Use common sense when running at night!!!!!!

[skiptomylu]

Wow! If there is ever a time people should not be running boats fast, it's in a fog and at night is even worse. Just because we have electronics now like we never had before and can run at night by following our charts is still way to dangerous to do and you never know when some other guy is thinking like you are and coming from some other direction and what a surprise if you two meet? Not worth it at all! Slow and steady is the real deal!

Skip

[yobuck]

Common sense might be asking a bit much of some of these clowns.

[CrappiePappy]

Picture reminds me of something a buddy of mine told me that happened on a local lake. He heard the boat coming into the creek arm where he was, and the next sound he heard was the "fiberglass & SS prop scraping rock" sound. Don't remember if it was just at night or if it was foggy ... but, the boat made it's way nearly 50ft up a slightly inclined rock bank. But, that was decades ago, back before the law changed about not using running lights at night (constantly on). The "fear" was that it would temporarily blind an oncoming boat and you wouldn't be able to see the red/green nav lights to know which way the boat was going ... but, I suspect there was a lot of pushback from night tournament anglers that were being "spotlighted" by other tourney anglers, either in an attempt to spook the fish they were on or find/see where their competition was was fishing. I witnessed a lot of that going on back when I was night fishing when a tournament was going on. Even got spotlighted a few times myself. Now you have to keep your transom (white) light on at all times during dark hours, even if you're in a no wake area or 100ft back in a stand of timber.

[Spaceman]

That falls into the "ungood" category. Hope all are well.

[Clint]

If any of you are Facebook friends with Terry Pool - Wiskers here on CdC - check his FaceBook post of 4 September 5:55 AM where he has pictures of two different boats fishing in the dark with NO LIGHTS at all. For those that don't know Terry, he is a Tow Boat Pilot - so he is on a big river pushing a large float of barges. Talk about dummies.

[micorps]

In the early 80s, I was ate up with bass tournaments. I was fishing one on Lake Sinclair in GA with a good friend. We launched shotgun start in heavy fog. We had no idea another club had just launched from a marina just west of us. As we headed toward the Oconee River mouth, we ran straight thru the ROOSTERTAIL of another bass boat we never saw!!! My buddy started to shut his HydraSports down and I screamed keep going or we are going to get killed out here. He kept it on plane and we could hear other boats close by but never saw another. We got up into the Oconee and found a cove where we could clean our drawers and say a prayer for keeping us safe.

I cannot keep track of all the local tournaments and club events. Most days I fish, especially in summer, I already have the first spot predetermined and don't move until sunrise, especially when all the tournament boats re sitting at the landing. My first spot is usually well out of the way nd close to the landing I launched from. Your story made me cringed, way to close for comfort.

[trypman1]

Bad news, I have seen that before. The REZ has that happen a lot.

[sinkermaker]

Had a buddy call me one night at 2:00 o'clock in the morning to come get him after he had run aground on lake Murray. He was drunk and conversation went like this. Me where you at, him I don't know I am on that island by your houst. Me are you up the lake or down the lake, him I don't know I am at that island by your house. I spent about an hour before I found them. Comical now but not so funny then. Luckily no one was hurt.

[feeshrman]

In the early 80s, I was ate up with bass tournaments. I was fishing one on Lake Sinclair in GA with a good friend. We launched shotgun start in heavy fog. We had no idea another club had just launched from a marina just west of us. As we headed toward the Oconee River mouth, we ran straight thru the ROOSTERTAIL of another bass boat we never saw!!! My buddy started to shut his HydraSports down and I screamed keep going or we are going to get killed out here. He kept it on plane and we could hear other boats close by but never saw another. We got up into the Oconee and found a cove where we could clean our drawers and say a prayer for keeping us safe.

Wow!!! What a story, glad it turned out ok.


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[Dutch552]

It's an eerie feeling idling through a thick fog bank and hearing boats on plane all around you but you couldn't see them if you wanted to. It's surprising that more people aren't killed on the water as a result of folks running WOT in near zero visibility.