Has anyone had issues with boat's getting to close to you while fishing or paddling out ?
I know on a big lake we can be hard to see until they are almost right on top of us but geeess.... I don't think some of these boaters are even looking where they are going .

Rant over

Many boats don't honor the sort of standard distance spacing for fishing up on someone, what, I guess a long cast plus some margin, around kayaks. It is a tough data set since we can never know if they do this to other boaters, too, or just see kayakers as lesser anglers.

It actually doesn't bother me; but, it would if I were in a tournament. Or, they get too close.

Anyway, lakes have lots of inebriated boat operators, they often go fast, drive right into the sun, can't see over the bow, you name it. A flag helps as does a bright colored kayak. Still dangerous.

Here is Greg Blanchard fishing in his kayak, doing great and a boat just pulls right in front of him. Note that on these GoPro videos, distances look much farther than they actually are. This boat is just a pitch away, pulls right on in with impunity.

At 5 minute mark on video.

Brad

Pardon me while I pull my boat on top of you!

There's certainly rude stuff like that happening on the water. I've actually had it cut both ways, rude kayakers getting too close while I'm fishing in a boat and rude boaters getting too close while I'm in a kayak.

One time, my friend and I were anchored in his 23 foot power boat and had maybe three or four lines out soaking some cut mullet on the beachfront outside the bars 100 plus yards out. This was near the mouth of the Brazos. We had been there for a little while when 4 kayakers paddle from the beach right through our set to within 15 feet of our boat. It was totally uncalled for as there was open water on either side of us and we weren't in any lane or channel or protected water. Worse part was that there wasn't even an ooops from any of them. It was if we didn't exist.

One time, I was staked out in a spot fishing in my kayak and a boat loaded with several folks pulls up well inside my casting range to fish where I was fishing. The pilot appeared to be somewhat intoxicated so that might explain that incident.

I've had the same stuff happen while wading too. I was wade fly fishing after dawn in the surf. It was a fisherman or two every 100-200 yards. Not crowded, not wide open. Some goof ball came way inside my back cast zone. I didn't see him until he was almost even with me. How he didn't get skewered by the fly on the back cast, I'll never know. I said "that's a good way to get a fly stuck in your ear" something like that. I get a blank look. Not satisfied, I said" do you have any idea that you just walked right where I was casting?" This nets me a shoulder shrug.

That's about the time I decided there are these creatures amongst us that appear to be human but they aren't really human but are some novel species that only looks to be human on the surface. They are potentially dangerous in that some mindless or self centered move on their part could ensnare or endanger innocent humans nearby. There really isn't any way to pick them out by any racial or ethnic characteristics. They appear to look like members of the human species that come from every background, race, or creed. There are plenty of these alternative human like beings around the water on any given weekend. They are generally oblivious to the needs of the true humans. I see them driving around the cities and towns, too.
Here, you will spot them looking into their phone screens while operating a 2 ton wheeled kinetic weapon. They can be found at the grocery store, the mall, the movie theater generally sowing chaos and dissent. It really does no good to try to engage them. Manners, courtesy, ethics, are completely foreign to them. They apparently lack any concern for or empathy with the true humans. Best bet is to try to avoid them.

Amen to most of this right here.

I've almost run over a couple of yakkers while I was heading back to the ramp one time with a busted engine. i was doing about 14 mph and my nose was up a little too high, waves too large, and didn't see them until I was about 30 ft from them. of course they had no flag, no air horn, and didn't even seem to notice me until I said something like "Whoah! and cut the wheel to the right hard enough to dump one of them in the drink. Granted, that was my bad for not seeing them, but if you're going to go yakking in the big water you NEED some way of saying, 'i'm here'! Thankfully it ended without anyone getting hurt other than feelings, but it could have been a horrible deal.

That's different than driving right up to someone and fishing in their livewell, but it's important to remember that you're hard to see in a kayak and bringing a horn should be required safety equipment.

It certainly cuts both ways, all different ways.

From the kayak crowd, the group that seems the most oblivious to on-the-water etiquette around anglers, spacing etc., are the recreational kayakers.

It was so funny in one old video when a guy on YouTube was filming a primer on some sort of fishing presentation where he was very close to the bank, maybe 10 feet off of it, casting or pitching to it, then a lady with a floppy sun hat came into the camera view and paddled between him and the bank, never said a word. He just let her roll by, sort of turned to the camera and had that "What are you going to do!" expression on his face.

One good thing, that other than crossing deep water, we can normally stay out of trouble. We just can't ever drop our guards.

Brad

I think I get too close to others when I'm in my kayak. I often paddle around bass boats and chit chat as I cut them off working a bank. I guess I'm one of them!

Not everyone is sober or has 20/20 vision either. Wear bright colors and carry a bright colored cooler. Metroplex lakes can be very dangerous at dusk n dawn. Keep in mind there r no boat lanes or street signs. Don't expect others to obey the law n b curtious. It's up to u to protect yourself. Many choose rivers creeks, backwaters or private waters for this very reason. Most fish for pleasure, not for thrill of dodging motor boats.

On lake Texoma the striper guides often refer to kayaks as "speed bumps".