Be Extremely Careful Out There

[JohnF52]

In the nearly three years I have been back into fishing, after only fishing once in a great while for about 16 years, not once have I been on the water in my boat on a weekend or holiday. Week day evenings are bad enough. It is good to be retired and able to go on weekdays. Weekends were not so bad 20 years ago. Where do these folks get the money for the wakeboats and gas? Most of them must be deeply in debt.

[garyw]

I've been riding motorcycles for many years, drove school buses, concrete trucks, over the road 18 wheelers.

spent 20 years working in hospitals in radiology and the OR.

Been hit 3 times on the bike, rear ended on the bus. cut off several times in the trucks, and had to deal with Dr's with NO common sense.

take those same people, put them in a boat,,,,, and there you have it.

1st rule of motorcycling, EVERBODY is out to kill you! guess it applies to boating too.

[merc1997 Bo]

My 4th. of July weekend is off to a very shaky start. Launched at the ramp at the Knob at 5:15 to a fog just hanging over the water. You could see under it as it hung about 100ft. above the water.

At 5:20 with lights on a blue Malibu wake boat came past me pulling 2 skiers, and pulled them into a fog bank at the mouth of the Kings River.

We went up the White River and started throwing a wobblehead on a long flat point. There was another fishing boat on the other side of the point. Looked like he was jig fishing, but could not see him all the time. We were about 150 feet off the bank and the fog had settled down so much that I could not see the bank. I would at times be able to see the other fisherman. Heard the boat coming before we saw it. Big Ranger sporting 2 power poles and running flat out in complete soupy fog ran between us and the bank at I'm guessing about 60 MPH.

Really shook us up. moved in a little closer and both of us fishing boats had our lights on. We are at Sans Souci and cannot see across the lake. 20 minutes later we hear blaring music, this is about 7 in the morning and in a total fog bank here comes a black tow boat pulling 2 skiers and I'm guessing he can just barley see the skiers behind the boat. We saw the boat coming and it was bearing right at us with its bow up and plowing. Missed us about 50'. I really do not think they ever saw us standing and screaming at them. Music was just blaring and shaking the water and they were completely void of anything that was going on.

Hard day for us, mostly catching suspended fish at 23' over depth. 13 total with maybe one squeeker keep.

Pulled back around to the twin rivers area of the Kings and continued to throw the wobble head. We were casting a bank with pole timber splashing the bait into about 10' of water when a black and grey tracker V bottom alum. trolled between us and shore. I jut threw my hands up and the guy trolling threw his up back and me and yelled you bass fisherman don't own the lake.

My gosh is there a cure for completely Stupid.

On the way home I was going down the big hill just to the east of Carr Lane and was following a motor cycle with a pull trailer and a Rav4. The Cycle was in front of the Rav4, we were going 55 mph. All of a sudden the cycle decides he has missed his turn at Carr Lane and decides to pull a U'ie. Slams on the brakes and the RAv4 takes the ditch on the right side and I lock them up. IF it had not been for the Phoenix trailer braking system I would have ran the cycle over or went into the ditch and overturned my outfit. The guy behind me hit the ditch on the other side to keep from hitting me.

Cycle guy got a ticket for an illegal U turn, but he was claiming he was going to pull into a farmers gate. Bull Pucky. That dude could have killed himself and his wife and completely ruined a lot of lives by completely stupidity.

I'm really scared to go back on the road or the water today, so I'm home and gong to sit tight.

bill, sorry about how your day went, but now you know what i have been yelling about for quite a few years now. we definitely need to have a boat, on the water, operators driving test. and it really needs to be conducted on a busy lake. not only should the test to be following rules of the road, but also to see if the operator is running the vessel in safe water at all times. it is actually a miracle that there are not more accidents than what we have.

bo

[merc1997 Bo]

I am at work today, by choice. I had to option to take it off, but if I work I can bank the holiday and take it some other time. I have had a dozen people ask why I am at work today and not out fishing, my verbatim response is "Do you know how many other people took that same approach, and went to the lake? I would rather go on a Tuesday, when everyone else is at work."

You just validated my decision, my assumption, and my response.

i always wonder about every time that i go fishing if anyone is working anymore. the lake is always busy.

bo

[merc1997 Bo]

Its all nice to talk big and bad on the net BUT there are big bad guys out there and starting something over someone's stupidity is a good way to get hurt or killed at worse and go to jail at best. KEEP in mind every Dick and Debby has a go-pro or video on their phone and if you sling lead at them you WILL be the one caught on camera and WILL be the one cited or arrested for being stupid and keep in mind those violation points can add-up fast and cost you your Fishing license.

I would say start videoing the morons and uploading the video to the local news stations Facebook pages, they get enough of it they will do a story and get law enforcement really active and when the fools and there friends see it on a FB the embarrassment and worry about the law coming will be priceless.

you know what?? i guess i never saw them just like they did not see me sitting there fishing, right??

bo

[Feathers and Fins]

Cranial rectosis is known by the State of California and the Surgeon General to: Cause otherwise respectable and honorable people to create hazardous situations. Primary Symptoms include:

Large Belt Buckle

Large Boat

Alcohol

Being a Late teen Early 20's

Also included symptoms are:

Keeping up with the Jones

Status Symbol luxuries

Use of Viagra

[Quillback]

i always wonder about every time that i go fishing if anyone is working anymore. the lake is always busy.

bo

Yep I always say the same thing, nobody seems to work anymore. But it is worse on the weekend.

Of course, I'm retired also and just add to the weekday crowds.

Come on November!

[GNSfishing]

bill, sorry about how your day went, but now you know what i have been yelling about for quite a few years now. we definitely need to have a boat, on the water, operators driving test. and it really needs to be conducted on a busy lake. not only should the test to be following rules of the road, but also to see if the operator is running the vessel in safe water at all times. it is actually a miracle that there are not more accidents than what we have.

bo

+ for me. WHERE'S THE WATER PATROL??? We need law enforcements presents on the water. I will guess that most of the wake boat operators has attended the required water safety course before they operate a boat so the "stupid" prevails and without the enforcement people presents on the water and doing their job, nothing going to change... saw someone pulling a tube with kids on it above the Flat Creek bridge the other day........?????

[skeeter]

Remember Ron White's (comedian) altruistic statement ? ....... "YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID" ! Enough said.

Regarding boating in the thick fog: remember a few years back when the idiot organizers of the Ranger Owners Tournament turned about 250 boats loose in the 7 A.M. fog ? Amazing and just dumb luck that no one was killed that morning.

[Old plug]

The water patrol has been strangely absent in my area of LOZ as well since last wednesday. I remember wrench saying he heard the owner of CoCo Nut was complaining and threatening to sue because the patrol was hurting his business. I am beginning to think that he has political pull as well and the patrol has been told to lay off.

People will take it into there own hands again. I am sure Bill remembers a instant or two of people shooting boats from the bank around here. Imagine what someone could do now days with a state of the art sniper rifle.