Darn party boaters....

[ApacheGuns515]

Small rant....

 

Today was about the 10th time this season that I've been swamped by inconsiderate boaters....

 

I fish from a kayak, and perhaps this is simply a bias I on my part as an avid fisherman but there is a huge difference between folks fishing on boat and folks conducting "outdoor recreation" on boats. 

 

I go out all the time, the main place I go isn't super busy but there are usually a handful of boats who will pass by me during any given outing. All of the fishing boats tend to be respectful, as soon as they see me they slow down to a troll or cut the engine completely and just drift on by until they are a decent distance away and then continue on. All tend to wave just to be friendly and to acknowledge that they see me which I certainly appreciate and return. 

 

Boaters who are not fishing on the other hand.....Terrible. 

 

They just buzz by, not even looking half the time and even if they see me they act like it doesn't matter and just keep on going full speed. The other day I saw a boat coming up pretty fast so I began waving my hands in the air to ensure he saw me, he did, and just kept on buzzing my at full speed and even waved at me on his way past. The wake was so bad that even turning my kayak into the waves I was taking on massive amount of water. The jet ski folks are the same way and it happens often. I can understand simply not seeing me, a kayak is much smaller than a boat obviously, but when you see me and still just buzz on by and swamp me I consider that pretty distasteful. 

 

Today I headed out to a new lake that I found and the same thing happened. A couple gentlemen in a bass tracker came by and right when they saw me they cut the engine, waved, asked if I had any luck, and moved on. A few mins later a blue speed boat comes screaming by without even caring. Then about a half hour later a speed boat full of young folks pulling a tube came by. Not only did they see me and acknowledge me, they proceeded to do their tubing thing right near me...The lake is huge, yet they chose that particular spot to just do circles for like 30 mins even after I threw my hands up in the "what?" gesture. 

 

It's just irritating. I understand fishermen likely see me all the time because they are constantly looking around the banks and whatnot where I usually anchor. Plus they respect the sport and understand that gunning your 200hp Mercury near a kayak probably isn't good for the kayak guy trying to fish also. But the sport boaters just don't seem to care at all. I don't know if it's just plain ignorance or just a lack of respect for others on the water but it happens so often with these party boat folks that I can no longer view it as simple coincidence. 

 

Rant off...

[Glaucus]

The water isn't just for anglers. People boat recreationally. Recreational boaters who dont fish almost certainly dont realize they're interfering with your fishing. We aren't a superior species of people who get to claim territory. 

[Mikeltee]

As a party boat owner and partier for more than a decade I'll admit that I never gave consideration to people fishing. That is because I did not know it was inconsiderate. I never had kayaks near me and of course I would give caution to them, but the amount of wake my 30' pontoon and 18' runabouts put up, I never imagined that the wake would interfere especially given that I give all boats at least 100 yards clearance. 

 

The day I went out in my buddies wakeboard boat fully loaded is when I saw the power of wake. We would be 200 yards off shore and send 5' rollers up the stone walls. Then and there is when I realized how much of an ass I have been all these years to the bass boats hugging the shore and docks. Even a little wake sucks. 

 

It's not the partiers fault. They just don't know better which is why they wave back when they are guilty. A sign at the ramp and the docks leading to the slips would go a long way. Stick it right next to the .05 BAC limit on the water sign and it will get noticed. 

[ApacheGuns515]

4 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

The water isn't just for anglers. People boat recreationally. Recreational boaters who dont fish almost certainly dont realize they're interfering with your fishing. We aren't a superior species of people who get to claim territory. 

It's not the fishing that worries me, boat wakes subside after a few minutes, it's the near white cap waves that these folks create when they go screaming by 20 feet in front of me. 

 

It's basic common courtesy and well, logic...Boats create waves, huge waves are not good for small boats. I've almost capsized my kayak that is one of the most stable on the market due to situations like this. 

 

It's also something that is taught in a basic water/boater safety class, watch out for paddlers and an overall understanding of share the water. As you said, water isn't just for anglers but it's not just for speedboats either. All should be respectful of one another. 

 

It would be rude if I were to paddle up to an anchored pontoon boat and just start fishing right next to them. 

 

I'm not saying folks shouldn't be out having fun on a boat, but I mean does it really even require a class to tell somebody that gunning by a guy in a kayak at full speed is probably not very safe or respectful?

[looking45]

In most states, boaters are responsible for any damage caused by their wake. Next time this happens, try to get the CF number of the boat and call it in. They might at least get a call and a warning.

[ApacheGuns515]

11 minutes ago, Mikeltee said:

As a party boat owner and partier for more than a decade I'll admit that I never gave consideration to people fishing. That is because I did not know it was inconsiderate. I never had kayaks near me and of course I would give caution to them, but the amount of wake my 30' pontoon and 18' runabouts put up, I never imagined that the wake would interfere especially given that I give all boats at least 100 yards clearance. 

 

The day I went out in my buddies wakeboard boat fully loaded is when I saw the power of wake. We would be 200 yards off shore and send 5' rollers up the stone walls. Then and there is when I realized how much of an ass I have been all these years to the bass boats hugging the shore and docks. Even a little wake sucks. 

 

It's not the partiers fault. They just don't know better which is why they wave back when they are guilty. A sign at the ramp and the docks leading to the slips would go a long way. Stick it right next to the .05 BAC limit on the water sign and it will get noticed. 

I understand that wake is inevitable. I've be rocked by wake near the shore by a speedboat about halfway on the other side of the lake. Such things are just a part of life on the water which I certainly understand. I am by no means saying nobody should be out zipping around just in case there's some people fishing or anything like that. But I mean if you are in what could be considered reasonable range of somebody in a paddle craft then it's nice for them if you slow down a bit while you pass by. 

 

I figured just based on experiences over the years that it was likely that party boaters just didn't realize what they were doing or didn't think about it. I found it hard to convince myself that every one of them were just rude people who were doing it on purpose. 

 

This isn't just some grumpy guy complaining about folks on the lake or anything lol. When I've been swamped it's by folks zipping by like 10-20 feet in front of me. That's the sort of thing that irritates me. 

 

Catching wake from a boat on a lake is fine. Catching wake from a boat who zipped by you 10 feet in front of you and waved at you the whole time is not fine...

[NHBull]

Kayakers I know tell me that as long as the boat is 150' away, they prefer them to stay on plane as the rollers being thrown forward are harder to navigate. They also say, that if a boat doesn't drop to head-to-toe speed, it is worse

[ApacheGuns515]

9 minutes ago, looking45 said:

In most states, boaters are responsible for any damage caused by their wake. Next time this happens, try to get the CF number of the boat and call it in. They might at least get a call and a warning.

I've tried to do that a few times, problem is that I'm usually too busy fighting to not capsize and/or steer the kayak into the wake to read a number. 

 

I guess perhaps I just tend to meet a bunch of random rude people lol. I did manage to catch up with one at the boat launch and I brought it to his attention about how I wasn't waving "to" him I was waving "at" him. 

 

His response was "Well the water is public, get a real boat" lol.....

 

I'm sure he was an anomaly, I highly doubt that most boaters are rude like that guy was I'm pretty sure the majority of it is based on just simply not understanding or not realizing what they are doing.  I think most of them think I'm just waving to be friendly which is why they wave back and don't realize I'm waving my arms to say slow down please before I flip over. 

[looking45]

wave at them with one finger. I don't think too many people will thank that is a "friendly" wave. LOL

[ApacheGuns515]

6 minutes ago, NHBull said:

Kayakers I know tell me that as long as the boat is 150' away, they prefer them to stay on plane as the rollers being thrown forward are harder to navigate. They also say, that if a boat doesn't drop to head-to-toe speed, it is worse

Wake from that far away is no biggie, I deal with that during almost every outing and I usually just say whatever direction I'm already facing because I know I won't capsize due to something like that. 

 

The situations I'm talking about are of wake so bad that I am literally bouncing out on my seat and my bow dips so low that I take on massive amounts of water and I know that if I let the bow drift even a little bit I'm flipping over. 

[Brew City Bass]

I saved a fellow in a canoe last spring when a wake board boat swamped him. We drove over to that boat and this guy gave him a piece of his mind. All that the guy in the boat that swamped him could say was "Maybe you should be in a bigger boat". Dude just about jumped out of my boat to rip that guys head off. 

We took pictures of his hull numbers and I vouched for him when we called DNR. Not sure if anything came of it, but I feel your pain and I hate seeing this happen. 

Quite a few pleasure boats have gotten dinged by my 1oz sinker when they got too close. 

[Glaucus]

26 minutes ago, ApacheGuns515 said:

It's not the fishing that worries me, boat wakes subside after a few minutes, it's the near white cap waves that these folks create when they go screaming by 20 feet in front of me. 

 

It's basic common courtesy and well, logic...Boats create waves, huge waves are not good for small boats. I've almost capsized my kayak that is one of the most stable on the market due to situations like this. 

 

It's also something that is taught in a basic water/boater safety class, watch out for paddlers and an overall understanding of share the water. As you said, water isn't just for anglers but it's not just for speedboats either. All should be respectful of one another. 

 

It would be rude if I were to paddle up to an anchored pontoon boat and just start fishing right next to them. 

 

I'm not saying folks shouldn't be out having fun on a boat, but I mean does it really even require a class to tell somebody that gunning by a guy in a kayak at full speed is probably not very safe or respectful?

Apologies if I came off as rude. So often will people complain about recreational boating as if the water is for anglers only. I do understand common courtesy. I also understand that not everyone is really aware of what they're doing. Of course you learn of wakes and boating etiquette in courses. I look at it like driving. We all learn how to drive, but we all break the technical rules in one way or another without realizing how it could impact others. And as for fishing, although that isn't your complaint, people who don't fish just don't understand. I get irritated as much as anyone else, but I also must maintain my rationale and head. Most of the time, people aren't just jerks trying to screw me over. I offer forgiveness and move on. 

[ApacheGuns515]

2 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

Apologies if I came off as rude. So often will people complain about recreational boating as if the water is for anglers only. I do understand common courtesy. I also understand that not everyone is really aware of what they're doing. Of course you learn of wakes and boating etiquette in courses. I look at it like driving. We all learn how to drive, but we all break the technical rules in one way or another without realizing how it could impact others. And as for fishing, although that isn't your complaint, people who don't fish just don't understand. I get irritated as much as anyone else, but I also must maintain my rationale and head. Most of the time, people aren't just jerks trying to screw me over. I offer forgiveness and move on. 

No apologies necessary, I understood your point.

 

I too consider myself to be a fairly rational and understand guy which is why I am complaining here to you folks rather than yelling at people on the water or at the boat launch lol.

 

As I said I'm pretty sure most of it is due to ignorance, not a bad word but likely true. A lot of people likely just aren't paying attention or aren't even thinking about the effects of their boat wake on me as they cruise by and wave. 

 

I've never owned an actual boat, always tiny plastic boats powered by a trolling motor or a kayak, so I obviously notice these sort of things more than someone who doesn't operate the smaller craft. 

 

Being out on the water in general is a blast. I certainly don't fault recreational boaters for not being anglers or anything like that. I've rented my fair share of pontoon boats with friends and just went out for the day to enjoy the experience. 

 

I just ask that all those operating on the water keep your head on a swivel and be courteous to one another. I've heard plenty of horror stories of boaters running right over folks in kayaks or canoes having simply not seen them. And more stories that I can count, mine included, of boaters swamping folks in smaller craft. 

 

And with the amount of recent experiences I've had I needed to vent to somebody lol. 

[Scott F]

33 minutes ago, NHBull said:

....,.They also say, that if a boat doesn't drop to head-to-toe speed, it is worse

I’ve been boating a long time but I’ve never heard the term “head-to-toe” speed. What does that mean?

[NHBull]

1 minute ago, Scott F said:

I’ve been boating a long time but I’ve never heard the term “head-to-toe” speed. What does that mean?

Darn auto correct. "head-way-speed". Sorry?

[38 Super Fan]

26 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

Apologies if I came off as rude. So often will people complain about recreational boating as if the water is for anglers only. I do understand common courtesy. I also understand that not everyone is really aware of what they're doing. Of course you learn of wakes and boating etiquette in courses. I look at it like driving. We all learn how to drive, but we all break the technical rules in one way or another without realizing how it could impact others. And as for fishing, although that isn't your complaint, people who don't fish just don't understand. I get irritated as much as anyone else, but I also must maintain my rationale and head. Most of the time, people aren't just jerks trying to screw me over. I offer forgiveness and move on. 

I don't see the difference between someone being rude on purpose, and being blissfully ignorant. The guy in the kayak is swamped either way. I'm impressed with your ability to offer forgiveness though...I sure wouldn't.

[MassYak85]

Before I say anything I primarily fish from a kayak, but also sometimes a boat or a bank. 

 

My issue with people is usually distance no matter who it is, what they're operating, or how fast they are going. Last weekend me and my dad were fishing a point in our boat that sticks out into a channel that is probably 300-400 feet wide. I understand that people need to get by in the channel....but again, it's plenty wide and there's no reason people can't go by on the other side. Instead we had people buzzing by within 50 feet of us, some much closer. One guy got so close that that if I wasn't using an 8 speed reel to burn back my lure I'm pretty sure he would have been digging 40lb braid out of his prop. It's ridiculous how little etiquette some people have on the water. 

 

Now from a kayakers perspective and relating to your situation. I personally don't care about waves (I fish from a 10ft sit-in kayak btw). I understand that I am sharing the water with power boats and there will be waves. If someone wants to slow down I will give them a friendly wave to acknowledge the kind gesture but I don't expect them to. My issue again is distance. Someone fishing too close I consider rude, someone blowing by 25ft feet from me in a boat I consider dangerous. 

 

And as for waves, I'd prefer someone be going 30mph (assuming they see me) than slow down to 5-6mph. If a boat is on plane very little of it is in the water and it creates a (usually) small wake. It's when they slow down at the last second and the entire boat sinks back into the water that they displace enough water to make big waves. 

[flyfisher]

Being a kayaker myself i'd rather see a guy stay on plane near me because they inevitably drop off too close and create more of a wake that way.  I haven't had any issues with wakes though as i am pretty comfortable in my kayak and being a SOT any water on top is just going to drain out anyways.

[lo n slo]

most wake boaters and skiers, in general, could care less. the best thing to do is avoid them altogether. go out early, during the week (not weekends), or waters where they’re not allowed, if that is at all possible. i live 5 minutes from the largest lake in my state and it’s a mad house after Memorial Day. i know alot of people who live on the lake and wish they’d outlaw the wake boats altogether due to bank erosion and dock/boat damage concerns. it’s a bad deal for all of us.

[Mikeltee]

2 hours ago, ApacheGuns515 said:

I understand that wake is inevitable. I've be rocked by wake near the shore by a speedboat about halfway on the other side of the lake. Such things are just a part of life on the water which I certainly understand. I am by no means saying nobody should be out zipping around just in case there's some people fishing or anything like that. But I mean if you are in what could be considered reasonable range of somebody in a paddle craft then it's nice for them if you slow down a bit while you pass by. 

 

I figured just based on experiences over the years that it was likely that party boaters just didn't realize what they were doing or didn't think about it. I found it hard to convince myself that every one of them were just rude people who were doing it on purpose. 

 

This isn't just some grumpy guy complaining about folks on the lake or anything lol. When I've been swamped it's by folks zipping by like 10-20 feet in front of me. That's the sort of thing that irritates me. 

 

Catching wake from a boat on a lake is fine. Catching wake from a boat who zipped by you 10 feet in front of you and waved at you the whole time is not fine...

No it's not right for them to be that close. I no longer have a boat and will get a fishing kayak as soon as my kids are old enough to tag along. You better believe I wont be paddling in any waters that have rec boats flying around. I don't care how good the fishing is ( isnt that good anyway in central Indiana)   There are plenty of spots to go to that are no wake or cant have a boat on it. 

 

As for the fishing next to the party barges is concerned... well if you ain't catchin' you can at least enjoy the scenery. Our party coves were always filled with Rangers. Lol

[diversity210]

Anglers of all sorts tend to have a certain superiority complex.  Whether you are fishing from a bass boat, kayak, jon boat, or simply fishing off the bank.  We serious anglers have a superiority complex in which we find ourselves acting as if we own the water.  I have to stop myself from doing it sometime. 

 

I was fishing an inlet to a cove couple weeks.  I set my boat side ways right in the middle of the inlet and was working some smallies in that cove for a good 30 min.  I turn around to see one of the lake rental pontoons heading right for me.  Im thinking to myself there is no way they are going to come through here.  So I turn back around and go back to fishing.  The sound of the engine is getting louder as they are about 100 yards away from me and Im still thinking there is no way they would have the audacity to come through here.  Well they did.  They idled right by me in this narrow inlet and pulled right up to the shore of the cove with about 6 people on board.  I was ticked.  I mean my head was about to explode.  Pulled up my trolling motor so hard I almost broke the cord.  Was about to go over there and give them a piece of my mind, but then I thought to myself they had every right to idle pass me into that cove.  They are out here enjoying the water just as I am.  Just enjoying it in a different way.  I was ticked but I had no right to confront them over it as they may have broken the fishermans unwritten rules, but they werent fisherman and I dont own the water.

 

Yes all of us anglers hate jetskis, waterskiers, and kids throwing huge boulders in the water 30 yards away from you while you are fishing haha, but there is nothing that says kids cant throw rocks in the water.  It is why this time of year I fish early mornings during the week.  This way i dont have to deal with a lot of recreational boating and we have to realize that we really dont own the water and just because there is fisherman's  and boating etiquette does not mean its law and everyone has to abide by it.  Best thing as anglers we can do is know the waters we like to frequent and the visitor activity on those waters and plan our fishing trip accordingly to avoid most of the ruckus

 

[Mikeltee]

6 minutes ago, diversity210 said:

Anglers of all sorts tend to have a certain superiority complex.  Whether you are fishing from a bass boat, kayak, jon boat, or simply fishing off the bank.  We serious anglers have a superiority complex in which we find ourselves acting as if we own the water.  I have to stop myself from doing it sometime. 

 

I was fishing an inlet to a cove couple weeks.  I set my boat side ways right in the middle of the inlet and was working some smallies in that cove for a good 30 min.  I turn around to see one of the lake rental pontoons heading right for me.  Im thinking to myself there is no way they are going to come through here.  So I turn back around and go back to fishing.  The sound of the engine is getting louder as they are about 100 yards away from me and Im still thinking there is no way they would have the audacity to come through here.  Well they did.  They idled right by me in this narrow inlet and pulled right up to the shore of the cove with about 6 people on board.  I was ticked.  I mean my head was about to explode.  Pulled up my trolling motor so hard I almost broke the cord.  Was about to go over there and give them a piece of my mind, but then I thought to myself they had every right to idle pass me into that cove.  They are out here enjoying the water just as I am.  Just enjoying it in a different way.  I was ticked but I had no right to confront them over it as they may have broken the fishermans unwritten rules, but they werent fisherman and I dont own the water.

 

Yes all of us anglers hate jetskis, waterskiers, and kids throwing huge boulders in the water 30 yards away from you while you are fishing haha, but there is nothing that says kids cant throw rocks in the water.  It is why this time of year I fish early mornings during the week.  This way i dont have to deal with a lot of recreational boating and we have to realize that we really dont own the water and just because there is fisherman's  and boating etiquette does not mean its law and everyone has to abide by it.  Best thing as anglers we can do is know the waters we like to frequent and the visitor activity on those waters and plan our fishing trip accordingly to avoid most of the ruckus

 

Funny thing is that they thought you were rude for blocking the inlet to the cove and Danny Boy posted on his forum that he about gave you a piece of his mind. 

[diversity210]

27 minutes ago, Mikeltee said:

Funny thing is that they thought you were rude for blocking the inlet to the cove and Danny Boy posted on his forum that he about gave you a piece of his mind. 

well Im very sorry if Danny Boy, "who ever that is" thought I was rude.  The point is that we all do our thing on the water.  Specific Etiquette on the water is usually relative to what you out out there doing.  The same way i can understand that some might see it as rude of me to sit in the middle of the inlet.  Other anglers would recognize "oh yeah, hes on the bite" and give me my space.  "To each is own".  As long as its lawful.  Then who am I or anyone else to throw shade at someone for it.

[Tim Kelly]

Kayaks are great and allow people access to the water who wouldn't otherwise be able to. They are small boats though, and just as you would be cautious of taking a 14ft boat out on a big water, you need to be realistic about the conditions you're likely to face in a kayak. While it's obviously wrong for people to blast past you 10ft from your yak, it's hard to see how you'd be in a situation where that could happen. Unless you were fishing down a little channel which is regularly navigated through, in which case you put yourself in a position where you were likely to meet challenging and potentially dangerous conditions. 

 

While other water users can be pretty dumb, you have to take sensible precautions to keep yourself safe as you're the vulnerable one, rather like cyclists in cities. Car drivers should be more considerate, but you're better off expecting them not to be and staying safe than moaning about how they nearly killed you when you allowed yourself to be in a vulnerable position.

[Slade House]

Lake Casitas California. No water skiing allowed, no body contact with the lake.  OMG paradise