Have all boaters gone insane ??

[lew]

As I mentioned in another thread, I just got home from the trailer yesterday and spent the last 17 days fishing all over the Kawartha Lakes & the Ottawa River, and in all my 50 odd years of fishing , I don't think I've ever had as many close encounters and near misses with other boaters as I've had this summer.

 

It seems lately that nobody gives a damn about anyone else on the water anymore and they just go wherever the heck they want and to hell with anybody who gets in there way.

 

 

I lost count of how many jet-skiers decided to do donuts within a cast length of me.

 

Water skiers figure it's just fine to fly by other boats at 50 MPH only a few feet away.

 

Catch a nice fish and within minutes there's 8 other boats sitting beside you.

 

I was trolling south on Pigeon last week just approaching Gannons Narrows and some moron in a big 35' cruiser came outta the Narrows, made a sharp right turn at about 30 MPH and missed me by 50' while he was throwing up 5' waves. Didn't matter that there was 2 miles of open water behind me that he could have used.

 

Last Sunday I was trolling another lake and again some idiot in a cruiser decided to pass me at about Warp 9 right beside me, cept this jerk came at me from behind and I didn't even know he was there till he was right beside me. Good thing my boat is wide & deep or I'd have been in the water looking up.

 

Doesn't matter how much you scream at these clowns, they just keep on smiling as they go on their merry way looking for the next person who has the nerve to get in front of them.

 

It's nice that the Government has decided to require everyone to get a boating license, but it just may be a better idea to actually teach these jerks how to operate a boat safely before they issue it.

 

Who cares if they know which side of a marker to pass on if there gonna run right over someone & kill them in the process of figuring it out.

 

MORONS..........

[jedimaster]

Towed a few people in off the water this long weekend, Had my boat nearly rammed into by a seadoo at the dock while I was tied up. The guy missed by about 3 inches, and sad that he could get it into reverse. I smiled and said maybe you should have let off the throttle.

[jediangler]

Lew, you just have to show these jerks how far you can cast a suick. That would get you some respect and probably 50 more feet to yourself.

[jedimaster]

haha yah, a nice long cast with a 1 ounce drop shot weight would do nicely.

[oxcowboy]

had the same thing happen on a small haliburton lake, this idiot kept whipping around us with a entire lake to do it on,best of all he had his 2 young kids on board to teach them how to handle fishermen. we figured it was because we were from the states, after i got the camera out he finally left us alone. it would have been nice to have a cordless drill and a 1/4 inch bit to slide into the bottom of his boat after he docked. probably wouldnt have been able to go as fast with a hull full of water.

 

jason

[oldphart]

~~~~Oh how I know what your talking about, was on the Bog last year deep in the pads, and a a jet skier decided to buzz me. Then it was too late he reliazed he was in 3" of mud, and going no where. Wanted me to tow him out, told him no, I had poled my way in, and had to pole my way out, told him to get off and push. Met the Police boat on the water and told them where he was, and he would need help

[BFSC Kevin]

no kidding eh lew.

i was over at BOQ, in a smaller channel, no more then 20 metres wide... a dang boat, bass boat comes zooming by, didn't even bother slowing down! and then they start flipping and pitching in the exact spot i was at... grr...

 

man.. should've just whipped out a big ol top water with some 80 pp, see how they like it in their prop.

[Tacklebuster]

I hear you. This happens all the time everywhere. The licensing thing was definately a step in the right direction, but they didn't go far enough. In Europe, or parts of, boaters have to take courses and get examed just like when they get their drivers license. Right now, the boaters license program is a total farce and serves no other purpose than a cash grab.

[Gerritt]

I hate to be the devils advocate here... but in most cases slowing down will create more of a wake then just continuing at your current rate of speed... I do agree there there is plenty of water available and noone needs to be buzzed.

 

Gerritt.

[ecmilley]

Lew I feel your pain I have been using my small 12 ft boat and i get buzzed by skiers and pwc on a regular basis, guess they juast like showing me how cool they can be,

also have had to rewire my in lake pump as the buoy that marks it must contain all kinds of fish to jig around

[bigbuck]

Lew, don't get me started! Some putz has a couple of hundred yards of 80lb PP and my brand new Shallowraider wrapped around the prop of his 14ft LUND tinny after crossing our stern pretty close on Friday afternoon on Pigeon. He was cruising around with his family in the boat, he should take more care.

[Hookset]

I agree Lew.

Never underestimate the stupidity of humans.

I don't think boater licensing will, or has, made one lick of difference though.

The exam doesn't test for ignorance.

I still can't comprehend why the licensing started as it did with operators of smaller boats needing their licenses

first before people with large boats.

I'm not worried about the dude in the 12 foot tin tippy, it's the jackass in the 35 footer motoring straight at me that I worry about.

People may say that more people die in smaller boats so that's the reason, but I feel that's just natures way of culling. Licensing won't save them anyway.

I guess it's good that the SeaDoo's now need a licensed operator but I don't see much improvement there either.

Sorry for jumping on your thread and ranting about licensing.

 

 

Hookset.

[Zamboni]

While anchored fishing well away from main channel a cruiser threw wake over our bow-scared crap out of my kids. Why go anywhere near a boat fishing if its not on their destination, seems some guys come close just to be agravating.

 

The OPP need to spend more time protecting public safety by targetting 'moving violations' instead of checking our safety equipment. I have never seen a jet skier or boater charged for an unsafe practise-but most trips out I see a few that should be. One OPP boat on large lake, few cars or officiers on foot at good vantage points with binoculars would get worst offenders off water.

[hawkeye]

Been there, seen that. Last year I got a good swim in Simcoe courtesy of some butt head in a bass boat came flying out of the river by Keswick. Full bore IN THE FOG. I heard him as he was behind me I didn’t see him until it was to late. Unfortunately I had one of those rental tin cans with very little freeboard. Hey look there’s some water in the boat, hey LOOK there’s a lot of water in the boat, holy !@^%^ I’ve been swamped and she’s going over. Few hundred $$ worth of gear in the drink. If I could have gotten my hands on him I’d still be in jail. But if you look how people drive on the highways…………………………….

[BITEME]

YOU SHOULD HAVE FORMAL TRAINING AND AN EXAM BOTH WRITTEN AND PRACTICLE

 

THERE IS AN ALARMING RISE IN PUTZS THIS YEAR

[joonmoon]

Hey Lew I hear ya...my wife and I decided to fish Chesley Lake up in Grey/Bruce on Sunday and as soon as church got out so did all the jerks. Jetskiers, skiers, and cruisers pullin tubers. Got swamped twice in the Crawdad and couldn't believe how close they were getting to wake us, when they had tons of room in the entire lake to rip around and burn/waste gas. We exited the guantlet as soon as the electric trolling motor would get us off the lake. Needless to say I won't be returning on a long weekend anytime soon and we left without paying the launch fee, screw them....bible camp my butt.

Edited August 7, 2007 by joonmoon

[charlesn]

We have formalized testing and licensing for our roads and has already been pointed out, does it stop people from being jerks? I don't think there is a way to cure it.

 

I saw a father and mother pulling a couple of tubes on the weekend. The kids fell off, and the parents just kept on going even though many around were yelling and waving at them to slow down and turn around. I could understand being a jerkoff but to put your own kids in danger? Sad.

 

I had a spun hub at the time and could only go at 7.6 mph. I was throwing 3-4 times the wake I normally would at WOT so I also was a magnet for the pleasure crafts wanting to jump my wake and "impress" me. Oh the agony. Normally I can jump up on plane and leave even most jetskis in the dust for some solitude.

 

I'd like to see a license and testing for using the boat ramps too since everyone's IQ seems to drop in half under the pressure of a busy boat ramp.

 

Charles

[Aaron Shirley]

We all feel your pain Lew. Most of us have had bad encounters from the 'moron factor'.

 

Launching a Suick or lead weight may seem like a good idea at the time, but if you ever hit anyone, you will be the one charged.

 

I almost bit the big one years ago going through the Peace bridge area on the upper Niagara River when a 40' cigarette boat loaded with young people drinking beer came 2' from my starboard side on purpose at full throttle coming way to close to flipping my boat at one of the most dangerous areas on the river. The worst part was that the occupants in the boat cheered when they almost flipped my boat and killed me. I can't even begin to describe how mad I was.

 

A proper test to attain a boaters licence similar to a vehicle complete with a boat ride to pass is a great idea... much better than the tax grab joke of a boaters card we have now.

 

All boaters are legally responsible for their own wake.

 

Cheers,

 

Aaron

[Headhunter]

Here's a link to a potential solution to stupidity... subtle, but effective and fairly difficult to spot...

http://www.catsdomain.com/

Bell sinkers work pretty good! I suggest a quick "waterline" shot and problem should be solved!

HH

[POLLIWOGG]

They started the card out with small craft because thats where the casualties are most common but why they totally ignore the #1 killer canoe is what I can't figure out. Isn't the life of a paddler worth as much as a power boater?

 

Until recently most boaters worked their way up to bigger boats and took a boating coarse along the way,

now you see people in big boats with no experience at all.

 

Buddy cruises the 1000 islands and tells me he's starting to come across boats running autohelms with no lookouts now.

 

At the same time you have to realize that you don't own a territory around your boat or a comfort zone or my space and as long as the boats you encounter don't endanger you by legally passing close by they have done nothing wrong other than a lack of courtesy, and only you know what you are dragging behind your boat not the other guy so take some responsibility for it.

 

I know this isn't what you want to hear and I'm not saying Lew was wrong because Lew is as I know him from what I've read on this site is pretty level headed, but most sportfishers are probably the least educated boater on the water and when they tell me about how they were offended its usually because they were in the wrong.

[danbo]

I had a close encounter on the Credit Rivermouth the other day, same thing..a clown at 1/2 throttle thru a NO WAKE zone. I gave him an earfull..would've been a mouthfull of knuckles if I caught him ashore!

Fight fire with fire, friends!!

[glen]

I cant get over the freak show on lake eugenia on sunday.

 

It has nothing to do with fishermen or skiers or jetskiers. All boaters have to have some brain cells.

 

I guess these people will sleep well when they are 100% the reason that someone gets killed.

 

Yes they are insane.

[Guest Trophymuskie]

And I thought only on the big waters did we have these idiots. Worse thing is every time you encounter one of these idiots there is thousands of acres they can drive over instead of the one you're fishing at the time.

 

We have a spot on the Ottawa that is a small channel less then 100 feet from shore where by law they should slow down but even when there are boats fishing they don't blink and eye a fly right by less then 100 feet from shore and less then 50 feet from boats. I wonder if a cop was to sit there and make it look like he was fishing he could give them 2 fines for each offense.

 

I was on the Rideau this spring and it was worse there. The river is lets say 1/4 mile wide but because of weeds the channel is maybe 300 feet wide. We are fishing a weed line and I mean we are withing 50 feet of it leaving 250 feet to the other weed line. Well crap not one but 3 cruisers flew right in front of us one after the other. I'm sure these idiots have no clue they were in less then 10 FOW. No wonder we didn't get a bite.

 

If someone did this on the road they would be charged with careless driving so why not on water?

[bassman]

You should have tried this.

 

http://www.break.com/index/man-jumps-into-...t-to-fight.html

[Beans]

Lew, Lew, Lew,...you just got to take up shore fishing for carp and leave the open waters to the idiots until the good fishing starts after Labor Day...

 

Somewhat on the same topic...Crappieperchhunter and I have been carp fishing Little Lake as our favorite "swim" at Carp Point hasn't rebounded from the carp die-off yet...

 

I was shooting the bull with a fellow carper and we were amazed how much of the shoreline was being eroded due to the wake of some boats...and who was the worst offender we saw...The damn tour boat !!!...

Edited August 8, 2007 by Beans