this ever happened to you?

[bama3300]

its spring break here in tuscaloosa, al, and we've been to the lake every day since easter sunday. the water is cold at first, but once you're up on the board, skis, or tube, it all seems worth it. since sunday, me and some friends have rolled about 21 hours on the meter, and its only tuesday. we usually keep the boat at a marina on logan martin, and havent found any decent slews, but it seems every slew you turn into on lake tuscaloosa runs about 3 miles, usually averages 50 feet deep, and is has the smoothest water i've ever been on.
we were minding our on business today, in a slew with absolutely no one else around, doing a little tubing/wakeboarding, and some bass fishermen about 200 yards away started getting closer. i was careful, not to throw any huge rollers there way, and we didnt even have the stereo blasting, not typical for 8 college students on spring break, but the next thing we know, these 3 guys are yelling and cursing us like we tumped their boat. i calmly explained we were having a good time and trying not to disturb them, but apparently they thought it was their slew and we should leave. after some harsh words from boat to boat, i think they though it better to leave 8 beer drinking college guys alone, but it really put a damper on my mood. i always try and respect other boaters, wether it be with my music, wake, or what not, but these guys, in my opinion were out of line... any thoughts or suggestions on how i should handle a similar situation if it were to occur again?

[Moomba4me]

I'm thinking, since when does anyone have rights to tell some one else their business? I say first come first serve.

[OnTheH20]

Can you ask your neighbor this...

"Why does every boat-fisherman try to cast as close to shore as he can while every shore-fisherman trys to cast to the middle of the lake?"

My dad asked me this when I was growing up and I am STILL trying to figure it out! :)

[lowdrag]

Many times fishermen have had the same experiences with careless skiers as we have with careless jet skiers.

Be careful not to get too close repeatedly. My father is an avid fisherman and I know that a lot of them carry extra poles with a muskee plug on them specifically to discourage people from getting too close. They can cast those things forever too. :p

[Dave A]

I went out and skied for the first time, this season and behind my new boat. The lake we go out on is very large and there are lots of fishermen. I never got near any of them. Some of them looked at me with disbelief, others probably thought I was crazy, just like my wife did. I was in the water getting ready to slalom, and a fishing boat with 4 people going fast cruise by and the yelled something with Mother something or other in it. I had a 4 year old and a 2 year old in the boat. Kinda sad really. I guess they just needed to put their 2 cents in. Don't really understand, don't really want to.

On that note, I love my boat. My father-in-law rode in it for the first time and said he had never been in a boat like it. As I was pulling out of my neighborhood, a guy slowed down and told me how nice it was. Kinda makes me feel like I spent that extra 10k that I put in the bank.

[Ian Brantford]

I am glad that most of the fishing on my lake is done in small, secluded bays that are protected from main body of water. That way, when I get my new XLV, I'll only be ticking off the few cottagers here who actually seem to spend time at their waterfronts.

With a conventional runabout, the only way to make a big wake is to go slow and stay just off-plane. That works fine when preparing some ramps for tubing. It's also done for a short distance, and one seldom goes far in a straight line. The big waves radiate outwards, reducing in size as they travel.

With a boat designed for wakeboarding, the wake starts big and stays that way from wherever the boat was going straight, which is much of the time. Even people a long distance away can be hit by a series of big waves as you go back and forth. The only people to be spared are ones past the end of your run when you do some sharp turning manouvre.

I do not have a fix for this problem, but just wanted to give a possible explanation for the faraway fishermen's reaction. If you are at anchor, trying to relax, and keep getting hit by man-made, two-foot waves on an otherwise calm lake, you might well get ticked off at the guy who made the waves. In a loaded 14-foot aluminum boat with a 10-inch-high transom, you might fear for your life when a two-foot wave comes up behind you!

Maybe we all need to pull some gigantic wake-limiting devices behind us. Ohh, that'll take an extra 200HP or so. Sweet.

Ian