Let me lead with I am all for, 100% for, high school tournament bass fishing. I have seen more guys on the lakes with their kids over the last 2 years than in the prior 20 years. That said if you are one of the boat captains for these kids it is 100% your responsibility to teach them proper etiquette and SAFETY! I'm not going to get on my how close you should fish or cutting guys off bandwagon as I don't want to start something. However last Saturday morning a HS tournament left out of Jackson Hill and I was sitting on a point with a buddy when two kids, one of them driving with an adult sitting between them in a Phoenix went between us and the point we were fishing, but not 100 yards from us, not 50 yards, they went so close to us they cut my line and they were going 40-50 mph. They might have been 10 yards from us....I was stunned, if my boat were faster I would have run them down but they were gone in an instant. Had they clipped something, spun out (they were cornering), any little mistake by this teenage driver and they could have..likely would have killed us both. Guys if you are going to let the kids drive fricking teach them how.

I've been cut-off more as a HS captain than I've ever been when fishing tourneys for myself.
I attribute this to a while lot of eager folks who don't have any real experience on the water but are trying to help the kids as captains. I point it out to my boys and usually get back to what we were doing.
I don't know about the rules for the association that you were dealing with but the group I'm involved with have strict rules about the boys operating the big motor.... as in- it's not allowed.

In the THSBA we don't allow students to operate the big motor. I can't imagine that any high school association would allow that. It would be a huge liability and not good practice. A 14-18 year old may know how to drive a boat but they also have 14-18 year old brains and may not make the best decisions. I have been driving a boat since I was 8 and I would go out by myself when I was 11 (we lived on Cedar Creek) and lived to tell about it but I also wasn't out there with a 100 other kids. If they were in a tournament they were probably breaking the rules or prefishing.

I agree and we dont allow our kids to operate the boats either.We are supposed to be teachin our kids the proper way to do things but there is always some bad apples in every group.

There will always be idiots on the water, at the ramp, and on the roadways and it seems to be getting worse all the time.

The fishing world, unfortunately, is following the ways of the rest of the world. The kids are being raised by people that don't have any respect themselves. The kids aren't going to do the right thing if their parents don't do it.

Bottom line is - lots of kids nowadays are being raised by disrespectful hoodlums...the apple isn't going to fall far from the tree!

I have heard about some high school tournament trail (can't remember the actual name) in southern texas and they allow the high school anglers to drive the boat. From what hav heard.....

And i agree there are some kids that can operate a boat well but still for the tournaments where the lake is really crowded let the adults do the driving

Several of these anglers and captains are not tournament anglers. This is the first competitive events they are in. I always sat back and kept my patients. However I was one of the kids that went crazy because I wasn't driving the boat. I have fished BFL and Bassweekenders as a boater since I was 16. There are bad apples in all crowds, but saying that ALL kids are not qualified to drive a boat is unfair to a handful of anglers.

As with THSBA and many others, Central Texas High School Tournament Trail has strict rules that do not allow student anglers operate a boat while the main engine is in operation. High School fishing is about more then fishing tournaments. It's about introducing today's youth to the great outdoors and teaching them to be the future sportsman and woman of this great sport we all call fishing.

The HS tournament last weekend out of Jackson Hill was a Deep East Texas High School tournament.

Here is the rule addressing kids driving straight off their website:


6. SAFETY � Safe boating must be observed at all times. Each contestant and coach is required to wear a fastened U.S. Coast Guard-approved and state approved personal flotation device anytime the combustion engine is in operation from boat check until weigh-in each day of the tournament. All boats must be equipped with an emergency ignition-shutoff device that must be securely attached to the driver�s body whenever the combustion engine is in operation. All persons in a tournament boat shall remain seated in a manufacturer-recommended on-plane seating location when the combustion engine is in operation. Sitting on pedestal seats while the combustion engine is in operation is not permitted. Contestants are not permitted to drive the boat when the combustion engine is in operation. Safe boat conduct must be observed at all times by contestants and coaches. At the discretion of the tournament director, tournament days may be shortened, postponed or canceled due to unsafe weather or water conditions. Violation of this rule may result in disqualification.

http://www.deepeasthighschoolfishing.com/rules-and-regulations.html

It's not always the case as stated above. My son and I pre fished one day and listened to a local fisherman moan for 10 minutes on how we had cut him off.. Now we trolled for at least 5 minutes and at least 100 yards in front of him to the back of the cove. He stated we had cut him off since this was the direction he was headed.. Albeit 100 yards. The funny part is that when he left, he fired up the 200 on his boat and jumped on plane and left... So the lesson I learned was simple, I told my son that you never know what kind of idiot is in the next boat.......

I feel like a lot of us younger anglers who operate our boats alone get a huge misunderstanding by other boaters while fun fishing. It seems like every time im on Joe Pool, atleast 2 adults have a problem with me operating my boat (Which I do in a safely manner). Im never running wide open while fun fishing, im never within 200 yards of another boat while on plane, and never within 150 yards another boat while fishing. I always get yelled at going under the bridge in the no wake zone area for "Going To Fast" when there are others idling past me in the same zone. Whenever im in a no wake zone I will put it in gear for like 8 seconds and put it in neutral for 2 seconds. My boat doesn't idle fast, I do it simply to not get yelled at. Ive had many folks tell me im cutting them off when simply, they are on my port side giving me the green light right away. I NEVER EVER take advantage of the smaller, slower boats. My personal rule is if its already making its way in front of me and at a good speed, the path is theirs and I will stay out of their way. If at any time there is a smaller vessel near me I wait until they are out of the way and at a good safe distance. But the crazy thing is this only happens on Joe Pool. If someone cuts me off on accident or sometimes in the obvious I wont go out of my way to confront them, its simply too much work and it takes time out of my fishing. Even if an adult is with me and they get mad (my dad) I still tell him that theres fish to be caught and its not on their boat. One thing I cannot stand is the slow boat loaders or launcher and the ones that load their boat, pull up about 6 feet and strap everything down when there are folks waiting. But still, I calmly wait, im in no rush to get home.

I'm probably the only one that will come out and say this...for guys that wanna be a tough guy on the water, it's much easier to mouth off to a kid than a male adult. That's sad, but I think it's true in a lot of cases.

I'm very proud to hear your story. Looks like you have your priorities right when on the water. Keep doing what you're doing and your respect and kindness will payoff tenfold.

Very true. I've never had someone my age or near it yell at me.