Boat Wake Question on TaneyComo

[rhondafish]

This past weekend we were in Branson and wandered down to Lilly's  dock to "cool off  some. We usually fish Arkansas only, but always love to visit the river in Missouri.

We noticed the No Wake buoys out from Lilly's Dock, about half way out in the river.

We never saw a boat slow down, even for paddle craft.

Question is this: Is it No Wake between the dock and the buoys? Or does the No Wake zone extend across the river?

Thanks

[Phil Lilley]

Because we've only put out one buoy each end of our property it's a no wake from the buoys to the dock. We have cheated out a ways too far...  May have to pull them in a bit. 

[rhondafish]

We saw folks on both sides of the buoys, and no one slowed down. Not even for the kayaks coming down the river.

Whatever happened to Common Courtesy and Common Sense?

[Bill Babler]

I'm going to jump in here a bit.  The Kayaks are just out of hand down there.  Sometimes traveling right in the middle in the fog or even in very low light situation.  On two separate occasions I have rescued over turned Kayakers that had nothing to do with boat wakes.  Just extremely inexperienced people on the water.

We did have an accident this weekend and  I am presuming it was from running to fast in the fog, by a person that either did not know the lake or was simply an idiot.  A  Ranger boat was wrecked into a tree across from Short Creek.  On a whole however Taney is one of the safest bodies in the state. 

For the amount of traffic, probably the safest.

If you are coming from Branson headed for the dam, you have to remember the is an open unrestricted  waterway for navigation.  Inside bouy lines are the only place you are responsible to come off plane.  Common sense should prevail and it does for the most part.  It is a very long way coming or going and it is Impossible to crawl up or down the lake.  I have not seen anyone bust the bouys at Lilleys, and I have been out everyday.  It is possible as Phil said they are out a bit far, but it keeps wakes off his dock.

Last week, I saw the State Patrol run right by a herd of Kayakers and he was running on plane.  This is not Bennet Springs or the Niangua, this is the main channel of the White River.  Power boats operate here.

I'm out there almost everyday in the Summer, and try not to be one of the problems.  In reality however there are very few problems.  I will say however if I had to stop for every kayak on the water now of days I would have to cancel my guide trips as the lake is completely full.  They need to keep them to the sides and if waves are a problem, they probably need to not rent them.

Again by and large and we all fuss about a wave or two or someone that is moving to fast in the fog, this is a very safe waterway.

[Gatorjet]

Thanks Bill, well said. Might I add that thinking you are being safe, or courteous by cutting back to 1/4 throttle or so is not either safe, or courteous. The stern drops deep in the water, and plows a deep wake for others to have to deal with. Also, the bow can be elevated so much that it obscures your view of what is ahead. I was almost T-boned by some guy with a big, deep tiller controlled backtroller type boat. He had the bow up so high he didn't see me until he was within about 50', then made a sharp turn, throwing a giant wake that almost fliped my 20' inboard jet. A difficult thing to do. I imagine something like Phil's green boats, or a smaller Tracker would have gone over!

[MSUFisherBear]

Bill - I'm one of the guys in the kayaks, as I don't have the luxury of being able to afford a watercraft that isn't powered by myself (yet). That being said, I do agree that the 'yaking is a bit out of hand in regards to where people are traveling. I think a lot of it has to do with the local rentals (not knocking those; just sighting a lot of paddles in the hands of folks who have never paddled or been on the water before). I've seen a LOT of people floating down the main channel. Not that they or I don't have a right to be there, but in a craft that's only powered by how quickly and strongly I can perform a successful paddling stroke it's not the brightest idea to be cruising down the main body of water, especially in more hazardous conditions.

If I decide I need to traverse the channel, I'm making a bee-line for the other side (no unnecessary delays) and I'm paddling for all I'm worth. There is no reason from the perspective of either an angler or pleasure kayaker to be out in the middle of the channel. For one, I can access places that other guys can't and, in that, I feel like I have an advantage (if only mentally) because I'm able to fish more "undisturbed" waters. Second, if I'm paddling, I'd much rather be in a shallower area. If I do tip, it's going to be slightly easier to get that kayak back over and bailed if I'm close to the bank rather than smack dab in the middle of the water. Yeah, there's points in time where I am crossing where a motor powered boat would be mainly traveling, but it's the exception to the norm if at all possible.

Finally (and I may be the only guy or gal on here with this sentiment), I would MUCH rather a boat run full boar past me rather than slowing down. If a boat comes off plane or is underpowered, she's going to be throwing a LOT bigger wake than if it was just busting down the water (if it's not at idle speed). It's part of the reason I try to avoid areas where there may be pleasure boaters because I'm going to be dealing with much bigger wakes than if I was fishing a place that was mainly ran by fishermen, which just makes it harder for me to fish. Besides, I've been hit with wakes while trying to get to where I'm going and have never had a problem with tipping ( I guess that's where the inexperience comes in).

I've never rented a 'yak from one of the outfits in town. Not that I could tell them how to run their business, but maybe they should give some tips on where to paddle and how to deal with both wakes and obstructions. But alas, even if they did who knows if the folks would still pay attention.

[fshndoug]

it is only a matter of time when a yaker gets killed on this waterway.Too much current on 4 turbins.Too much current with the flood gates open.Too much boat traffic on foggy days.I just know it won't be me

[MOPanfisher]

Heck it might be a small Jon boat that gets run over instead of a kayak. For such a small, congested body of water, I remember very very few accidents of boat collisions on Taneycomo.  

[ramman123]

Im not real Familiar with floating taney but Just because people Kayak and Float doesnt mean they shouldnt be able to enjoy MO Waters. It would be the same to possibly say there are to many FISHING GUIDES  on that short stretch of water as well but now are you guys going to bash that. 

I understand its crazy to maybe kayak in the middle of the lake but whats the difference/ or who has the say that they cant i see big boats float out in the channels as well so its a 2 way road. 

As previously stated Us guys that have kayaks/canoes might not be able to afford a bigger boat or just dont want the expense of a bigger boat yes we can go places bigger boats cant but whats not to say we cant fish the same ares as bigger boats

[Phil Lilley]

I'm not real sure why this has become a pissing contest between big and little boats, those who can and cannot afford boats.  Or guides verses everybody else.  Not the point of this conversation at all.

I am on my dock every day and I'm on the water quite a bit.  The fog doesn't clear the lake usually before 9 am and kayaks that are put in at the dam are going my place in the fog before the fog clears.  That means they've paddled 5 miles in thick fog, no lights, small profile.  Even if they're at the side, they are hard to see over the bow of a boat traveling even at low speeds.  If you're an experienced paddler, you've got the best chance of not getting hurt.  Seventy percent of the ppl who kayak on Taney are novice.  And we haven't even talked about the stand=up boards... no ability to get out of the way fast and most not wearing life jackets.  Not exaggerating...  @MSUFisherBear is right.you have to be smart and careful when you're in any body of water and swimming with big boats.  Taney is no different.

Buoys - we've had more ppl not observe our new buoys since we've put them out than before and I think it's because they're out too far.  Rhonda is right.

The guy who ran aground was running in daylight.  He dropped something on the floor and was trying to get it.  I think we've all done that - reached for something.  This guy paid a price but lived to fish another day.  He was fortunate, blessed.