Wakes-Upper Taney

[Phil Lilley]

This has been hashed over many times over the years here... and I welcome the opportunity to do it again.

No Wake Zones in rivers where there's moving water are difficult simply because it isn't feasible. Imagine you're in a 21 foot bass boat and the current it moving at a 6 mph clip. At idle speed, which you're supposed to go through a No Wake Zone, your ground speed would be virtually zero. On full plane, the same bass boat would throw very little wake. I think what you'd do if you imposed a No Wake Zone up below the dam is force a bass boat to go through the No Wake Zone in current and throwing a bigger wake than they would if they went through on plane.

Every boat is different. At varied speeds they will throw different wakes. What each boat operator needs to learn is what kind of wake his boat throws in different situations and try to do the best he can to not hurt anyone, other boaters or people on the bank, with their wake.

[Old plug]

Phil no last initial was a H. He grew up in Kimberling city area. Live here now. Yes I know it would be almost impossible to connect any damage to a particular boater. Around here this wake business sometimes gets nasty. People start taking pot shots at boats. It has happened several time in the 25 years i have been here.

[laker67]

Maybe a no boat zone would make more sense

[Phil Lilley]

Maybe a no boat zone would make more sense

Not really practical though from a fisheries standpoint I'd think. When generation is 24/7 for months on end at times, the no boat zone would be a no fishing zone except for the 1% of bank fishing access. Of course it would have an adverse affect on businesses like mine.

From the standpoint of no wake- yes it would make the most sense.

[laker67]

From the boat ramp downstream could become a no wading zone.

[fishinwrench]

A mandatory test was pushed for rental craft here but the Marine dealers assoc. got that idea shot down pronto before it even got openly discussed.

Turned out that an hour spent reading a book/watching a video, coupled with 15 minutes of multiple choice questioning was too much of an inconvenience for tourists wanting to rent a boat or PWC.

[Dylan Cluver]

I'm sorry the flyer does not say they are responsible but they are, it says beware. I have personally heard from numerous highway patrolman who frequent Indian point marina that boaters are responsible. They said if we got video evidence proving which boat caused damage then they could write tickets etc

[MOPanfisher]

Boating Etiquitte is easy and hard at the same time to teach. First be the guy in the boat that is trying to fish while someone else runs past you a few times, at idle, half plane/plowing, at on plane, then change places, simply treat the others like you would wish to be treated. Now if we can just figure out how to teach every one that part the world would be a better place.

[Ham]

There has to be some give and take though. If you try to play checkers on the interstate, someone is gonna run over your board. By that I mean, there are necked down sections of river that have the channel that you have to run to navigate at all and guys will try to stand there and fish. Not gonna work out to well for them.

I go out of my way to slow down for people and to go as far around them as possible. Usually the people I do the most for are the quickest to wipe their feet on me when they get a chance. It's hard to fix stupid.

[Gatorjet]

Where I could run the far upper end of Taney with my Gator with very little, or no flow I choose not to out of respect to the wading fishermen. There's 26 miles of lake, and I don't need to fish the upper one or two. While on the rest of the lake I make much smaller of a wake keeping up on plane than plowing against the current. I can also run out of the channel to stay away from other boats. I asked this question on a thread on OA a while back. All said keep It on plane, and skirt around them.

I think a lot of people who plow through the water at slow speed actually think they are being courtious to other boaters when in fact they are causing a larger wake.