Need some Weiss Lake boating tips.

[32251]

Got me a funky RV over on Lake Weiss. Need some boating advice please. I have heard about how dangerous it can be there. All I have is a 14 ft Vhull jon boat and a 15hp motor. I am just going to be put-putting around at slow speed.

Is all the watch out stuff I have heard mainly directed at fast bass boaters??

Any advice would be appreciated!!! I will be fishing around Cowan creek and putting in at Pruetts Fish Camp right at county road 22.

[i-catch-cartags]

Be very careful once you,re out of the chanel,s you will be fair game for stumps or the bottom.

[laserdoc]

If you fish in Cowan creek you should be fairly safe until you get to the back end. If you go out into the main lake under the bridge stay over to the left and follow the channel markers. Either get a good map that shows the channel and depth or a good GPS. I have a humminbird with the inland lake nav card in it and I would not even go out into the lake with out it.
Don't leave home with out it!!!

[32251]

I do have a lake map that I have been studying. I also have a little Cuda depth/fish finder and my TomTom unit will give me GPS.

[laserdoc]

But will your tom tom show you the river channel map?

[CrappiePappy]

I do have a lake map that I have been studying. I also have a little Cuda depth/fish finder and my TomTom unit will give me GPS.

are a good thing to have. The more detailed they are, the better. But, you've got to learn to read them, and visualize where you are (once on the water).

If you're just going to be putt-putting around, you should be OK ... just avoid the islands and learn the lake depth. Knowing the current depth vs what the map says (which is marked at Summer/Full Pool) will keep you away from the sand bars and shallow, stump filled flats.

What I would do, is work the creek or area closest to where I launched, first. Learn it well, take notes, mark the map, and check the accuracy of the map against the reality of the area. Then work other, nearby areas ... progressing outward from home base (or the launch facility you use). The brush along the bank, the docks, and the shallow stump fields are all "obvious" places ... and are visible to the naked eye. Use your depth finder/map/gps to follow channel ledges ... and watch for brush & stumps along the edges. Those are "money in the bank", when the shallow & dock bites are not happening.

... cp

[Crappie Commando]

Watch that road bed if you decide to head for the main lake. Keep it slow. Running out of the channel really makes the old rear end pucker.

[32251]

are a good thing to have. The more detailed they are, the better. But, you've got to learn to read them, and visualize where you are (once on the water).

If you're just going to be putt-putting around, you should be OK ... just avoid the islands and learn the lake depth. Knowing the current depth vs what the map says (which is marked at Summer/Full Pool) will keep you away from the sand bars and shallow, stump filled flats.

What I would do, is work the creek or area closest to where I launched, first. Learn it well, take notes, mark the map, and check the accuracy of the map against the reality of the area. Then work other, nearby areas ... progressing outward from home base (or the launch facility you use). The brush along the bank, the docks, and the shallow stump fields are all "obvious" places ... and are visible to the naked eye. Use your depth finder/map/gps to follow channel ledges ... and watch for brush & stumps along the edges. Those are "money in the bank", when the shallow & dock bites are not happening.

... cp

Thanks you guys.

CP. This is EXACTLY what I had planned to do. At the ramp at Pruetts Fish Camp there is a causeway out to the bridge (Highway 22) that heads out to the lake. I looked at the map which shows depth (at full pool) and stump fields and the creek channel etc and decided to first of all learn my immediate area. I might even just troll with the electric for a while and do some charting as to what the depth and structure is just in the Cowan Creek area south of the Highway 22 bridge. I will also monitor the other boats in the area an see where they work and speeds and such. Then I plan to later on venture under the 22 Hwy bridge and check out the Spring Creek area.

I also see on my map what you guys are talking about in regards to the Hwy 22 road bed separating the Cowan/Spring creek area from the river channel marked "Yancy's Bend" on my map. Looks like you have to head north under the 22 bridge and then REALLY hug the west bank up to Pruetts Lakeside Campground on the west side of Cowan/Spring creek to get into the river channel. That looks like the ONLY way to the river!! The entire southern part of Yancys Bend is on my map showing VERY shallow water even at full pool. With the lake down 4-5 ft right now, that area must be mighty shallow!

Correct me if I am wrong, but with all these stump fields and timber, is Lake Weiss not so much of a speedboat/recreational lake in the Summer?

[32251]

But will your tom tom show you the river channel map?

No. I will have to use my Weiss Lake map to show that. It has 540 GPS cordinates on it marking pretty much everything I need to see on the lake. I can look at the lake map and the GPS cordinate points on the map and then use the Tom Tom to find them and the depth finder on my Cuda unit to keep me working the channel ledges along with the channel bouy markers in the lake.

Lot to learn on this Lake. I can see why there are so many boating accidents and props and lower ends being damaged. I don't plan to be one of them. That is why I am asking questions here and getting prepared before I venture out into it.

A fellow who I met close to where my RV is rents out some boats. He refuses to rent them out to first timers, especially in the winter. He says they just tear them up! Now I understand why.

Thanks for the invaluable info!!