almost ended ugly. Scared the hell out of me. Yelled at one of the 3 boats and he stopped. I asked him what he was doing and he said they were airforce. I ket him know what I thought about them running the river with no nav lights and he took off. I called FWC and let them know about the safety concern on yellow river but they didnt really seem too concerned. Someone is going to get hurt badly one day if they keep running that river blacked out at night.


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

Been reading all the reports about run-ins with the troops on the Yellow River. I'm not all that familiar with the river but plan to go over there more frequently. Can someone tell me how far below Guest Lake Landing this problem seem to be located. s


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## Sailor50 (Nov 8, 2007)

Agree with you all that it is a dangerous situation. The proper way to get something done would be to call Jackson Guard ((850) 882-4164 or (850) 882-4165) and they can direct you to the people who make the rules and can do something about it. 

With that said, I would leave it alone. Their remedy may be to close down certain parts of the river or Egin reservation for their training and then where would we be. 

Not saying its right, but that is probaly what would happen.


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## drifterfisher (Oct 9, 2009)

http://myfwc.com/media/1394972/Yellow-River.pdf

Eglin could not legally close Yellow River,It is bordered by public/state lands.Now they could pull a government stunt and just take over and that would prove yet again how sorry they/it really is.Seems like any thing they want they just take it and no one can do a dam thing about it.


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## deeptracks (Oct 2, 2007)

between my son and I we have spent quite a bit of time on that river at all times of the day and night. This post is interesting to me in that I have never encountered troops on the river.


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## keperry1182 (Oct 6, 2010)

You can complain, it doesn't matter. Its the military, we train to keep ourselves alive if that ruined your fishing trip, oh well. Aparently they told you to leave, that was them watching out for your safety. Call the base commander and complain, that is the appropriate chain of command for you to use. Posting on here will fire up the armchair warriors but will do nothing to fix the problem. I bet you'd at least get an answer from someone if you called the base commander. I see your point it is dangerous for the public, but be careful what you ask for, the government can and will take the land/water for themselves. It's very similar to the right of eminent domain and it's used ALL THE TIME. I'm not saying it's right, I also think it's bullshit, but it's the truth as the government sees it.


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## -WiRtH- (Feb 24, 2009)

I've seen them before and although they're still going pretty quick they always slow down enough that it doesn't swamp my little john boat or anything like that. If you have your white light up and visible from all directions like it is required by law then shining a spotlight at another boat isn't necessary. And if someone shined one directly at me I wouldn't take to kindly to it. I say unless they actually do some harm, I could care less how fast they go. I don't know of them hitting anyone yet, but hopefully they never do. It might suck to say but you pretty much have two options, either fish somewhere else or take your chances on the river. They have been there for a long time and are not going anywhere anytime soon.


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## bowfisher91 (Feb 19, 2008)

keperry1182 said:


> You can complain, it doesn't matter. Its the military, we train to keep ourselves alive if that ruined your fishing trip, oh well. Aparently they told you to leave, that was them watching out for your safety. Call the base commander and complain, that is the appropriate chain of command for you to use. Posting on here will fire up the armchair warriors but will do nothing to fix the problem. I bet you'd at least get an answer from someone if you called the base commander. I see your point it is dangerous for the public, but be careful what you ask for, the government can and will take the land/water for themselves. It's very similar to the right of eminent domain and it's used ALL THE TIME. I'm not saying it's right, I also think it's bullshit, but it's the truth as the government sees it.


+1

I have fished yellow river for years and never encountered a training exercise. That being said, I have seen their trucks and trailers parked at hwy 87 at night. I would gladly head back to the ramp 1 out of 500 trips to allow the military to carry on undisturbed. It is for our own well-being. 

Just my .02


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## grum man (Nov 4, 2011)

This map updated daily may give you and idea where the training may be taking place on the river. 
http://jg.eglinforcesupport.com/#


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## Amarillo Palmira (Jan 2, 2010)

What I learned today after I checked on this: I believe you were in the right. It looks like Bolling Creek is outside of the military reservation. The people you want to call are the Eglin Range Police, not Jackson Guard or one of the various base commanders. If you are fishing a creek on the inside of the military reservation, then they have the right to tell you to leave. If you are in the main river, then they may or may not be able to tell you to leave due to safety reasons, but I understand they are supposed to have special range clearance to run blacked out ops. I believe, they are also supposed to notify all local law enforcement including the Coast Guard and post guards at local launch ramps to ensure that no one gets on the river for safety reasons. By the way, just for everyone's knowledge, if you fish inside the reservation, in any of the creeks, you are supposed to have a permit from Jackson Guard. The Air Force, the Army, whoever, is not going to close Yellow River down because you called and made a complaint. They are supposed to be good neighbors. Hope this helps.


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