I need a bigger Boat!

[denjac]

Went out Sunday out of North Little Indian. Couldnt find a calmer place to fish as I had 2 grandkids with me. Big boats pulling skiers in the backs of creeks flying over covered timber. Came back in within an hour. Guess I need a boat like Jim Rogers had a big ole center console Ranger, you couldnt fall out of that in a hurricane! Took the kids back out Monday late morning. It was better then. Went to my 3 pound kentucky spot only caught one in 38 ft. Yep he was another 3 pounder. Thats all that spot gives up is big ones, have yet to catch a smaller one there. Then back to a dock in the Indians with deep water in front of it. Granddaughter fishing next to me and glanced over and her line was slack, {she was fishing a cannon ball for her sinker} grabbed her pole and set the hook and handed it back to her. The fish got wrapped around a cable deep and grandpa couldnt get it free. She was upset and thought Grandpa should dive in and untangle it so it wouldnt die. I was impressed that my catch and release was imbeded in her mind. She is 12 years old. At least when she is old enough to date she can kick her boyfriends butt at fishing.

[rps]

I know exactly what you mean. When I first moved to TR I owned a Supreme river boat. Alan, the marina operator, called it a bowling alley with an outboard motor. It was a good boat. Thrifty, easy to fish from with a good standing deck. Easy to troll with and surprisingly fast with a 15HP.

Two summers ago I was swamped by other boats - twice. River boats are not positive floatation ... they're not any kind of floatation. Ever watched anyone bail really fast?

I started looking and wound up with an 18 foot Xpress center console. Now, unless I do something really dumb, I stay safe and dry.

[Gary Lange]

I was out last Wed. out of Indian Point in the early morning. Ran up Long Creek a ways and then about 10:00am or so all the big boats started coming out to play. I had a 20' Cobra with a 225 on it and was quite safe and dry but it took the fun out of the fishing and I called it quits at noon and headed for home. Got the boat out of the water and wiped down in time for it to rain and get all went and muddy going home. The big Cobra handles rough water very well but my old body don't.

[jcoberley]

LOL I have tryed to fish when I was going down the lake at 50 mph I never caught anything. However with a canoe woo hooo I have caught a lot of fish. However its not fun when big powerfull boats zoom by and make large wakes trying to swamp me. So now days I am a bank fisherman. I give up trying to fish from a boat.

[Gary Lange]

jcoberley, You need to just take your Canoe and hit one of these great rivers we have around here and float where no big rig can go. I came from Illinois and up there it was a Waders Paradise. I waded 90% of the time the other 10% I was on the Calumet River, Lake Calumet, or Lake Michigan. I think that a nice Canoe on the James, Gasconade, Jacks Fork or even the Buffalo in Arkasas would be a nice outing.

[gonefishin]

I gave up boats a long time ago. Unless a person has a 25 ft boat with a 5000 hp motor that will run at least 200 MPH in 6 inches of water you are risking getting swamped or killed on the water. I am strictly a bank fisherman now... well waders sometimes.

[skeeter]

Four years ago I was asked to be the "designated driver" of a rental boat for my Nephew's bachelor party on Lake Ozark. Early Sunday morning while the "young'uns" were sleeping it off I walked down to the humongous dock at the condo they had rented and started a conversation with the owner who was down manning the gas pumps. This dock was the biggest thing I had ever seen on fresh water other than on the Great Lakes and had 20 boats (yachts?) that stuck out beyond the end of 50' slips ! The guy told me where the Lake of the Ozarks had screwed up was by not establishing a length limit on the boats allowed on the Lake six years previous.

I think those of us who have been on TR for a few years have seen the increase in numbers of what I would call " Lake of the Ozarks " boats and kind of shudder at the thought of TR going the way of LOTO with huge cruisers and offshore racing boats etc. that just keep getting longer, faster and louder. Maybe it's time to start a campaign to put a boat length limit on Table Rock now before it's too late ??

[MOBass]

I think those of us who have been on TR for a few years have seen the increase in numbers of what I would call " Lake of the Ozarks " boats and kind of shudder at the thought of TR going the way of LOTO with huge cruisers and offshore racing boats etc. that just keep getting longer, faster and louder. Maybe it's time to start a campaign to put a boat length limit on Table Rock now before it's too late ??

I am afraid it is too late. The fishing lobby is small compared to the play boats. I am sure that the play boats also bring in some good income for the marina operators so it might be difficult to ask them to cut their own purse strings.

We may just have to accept the sad fact that fishing on some parts of TR will be limited to the early morning, evening, or days where the rain falls from Memorial day to Labor day. The upside is fishing is usually the best at these times and we can all get off the water before it gets to hot. Of course there are other lakes to fish and I'll start taking advantage of them. I do look forward to the first good chill of fall and the exodus of the toy boats.

[CMAC]

Hey skeeter ask that marina owner which boat he would rather fill up a 20footer or 42footer???

I'm in favor of a lenght limit, but that will never happen. To much money involved. That is why I night fish in the summer or off the water by 10:30am.

Later.

[gonefishin]

I am not only in favor of a length limit I am in favor of a HP limit on pleasure boats.

With all the big fast boats on the water early spring and fall has became my favorite time to fish the lakes. Sadly from Memorial day to Labor day it is risky business being anywhere near a popular lake.