Threading The Needle Of Ungrateful Fisherfolk

[scott resick]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I72jJ4wor_w

Billy jo Bob here must have thought the Gate Ball marked his crab cage.

[SkiTundra]

Golfers not gilders. But on a side note, most fishermen get in their boats and try to cast as close to shore as they can get. This problem would be solved very easily if they all just fished from shore. Then the only problem would be their camp fires being waked out.

Thems bass fisherfolk yur talkn bout. Walleye troll the whole lake.

[Zach@n3]

I was focusing on fishermen because that was the title of the thread but the truth of the matter in any type of boat the amount of jackasses is large and in charge. Guys in IOs pulling tubers in figure 8 formation for hours and wake surfers surfing cross ways on the lake or in the clock wise outer rotation (Indiana is outside and CCW by law). Just have to watch out for them.

I really do think a test and license should be required to operate a boat. I took the operator test when I was 15 just to be legal to drive.

[Quinner]

So what you're telling me is that you believe there is no way to courteously wakesurf??

No that is not what I said, this is:

Out on big water far from shore, have at it, up close and personal is where the problem exists.

Please tell us what person(s) will not be annoyed or bothered by these huge waves rocking their world or shoreline?? Heck, hawk just told a story of a guy in a 30 footer getting irate, imagine the reaction of the person in a low free board inboard, skiff, Jon boat, kayak, etc. etc. or the homeowner with his boat moored to his pier, I honestly cannot think of anyone who would welcome these behemoth wakes.

Been skiing for 44yrs, a tournament ski boat/inboard owner for the past 25yrs and over that time have learned to tread lightly, particularly on smaller lakes. The majority are anti wake/watersports already and some are very vocal about it. If they are complaining but tolerating the minimal wake created by most watersports, were talking about 3"-12" wakes, what would you expect their reaction will be when they now are contending with 36"-48"+ wakes?

Don't get me wrong, I am a watersports enthusiast first and foremost however it is becoming a real concern the "bigger is better" trend is giving all of watersports a bad name and more regulations or bans will be the result.

[Zach@n3]

Bazzzzing Quinner!! Get em!! haha. I don't mind wake surf wakes during the day but I like my mornings smooth. Anywho I don't see many lakes tolerating surf wakes for very long because of what I see on our local res. It is surrounded by seawalls. When surf boats are running parallel to shore line the surf wakes intersect sea walls at a 60ish degree angle. The waves are so tall and have so much momentum when they hit the wall they create a 6 or 8 wave long water spill over that continues as long as the sea wall goes. This puts a ton of water right up into all the owners prime water front area. I don't think these people will appreciate a wet yard all summer long on dry days.

[scott resick]

There is another thread for wake wars, Lets get back to the fisherfolk here. Bottom line is everyone wants good conditions for whatever there jolly may be. When the river is busy with traffic we tube, surf and wake board. Later in the evening when traffic dies down we barefoot and ski and no matter what we may be doing we do it as respectfully as possible. We also have a slalom course in the river that 6/10 times we go out to ski we have to politely ask fisherfolk to remove their vessel from the center of the course. Irratating, but it is public water.

[Zach@n3]

Anyways, Fishermen

[HS]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I72jJ4wor_w

Billy jo Bob here must have thought the Gate Ball marked his crab cage.

woah. reminds me of a character in movie I didn't see. Could anyone understand what it said?

[biggator]

So - from the Austin Ballast Ban thread.. I was arguing that larger boats threw FAR larger wakes than a loaded G.

We were out this weekend.. after riding, just cruising around. This is a larger lake (lanier) so not quite like some of the tiny lakes you're talking about. We come out from under a bridge and see a 30ish foot Carver coming up the channel at about 12mph... I swear I almost swamped my G. Everyone left their seats (we did NOT hit the wake at speed, either).. the wake was enormous and thrashing everything in sight.

This thing was a solid 2-3' bigger than the nastiest wakesurf wave I've ever seen.. no ballast needed.

[Zach@n3]

I agree with the bigger boat the bigger wake. Think of the weight of a 30" yacht compared to the weight of a 25 foot fully loaded wake boat.

[chris196]

So - from the Austin Ballast Ban thread.. I was arguing that larger boats threw FAR larger wakes than a loaded G.

We were out this weekend.. after riding, just cruising around. This is a larger lake (lanier) so not quite like some of the tiny lakes you're talking about. We come out from under a bridge and see a 30ish foot Carver coming up the channel at about 12mph... I swear I almost swamped my G. Everyone left their seats (we did NOT hit the wake at speed, either).. the wake was enormous and thrashing everything in sight.

This thing was a solid 2-3' bigger than the nastiest wakesurf wave I've ever seen.. no ballast needed.

Sounds like he was going at what I like to call "maximum plow" speed.
A heavy boat at plow speed creates a huge wake. Some people just don't understand what they're doing. A boat like that creates less wake once on plane. With a planing hull either be on plane or hull speed, not the in between spot of not quite on plane.

Wakesurfing, by it's very nature, puts the boat in this maximum plow speed all the time. So, if you're wakesurfing it's desirable from your standpoint, but not from other lake users' perspectives.

[wakebrd21]

Where we are we ride in a canal that is very long and glassy. Unfortunately it is the perfect spot for high school crew invitationals. What makes it even worse is that they take over the entire boat launch area with paddles and boats and essentially block everyone from launching. They also set up their races directly in front of the boat launch area. We have had numerous run-ins with angry parents and coaches as we attempt to make it to the side of the canal out of their way and idle past them. We have at times had to get police escorts to just be able to launch our boat since it's a public launch. Total craziness.

[JamesHawk101]

I had a 50 foot sedan bridge come by me at that max plow speed and my G got wrecked. Water straight over the bow (everything in the front got wet) almost to the windshield. The splash was big enough to hit me in the face.

[BrennanK]

I have always thought "first come, first serve". If you are there fishing before me I will go elsewhere or wait. If I am there skiing before you, you can go elsewhere or wait.

I don't usually mind the fisherman (or any other boat for that matter). What really gets me going is when I am waiting at the end of the course taking a breather or shorting the line and a boat comes creeping up through the course or gets awkwardly close. It is pretty obvious what I was doing and what my intentions are. They just do it to prove a point that they don't like what I am doing or something.

It is everyone's lake, share it and be courteous to everyone.

[perry386]

It is everyone's lake, share it and be courteous to everyone.

agreed.