Common Sense ....

[Bill Babler]

Guys, I was out there yesterday, and as a former State Water Patrol Officer, I noticed lots of problems 99% was not that of the guides. Most of the guides using the modified Bay Boats have absolutely no vision problems, especially in that type of loose fog that was out there yesterday.

Take the bank test. Look how far from your boat you can see up the bank line and it is pretty easy to judge distance. We are out there everyday, and we can see and are used to looking in the fog, especially like yesterday when there was 200 plus feet of visibility on a very loose fog.

The guides and the people in the glass boats do and will have a problem operating in heavy current at slow speed and keeping the bow of the boat down. Also there are a couple of them that throw huge wakes and with the fish and all the people jammed in a small area it seemed like overkill.

It was not a problem. The problem is people operating boats in the wrong lane of traffic and floating in the wrong lane of traffic and expecting everyone to come to a quick halt and just let them do what they wish. Not going to happen for the most part.

With the current running you go up stream on the RIGHT AND DOWN STREAM ON THE RIGHT. PERIOD. I never saw a single guide and I was out there all morning that was not hugging the EXTREME right bank going up and drifting the EXTREME right bank going down. Never in the middle, one side or the other. On the other hand rental boats, pleasure boats, and just folks out having fun not to mention the canoes and kayaks were all over the place.

Lets just drive on the wrong side of the road all the time was the theme yesterday. I personally asked at least 5 different boaters why they were driving up the wrong side of the lake or drifting powerless right down the middle. Every answer was the same. It does not matter what side of the lake you drive on. WRONG. Keep right and leave the center lane open and there would have been no problem.

I am a safety freek, there are times I make my clients wait or even cancel. Yesterday was not one of them. If that amount of visibility impairs your vision, or you are apprehensive then you should indeed wait for a better condition.

The only comments my clients made were boaters driving up the wrong side of the lake. Even with this it was not a problem as visibility was more than safe.

As far as dodging the lake is narrow up there and the current was running 4 miles per hour. If your driving up the correct right side of the lake, why would anyone have to dodge you? And as I said earlier I you were drifting down the wrong side yesterday you were not using your head. Stay Right.

Not taking up for anyone and someone might have thought I was one of the problems, but I only saw a couple of glass guide boats that may have been and really even though they were throwing huge waves, they were running in the correct boating lanes and drifting correctly.

Just some ramblings.

[Ham]

The problem is people operating boats in the wrong lane of traffic and floating in the wrong lane of traffic and expecting everyone to come to a quick halt and just let them do what they wish. Not going to happen for the most part.

With the current running you go up stream on the RIGHT AND DOWN STREAM ON THE RIGHT. PERIOD. I never saw a single guide and I was out there all morning that was not hugging the EXTREME right bank going up and drifting the EXTREME right bank going down. Never in the middle, one side or the other. On the other hand rental boats, pleasure boats, and just folks out having fun not to mention the canoes and kayaks were all over the place.

Lets just drive on the wrong side of the road all the time was the theme yesterday. I personally asked at least 5 different boaters why they were driving up the wrong side of the lake or drifting powerless right down the middle. Every answer was the same. It does not matter what side of the lake you drive on. WRONG. Keep right and leave the center lane open and there would have been no problem.

I have never heard or read this anywhere else. I was completely unaware this is the law of the land. Is this Taneycomo Law or everywhere law?

I try to avoid being caught out in a fog. I learned that lesson about 20 years ago. You think you can see, but you can not see.

The White is tricky. On hot humid days, a fog developes in the afternoon. You flat can not expect to fish until dark. I can wait out a fog in the morning most mornings and I watch for fog coming on in the evenings.

[Phil Lilley]

http://www.uscgboating.org/images/486.PDF

We are taught to pass port to port, stay right in the channel. It's not a law but a rule. It's really actually common sense.

The problem is every boater, whether renting boats, private owner or even a guide - all do not know or observe this rule so you're going to have issues.

Bottom line - be as safe and courteous as possible yourself and try to handle the knuckleheads the best way possible because you can't get away from them, even on vacation!

[Travis Swift]

I'm the one that started the guide complaint so I would like to say publicly it was not Mr. Babler. I've been on this forum since the day it started and enjoy Bill's posts, especially when he gets fired up. He's kind of a celebrity here in my office that I work in, in Kansas. So I always know him when I see him on Taney. Someday I'll get the nerve to stop and say Hi, always wanted to meet him and shake his hand and shoot the bull. Anyhow Bill, I know what you and your boat (boats now) look like and you weren't the problem at all. And I'm NOT going to name the guide no way no how not gonna hurt someone's business. As stated that's my dream job is to guide on Taney so I'm not about to call a guy out. Bill is right 99% of the guides are awesome on that lake, but this one fellow I was really disappointed in but I'm keeping his identity to myself, he's got mouths to feed as well. By the way my observation was the week/weekend of July 4th and not yesterday. As stated I've been coming there 30 years and I know exactly what I'm getting into by getting on the lake on a holiday weekend. I wasn't complaining at all, I caught a ton of fish and had a blast as always. Just was an observation. For that 1 guide there were 25 other baffons that I didn't know who they were, I just happen to know this guy cause I love fishing the Ozarks and follow them vicariously thru here and facebook.

[Terrierman]

4:30 PM 7/15/15

4:35 PM 7/15/15

[Travis Swift]

^{For the record one of my favorite things about Taney is the fog. How neat is that place, with the fog, the cool air pockets, the smells of honeysuckle. It's heaven on earth to me and my favorite place in the entire world and the fog is part of her majestic beauty!}

[Ham]

http://www.uscgboating.org/images/486.PDF

We are taught to pass port to port, stay right in the channel. It's not a law but a rule. It's really actually common sense.

The problem is every boater, whether renting boats, private owner or even a guide - all do not know or observe this rule so you're going to have issues.

Bottom line - be as safe and courteous as possible yourself and try to handle the knuckleheads the best way possible because you can't get away from them, even on vacation!

I certainly understand rules of the road when bassing another boat. I understand being responsible for your wahe and than unpowered vessels have the right of way.

What I am not aware of is "you must run up river on the right and then drift back down on the right". I hav sections of the White that I want to drift left, right and middle. Fortunately, most of the time I am on the White it is not combat fishing silliness. I'm not in anybody's way and they aren't in mine. I understand Taney is a different animal.

[Clay Goforth]

Where is Patterson on this fog discussion? The reason that Phil, before every tournament, says, "Be careful leaving the dock. Idle out and take off slowly. We are all going to get to fish today. Don't ramp over anybody else's boat."

[Bill Babler]

Rules of the Road dictate you drive up stream on the right and when you go down stream bow first you stay on the right.

If your drifting on the White River with full visibility and very little traffic drift where you wish.

As mentioned when you are on Upper Taney right now if you will follow the simple Rules of the Road there will be no problem.

A little something more about this. In the last 20 yrs. with a lot of this time driving in foggy conditions, there have been ZERO guide boats that have been involved in any type of an on water collision to my knowledge. That is 1/2 MILLION HOURS, of operation without a single accident.

1/2 MILLION HOURS. It could happen tomorrow. It could happen to me. But we have a record that is beyond reproach to this point, with 1000's of hours driving under the same conditions that were there yesterday.

The guides drive and keep on the right. They can see. Fishing and catching fish means SQUAT for any of them that I personally know when it comes to your safety and the safety of their clients is by far our number 1 and really only concern.

I personally will take this thread to heart and reinforce my complete concentration on my boat handling and operation. However if the visibility is such that I can safely see and navigate, I will proceed with caution.

Good Fishing.

[Phil Lilley]

Not exactly true Bill. Vince Elfrink was guiding when he ran into and up on another boat. No one was injured but it scared the people to death. Vince was petrified.

It happens to the best of us. Guides are no different than anyone else.