Depends what weekend it is, if you are going Memorial Day it's still not that busy there, and you can prob even get a spot saturday, but I would still try to leave Friday,a dn try to leave early so you don't have to run at night, as the river is a bitch and you also have to avoid the fishing nets.
Sidenote: How far down are those fishing nets, is there any possibility of snagging one btw bouys, or even if you get to close to the buoys???
You need to also bring cash and be prepared to have the best time of your life and meet new people, especially because you will be docking up and walking over boats to get to the dock.
They raft four off, so choose your spot wisely.
This is jsut one boat whores perspective; I usually only have to worry about making sure the Captain has a full drink and steer while he takes a piss. Other than that I listen to Buffet and get drunk for the 4.5 hour trip.