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sabreski.
Saw a good case of poetic justice on Lay today.Started off with us heading up river going to fish in the area of Bullocks islands. As we reached the islands and were taking the right channel fork, we ran up behind a Moomba wake surfing boat. Group of kids aboard. Had the ballast tanks fully loaded, the wake system going, NOBODY on a wakeboard or surfboard. Made about the biggest wake I have ever seen. Guy was doing about 15 and we had a heck of a time passing him. The Moomba was going so slow, when we tried to cross that huge wake (had to cross pretty close to the boat due to narrow channel there) we would roll back off. Idiots capsized two of three people on kayaks. Finally got by and fished. When he came by us a bit later, still doing the same wake trick, was taking waves over the bow of my classic. Gave them the sign showing I thought they were #1.About dark we were heading back to the boat ramp and got to the ramp about the same time they did. We were on the ramp at the same time. I was pulling our boat out after son had loaded it and as I started up the ramp, so did they. Heard this big WHOOM! WHOOM!. Hit the brakes to see what on earth had happened. Son shrugged shoulders and said it came from the Moomba so I pulled the cat on out. Noticed they were all looking at their tires on the trailer. 4 flats it looked like (edit: nope, checked a photo son took, it was a single axle trailer. I heard two of em arguing about “Told you we were supposed to empty the ballast tanks before loading on the trailer…” Then they walked up to me and said hey, we seem to have a major problem with our trailer, can you give us a hand? Told them “sure” then clapped my hands a couple of times and said, by the way, those kayaks you guys capsized are going to report your hull number to the Alabama Marine Police, as am I. We then hopped in my truck and headed home. Hope they are still stuck on the ramp. Second one of those kinds of boats I have seen in two weeks. First two I have EVER seen on Lay Lake, at least with ballasts full making a wake like the USS Ronald Reagan.Last edited by oldtimer57 on May 27th, 2017, 4:28 am, edited 1 time in total.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
Respect is something they need to learn. If they are using the ballast then great, if not show some respect. Just like us not running 70s to 80s in a narrow channel where they are trying to ride. We all have to respect those on the water. Gain some kudos though and at least be better than they were, Teach (teacher) or lead by example. We are also surprised there are not several wake board boats on Lay Lake with the proximity to Birmingham suburbs and the summer houses all along that shoreline. The place is populated though we guess Lake Martin is getting them. BCBLast edited by Bass Cat Boats on May 27th, 2017, 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Isnt there concern for shore line erosion anymore? I dont get it?
I wont say there are not more, just that I have only seen two that are identifiable by wake. Lake Martin and Smith Lake are probably the bigger water-toy lakes (much clearer, not so many stumps and shallow areas to deal with. I was not even aware that anyone was making boats where you could add 2-3-4 thousand pounds of water (or more if you go to lead ballast) until someone mentioned it, either on here on on BBC. Some dont seem to understand what “no wake” means either. When we got to the ramp to launch yesterday, I noticed the docks were completely wetted down. Not a cloud (finally) so no rain. Apparently when they launched, they filled the tanks and then sent a 3 wave over the top of the docks…And they will one day be wondering why certain types of boats are restricted on waterways. One interesting side-line. I did call the marine police and got relayed to the local group that patrols Lay. Guy I talked to said that theres not much they can do unless they see them acting dangerously. But he did say that this was about the 5th or 6th complaint from yesterday, same boat registration number, so they were going to contact the owner and explain the situation to them as clearly as possible. In any case, these folks (I think there were 6 of em total, guys and girls) were not in the water, no wakeboard or surfboard or skis to be seen. Must cost a fortune to operate that boat in such a way as to displace that much water. And they were certainly beating up on several pontoon boats docked along the eastern shoreline of the channel where we were fishing. Didnt pay much attention to what was happening on shore once I noticed how big the waves were.Last edited by oldtimer57 on May 29th, 2017, 4:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
Probably more of them downriver closer to the damn on Lay. Martin has them for sure. I would bet they are plentiful downriver on Logan Martin as well. Smith is a given.The people operating those things are idiots. It probably gets 1/10 mpg with that load. When land owners on the lake start raising hell about their wakes tearing up their piers, boats tied up, and bank erosion, something going to happen to change that behavior.Some people are born a@#holes, and theres not much that will change them.2017 Sabre FTD AE DC2017 Yamaha 175 SHOMK Fortrex 80Helix 10 Mega SI in consoleHelix 7 GPS SI GN2 on bow
Man if you want to see that kind of stuff you need to come to Lake Austin. It is a river lake not very wide where there is lots of money and lots big boats, and crazy kids with there dad boat. You only fish it is the winter when it is too cold for the kids to get out. You can forget about fishing it in the summer. Of course now that there is no gress in the lake it went from one of the best lakes in the country to where nobody holds a trounament on it. What a loss. Grass carp are the death of a lake. John
Ive been around my fair share of big boats. 40 yachts on Guntersville, not to mention barges. Ditto on smith lake. Once in a blue moon we might see a 30 boat on Lay, and there are a couple of 50 houseboats that dont make any wakes to speak of. But Ive never seen 23 boats that make wakes like these things make. Requires a new level of diligence watching the water as a wave from one of those is a big problem if you dont notice.Im not going to try to list all the stupid things I have seen on the water, but these things simply multiply the danger/destruction levels significantly when operated in stupid ways by people that just dont care about others. And then theres the jet skis. Many are as courteous as they can be. But the rest are ruining it for all of em, slowly but surely.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
I fish & I ski the slalom course regularly. I see both sides & it is frustrating for sure. My Malibu at 34.2 (old man ski speed) puts out almost no wake-even compared to my Cat, but the wakeboard boats can sure throw some waves that ruin both of my passions. Had my share of bass boats ruin my slalom course set too & 6 passes of 16.95 seconds is all I need. Some people are either clueless or just plain rude.
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