Brian there is no such thing as a Legal Wake or Illegal Wake. All that is being said is that You are responsible for your Wake. It doesn't make a difference if you are in a 12' flat bottom Jon boat or a 200' cabin cruiser. If the boat that your operating has a Wake that causes any damage you are Liable for the damages. If that Wake boat is the legal distance from anything or anybody but is throwing a wake and tears a dock loose 1000' away you still have to pay for the damages. It's not illegal to throw rocks but if you break a window you still have to pay for it.

brian, why do idiot wake boarders and skiers come into the rivers? they have no business there

I have no idea why wakeboarders go to rivers. Like I said earlier, Im no wakeboarder, I've done it once an had an experience with a fisherman so I figured I'd post it an see what would happen.
The only reason i would guess, is that the secenery would be totaly diferent and the thought that mabey there wouldnt be any fisherman to bother them. Personaly, I just dont know.

i have had fishing spots on the river that i grew up fishing ruined by the a-hole wake boarders and pleasure boaters. i wish they would stay on the lake. i feel like the native americans after the white man took there land (lol).

Brazos B, Can we send the skiers and wakeboards to, say a pond instead of Lewisville? I fish there with my kids!!

LOL, well....anywhere accept the brazos!! this is god's country! i never have fished lewisville, i have always been under the impression that it was a pleasure boater lake. i guess i am probably wrong though. didnt mean to offend homebuilt!

i think that hey should build one or two huge lakes in each region of texas and not stock them with any fish, and reserve these lakes for the yahoos, wake boarders, pleasure boaters, jet skiers, ect. in the mean time people who are not on the water to fish would not be allowed on any of our existing lakes.

I was on the Rio Grande River a couple of weeks ago. I was up river from the boat ramp about 35 miles. I was trying to get away from everone to have some peaceful fishing. A US border patrol came by me in airboat. They slowed down enough to get the maximum wake out of the boat. (airboats make big wakes at low speed, just about plain speed) They washed water over the side of my boat with 2 foot sides sticking out of the water. I was lucky I have an 8 foot wide boat or I might have been wet. They just waived and went on. This was the US BORDER PATROL once again. There are dummies all over this world. I think Brian should have hit the bank, he may have more respect the next time.

About them throwing lures at you? I live on a dirt road in a rural area. The road connects to paved roads. People come by my house at over 100 mph at times. I have yet to hit any of them with a rock, but it is not from lack of trying. I can't wait for one to pull over, I got something for em!!!

Brian...I think you need some background of what fishermen experience all the time on weekends. Here is a shot I took of a skier during a tournament I was in last year. There were three boats fishing a rip-rap bank and along came Joe skier. Note that the whole lake is smooth.



This is what the laws are written for.

If they do that I'll open a beer and liquor store and be a gazillionair!

John, I know what fisherman go threw, I fish almost every weekend, as along as the boat will run. But you also need to post a picture of the guy who has the $1,000 bass boat and gets swamped when one of those guys in a 20+ jobs comes flying into a cove like a bat out of hell, to see that someone else is already in there and barely gets of plane before he goes to turn around. And your right, some wakeboarders have no courtisy as in you picture, he should have gone somewhere else. But in our case, if we unload the boat at the cabin and thats where the smooth water is, you better believe thats where we are going to be.

John,
That sure looks like RH n of 30

Is it just me or is it stupid in here? The cemetaries are full of people who had the right of way...they're still dead.

BTW, I can recognize an A$$hole from 23 miles and I've spotted them in bass boats, in/on the various other water craft available to those with credit in this great land of ours, on the highways, in the stores and on skeet/trap ranges and ond on golf courses and tennis courts.

When did common sense, courtesy and consideration
go out of style? Was it a democrat or a republican thing?

I'll take 100 Bass boats running by me at 60mph over 1 ski boat loaded with water running 15mph anyday

I have read this entire thread and understand the logic of both sides. The whole thing is a matter of courtesy and both sides should exercise it.

Being an avid fisherman and one who never skis or wakeboards, I was utterly astounded by the worst experience I ever had on the water. It wasn't from some ski boat or jet ski; it was from tournament fishermen on Lake Lewisville last year. Of all the people that you would think would respect other fishermen, they should be at the top of the heap.

I went to the lake that morning not knowing that there was a tournament going on and I was sandbass fishing near the I35 bridge(and fairly close to the bank I might add)and more than one bass boat came VERY close to me while running wide open. They made absolutely no attempt to run the middle of the channel to avoid disrupting other fishermen. I even had one go between me and the bank! I can promise you, I have never cussed a ski boat or jet skier anymore than I did that jerk! It was obvious that a few of those clods had the attitude that since they were in a tournament that the lake was theirs and that everyone else should get off the water.

Had I not had my wife with me I was going to following one guy until he stopped to fish and doing my dead level best to try to swamp him. But my wife convinced me that that would just end up with me in deep trouble. Thank goodness one of us kept our head.