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| Kind of an odd request, but Wednesday I took out my new fishing kayak and saw what I thought was a chunk of wood floating in the lake out about 150 yards. When I got to it I realized it was actually a long log, jammed into the lake bottom with only a few inches showing above water. Ice must have brought it there. Went back, grabbed a plastic jug, wrapped it with blaze orange flagging tape, tied it to the log. Tried pulling log free with my 90 hp fishing boat but no go.
None of my neighbors have boats in the water yet, but will try hooking up two when they do. Maybe see/saw it back and forth?
Anyone have any suggestions? This thing could really do a number on a boat. About 8" in diameter and at least 8 to 10' long. Right now very little boat traffic but that will change soon. |
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Posts: 16632
Location: The desert | Contact the county or whoever installs buoys and ask them to buoy it. I don't have any factual data to support this but I have heard anecdotal stories about hazards being marked by people in an unofficial form, liability if someone were to by t could be passed on to whomever put the marker out. I believe I heard this from a resort owner in Canada. Now, that seems pretty far fetched, but in our ever litigious society it's something to consider.
If the end is stuck in the mud you likely need to break suction somehow to get it to free up.
Edited by Pointerpride102 5/18/2018 11:19 AM
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Posts: 2275
Location: Chisholm, MN | Lots of those around here. It's just a natural thing and people should be watching out for them. In MN, DNR typically will not remove something like that. I had one guy come in to my office freaking out about one though. The local CO ended up moving it just to ease his mind. |
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| I don't know about all lakes, but on the chain where I live the WI DNR does nothing with navigational aids, etc. Our lake association pays for the channel buoys, pays to have them installed and removed. I think a few years ago we got a small grant to replace some buoys that were in bad shape but that is it. We pay to place about 2 dozen channel markers plus 5 hazard markers, no help at all from DNR, county or township. It is the biggest expense each year for the association. With well over a hundred lakes plus the WI river in Oneida county, I guess they government agencies feel they cannot afford it.
The problem with this log is that it is no more than 3 inches out of the water, much further from shore than you expect a dead head and very hard to see if any kind of chop.
Edited by North of 8 5/18/2018 12:30 PM
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| Maybe try a long reach saw and cut it so it sits in deeper water. Might be tough to do though if the water is super dirty. |
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| Baby Mallard - 5/18/2018 1:14 PM
Maybe try a long reach saw and cut it so it sits in deeper water. Might be tough to do though if the water is super dirty.
The water is quite stained, but that might be worth a shot. I have a long pole saw for trimming branches and if I and my neighbor can't pull it out, I will try the pole saw. The saw has about a ten foot reach, so if I go down 4 or 5 feet that would put it out of harm's way, even if the water drops a foot or so in mid summer. I know where it is but would hate to see someone hit it at any kind of speed. One of my seasonal neighbors often comes up late on a Friday night, gets here after dark and then puts their fishing boat in and it is right in line with where they approach their dock.
Thanks for the suggestion. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | I'm picturing the Turtle Flambeau Flowage and shaking my head.
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Posts: 315
| Hey North,
I’m on a WI River flowage just south of you and was out for the opener and saw a few deadheads in the channel. Some people take an empty bleach jug and tie it or nail it to the hazard. Had a friend hit one going upstream a couple years ago and really did a number on his boat. It wasn’t visible which is the worst. They move around and sometimes they sink then a couple days later they pop back up to the surface 100 yards away. Best just to take it easy and be overly observant the first few times out. Be safe out there everyone! |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | Flambeauski - 5/18/2018 3:35 PM
I'm picturing the Turtle Flambeau Flowage and shaking my head.
Or how about the gile flowage when the water is low.. |
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Posts: 20179
Location: oswego, il | I see trees floating on lake st claire and out on lake Michigan that would wreck a boat. Seen plenty on the flambeau flowage. |
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Posts: 8717
| Jug it. ERA detergent still comes in bright orange. Don't know there's much you can do if you can't move it with your boat. Only thing I can think of is drag it out to deeper water, tie a couple cinder blocks to it and see if you can sink it far enough where it's no longer a hazard. |
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| The folks on the Turtle Flambeau and a number of other flowages/rivers are expecting that kind of thing but this would be a one off on 1,200 acre chain. There are a number of dead heads within a hundred feet of shore, downed trees, etc. But this is almost 200 yards from shore, in 8 ft of water.. And again it is only sticking out of the water maybe 3 inches. I was out crappie fishing this afternoon and with a 1ft, chop you could not see at all. |
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Location: 31 | 2 cinder blocks, a short chain and a few HD screws.
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Posts: 1126
Location: Minnesota. | Scary darned thing to imagine, running up on one of those buggers at speed...
I know on Vermilion you need to be careful in the shallower bays around the dam. |
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| Jerry Newman - 5/18/2018 7:54 PM
2 cinder blocks, a short chain and a few HD screws.
That sounds like a plan. I happen to have the materials at hand.
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Posts: 255
| Hit one near your chain few years back and sheared brass bushing on prop. Ruins the day. In 13 ft and was three ft down. Your actions are commendable whether you jug it or attempt to sink it. Big weekend ahead. |
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Posts: 157
Location: West Central WI | I was on a friend’s lake several years back and removed a log like that. It was stuck just as you described and wasn’t going to move when I pulled in one direction with a 115 Yamaha. I tied off the rope to one of the back cleats so the pull made the boat kind of turn to one side even though I was trying to go straight. I had about 20’ of rope out. What happened is that the boat slowly rotated around the log which eventually broke the suction after two laps and the log then broke free. It was an old thick telephone pole about 25’ long and 18” in diameter. It’s now a nice breakwater on my friend’s shoreline. |
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Posts: 574
Location: Elk Grove Village, IL & Phillips, WI | I've been a Dead Head for most of my life and I have never been a boating hazard. Oh wait, never mind!
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Posts: 1184
| KenK - 5/21/2018 10:33 AM
I've been a Dead Head for most of my life and I have never been a boating hazard. Oh wait, never mind!
I too have been a Dead Head most of my life, but unfortunately, I probably have been a boating hazard at some point. |
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Posts: 612
| Only occurs after very heavy rain in the NYS lakes. However up north in Canada you have to drive the boat at ~ 5 miles until one gets to know the lake. Seen boats with hulls ripped out and motors with lower units ruined due to inattentive fishermen. Unfortunately they don't do much-any making-buoys up there. All I can say is to repeat take it slow where there are deadheads.
Good luck!
Edited by NPike 5/22/2018 11:29 AM
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