Interesting Article on Wake Boats

[Nameless Range]

Saw this article, which has links to a couple studies, on Wake Boats.

Wake Boats Aren't Just Eroding Shorelines. They're Harming Lake Bottoms, Too

A study out of the University of Minnesota looked at the impacts that bigger, heavier wake boats are having on lake bottoms.

www.outdoorlife.com

It's not too hard to be irritated by the things. On some of the narrower sections of the lakes east of Helena, it's almost not worth fishing on weekends from a boat because of them. I've seen white caps 100 yards off the wake's origination. A friend who owns a house on Canyon Ferry has a 100 yard peninsula going out into the water that has lost about 10 yards in the last 5 years - which they attribute to the waves hitting the easily erodible tertiary ash deposits that make a large portion of that lake's shore.

Don't know a feasible solution. I know some lakes in the midwest have prohibited them. Very similar to hunting, once the technology as toys are established, a critical mass to reverse course is difficult to find. I do wonder if 10 years from now many fisheries will be on the decline due to habitat degradation.

Some pretty bothersome video in this clip showing their effect on the lake bottom in 9 feet of water.

 

[Southern Elk]

I did a ton in water skiing and wake boarding in high school and college. We had a ski boat, nothing like these wake boats that you see today. I remember how choppy the lakes would get with a lot of boats on the water. I always felt sorry for the fishermen. There’s was no way to fish in those conditions. The small lake close to home did not allow ski boats before 10:00 am to give the fishermen time to fish. I never thought about erosion. Interesting read and I don’t have a solution.

 

[rjthehunter]

As someone who spends a lot of time on the water fishing every summer, the effects are visible to normal people now.

There's MASSES of floating weeds that pile up where wake boats are running over shallow weed beds and tearing up all the weeds. As someone who owns lakeshore, and utilizes lakes almost daily, it's concerning.

There are plenty of lakes around here that a fisherman should be off of prior to 11 am because the undesirables come out and start blaring their music and making huge obnoxious waves.

The University of Minnesota did a study as well. It's finally starting to gain some attention. I think the fishermen have been shouting long enough at this point.

Underwater videos reveal impact of wakesurfing on Minnesota lakes

Underwater turbulence from wakesurfing can "adversely" impact Minnesota’s lakes, according to a highly anticipated study by the University of Minnesota.

www.fox9.com

I know what can be done, but all of these people with $150k-$450k boats are going to be pretty butthurt about it.

I did a ton in water skiing and wake boarding in high school and college. We had a ski boat, nothing like these wake boats that you see today. I remember how choppy the lakes would get with a lot of boats on the water. I always felt sorry for the fishermen. There’s was no way to fish in those conditions. The small lake close to home did not allow ski boats before 10:00 am to give the fishermen time to fish. I never thought about erosion. Interesting read and I don’t have a solution.

Wake boarding & skiing aren't bad at all. Those boats aren't designed to make 3'-4' waves. They just pull people. No I know has or had an issue with them. However, there is a much larger monster (wake boats) than the ski boats that remain now.

 

[mevertsen]

An thats crazy. I know we have smaller lakes in our area, and we have an algae problem already. These boats are showing up more, but I never thought it was an issue, other than just annoying.

 

[brownbear932008]

I despise the things to the point I avoid the lake on the weekend once they all show up. The sediment kicked up by them keeps our portion of the lake muddy every weekend since we are near the top of the lake which is naturally silt covered anyway due to erosion and flooding upstream in the river beds that form the lake.
A friend was just telling me last night he had some turds pass him waking within ten feet washing his small aluminum boat onto the shoreline while fishing. So not only are they detrimental to the lake bed the safety issues are a huge concern as well when you have idiots like that.

 

[Wild Bill]

Lotta hate for these stupid boats on HT.

Wakesurfing article - Good to see some headway on this

I'm not sure how much this impacts your local lakes but over the last two years, this issue has dominated my local town hall meetings. I live near a big lake where a lot of rich doctors and lawyers from Chicago and Milwaukee have summer homes and many of which have purchased these boats and the...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[BirdManMike]

Id just like to reiterate....

Boating is for fatties and the elderly. If not in one of these categories, I cannot understand why anyone would want to go boating for any reason.

 

[seeth07]

You can find my love for these monsters here:

Wakesurfing article - Good to see some headway on this

I'm not sure how much this impacts your local lakes but over the last two years, this issue has dominated my local town hall meetings. I live near a big lake where a lot of rich doctors and lawyers from Chicago and Milwaukee have summer homes and many of which have purchased these boats and the...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[Nameless Range]

Id just like to reiterate....

Boating is for fatties, cripples, and the elderly. If not in one of these categories, I cannot understand why anyone would want to go boating for any reason.

Fatty over here:

 

[Nameless Range]

Lotta hate for these stupid boats on HT.

Wakesurfing article - Good to see some headway on this

I'm not sure how much this impacts your local lakes but over the last two years, this issue has dominated my local town hall meetings. I live near a big lake where a lot of rich doctors and lawyers from Chicago and Milwaukee have summer homes and many of which have purchased these boats and the...

www.hunttalk.com

Forgot about this one, or would've just added to it.

 

[BirdManMike]

Fatty over here:

View attachment 381357

Good on you for owning it.

Ill get there one day -- if not fat, Ill certainly become elderly at which point its time for a boat!

 

[Schaaf]

I mean the solution is easy. It will just piss a lot of people off.

 

[seeth07]

The main lake I fish put in a rule that you have to be at least in 60' of water to operate a wake boat in surf mode. There how are two things that weren't really considered when we voted on approving this rule:
1) The vast majority of the lake is over 60' so it didn't really get the boats away from the shore lines that are quickly eroding and
2) Enforcement. People aren't following the rules and very few tickets have been issued.

 

[Steiny77]

In the midwest many of the nicer lakes have every bit of lake front occupied by wall to wall homes & cottages, so they get a lot of boat traffic. With these wake boats it has gotten pretty ridiculous. Lakes that are crystal clear in spring and fall are cloudy and silty all summer long due to the boating activity.

At minimum, there should be hours of use restrictions for the watersport boats and jet skis. No wake times in the mornings and evenings would be good too.

 

[rjthehunter]

Good on you for owning it.

Ill get there one day -- if not fat or crippled, Ill certainly become elderly at which point its time for a boat!

Alright bird man.

Ever heard of fishing? Best done from a boat!

 

[802flyfish]

Propaganda from people who can’t afford a half million dollar wake boat.

 

[MTLabrador]

Call me what you will, but I hate them with a burning passion. There are some lakes around here I would otherwise enjoy fishing that are almost completely ruined by them.

Propaganda from people who can’t afford half million dollar wake boat

Financed at 35% APR just like the Platinum Powerstroke, 5th wheel, side by sides, and snowmobiles that they all own.

 

[seeth07]

A wake boater on a lake is about the same equivalent as allowing a SxS to travel wherever they feel like off road on public land. If there is too much of that in an area, it will get destroyed for all use except that.

There are SxS parks and such where those that want to run wild can do so. We just need water parks for their toy in designated areas only on public waters

 

[Hem]

Went to Seeley in the dead of summer about ten years. Vowed never to go back. The water and sound quality was appalling.
Still can't figure out why people move to the the last great place, only to degrade it with vigor.

 

[BirdManMike]

Alright bird man.

Ever heard of fishing? Best done from a boat!

Im not fat or elderly enough to need - or want - to fish from a boat.