"Blown out"???

[fishnquest]

I hear the term all the time through winter. The water is high, fast and muddy (as in brown in color). At what point does water become "blown out"? I mean I have fished brown water and I know people do that from time to time. I think "blown out" means don't waste your time. If so, how do you determine that? Are we talking about mean-fast raging water?
Also, does anybody know where this term came from?:think::think::think:

 

[fishnquest]

I googled "blown out". I couldn't believe the very first return; can't even discuss it on a family forum. Lots of other definitions too, but none about fishing.

 

[Thuggin4Life]

blown out to me means the water rose rapidly making it really murky, fast, and debris in the water. Once a river gets blown out I try to watch it close and hit it on the drop. Also this year i started to pay more attention to the charts and water flows because I know what levels my plunking holes are fishable but sometimes the river is just flowing too hard. also this year by paying attention to the flow I hit the river on the rise where last year I didn't and we got into fish on day I normally wouldn't have gone. Also a slow mellow rise doesn't mean the water will be to off color to fish, were a huge spike in the river ussually does. Think of the wind and the term blowing. Now think of your river in brime conditions and aply the wind term to the water and picture y ourself a blown out river. Also rivers can blow there banks making the rivers muddy witch happens when a lot of extra water hits a river making them high muddy and fast and there is the term blown out. I don't know for sure but sure does sound good. Think fisherman adapted the term of a blown out river and use it more loosely to describe fishing conditions were it should be used to descride rivers that are in danger of flooding.

 

[Mike123]

Blown out = Really high and muddy.. not fishable.

 

[fishnquest]

Thanks very much Andy, that really does help me understand.
Yesterday the river was brown, fast, high, and eroding the gravel banks as it charged along. I never thought about it before but it must be carrying sand, gravel, rock, debris, etc. Probably some pretty good sized rocks, too. That must qualify as blown out.
Now I picture myself as a fish in that and thinking I'm looking for shelter from the "storm" going on in the water. As a fish, perhaps I have temporarily lost the urge to get upstream and just looking to survive till there are better living conditions around me. Hmmmmm, its starting to make sense.....I think.

Mike, yeah, I've heard that before and was wondering what exactly is "really high"?; at what point is it "muddy"?; when exactly is it "not fishable"?, who says, and why,.......muddy alone doesn't stop me from fishing. The last time I was out the water was brown; there were several people fishing and I saw one fish caught by what turned out to be one of the local gurus. I don't know if it was high, it was my first time on that particular water.

 

[gordo]

I don't know where blown out came from either, but one thing I can tell you - the power of a river to carry different sized sediment is related to the velocity of the river. That is pretty obvious, but the numbers are pretty staggering.
For those that can stomach a little "nerdy" explanation... I studied a bit of hydrology once (forgot most of it by now!), but one thing I always remembered was the "6th Power Law". Basically, you take the 6th power of the change in velocity of the river, and that gives you the order of magnitude of larger particles that can be moved.

I don't know how best to explain it, so to keep an example short, say your river DOUBLES (x2) in velocity after a storm. You then take 2 to the 6th power, which equals 64. In other words, doubling the velocity of the river allows the river to carry particles that are 64 times as large as it previously could carry.
Now say it TRIPLES (x3) in velocity after a storm. Then you would take 3 to the 6th power, which equals 729! So all of a sudden, if the river triples in velocity, it can carry particles that are 729 times as large as it previously could!
Seems crazy, but when you realize the size of particles it could previously carry is quite small, multiplying by 64 or even by 729 doesn't necessarily come out to be boulders or anything... it might move up from clay or silt to sand, or something like that. But if there was a major flood and the river is truly hauling a**, then yea, boulders could be moved too.

I also recall the 6th power equation breaking down at some point and the need to take into account a few other variables (volume, gradient, depth, etc), but for the most part, it should server as a pretty decent estimation.

Sorry for the hydrology lesson! Hope it sheds some light into the power of the river though...

 

[joesnuffy]

I was just trying to imagine the origin of "Blown Out" and this is what I thought of: (just a thought, I have no fact to support it)
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I'd think that the term "Blown Out" in relation to fishing goes back quite a long ways. Back to when boats were powered by Oars and Sails. Unlike today with engines that will take you pretty much anywhere an almost every condition and a GPS to let you know where you are, fishing in the old days required decent weather so as not to get lost or even able to control the boat. If the wind was too high the water was "Blown Out" and unfishable.

Or, it could have somthing to do with fishing nets and the wind. If the weather was real bad it could "blow out" the nets to sea.

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Like I said, I have no facts to support this. It was just a thought......

 

[beaverfan]

The Willamette looks like an earthquake just blew threw! LOL

 

[fishnquest]

Gordo, that sheds a lot of light.
Hey, thanks guys. I'm looking at the river with a lot more understanding than I had a couple days ago.