Mile 690.0 - Miles 690-683: Mhoon Bend

690-683 Mhoon Bend

Leaving Mhoon Landing the downstream paddler riding the outside of the bend needs to be wary of a very turbulent eddy about a mile and half downstream near LBD 686.5. Below medium water you will see a lot of fresh rip rap where the Army Corps has been trying to stabilize this gnarly place. Ride the channel side of the eddy for a dizzying look at the exploding boils whirlpools and the ricochet speed eddy revolving fast upstream. Locals know this raucous water feature as the “Whirlpool” and it is reputed to be the scene of more than one river drama. I personally got the nose of my canoe stuck in the top end of this place and almost got flipped over when we re-entered the fast main channel. In the front of my canoe was a Seattle reporter getting a ride he was not expecting on the misnamed “Old Man River!” At the height of the 2011 flood the Mississippi River tore over the banks along Mhoon Bend upending trees and houses and went roaring through the woods to spill back over into Tunica Lake, which is a couple of miles south. Tunica Lake swelled accordingly with muddy brown water and flooded every house in the collection of fishing and hunting camps located on its northeast corner. This Tunica Lake Community is a lively enclave of rednecks and river rats who fondly call themselves “The Cutoff.” The resilient Cutoff folks rebuilt after the flood, some adding a little elevation to what they had before 2011, and others throwing all care to the wind and rebuilding exactly the same. In modern times, there has been some local effort to refer to the Cutoff as “Tunica Lake” since it sounds more dignified, and the “Cutoff” had gotten a bit of a bad name as a place where non locals hung out – many to drink and carry on.