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Posts: 7091
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | In WI, what is the minimal distance needed from another boat to be up on plane? Had a "discussion" with a fellow boater on Saturday, and just wanted to make sure that I have my rules correct. |
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Posts: 574
| 2010 book reads
It is illegal to -Operate a vessel at a distance from other vessels or at speed that exceeds safe and reasonable limits giving the waterway traffic, marked speed limits, weather, and other boating conditions. (Not really a clear answer)
- Operate a vessel repeatedly in a circuitous manner within 200 feet of another vessel or person in the water.
- Operate a PWC (JETSKI) at greater than slow-no-wake speeds within 100 feet of any other boat or within 200 feet of the shoreline of any lake.
Edited by Jason Bomber 5/3/2010 9:11 AM
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Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | General rule of thumb according to a Warden I asked a year ago is 100 feet at 'safe speeds'. |
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Posts: 7091
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Thank you both for the input. Feeling very much in the right for "opening a discussion" with a pleasure boater around him going full speed between me and another boat that were 200' away from each other. |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | I don't think the rules apply to pleasure boaters. There's some kind of amendment that says, please be a jack @$$ to any fishermen that you approach, and cause unsafe conditions.
I had clients out on Pewaukee last summer, and this guy, his wife, his buddy, and his buddie's wife decide to do the nice 10mph 4' wake run through the inside of the bouy line right in front of where we were casting. It took all I had not to deliver some choice words, but instead, I dumped a mag dawg off the side of his boat (which was 50' or less from ours). Rather than keep going or say sorry, the guy puts his boat in neutral right in front of us and says something to the likes of "if you cast any closer, you would have cast into my boat!". To which I reply,
"you're lucky I held up on that or it would have hit you in the mellon". That was proceeded by a high speed cast with a mag dawg off the side of his boat. His wife fiinally realized that he was going to get 2 size 6/0 trebles in the side of his head if I cast again, and she jumped up from the back of the boat and put it back in gear. What is with these people??!!! |
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Posts: 576
Location: Elk Grove Village, IL & Phillips, WI | The rule also doesn't seem to apply to many pontoon boat operators who feel absolutely compelled with going between you and whatever structure you happen to be casting toward no matter how little water there is to do so. There can be lots of open water to your back, but they seem to have to go in front of you just to see the look on your face just before you pitch that large hook laden lure at them and/or flip them off. |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | I agree completely.
It does seem to happen a lot with pontoon owners... and I've been on enough lakes to know this happens just about everywhere at least once or twice per season. It's unfortunate that with all the water surrounding everyone, people seem bent on angering the guy who is just trying to mind his own business while casting. It's lack of common courtesy and completely disrespectful. |
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Posts: 1287
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | That's why I always have my super soaker within arms reach!  |
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Posts: 81
Location: Van Buren, Indiana | I incurr the same situations on some of my favorite lakes. That is also why I don't mind fishing right up against someone's dock or seawall when I'm sightfishing for giant redears and gills in June. I have one guy that comes out every year and starts raking his seawall when I get there. I pay healthy license fee's and get raked over the coals for boat registration and lake enhancement fees, so I'm fishing anywhere on the water I want! Last year I caught a 41" that I wanted my son for the picture, had a moron in a big runabout running 20 mph tubing rolling a four ft wake, rocks the boat, son drops the fish, no picture, went into recovery of the fish. The guy is tubing in a 30-40 acre circle with a thousand acres of other water to tube on, go figure!! |
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Posts: 646
Location: In a shack in the woods | PSYS - 5/3/2010 12:02 PM
I agree completely.
It does seem to happen a lot with pontoon owners... and I've been on enough lakes to know this happens just about everywhere at least once or twice per season. It's unfortunate that with all the water surrounding everyone, people seem bent on angering the guy who is just trying to mind his own business while casting. It's lack of common courtesy and completely disrespectful.
I wish it was once or twice a season. Last summer it seemed like every weekend I would be getting into arguements on the water. It got to the point where I would only fish during the week. |
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Posts: 541
| yah it is sad when a person feels forced to fish only during the week because of rude people. They really need to start enfrcing these laws and start some new laws! Me and couple buddies last year almost got run over by a guy in his pontoon boat who was'nt even watching where he was going! I had to start yelling and throwing my hands up in the air it was ridiculous, and then he has the odasity to ask me how the fish were biting! |
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Posts: 579
Location: WI | Last year was my first year out on tonka and I had it pretty much all happen to me. I've had to gun the boat in reverse coming out of channel to be missed by inches by a boat who didn't think they should slow down until there in it, I've had had a 30 foot yacht going full speed about 75 feet from me fishing and the wake came up over my bow, I've had yachts slowly putter along by in the exact area I'm casting w/ nothing but open water behind me, and sadly, I've had plenty of fisherman do the same. At least this year I know what I'm getting myself into. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | You really have that many people bothering you out over 200 feet of water? |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | bassinbob84 - 5/3/2010 4:47 PM I wish it was once or twice a season. Last summer it seemed like every weekend I would be getting into arguements on the water. It got to the point where I would only fish during the week. That is ridiculous. We shouldn't be forced to only fishing during the week because obviously several individuals don't know the rules of the water. I hope things get better for everyone this year! |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | it's my belief that a very large percentage of boat operators don't have a clue that they are being either outside the rules or discourteous when they do what's being mentioned. that "route" the pontoon cruisers are taking is likely the same route they always take and you're just a new part of the scenery ... next time just wave and think kumbaya ... they just woke up whatever was in the weeds and it could help you ...
make more lemonaide |
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Posts: 225
Location: Nordeast Minneapolis | I kind of view pontoons as retarded manatees... I just accept that it's their nature to do something foolish, come way too close, not pay attention to what they're doing, and I'm mostly OK with it. It's easy to predict, and it mostly happens in slow motion. Now sailboats/wind surfers, on the other hand... they zoom way too close, are moving in stealth mode half the time, and may or may not be able to control what they're doing. They drive me bonkers.
Edited by gus_webb 5/4/2010 11:27 AM
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | What sled said, it bothers us a whole lot more than it does the fish. I try my best to ignore them and carry on with my fishing. |
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| >>That's why I always have my super soaker within arms reach!<<<
"Good" idea...until they return fire with something containing gunpowder.  |
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Posts: 431
| I agree with Sled. I was on a big weed flat with another boat this past weekend. We were casting at each other 2-3 cast lenths apart, me on the inside, him on the outside in a tourney. A bunch of fishing boats drove between us full blast. The flat is only 3 feet deep in spots. Though frustrating, it didn't seem to matter all that much. The other boat caught 2 fish and missed some others. I had a follow on a jackpot. On a somewhat similar flat that also gets driven over a bunch, I caught 3 fish. |
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| pontoons the short bus of boating is what we say |
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Posts: 1030
Location: APPLETON, WI | gusest - 5/4/2010 12:12 PM pontoons the short bus of boating is what we say i'm gonna start using this one from now on.  |
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Posts: 1168
| By reading this thread you might simply get the idea that only guys in pontoons or pleasure craft are idiots and jerks. I typically shake my head and get over it...but if I'm up to my reel on a figure 8 and have a hot fish up and another guy comes motoring over who is also fishing muskies and asks what is going on, that's an unforgivable sin. Idiocy knows no bounds. I've witnessed plenty of our fellow muskie angling brethren pull some ridiculously stupid and frustrating stuff and this bugs me more than the sand grinding pontoons. |
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Posts: 47
Location: Bonduel WI | bassinbob84 - 5/3/2010 4:47 PM
I wish it was once or twice a season. Last summer it seemed like every weekend I would be getting into arguements on the water. It got to the point where I would only fish during the week.
Same here even mondays and fridays tend to be bad on the lake I usually fish. It just goes to show how stupid some people are and how little respect they show for others. The worst is jet skis. Out of 7000 acre's they have to be in the 10 I'm fishing. Nothing bothers me more than that! |
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| As a musky fisherman and pontoon boat owner, I have to disagree with some of the characterizations here. The most dangerous boating behavior I have seen on the chain where we have a cottage has come from visiting musky fisherman in high powered boats. Again, dangerous, not annoying. Two years ago I took my wife and daughter out for a ride on the pontoon in the evening. We saw a number of fisherman, and stayed well clear of them. One boat stood out. Great looking Ranger with big Yamaha V-Max. As we were going up the river to the lake where our cottage is, I was moving about 10 mph, staying on the right side of the channel. I had just gone around a bend when I heard a roar and looked back. It was the guys in the Ranger, they came up so fast that the driver went to my right, right through a weed bed. He had a wide open channel at least 50 feet wide to his left but didn't have time to steer. My pontoon is 20', with a merc 4 stroke 90 hp, and is 8.5' wide. He rocked us to the point my water bottle flew out of the cup holder.
He slowed down going through a channel and I tried to get his number but as soon as he hit the next lake, he opened it wide open and almost swamped a small fishing boat anchored over some cribs. The elderly man and the young boy in the boat had to drop their rods and hang on to the sides of the boat. He went out of that lake and through the next channel at wide open throttle.
Last summer at our lake association meeting some of the long term residents talked about the change in fishing and fishing boats. One retired fellow said that it used to be the water skiers that bothered fishermen, but now he said it the musky fisherman with 200hp boats that scare him. His family has been on the lake for over 60 years.
Our lake is part of the Hodag challenge and before they changed the way they start, I used to sit on my dock with a cup of coffee and watch the boats drag race across our lake so they could be the first boat into the channel and on to the next lake. Saw some near collisions.
Again, not saying recreational boaters and jet ski owners are not a problem at times but so can musky fisherman racing from one spot to the next. And a lot musky folks today have large, heavy and deep fiberglass boats that leave a big wake and travel at speeds the old ski boats could only dream of. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | A boat running at WOT makes less of a wake than a boat running at half open throttle. |
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Posts: 4266
| Sailboats and windsurfers actually do have the right of way under all circumstances. Any boat not under power has the right of way over any boat under power, including electric. |
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Posts: 4266
| All the more reasons to fish at night.
Edited by Beaver 5/5/2010 2:52 AM
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Posts: 1296
Location: WI | Beaver - 5/5/2010 2:50 AM
All the more reasons to fish at night.
It's great until you almost hit a sailboat that doesn't think they need to have their lights on. Happened to me last summer. |
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Posts: 32935
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | If the safety of either boater isn't challenged, to the fish it's a non issue. They don't care. Beyond what's safe, IMO it's an issue of what's considered rude, and what isn't, and alot of recreational boaters have absolutely no clue what any fisherman is trying to do. I let the pontoons go by, wave at the people out on their floating tiki torch carrier, and fish on. Same with the guys in runabouts, but jet skis get no 'be nice' passes...I hate those things. |
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Posts: 516
Location: Kildeer, IL | Slamr,
Stay off the toilet bowl = Problem solved. |
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