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Lower River Junkies | Martinez Lake ?

Advantage 1

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So, I've have a 25' vee I/O... looking to spend some time on Martinez Lake this summer. Never been down your way. Venturing outside of the lake to hit the river... yes or no? Not necessarily looking to cruise for miles and miles, just would like to get out a little ways. Good idea?

Thanks!

Joe
 

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Froggystyle

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You'll be looking for the dark spots for sure. You can do it... there is a guy with a 28' Eliminator Eagle out there... but he has been there forever and knows his way around.
 

Mandelon

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I ran down there for a few years with a big 21, we only hit a few sandbars.

The river runs in channels, so you need to pay attention to the water colors. Follow another big boat. Dont stray too far upriver. Travel with another boat.

People are helpful to help push you off the sandbars. Its all sand, we never hurt anything.
 

XX14

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I took my Nordic out there a few years back and we ran around quite a bit but I grew up there and my brother was out front with his 21 Eliminator with a 300XS. It was a blast but I did take a few small dings to my Bravo 1. Talk to the locals. We ventured from Martinez down to the dam and up to Picacho.
 

jet496

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You'll be fine if you just follow a boat & learn the channels. If you head south towards the dam when you leave Martinez, the channel is pretty darn wide & deep, just a few sandbars to be aware of (once again, don't lead the pack until you know your routes & you'll be styling). Enjoy...:thumbup:
 

DaytonaBabe

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Nothing much else to add that hasn't been said about navigating the river. You're welcome to follow us if you are there on a weekend that we are. We'd be happy to show you around.






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warpt71

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The water is usually up higher for us earlier in the season (April-July) and starts to taper off later in the season. Im not sure if it fluctuates like that down that far? My experience is upper Blythe (LostLake).
 

scouter

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Hell yeah..... Just follow one of us local knuckleheads your first time and you'll get the hang of it. The water down here is awesome....... :thumbup:
 

jetboatmatt

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I really need to get your numbers because my mom lives in the foothills of Yuma off Fortuna Rd. when I had a Jet boat we launched out of hidden shores once but wasn't to worried now with a 24 I/O I would really like to follow some of you that are in the know with the sandbars!!! Thanks guys!!!
 

scouter

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I really need to get your numbers because my mom lives in the foothills of Yuma off Fortuna Rd. when I had a Jet boat we launched out of hidden shores once but wasn't to worried now with a 24 I/O I would really like to follow some of you that are in the know with the sandbars!!! Thanks guys!!!

928-539-6712 <-------- our digits at Hidden Shores......
 

Englewood

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You will be fine. I routinely see 27' Ultra Shadows, 26's DCB, etc.

I have an Ultra 23 and dont have a problem.
 

Englewood

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Others can chime in with their opinion but this is the path I typically take up river. South of Fishers is usually obvious with large sandbars alternating sides of the river.
river.jpg
 

Froggystyle

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Just remember to stay on the correct side of the river with any traffic there. Just because your draft limits you, does NOT give you the right to drive on the wrong side of the river (as many people as there are doing it).

Meaning, if the channel is on the left side, and you are supposed to be on the right, you wait until opposite direction traffic is through before passing the channel.

And absolutely never pass someone going the wrong direction on the left, always port sides crossing.

My single biggest security concern at the river is people going the wrong way and acting like just because it is the only way THEY can go, it is just fine driving in the wrong side.

Imagine a truck that's too tall for the bridge on the correct side of the road just driving in the opposite lane at full speed and acting like you're the asshole for being pissed about it.
 

KAP

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Hello:

I ran the lower Colorado in a larger V-Bottom with I/O for over 4 years. You will hit bottom good news....it is mostly sandy and may just polish your lower and or prop.

Tips:

1. Use a lower pitch prop than normal. This will allow you to plane at lower speeds when you need to slow down and then speed up.

2. Going South is better than going North the further up river you go the trickier it gets.

3. When you are driving stand up [if possible] it will be easier for you to see the differences in water color.

4. If you are unsure of depth or direction just go slow.

5. Coming back at the end of the day you better recall the direction you took as it is a lot tougher to see the water color changes later in the day.

You will be fine and the distances to most sandbars are minimal [less than a mile depending on where you want to hang out]. Most of the sandbars are family friendly.

Enjoy and have fun. I was out this weekend and water levels are up from the lows of last month.

KAP
 

elcajones

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Get in before dusk. As sun sets you cannot see watercolor to avoid the sb's. x2 stand while driving and slow down when in doubt.
 

Advantage 1

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Nothing much else to add that hasn't been said about navigating the river. You're welcome to follow us if you are there on a weekend that we are. We'd be happy to show you around.

Hell yeah..... Just follow one of us local knuckleheads your first time and you'll get the hang of it. The water down here is awesome....... :thumbup:

Thank you two! Plan on having my annual service done early April... be out shortly after that!


You'll be fine if you just follow a boat & learn the channels. If you head south towards the dam when you leave Martinez, the channel is pretty darn wide & deep, just a few sandbars to be aware of (once again, don't lead the pack until you know your routes & you'll be styling). Enjoy...:thumbup:

The water is usually up higher for us earlier in the season (April-July) and starts to taper off later in the season. Im not sure if it fluctuates like that down that far? My experience is upper Blythe (LostLake).

Others can chime in with their opinion but this is the path I typically take up river. South of Fishers is usually obvious with large sandbars alternating sides of the river.
View attachment 256707

Just remember to stay on the correct side of the river with any traffic there. Just because your draft limits you, does NOT give you the right to drive on the wrong side of the river (as many people as there are doing it).

Meaning, if the channel is on the left side, and you are supposed to be on the right, you wait until opposite direction traffic is through before passing the channel.

And absolutely never pass someone going the wrong direction on the left, always port sides crossing.

My single biggest security concern at the river is people going the wrong way and acting like just because it is the only way THEY can go, it is just fine driving in the wrong side.

Imagine a truck that's too tall for the bridge on the correct side of the road just driving in the opposite lane at full speed and acting like you're the asshole for being pissed about it.

Hello:

I ran the lower Colorado in a larger V-Bottom with I/O for over 4 years. You will hit bottom good news....it is mostly sandy and may just polish your lower and or prop.

Tips:

1. Use a lower pitch prop than normal. This will allow you to plane at lower speeds when you need to slow down and then speed up.

2. Going South is better than going North the further up river you go the trickier it gets.

3. When you are driving stand up [if possible] it will be easier for you to see the differences in water color.

4. If you are unsure of depth or direction just go slow.

5. Coming back at the end of the day you better recall the direction you took as it is a lot tougher to see the water color changes later in the day.

You will be fine and the distances to most sandbars are minimal [less than a mile depending on where you want to hang out]. Most of the sandbars are family friendly.

Enjoy and have fun. I was out this weekend and water levels are up from the lows of last month.

KAP

Get in before dusk. As sun sets you cannot see watercolor to avoid the sb's. x2 stand while driving and slow down when in doubt.

Thank you guys for the tips! Really appreciate the help... really! :thumbup:
 

Advantage 1

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Your part of the river rocks! Picked the boat up first thing Saturday and spent most of the day cruising up & down... finished the day @ Rio Loco :) Maybe everyone was up at Desert Storm... river was empty. Thanks again for helping navigate... prop & drive came back home in one piece!
 

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DaytonaBabe

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Bummer we missed you! We were out Wednesday night - Sunday. Looks like you went down river -- we were about 15 miles up river all weekend. Glad you had a good weekend! The water is still a bit chilly, but that will change quickly!
 

BarryMac

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I saw you on Saturday when we finally got on the river headed north. I wish l would have recognized your boat before now, l mentioned to my wife that your boat is very similar to MalibuKen's. I would have definitely shown you the way to where we hung out with some of the other Lower River Junkies...

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margaritaville express

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Looks like you had a great day of boating.....almost like a private lake this time of year.

The best advice we ever got was if you ever were up river too late you just float or idle back (24 FastCat).....nothing sucks more than being suck with a big boat. and keep a can of bug spray in the boat.

RT Mr Sandbar to You.jpg
 

BarryMac

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Anyone that comes to the Martinez area please feel free to shoot me a pm so we can meet up.

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Boat 405

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Great place for boating! I grew up going to piccacho and got to do the blythe to martinez run a couple years ago. Like others have said just take it easy and learn the river and you'll be in good shape. I think I remember there being a few trees in the actual martinez lake that are sometimes submerged only a foot or two as well.
 

scouter

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Your part of the river rocks! Picked the boat up first thing Saturday and spent most of the day cruising up & down... finished the day @ Rio Loco :) Maybe everyone was up at Desert Storm... river was empty. Thanks again for helping navigate... prop & drive came back home in one piece!

Ha ha...... First thing, I never realized that the Fishers bar was called Rio Loco. I should have considering the amount of money I spend in that place.

We missed last weekend, which was our first weekend not at the river all year. We stayed home to have a garage sale, and we WON'T be doing that again. What a fricken waste of time. :thumbsdown

Glad you had a great time and figured out your way around safely. We are down at Hidden Shores, which is where your pictures are down by the dam. This summer we are moving up to Martinez.

We will be back out this weekend..... :thumbup:
 

Advantage 1

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Anyone that comes to the Martinez area please feel free to shoot me a pm so we can meet up.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2


Ha ha...... First thing, I never realized that the Fishers bar was called Rio Loco. I should have considering the amount of money I spend in that place.

We missed last weekend, which was our first weekend not at the river all year. We stayed home to have a garage sale, and we WON'T be doing that again. What a fricken waste of time. :thumbsdown

Glad you had a great time and figured out your way around safely. We are down at Hidden Shores, which is where your pictures are down by the dam. This summer we are moving up to Martinez.

We will be back out this weekend..... :thumbup:

Definitely a cool place :thumbup: Scouter... kept an eye out for your Advantage... but seeing you had a garage sale, understand why you were not on the water :) Hopefully you brought in some gas money $$.

We'll be bouncing around this summer, but next time out, we'll see if y'all will be out!

My new sig pic is off of one of your sandbars. Wish we were out there now...
 

04-24Stealth

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Found this old thread about lower river depths and navigation. Will be heading out in early June with a 24 stealth i/o. For those in the know, any new hazards, or is it still just follow the water color. Would love to follow a local around for the first day.

Thanks
Dan
 

DaytonaBabe

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Found this old thread about lower river depths and navigation. Will be heading out in early June with a 24 stealth i/o. For those in the know, any new hazards, or is it still just follow the water color. Would love to follow a local around for the first day.

Thanks
Dan

Definitely have a good pair of polarized sunglasses. They make all the difference in the world down here when spotting sandbars. We're out on the river in this area pretty much every weekend and would be happy to lead you up river from Fisher's if our schedules align 👍
 

YumaRivernaut

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Probably taking my MerKaBa out the weekend of the 1st of May for a run.
Will attempt to launch @ Squaw Lake unless the Kalifornistan Gestapo shut us down (I have a season pass:mad:) then well have to go to Fishers or Martinez.
Been stuck in gruesome Newsom's communist state on business for weeks now.
Will be nice to be back on my river in the free USA! 👍 :cool:
Hit us up if you want!
 

scouter

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What a fun old (7 years) thread.

There are several in this thread who have places at Martinez/Fisher's, so hit us up if you are around the area. We'll get together (observing proper distancing of course..... ;) )
 

MK1MOD0

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We just got back from being on the river for three weeks. awesome time..... I’m mean it sucked!!!! Don’t go. Seriously though, if ya haven’t been there this year or for awhile follow someone who has. The river can get shallow on the weekends and the sand shifts every year.
 

04-24Stealth

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Ok heading out next Friday. Is anyone else going to be out there? Would love to follow someone up river Friday from fishers so I can mark the sand bars. I’ll buy the beers at fishers after. [emoji1303][emoji1303]


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Mandelon

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Also try The Lower River Junkies page on Facebook. Lots of regulars on there.
 

YumaRivernaut

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Ok heading out next Friday. Is anyone else going to be out there? Would love to follow someone up river Friday from fishers so I can mark the sand bars. I’ll buy the beers at fishers after. [emoji1303][emoji1303]


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I'll be there Saturday on my house houseboat.
My MerKaBa shit the bed four weeks ago.
Launched a rod through the oil pan :eek:👎
Oh well, was a good fast sumbitch for quite a long time.
Up next, 600 hp 496 stroker. Building it as we speak. :eek:👍:cool:
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