Be Careful ...

[GNSfishing]

x 2. Fished from 5-9AM (starting Wed morning ending Sat night) and fished evenings from 830ish til around 11PM. Temps cooler and also less boaters. Wakers and Skiers out at 7-8AM and wave runners sleep about an hour or two later and come out around 9-10. That was my observation for the last 5 days.

Jason I know what you mean about the crazy and careless boaters pulling the poor little kids that don't know any better and have idiots for parents. I was out on Friday night and was fishing in Beardsley branch around pt. 2 and a guy in a center console Mako (not 100% sure if that was the make) was pulling his son (about 6 y/o or so) with 2 other sub 10 years olds in the boat at about 9:30ish in the evening right out in the middle of the creek. It was entirely too late to be doing any sort of water sports and it was down right dangerous. He also stopped about 2-3 times right out in the middle of Beardsley to let the other 2 in the boat jump out into the water for a short 1 minute swim while the other younger one just sat in the tube waiting to get pulled again. Just idiotic. Don't even think he had a ski flag up and even if he did not even sure you would have been able to see it, it was that dark out by then.

Call *55 on your cell phone will get the Water Patrol and report them. If you can get the boat numbers all the better. They will respond, had a person running a jet ski after dark last week end in Piney Creek and up to Cape Fair. My son called and reported it and they got him, wrote him a ticket and towed his jet ski off. So lets report these violations and maybe we can get a message out there that we are tired of the un-safe and illegal boat operation and it will cost them when they are caught. Sorry to say this will include some of us fishermen because there are a few who also violate the rules and boating laws. One rule I find is the one "When boats are meeting each other both are to steer to the right" I have very often steered to the right and the boat I am meeting steer to the left. Now days you have to operate your boat in a very defensive manner, including shutting down if necessary to get a clear path. My greatest fear is boats running with no lights on after sundown. You can not hear another boat while running so lights are the only way to know there is another boat running is by the correct running lights on. The rear runing light is suppose to be above the highest object in your boat while running.

I believe that if the state law requiring the wearing of a seat belts while driving a vehicle, it should also require the wearing of a approved life jackets while the boat is underway and the use of a kill switch by the operator. This can save lives!!!!!! How about requiring everyone to obtain a boat operating license as we do for driving?? Please Enjoy the lakes but do it safely and within the laws & safe operating boating rules.

[GNSfishing]

Being on the water is one thing ... yes, everyone has that right. But no one has the right to darn near run over or swamp someone else.

AMEN to that......

[Jason Essary]

Amen.

[rps]

Many years ago Table Rock was 15 or more feet low, it was the perfect way to see how many dangerous places there are. I know there are always changes made with flood but still a great lesson. I have been running TR since 1976 and still learning. One of the places to watch carefully is the mouth area of Rock creek and the first bend down past Eagle Rock. Also swing wide going into Roaring River and respect the markers.. Anyone else have warning areas, maybe we can save someone from trouble. Be Careful, Duck.

Many years ago Table Rock was 15 or more feet low, it was the perfect way to see how many dangerous places there are. I know there are always changes made with flood but still a great lesson. I have been running TR since 1976 and still learning. One of the places to watch carefully is the mouth area of Rock creek and the first bend down past Eagle Rock. Also swing wide going into Roaring River and respect the markers.. Anyone else have warning areas, maybe we can save someone from trouble. Be Careful, Duck.

Upstream from Holiday Island, stay in the channel if you are on plane.

X2 on the mouth of Rock Creek. There is a 12 inch diameter tree less than a foot under water nearly 100 yards farther out on the reef than the danger buoy.

Just downstream from Holiday Island very near Red Raider's Dock (first dock on the right headed downstream from the mouth of the HI cove) there is a hump barely 6 feet under and getting more shallow daily. The danger is that it abuts the channel edge.

[abkeenan]

On a side note of breaking the law I found a Yumbrella A-Rig in a tree top on a secondary point in Beardsley and it had all 5 arms loaded with hooks. Beardsley must be for the degenerates of Table Rock, which is why we have a place there lol.

[moskeeter56]

Screw that, having another license fee to pay. Everytime the government gets their hands on something, they proceed to mess it up. The seat belt law was not for our safety, it was so the state qualifies for the Federal monies. All young people are supposed to take the test now to drive a watercraft.

[glennL]

I thought this year was very mild compared to past years. Can't wait until the 4th falls on a Friday or Saturday and the economy gets better.. Can't image all the boats. A few years back, I counted 29 boats that i could see off my back deck. This year the high was 10.

I am all for safe, slow zones in all creeks and coves or narrow sections.. Also would like to see times that the wake boats would be able to do their thing and not 6am when I'm fishing. But of course, they would be held liable for any dock damages if they go off the main body. I see many docks (maybe grandfathered) on the main lake. Maybe's its time they get moved to the "coves". I can't blame the wake boats for giving off wake in the larger body of water, causing damage to those docks. So, I guess what i am saying is this: if you have a dock on the main body, you do so at your own risk.

[edyer]

Jerry, I do not agree with you. Yes everyone has a right to be there, But! you are still responsible for your boat wakes. If you cause another boat to either swamp or capsize due to the size or proxsimity of your wakes, you can and will be cited. You are also responsible for any damage that your wakes cause such as dock damage.

Got a feeling there is just about to be a new set of rules and some new marshals in town, due to these wake boats. Rumor has it there is just about to be something done.

Something is just about to happen on this and we will see. Any boat taking on balast that is causing excess wakes,might just be completly put out of business in Missouri.

I agree with Bill. Up here in Michigan, we have been lectured by the Marine Patrol about being responsible for our wake during some of the larger bass tournaments, but on some of the smaller inland lakes, the wakeboard boats send water over my boat all the time. I even had a wake from one of their boats push my boat so hard that my trolling motor shat was slammed up against the step board on the back of a Mastercraft. The owners ran down to the dock and wrote down my boat registration #'s and threatened to charge me for a small scratch that was made on the very weathered board that I was pushed into. I can only imagine what happens to the guys fishing out of a 12 or 14 foot flat-bottomed aluminum boat. It's to the point that if I'm not fishing a tournament, I just go out early on weekday mornings(I'm retired), but sometimes they are on the water at 7 in the morning:( I wish they would make it so these boats could only run on certain waters.

[ktm3ten]

Everyone should remember, when you say, "they should make a law..." you may not like that law. I've lived in several places where fisherman made requests about skiers/wakeboards, etc. Many of those lakes ended up with restrictions that affected fisherman too. Horsepower limitations, speed limits, whole sections of lakes off limits to certain activities, etc.

Try to remember, it's public. When something is public, everyone MUST get along or the lowest common denominator will win.

I recently heard some rule makers discussing damage to the docks by wakeboard boats. It was brought up by some of the wakers the amount of fishing gear that is wrapped around their lifts. A serious proposal involved no wakes and no fishing within 100 yards of any dock.

I know it's frustrating, but just be careful. Any time you say "they should make a law," you may not like that law and by threat of force from Water Patrol, you will live by it.

[Jerry Rapp]

ktm made a very good point. I am sure on the Wake Boat Forums they are discussing how to get rid of fishermen who get in their way, much less leaving line around their docks and scratch marks from jigs bouncing off their moored wake boats. One of the lakes I use to fish regularly in southern Illinois, Lake Egypt, has a rule, that is enforced, no casting within 10 foot of ANY dock and an enforced 35 mph speed limit. Just be very careful what you wish for. Common sense goes a long ways, and all users need to use more of it.