Basic boating rules and courticy

[Jwood]

Last Tuesday I was on Lucky Peak on a rather windy day. I was trolling at about one mile an hour in a straight line and noticed a boat appoaching from the rear at about a twenty degree angle on the right side. I didn't think too much about it till the boat was overtaking me and on a definate collision course about a hundred feet from me. I tried turning into the wind little success and motioned for the other boat to go around. No change in there course they would have rammed me for sure if the male companion had not jumped into action and slammed their boat into reverse stopping the boat about tweny feet from me. The lady driving the boat called me a "son of a gun" (yeh right) and yelled "I hope you fall in". In turn I yelled back that I was in front of them and had the right of way and they needed to steer around me. This was an unfortunate situation. Any comments?

[MackayGuy]

What comments would you expect? There's a lot of morons out there that have no business running a boat. Just because you can afford a boat doesn't mean you know anything about Idaho boating laws (or any maritime regulations) and how to operate a boat safely. Or common sense. Look at what happened at LP last week.....really, really unfortunate that someone lost their life.

Idaho should require boating safety classes to register your boat like other states. A boat operator should have to demonstrate to the authorities, if requested, that they have taken boating safety and regulation classes.

I saw a ski boat a week or so ago on LP with at least 15 people on it. Gene pool improvement experiment I guess.

[dragonfly]

I run into that more and more often. with the electronic / gps steering that people set and think they have the right of way or don't watch where they are heading. I have it also and try to keep an eye out and program around it or turn it off and steer away before I get there most of the time it's a boat with children and busy parents and no need to ruin my or there day. and usually they apologize when we go buy, but there are always those people that think they can do no wrong and those people there is no reasoning with so why try. dfly

[SuperD]

Very unusual for a woman boat driver. They usually tend to think they are going to hit boats a 1/4 mile ahead of them.

[Drinkinbuddy]

Stupid is as stupid does....gotta love it when you get sassed even though they are completely wrong.

[mrmike]

I've witness to many times folks purchase a boat with that off shore bracket with is extremely hard to run with there kicker (better hope there is no wind) so they invest in the TR1 SYSTEM it ok until your around other folks and boats so they are hooking up there rods making breakfast etc. and you better watch out if your in front of them. Be happy.

[Mharri333]

Interesting topic. I am generally alway very careful about other boats when there is a lot of traffic. I prefer when someone is on autopilot and heading in one basic direction. I can watch their nose then try to point so we cross paths or beside each other at a reasonable distance. The tough ones for me are the guys running tillers by hand. They stand up, go to their rod or cooler or whatever and their boat starts to rapidly turn. So now I am watching them to try to figure out how to get by them. When there is a lot of traffic, I set my autopilot then leave it the same until forced to move it by some wacky boat. The guy with the tiller who has been fighting his boat will go by and give you dirty looks because you didn't move out of his way. I generally get irritated and just work outside of big groups of boats. I catch my share of fish and don't have to be in anyone's way. I always wonder why there are groups going down one direction and then back passing other boat but one tool in the bunch has to go across the entire lake through the cloud forcing everyone to have to adjust.

It would be interesting to hear what peoples thought process is when they are working through big groups of boats. Tight traffic. Maybe I am one of those knuckleheads inadvertently.

[SuperD]

The east/west guy in a north/south rotation is just clueless to everything around them. That guy is always the guy long lining too, go figure!

[downriggeral]

We fish at the mouth of the Deschutes on the Columbia in the fall for Kings. You wouldn't believe what goes on....it goes like this; you have people drifting in the current jigging, people holding a drift doing eggs, people long lining Wiggle Warts a mile behind the boat(what a pain!) and those of us who troll downriggers tight to the boat (10 to 15' back). Now a fish gets stuck on in the middle fof the crowd; fish on yahoo!!! Believe it or not people spread out and let you get the fish. Occasionally the fish will go get into other peoples tackle, can you imagine that? Every one seems to go with the flow most of the time but it is really crazy combat fishing. I always work the outside edge out of the crowd. The only problem is the long liners who are clueless and drive across in front of you. When we get a fish on I head for the middle of the river away from the crowd to work the fish...and now for the last problem. The HUGE river barges will show up about the time you have a fish on and take up half the river!!

And then there is the Hanford Reach. A million boats back-trolling, are we having fun yet??

[fishslayer13]

Last year on Dworshak here, a guy in a 28 ft twin engine jet boat cut between us and the shore when we were trolling kokes. We were 40 yards from the bank. This guy could see me for half a mile and there was 200 yards of lake on the other side of me. I have a 22 ft thunder jet offshore with 3 ft of side walls, he put his wake in my boat.
If I had been in a small 12 ft boat like some guys that fish bass he would have put us in the water. Brought all our gear in and tried to run him down but couldnt find him anywhere so must have camped somewhere on the lake.
I have taken 2 boater safety classes neither one addressed much but buoys and drinking and a little on right away.
Common sense is gone and no class will help that.

[DLM]

Very unusual for a woman boat driver. They usually tend to think they are going to hit boats a 1/4 mile ahead of them.

You must have been in our boat! She goes into panic mode when there is a spot on the horizon.

[Bogey]

Common sense is gone and no class will help that

- couldn't agree more!!

[jumperzee]

Last year on Dworshak here, a guy in a 28 ft twin engine jet boat cut between us and the shore when we were trolling kokes. We were 40 yards from the bank. This guy could see me for half a mile and there was 200 yards of lake on the other side of me. I have a 22 ft thunder jet offshore with 3 ft of side walls, he put his wake in my boat.
If I had been in a small 12 ft boat like some guys that fish bass he would have put us in the water. Brought all our gear in and tried to run him down but couldnt find him anywhere so must have camped somewhere on the lake.
I have taken 2 boater safety classes neither one addressed much but buoys and drinking and a little on right away.
Common sense is gone and no class will help that.

I see this a lot too....makes me mad! Seems like a lot of guys will zip aorund through trolling boats trying to mark fish and waking everyone out in the process.

On the funny side, last year there was an old timer and his wife in an old boat with an ancient outboard...no cover on the flywheel, he was ping-ping-ping-pinging thru the maze of boats trolling at Canyon Cr. He and his wife were sitting in lawn chairs, straw hats on, facing backwards watching their rods....ping-ping-ping-pinging along a little faster than everyone else with no care in the world about what was ahead of him. Had to just laugh and get out of his way!!! He was catching lots of fish too!!

[autorick]

Hayden lake in Idaho is bad for idiot careless boaters. I leave amazed almost everytime i go.