There Should Be A Law....

..... Ok, probably gonna take some heat for this but I have had it. Won't mention the lake but fished last weekend and the pleasure boaters were out in FULL force. After around 10-11 you couldn't fish anymore if you wanted to. Jet skis, tubers and water skiers had taken over. I have to say they don't give a darn where they go or how close they get. Had one pass right between me and the shoreline I was trying to fish (couldn't have been more than 25 yards away) then anchor a ways down and start jumping off the boat into the lake. Kids & adults, screaming, hollering & raising general h _ _ _. Wish they were confined to certain areas or at least the main lake body. Seriously, talk about thinking they run the place. Not to mention that the ramp area was an absolute ZOO!

Ok, feel betetr now that I vented a little! Guess I need to nite fish only from now until Labor day!

Your experience is exactly why we like crappie fishing from late Sept. till Oct. One other option which we will do some this summer is fish from 5:00 AM till about noon. I have yet to see the pleasure boaters crowd the ramp at 5:00 on a Sat. morning!! The morning bite is usually the best time of the day and the older I get, the less I can take the heat. My Father went to Harris last Friday and even then there were a bunch of pleasure boaters out there. They found some coves and ended up with a good amount of fish, but like you, the constant waves ran the fish off the main water.

I said I wouldn't mention the lake but it was SH. We got there around 6:00 on Sunday and could only fish till 10:30 or so due to boat traffic. We were doing pretty good on the perch and crappie up to that point. Wave action just got out of control after that. I swear it was a zoo after that. Ramp was as crowded as I have seen.

You didn't have to name the lake. Most of us know how it is. I think they feel less likely to be encountered by NCWLC than they would at Jordan. But Jordan is crowed also. Standing timber can be a problem for them in Jordan. Time for a night stalk.

Its not just a problem there. I like many others fish until 11 and leave with whatever i have.

I would never dream of fishing Harris on a Sunday until the cold weather rolls in. It's funny because the only thing I've seen the Wildlife folks do at Harris is bust the jon boats for coming to the ramp with no lights literally 5 minutes after sundown, witnessed it on a few occasions. I've talked to the DNR guy a few times, very nice guy, but he was more concerned about that then trying to educate people about their stupidity. Shame they can't do a mandatory training session when you plan to operate a boat. I had to be educated about applicable laws when I applied for my CCW permit and everyone on here had to be educated when you started driving a car. But there's absolutely no requirements when it comes to a boat. The DNR and Sheriff's office could bust a ton of people for DUI's on that lake if they chose to send a message. There's plenty of lake for everyone to enjoy if folks would just use some common sense and courtesy. I've seen a ton of verbal altercations at the ramps and I've been in a few myself especially when I'm loading my boat and one of the wake boats comes nearly full speed to the ramp and pretty much rocked my boat off the trailer. Like you, it's just good to vent once in awhile then go on about our life. I love winter fishing. I've had Harris all to myself on many occasions.

Unfortunately in the world we live in, nothing will be done until someone is hurt or worse killed, that's what it takes in this day and age to get anything done. I too believe that boater education courses are in order especially for new boaters. All we can do is be better role models and help where we can when we can.

We all feel your pain. I spoke to the Wylie lake law enforcement officer and he told me there is nothing you can do about being crowded out on the water. That being! They have the same rights as you do for pleasure as you do for fishing. Unless they hit you, you can't complain or a less than 50 foot distance and a wake is not going to give you the right to complain. They have to see it to stop who ever is in the wrong. I don't agree with that! So take a video of them if you can and get the numbers of the craft when they invade your space. Maybe they'll do something to the individual with a warning. :dono

is why I leave the weekends to the pleasure boaters and usually fish during week. or if on the lake on weekend get up at dawn and leave when traffic gets bad. is also why i am going to have lights on underside of toon so I can fish at night. just is so it's like a storm or anything else, just part of fishing where you have to adjust as the authorities don't really care. so don't let the BP rise, just adjust.

First let me say I'm not trying to stir anything up. This is my opinion. I see both sides of it. I like to ski and fish. We were at the lake yesterday skiing and a guy in a bass boat came right up on us when I was pulling my 6 year old. He was going pretty fast and got within 25 or 30 yards of us. We got to the boat ramp and he wife said was that your kid skiing. We got a kick out of him. They had the whole lake to watch him ski. I won't dare let him ski on Saturday or Sunday because of the lake traffic. You can't just blame pleasure boaters. Fisherman are just as guilty of not being respectful.

There are some smaller bodies of water out there that don't allow jet skis, water skiing, or tubing which have crappie in them. The pleasure boating crowd tends to go to bigger lakes and leave the small waters alone. Imagine what it is like trying to fish from a kayak around pleasure boaters.

Jim

My pet peeve are the wake boats. Boats _designed_ to create waves! I fish a pontoon boat and waves from a wake boat seem to almost flip my boat when hit broadside. And then, I guess the wakeboarding isn't fun enough, so they have megawatt stereo systems blasting obnoxious music across the lake. Hard to believe that that can't be controlled. Some of the music is R rated. Jordan and Harris are getting worse daily as the area fills up with subdivisions and everyone has to have a jetski at a minimum. Hate to say it, but warm weather weekend fishing during daylight hours is doomed.

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Originally Posted by MAM3006

I said I wouldn't mention the lake but it was SH. We got there around 6:00 on Sunday and could only fish till 10:30 or so due to boat traffic. We were doing pretty good on the perch and crappie up to that point. Wave action just got out of control after that. I swear it was a zoo after that. Ramp was as crowded as I have seen.

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MAM3006,

Do you mind saying where you were finding the perch at SH last Sunday? Depth? Area? i looked around for perch a while after bass fishing early and didn't spot any on the ff. Thanks.

I've been nearly run over by the bass rockets too so I agree that it's not just the ski boats all the time. I think the biggest complaint here is when the tidal wave from one of the wakeboats hits you and you have to hold on for dear life while your boat nearly flips over and I don't have a small boat either. I too have a yak but only take it to small areas where most boats can't access because there's not enough money for me to cut across Harris to go from one side to other when bass boats are screaming at 60+ mph. I asked the DNR guy about the vulgar music and he said there's not one thing he can do about. Funny how the cops can give you a ticket for something obscene on your vehicle but nothing about the music. Not looking to turn into a communist state with a million laws but I don't appreciate taking my 11 and 14 year old daughters out and having that stuff blasting in our ears.
It just feels better to vent a little. Let's do a night stalk now!

Botoxrider, perch are all over that lake. I've been beaten to death by those things this year. Was actually catching some really big ones this past winter but the tiny ones have come out in full force this summer. I usually hit them much shallower than crappie, 3-4 FOW. Find any cove and throw a curly tail with a sloooooooooow retrieve and you'll get them. I've been fishing 8-15 FOW. Really need to thin them out.

I understand, I do not fish the big lakes on the weekend, but I am retired & can do that. I have fished my whole life and understand your pain.

I should have inncluded some bass boats in the conversation also. I agree with several of your comments that they can be as bad at times, especially when hauling it across the lake.

botoxrider - We caught about 15 perch in anywhere from 4-10 foot of water off different points in the 2nd & 3rd arms as you head up the lake from the Cross Point ramp. Some were smaller but there were several that were quite nice. Maybe caught 1/2 dozen crappie in the 1/2 to 3/4 pound range. Mainly used jigs. I was using a Lake Fork lure and my buddy was using a curyl tailed jig. Both were in a clear/smoke/natural color.

I would love to fish during the week but I just don't have that option with my work schedule. The only time me or my family can go are on weekends so I have to make a choice to deal with the craziness or not fish. I love being out on the water and my kids love to fish/swim so we go and deal with it even if it isn't ideal. We fish early and as the boat traffic picks up I try to find a cove somewhere that isn't taken and let the kids swim. The craziness on the water is frustrating but I can deal with that a whole lot easier than the craziness at the ramp. We put in at Holleman's most of the time and it is the craziness at the ramp that makes me hesitate going at all. I wish Duke Energy or the WRC would add more docking space for boats. The line of people waiting the use the ramp is going to be long most of the time but it seems it would flow faster and more smoothly if there was more than 1 or 2 spots to tie your boat off while parking your truck/car.

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Originally Posted by Allsop

I would love to fish during the week but I just don't have that option with my work schedule. The only time me or my family can go are on weekends so I have to make a choice to deal with the craziness or not fish. I love being out on the water and my kids love to fish/swim so we go and deal with it even if it isn't ideal. We fish early and as the boat traffic picks up I try to find a cove somewhere that isn't taken and let the kids swim. The craziness on the water is frustrating but I can deal with that a whole lot easier than the craziness at the ramp. We put in at Holleman's most of the time and it is the craziness at the ramp that makes me hesitate going at all. I wish Duke Energy or the WRC would add more docking space for boats. The line of people waiting the use the ramp is going to be long most of the time but it seems it would flow faster and more smoothly if there was more than 1 or 2 spots to tie your boat off while parking your truck/car.

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I avoid Holleman's most of the time. But, the single, easiest thing they could do would be to add a boarding dock like they have on the south end. It works good when people use it as intended. Not everone does, and I have waited to launch because a boat is blocking the ramp while some old Chesterfield smoking geezer makes his way down to the boat.

I wouldn't tie up and block the main ramp but I've seen other's do that too. Had a jet ski do that last year and then the owner proceeded to walk slowly all the way from his car only to sit down on the dock for an extra 5-10 minutes to put on his special water shoes that he didn't want to wear across the parking lot. In the meantime, his jet ski blocked a portion of both ramps keeping anyone from putting in.

Having a boarding dock isn't necessary but it would be helpful with the way my family use the ramp. I'm the only one in our group that can handle the boat around the ramp and back the trailer so this is mainly an issue when coming in later in the day and all the craziness at the ramp has started. Trying to find somewhere to tie up while I go get the truck can be challenging late in the day on the weekends. Not necessary but certainly would be nice.

I usually launch my boat and just tie it to the dock over the ramp. Since I'm a one man operation it's usually faster for me to just tie it there instead of trying to move it to one side of the dock off the ramp. But before I do this I always tell the guy behind me in line so he knows what I'm doing and isn't calling me a butthead. Pull the truck and jog back to the boat to get out of the way in less than 5 minutes.
I've nearly backed in over a couple of jet skis before at Hollemans. They throw out their scissor stands on the ramp and then pull the jet ski up on it to work on it or whatever. There was roughly 5 or 6 of us in line that evening and they blocked one ramp completely. So I proceeded to back down that ramp and they moved their jet skis pretty quickly when they saw I had no intention of stopping. I'm not saying jet skis are the only ones who do this either. They are definitely fun so I can see why they ride them.
Now, about that night stalk.

I usually launch my boat and just tie it to the dock over the ramp. Since I'm a one man operation it's usually faster for me to just tie it there instead of trying to move it to one side of the dock off the ramp. But before I do this I always tell the guy behind me in line so he knows what I'm doing and isn't calling me a butthead. Pull the truck and jog back to the boat to get out of the way in less than 5 minutes

I do the same thing when I am alone Hockey86. I move my boat to the very end of the ramp dock and that leaves room for most boats to be launched in the same ramp. My problem is taking out when someone has launched and is sitting on the ramp dock trying to untangle their ski rope.

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Originally Posted by SEA DANCER

I usually launch my boat and just tie it to the dock over the ramp. Since I'm a one man operation it's usually faster for me to just tie it there instead of trying to move it to one side of the dock off the ramp. But before I do this I always tell the guy behind me in line so he knows what I'm doing and isn't calling me a butthead. Pull the truck and jog back to the boat to get out of the way in less than 5 minutes

I do the same thing when I am alone Hockey86. I move my boat to the very end of the ramp dock and that leaves room for most boats to be launched in the same ramp. My problem is taking out when someone has launched and is sitting on the ramp dock trying to untangle their ski rope.

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Or waiting om Mama, who's struggling with the ice chest!

There is only 2 things you can do. Find a lake that doesn't allow pleasure or fish at night.

One of the WORST things I have ever seen was actually on Tillery, we were in Swift Island cove fishing a little, and a guy comes strolling in pretty slow, gets right in line with us, throws his kid (Maybe 8-9) off the boat with a life jacket on, the kid swims around for a second, then gets back in the boat, and begs to be thrown in again. The guy tells him ok this is the last time, throws him in, the little boy didn't want to get out, so the dad acts like he is driving away in the boat, (Danger #1) kid starts screaming and swims towards the boat. Gets almost there and decides he wants to swim away from the boat, meanwhile there is a boat cruising the cove to hit the lake about 20mph, and doesn't know the kid is in the water. Kid was right in the path of the boat, could have ended very badly, very poor judgement indeed. If you are going to swim, don't do it in a cove with a boat ramp and a few curves in it. Also I believe they should inforce a 30mph speed limit on all lakes. I see no need to go any faster than that. I always say those bass fishermen will lose their sponsorship if they don't get back to the ramp at exactly the weigh in time.

Unfortunately there seem to be no shortage of thoughtless people in the would now days.I always like to think the vast majority are caring,considerate,ethical folks.
The other 1 to2 percent make you wonder what went wrong.

I cannot believe I did it. I bought my son one of those jet skis I have been cussing for years while trying to fish. I have however made it very clear on many occasions my expectations of him and how he respects others especially fishing. He knows slow or idle speed in coves and slow down passing guys fishing. I told him main lake is for fun, but if you go in a cove and someone is trying to fish, leave. He knows he had better treat all fishermen as if dad was on their boat.

If everyone took the time to do that, things would be so much smoother. He'll have you riding it in no time. They are fun and we used to encounter a few while out in the ocean striper fishing. They had them all decked out for fishing. Actually a heck of plan since you can launch from the beach.

Worst I've had happen is when I was out trolling for strippers on Jordan years back. Dummy pulling a skier went right behind my boat and crossed one of my lines. Bucktail lure hooked one of the foot straps on the ski and got all wrapped up around the ski. If that didn't piss me off just a little, dummy driving the boat acted like it was MY fault. That really pissed me off but I was glad it didn't hook the kid.

This time of year, I do my trolling early morning, and my crappie fishing at night. If i'm out there during the day on a weekend its because the gf wants to ride around and get sun

I was trolling Shad Raps on Jordan with a buddy of mine, when a dumb@$$ driving a pleasure boat full of people was aiming to cross right behind our prop wash. We both waved our arms & fishing rods to try to get them to veer off, but the fool ran across both lines. He spooled both reels, flossed his motor, and we lost the only two crankbaits that were working that day. We chased them down to the Ebeneezer boat ramp and asked what they thought they were doing. Apparently, they thought all our waving was because we must have thought they were going to run into us...but they obviously weren't, so they ignored us.

Jim

The more stories like these that I read the more I just sit here and shake my head. Is there really that many fools/idiots/morons in this world? Unfortunately, I already know the answer to that one....

Its getting worse every year. It's not just on the lake either. I fish at the coast out of southport a lot. You would think there'd be more than enough room in the ocean for everyone but some don't mind to run all over you there too. And some of the things you deal with at the ramp are unbelievable.

What about the guy down at the beach last week that blew up his boat. Put gas in a rod holder instead of the tank.

You can't fix stupidity:yikes

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Originally Posted by MAM3006

..... Ok, probably gonna take some heat for this but I have had it. Won't mention the lake but fished last weekend and the pleasure boaters were out in FULL force. After around 10-11 you couldn't fish anymore if you wanted to. Jet skis, tubers and water skiers had taken over. I have to say they don't give a darn where they go or how close they get. Had one pass right between me and the shoreline I was trying to fish (couldn't have been more than 25 yards away) then anchor a ways down and start jumping off the boat into the lake. Kids & adults, screaming, hollering & raising general h _ _ _. Wish they were confined to certain areas or at least the main lake body. Seriously, talk about thinking they run the place. Not to mention that the ramp area was an absolute ZOO!

Ok, feel betetr now that I vented a little! Guess I need to nite fish only from now until Labor day!

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Went to Jordan lake this previous Sunday and the lake was insane with the same issue. There is not a "wake Zone" clearly marked near the boat ramp and a jerk in a bayliner zoomed in at fast speed between boats staging for the boat ramp. I was tied off on the dock and the waves bashed my boat against it and ended up breaking part of my trolling motor....needless to say I was 😠.

As when you encounter road rage you must ask yourself before reacting, "Where do I see this ending?" Had a friend tell me about his brother fishing a few years ago in Wilkes. He was easing into a cove when suddenly a bass boat rushes in and cuts him off from the spot he was going to fish. This man is not a large man, he has a bad temper, and also had sipped a couple of brews. He went over and expressed his displeasure, the bass fisherman took issue and cursed him. My friends brother picked up his oar and slapped him across the back with it. The bass fisherman left and my friends brother continued fishing. About 30 minutes later he saw a bass boat approaching with 4 men in it. Yep, "He's baaaaack". The 4 lit into him leaving him with 2 broke ribs, broke jaw, and 2 front teeth missing. My friends brother gave up fishing for good.

They would have never made it in my boat. I got something much bigger than what they want to deal with. I ant much into gum bumping


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I know exactly what you mean. As I have aged I have slowed down a lot, and with a touch of arthritis in my hands I have lost my speed with a filet knife so I too have had to extend the distance of contact. I sure would hate to mess up someone else's boat but I think I might have to reach out and touch them before they made their transfer. I started carrying a piece about 10 years ago and it makes me feel a lot safer. Ain't it bad that it has come to this?

There's plenty of laws, but a lack of presence and enforcement on NCWR's part. I've never seen a game warden out in the field, but I have seen one at a barber shop one time. I wish I was joking but sadly i'm not.

I have heard on many occassions the bemoaning of the ending of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. I have said for many years the Greatest Show on Earth can be found on any weekend of the summer at most busy Boat Ramps. And that's a fact !

Here in Florida you can only see them on the main lake. I live on a smaller lake and can't get them out for anything including pictures of game laws being violated.

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Originally Posted by ThePerchKiller

There's plenty of laws, but a lack of presence and enforcement on NCWR's part. I've never seen a game warden out in the field, but I have seen one at a barber shop one time. I wish I was joking but sadly i'm not.

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