Table Rock Night Regs?

[ozarkgunner]

Well...

Everybody seems to have the perfect boat for going 30 mph except me and all of the guys that fish in the tourney series I fish.

At least 80% of the guys I know can't run 30 mph and stay on plane with two guys, all of their tackle, and a livewell full of water and fish.

I spend countless hours on the lake at night every year and I'm telling you this-- MY BOAT WON'T STAY ON PLANE AT 30MPH PERIOD.

It ain't the driver either as some of you have insinuated (like you know how every bass rig runs)... MOST of the big bass rigs aren't designed to run 30 mph fully loaded and WILL NOT stay on plane at 30... period. Not only that, but the motor over-revs at these midrange speeds and is not good for the motor. They are not made for this.

Whoever made this law has not put it to the test (as usual) to see if it is practical and needs to get a clue.

That is the last I will say about it.

Have fun out there.

P.S. I will not fish with my running lights on... It attracts bugs, repels fish, and any serious nighttime bass fisherman will not do it. You need to watch out for other boats to come near and be ready to flip them on at all times though.

If all of the tourney guys repeatedly break the law, then something needs to be done. Maybe we are not serious enough fishermen because we follow the law (which is generally a rule in MOST bass tournaments), but your comments make all of the tournament fisherman sound like a bunch of hot shot outlaws. This is far from the case for most of them, however money can make people do some stupid things. Some people would consider it cheating to go over the speed limit in a bass tournament. I fish out of a Ranger and it has no problem getting on plain at 30 mph. If your a "serious" night fisherman and your boat doesn't allow you to conform to the law, you should buy one that does. My BMW doesn't like to be driven 20 mph in a school zone, (In fact the RPM range is bad on my motor!), but I don't get to tell that excuse to the police officers (or the parents of the kid might I run over). You feel you are free to do whatever you wish, but I won't have any mercy on you if you ever run over someone at night, nor do I think your argument would go over very well with a Stone County jury.

Do what you wish, but you have just told the whole world forever:

1. You break tournament rules by exceeding the night time speed limit.

2. You break the light law.

3. You think to be a serious night fishermen you MUST break the law.

4. You think tournament fishermen are the final voice on whether or not to follow the law.

If you wanted to make an argument that the night time speed limit law is ineffective (i.e. it doesn't saves lives, or that nobody follows it) that is one thing. However, all your comments have done so far is make tournament fishermen look like a bunch of hot shots who are above the law. (Have you noticed how nobody else has joined you in advocating for breaking the law?)

Everyone is entitled to safely use the lake at night, not just those who are running around fishing tournaments.

Before you write back some arrogant comment, without getting into details I will personally ensure you get a visit from the "man" during your next night tournament in Missouri if you don't change your reckless attitude. I love to fish, but I love my family and friends who use the lake more.

[Sam]

My boat's not fast anyway, but I don't think it's safe to go over 30 mph at night, ever.

These things don't have headlights or brakes, and many's the time I've seen things floating out in the middle of the lake that would throw you out of the boat if you ran over them. You've seen them too sometimes after rains - whole tree trunks floating just below the water, and even big round hay bales.

There's a guy who lives on a bluff above Mincy on Bull Shoals, and I've often thought I ought to help him out with his electric bill. His yard light throws a reflection on the water for about a 2-mile stretch, and I've followed that reflection stripe on the water to get back in lots of times. I can see the water in front of me when I've got a light to follow.

One trip my partner and I were fishing flooded trees on the outside of the bend above Mincy flat, and the lake was low enough that the inside corner was only about a foot deep 'way out from the bank. There was a night tournament out of K Dock, and apparently those guys weren't local.

One big bass boat after another would come barreling down the lake at top speed, and they'd cut that corner too short. EEEEEE-OOOOOMPH, and they'd hit the mud. There'd be 10 minutes of cussin' and thumpin' while they got the motor up and got off the flat. Then a little later my partner would say "watch, here comes another one", and it'd happen all over again. From what we could see and hear I'm pretty sure one guy got thrown out over the bow when the boat stopped short. Anyway, a lot of props and lower ends got damaged that night because those guys were being hotshots.

It was pretty amusing from our side of the lake.

[bassman1308]

ozarkgunner: I'm certainly not a boat expert, just trying to be helpful, but have you tied raiseing or lowering your motor to help it plane at lower speeds? My Ranger is set up that way. I hardly have to trim it to get it planing at 30 MPH. I'm sure I lose a little wide open speed but you can't catch fish going 70 MPH anyway.

[ozarkgunner]

ozarkgunner: I'm certainly not a boat expert, just trying to be helpful, but have you tied raiseing or lowering your motor to help it plane at lower speeds? My Ranger is set up that way. I hardly have to trim it to get it planing at 30 MPH. I'm sure I lose a little wide open speed but you can't catch fish going 70 MPH anyway.

My boat planes at about 25ish...........! I think it is Wack'em who has the trim issues. Thanks for the advice, I certainly would get my jack plate changed if I could not plane out before I broke the speed limit. LOL.... You are right about not catching fish at 70 miles per hour! I love to fish, but safety on the water is critically important. Table Rock has more boats than ever on it and you simply can't run wide open in the night due to the higher crowds. Hence the reason the law was changed.

[mclothier1]

I always use my lights at night, not just when underway, but also when fishing. Maybe I just dont have the experience but I dont believe the lights make any difference when night fishing. The reason I feel this way is that we went night fishing several nights of our week vacation, and had no troubles catching fish, it seemed like everyone in the boat caught fish. One of the first nights I was there I ended up catching a 3# KY, a 2# white bass and a real nice #3 SM (that broke the tip off my rod landing him!!) caught them all in about a 30 minute span.

Maybe tournaments are different?

My running lights dont seem to attract too many bugs, But... I made the mistake of bringing along a fluorescent lantern one night, and BUGS everywhere!!!

Whackem... have you tried getting your boat up on plane, trim it out then bringing your speed back to 30? or does it fall back off plane? wonder if some creative weight placement might help? i.e. put some of the heavy stuff in the nose.

[Whack'emGood]

If all of the tourney guys repeatedly break the law, then something needs to be done. Maybe we are not serious enough fishermen because we follow the law (which is generally a rule in MOST bass tournaments), but your comments make all of the tournament fisherman sound like a bunch of hot shot outlaws. This is far from the case for most of them, however money can make people do some stupid things. Some people would consider it cheating to go over the speed limit in a bass tournament. I fish out of a Ranger and it has no problem getting on plain at 30 mph. If your a "serious" night fisherman and your boat doesn't allow you to conform to the law, you should buy one that does. My BMW doesn't like to be driven 20 mph in a school zone, (In fact the RPM range is bad on my motor!), but I don't get to tell that excuse to the police officers (or the parents of the kid might I run over). You feel you are free to do whatever you wish, but I won't have any mercy on you if you ever run over someone at night, nor do I think your argument would go over very well with a Stone County jury.

Do what you wish, but you have just told the whole world forever:

1. You break tournament rules by exceeding the night time speed limit.

2. You break the light law.

3. You think to be a serious night fishermen you MUST break the law.

4. You think tournament fishermen are the final voice on whether or not to follow the law.

If you wanted to make an argument that the night time speed limit law is ineffective (i.e. it doesn't saves lives, or that nobody follows it) that is one thing. However, all your comments have done so far is make tournament fishermen look like a bunch of hot shots who are above the law. (Have you noticed how nobody else has joined you in advocating for breaking the law?)

Everyone is entitled to safely use the lake at night, not just those who are running around fishing tournaments.

Before you write back some arrogant comment, without getting into details I will personally ensure you get a visit from the "man" during your next night tournament in Missouri if you don't change your reckless attitude. I love to fish, but I love my family and friends who use the lake more.

In case you didn't notice, I didn't say anything about anyone being a "hot-shot" as you say. You sure do make alot of assumptions and generalizations when someone makes one little comment.

I think you think also that we all run 70 mph at night... I never said that either. My boat will stay on plane at 37-38 mph if I feather the throttle and get the trim just right... otherwise it will start porpoising and fall off of plane. That's it. I have 4 batteries, fuel, the motor, and a livewell full of fish in the back of the boat... I don't own enough tackle and rods to counterbalance the boat enough I guess. No big deal to me though... I make it just fine.

I don't think I am more likely to "run over" someone while going 37 than 30. If you can't drive a boat at 37 mph without "running over" someone, you shouldn't be driving a boat.

I never said "screw the man" and/or anything about being out to break the law or anything like that. I also have never even come close to "running over" someone as you state. What I meant was that, no matter how hard guys try, they simply cannot run 30 and stay on plane.

I don't know one guy in my tourney series that says "screw the man... I'm gonna run as fast as I want to!" as you seem to imply. There are no "hot-shots" in our tournament series, and I assure you nobody drives a (to drop a name brand as you did) BMW around and acts like a big shot.

As for "nobody has joined you in advocating breaking the law"... I'm sure the guys I fish with don't have the care or time to argue with someone like you who is obviously better than them and is obviously against tournament fishing anyway.

If and when you fish at night you can keep your running lights on all night if you want to... have fun not catching fish while you battle the bugs... I will not.

My boat fishes well, and since it is paid off and I don't have money just laying around to buy a new one (or buy a BMW), I think I will stick with the one I have. I don't think I will quit night fishing anytime soon, just because I can't run exactly 30... It is gonna take alot more than that to deter me from enjoying night fishing.

I'm not worried about the Stone County Jail... They don't even pull you over unless you are going over 40 anyway, so no thanks. I also have never even been warned for fishing without my running lights on... much less been hauled into jail for it... So I suggest you go ahead and worry about yourself following the laws and quit trying to govern everybody else.

I never operate my boat on the lake in a way that can even be loosely construed as "unsafe" or "reckless"... you have no idea what you are talking about. You don't know everything about everything and everyone. I can tell that you think you do... but you don't.

I love it when guys will "personally ensure" that someone will get in trouble with the law. That is hilarious. You really do think you are very important don't you? I don't care how important you think you are... you aren't any better than anyone else, and you will do nothing of the sort. Just mind your business of keeping your family and friends safe (as you stated) and stay out of everyone else's business.

I hate when I get to arguing with someone about something as stupid as this on here... that is not what this forum is for. The guys who know me on this forum know that I am not a trouble causer and know that I am generally a nice guy. I just don't appreciate someone telling me that I don't know what I am talking about when it comes to my own boat and how I don't know how to run my own boat. Run your own boat and don't worry about mine. It's funny how, when you state the facts about something on here, there is always someone who wants to argue about it. I guess some people just want to argue about anything... even when they don't know what they speak of.

I am done with this subject.

[ozarkgunner]

In case you didn't notice, I didn't say anything about anyone being a "hot-shot" as you say. You sure do make alot of assumptions and generalizations when someone makes one little comment.

I think you think also that we all run 70 mph at night... I never said that either. My boat will stay on plane at 37-38 mph if I feather the throttle and get the trim just right... otherwise it will start porpoising and fall off of plane. That's it. I have 4 batteries, fuel, the motor, and a livewell full of fish in the back of the boat... I don't own enough tackle and rods to counterbalance the boat enough I guess. No big deal to me though... I make it just fine.

I don't think I am more likely to "run over" someone while going 37 than 30. If you can't drive a boat at 37 mph without "running over" someone, you shouldn't be driving a boat.

I never said "screw the man" and/or anything about being out to break the law or anything like that. I also have never even come close to "running over" someone as you state. What I meant was that, no matter how hard guys try, they simply cannot run 30 and stay on plane.

I don't know one guy in my tourney series that says "screw the man... I'm gonna run as fast as I want to!" as you seem to imply. There are no "hot-shots" in our tournament series, and I assure you nobody drives a (to drop a name brand as you did) BMW around and acts like a big shot.

As for "nobody has joined you in advocating breaking the law"... I'm sure the guys I fish with don't have the care or time to argue with someone like you who is obviously better than them and is obviously against tournament fishing anyway.

If and when you fish at night you can keep your running lights on all night if you want to... have fun not catching fish while you battle the bugs... I will not.

My boat fishes well, and since it is paid off and I don't have money just laying around to buy a new one (or buy a BMW), I think I will stick with the one I have. I don't think I will quit night fishing anytime soon, just because I can't run exactly 30... It is gonna take alot more than that to deter me from enjoying night fishing.

I'm not worried about the Stone County Jail... They don't even pull you over unless you are going over 40 anyway, so no thanks. I also have never even been warned for fishing without my running lights on... much less been hauled into jail for it... So I suggest you go ahead and worry about yourself following the laws and quit trying to govern everybody else.

I never operate my boat on the lake in a way that can even be loosely construed as "unsafe" or "reckless"... you have no idea what you are talking about. You don't know everything about everything and everyone. I can tell that you think you do... but you don't.

I love it when guys will "personally ensure" that someone will get in trouble with the law. That is hilarious. You really do think you are very important don't you? I don't care how important you think you are... you aren't any better than anyone else, and you will do nothing of the sort. Just mind your business of keeping your family and friends safe (as you stated) and stay out of everyone else's business.

I hate when I get to arguing with someone about something as stupid as this on here... that is not what this forum is for. The guys who know me on this forum know that I am not a trouble causer and know that I am generally a nice guy. I just don't appreciate someone telling me that I don't know what I am talking about when it comes to my own boat and how I don't know how to run my own boat. Run your own boat and don't worry about mine. It's funny how, when you state the facts about something on here, there is always someone who wants to argue about it. I guess some people just want to argue about anything... even when they don't know what they speak of.

I am done with this subject.

You are going to kill someone. It's that simple.

[ozarkgunner]

You are going to kill someone. It's that simple.

By the way, if you guys don't think 3-5 mph over the speed limit matters you should look up the concept of negligence per se. Simply put, if there is a law aimed at public safety (i.e. the boat speed limit law is to keep people from hitting each other) and you violate it it doesn't matter if you were acting cautiously. For example, if you hit a log at night and your fishing buddy flies out of the boat and drowns and you are going 35 at night. You are SOL when his wife sues you for your boat, truck, house,etc.. even if you were keeping a careful look out.

[Whack'emGood]

LMAO!

I would hope my mom wouldn't sue me.

You must live in a padded room, to prevent something from happening to you.

Watch out! The sky is falling!

If you don't leave the house, then you won't get into an accident I guess... I think I'll pass on living in the bubble.

That is plain nuts thinking.

LOL

[ozarkgunner]

LMAO!

I would hope my mom wouldn't sue me.

You must live in a padded room, to prevent something from happening to you.

Watch out! The sky is falling!

If you don't leave the house, then you won't get into an accident I guess... I think I'll pass on living in the bubble.

That is plain nuts thinking.

LOL

I give up. You are right!! Lets repeal the night time speed limit law! Additionally, lets also repeal the BUI law so we can get good and drunk before we run our bass boats 60+ m.p.h. at night. We don't want to live in a padded room now do we! 30 m.p.h. is arbitrary and capricious indeed!... how dare they!