Been holding off on this post for years but with the increase in boat traffic on Lake Fork
I feel it is time for a public announcement
If someone if fishing in the boat lane ,
It is your right to drive within
Ten yards of a boat with three people fishing at a high speed ,
Sure it is ,,,, is it right ,,,that's to be debated

My Dad taught me common courtesy to other fishermen is very important
Because someday the shoe is going to be on the other foot ,,,

What are some of the other options if you are not sure of the path for your boat

Come off pad and idle around the boat ?

Go a little wider and Little slower ?

A crankbait cast length away would be good?

Learn the lake and know that the boatlanes are very wide in some areas
And give the boat fishing a little room ?

If you are in doubt ,,,,,,think would I want a boat to fly past me while I'm happily enjoying a beautiful day on Lake Fork ,,,And Then chose your path and speed

I personally have know two people that have been killed in boating accidents
On Lake Fork

Do not think accidents cannot happen in a boat
They do and they are devastating
I have a wife three children and a dog I want to see
When I get home,
please think of some common courtesy
When driving your high performance bass boat around others
It would be nice to keep this as a positive post
Thanks

The boat lane is a road on the lake. I would not fish on a road if I thought I might get run over.

Depends on the distances, but given two options as a fisherman, outside of casting distance, I would prefer them to be on pad rather than plowing like so many do. I really hate it when they think they are being nice by slowing down only to kick up a bigger wake than the ripple of a perfectly trimmed bass boat on pad. Those wakes when slowing go out at a certain angle... I also try to fish well enough inside an area to not inhibit the boat lane, and cast a ways if needed.

I would rather them come by me at 70 rather than plowing. I would shut down and idle personally.

My dad raised me the same way, common courtesy an a little respect can go a long ways,
Some boaters that don't have the high dollar graphs and boat lane chips, might not even know there in a lane. I agree, people should slow down an show a little respect to others.
What, it might keep you from where your flying to, a couple minutes, vs a major accident
Just my .02 cents

Good post, Lance. I've spoken extensively with the game wardens about this very issue.

It bothers me that people think that if they're driving the boat lanes, it gives them the right to run full throttle no matter what. The boat lanes are not a highway and don't offer anyone any privileges. The boat lanes do not give anyone the right to do anything. It is simply a marked path that is free of trees.

It is your responsibility to operate your boat in a safe manner without endangering other people. You cannot legally blow over someone fishing in the boat lane any more than you could do it anywhere else on the lake. You are legally responsible for any damages the operation of your boat causes.

I've never fished directly in a boat lane out there despite knowing there are a couple of special spots right on some of them because of this very reason. Lance - I can tell you that when I have come up on one fishing directly in the boat lane and I am running, I can tell you I first say a quick 4 letter word to myself, then I get off plane well ahead of the boat and idle slowly around and wide of them then go about my way. Never takes more than 5 minutes of my time and I always wave.

But the issue you bring up isn't just about the boat lanes at Fork. This kind of stuff happens on every lake more than it ever should.....see the chaos on the Red River this last week in Champs or look at the incredible shotgun start on Ray Bob in the Texas Team Trail a few years ago. I have a nice boat that, yes, is very fast but I also have a wife, 2 dogs and tons of awesome family I want to take care of and spend as much time as God decides to give me with them. So, when needed I slow down.

Also for those that haven't ever read it, go read the story about Gary Dobyns' boat accident several years back. It will make you realize just how bad it can get in a boat real fast.

Hope I stayed positive enough.

Fork is the worst I have seen on this issue seems like on Toledo Bend they tend to give alot more room if you are fishing in a lane. But it is expected to get blown by when I do fish in a lane which is seldom but thats why I pick and choose when I fish those spots.

Lance, you big p***y! Don't fish in the boat lanes, then.

It's one of the things I DESPISE about Fork these days. I'm old enough to remember a time when almost all fisherman slowed to an idle and gave a stationary boat in their path a wide berth. I still do so today.

The response "I'd rather they run by me at 70 than plow" is bs, too. The only folks who "plow" are the inexperienced who believe they're being helpful or, worse yet, the very experienced. But those folks are a small minority.

I don't know of one boat lane on Lake Fork where one cannot come off plane and idle around another boat fishing there. To say otherwise is either ignorance or selfishness.

That last word describes many anglers on all lakes, but Fork seems to be infested with the "me first" crowd these days. Part of population growth and less water, I suppose.

The fish bite when the boats fly past.

I learned that from a guide on Little Lake Toho in 1985. Unfortunately, I've only replicated that in shallow water, though. Flushes baitfish out of their cover. Out deep, it busts up schools of baitfish and scatters the predators downward for a bit.

Dont fish in the lanes! You have the rest of the lake to fish in. Kinda like a freeway , if I slow down to not blow past someone fishing in a boat lane who is to say the boat behind me is going to slow down because I did. Now I may be hit from behind because I slowed for another boat fishing in the lane. Kinda like a rear end collision on the road.

Lance I give your Dad his dues. It seems that there are plenty of people fishing these days that didn't have that influence in their lives. I rarely fish on weekends anymore because of this. But you know Lance it is not just the lakes road traffic is as bad or worse.

People holler about boater safety courses but that wouldn't help with the courtesy part.

I know your Dad and will never forget the time he came to look for me and my friend, at his own risk, in some bad wind on Tawakoni in the Old LTV Bass Club days.

Please lets all try to be better humans to each other.

I guess I'm still old school, I was taught common courtesy long ago. Some old guys may remember TBend back in the day,where the lanes were marked by just plane fence slats with a point on it to tell u how they ran, or Rayburn where there was just flag tape to mark em. Most of the time these things were about 3-4 boat widths wide, now granted we didn't have boats that ran 60-70 mph + back then BUT everybody slowed down to pass someone fishing, that's just the way it was done. But for some reason now everyone is in a hurry, as for Fork, hell, If people didn't think they would get ran up the backside, they just might slow down a little.

On a similar note I used to fish McDonalds on Fork all the time, several yrs ago I was leaving Williams,about the time I get past the point between Williams and lil mustang, I notice a boat coming out of lil mustang,a boat coming out of mustang and 2 boats coming in on the cut across the lake, I notice that all 5 boats, me included would meet at the same time at the junction marker, so I shut her down, to this day I have no idea how those boats never hit each other, a couple got airborn pretty quick. That was the last Micky d's tourney I fished

The problem is everyone thinks they need a 200+ horsepower engine to catch bass.