For those that are fishermen and like to use a boat as their means of working rivers and lakes and even the ocean changes in the regulations of boat use are coming quickly and for the most part are well needed. For too long the boaters or skippers of the boats have been unlicensed and have no practical knowledge of boating rules and regulations. Because of this there are a mounting number of accidents that occur each year on the countries waterways many of them were accidents that did not need to happen if the driver would have known what he was doing. States are starting to require that those who own or operate boats are to take boating classes to learn safe handling as well as rules and regulations of waterways. Basically these are classes to help the boater and those around them to operate safely and be able to foresee potential problems. The United States Coast Guard and the Coat Guard Auxiliary offer boating classes that meet the requirements of what the boat owners and operators need to know like the difference between inland and out-land waters as well as things like basic handling, who has the right of way and even some navigation classes to help reduce the problems that are occurring and to help people practice safe boating. This should go a long way for the fishermen to have a safer and more enjoyable experience while fishing on the many water ways.
P.S. By the way, while you are on my site please feel free to check out my shopping page. There are 50 stores from which to buy and window shop from. There are items from books, printing needs to jewelry. It also includes Home Depot for all your shopping needs.
For anyone who wants to fish and do it from a boat it is important to learn boat safety. Boat safety has become a big issue in the past couple of years and just like cars and driving it is important to know how to navigate your boat and understand boating rules and regulations. Today more than ever enforcement officers are watching out for those that lack the knowledge of basic boating regulations. Safe boating is paramount especially since there are more and more boats on the water today. For those that are not sure of where to learn the basic boating rules and regulations there are several classes that are available from the United States Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and a few other approved trainers. Most boat shops will be able to direct you in the right direction and help you find boating classes that you can take. These classes can teach you everything from navigation to basic rules to boat handling. Safe boating is not just important for you but those in your boat and others that are around you as well. Many states today require you to take a boating class before you can be on the water and operating a boat. There have been too many accidents from negligible boat owners and Captains as of late and the classes might just be the difference in preventing a simple accident and or saving your life while out on the water ways.
This title could be about most any thing but today it is going to be about boat launching. A subject that so many boaters do not think about and most of you have seen the bad side of getting their boat and yours off the the trailer and on the water. I am about to propose some do’s and of course the opposite are the don’ts in the following and leaving up to you as to how you use them or not use them.
In the prim time of the water usage you will more than likely find a back log of all different users. Power boaters, pontoon and jet skies being launched so the first thing that you will want to do to help get yourself in and out of the ramp area safely and quickly is to survey the scene and decide where and when you be able to use the ramp. Once that has been done and while you are in the area away from the ramp you will want to make sure that you have every item need for the day placed in the boat so that you are not delaying the launch of your boat by having to get you cooler or some thing else holding up the works. Make sure you have the boat cover removed, rods and other fishing equipment in there proper places and you have replaced to plug. Some people remove the boat tie downs at this time but others weight until they have the boat in the water either way will work.
If there are two of you in your boat, that makes things better. The owner of the boat needs to decide the roll of each of before hand. One to drive the tow vehicle and back the boat into the water and the other to guide you and to be the one who will launch the boat from the trailer and get it to the dock area where you will join the person after getting out of the ramp area and into the parking area. If you are alone that is no big deal, you just want to have all of the steps you are going to use complete in your head. The best way to do this is practice, practice and more practice. I am not sure why, but most other boaters watch how fisherman do things, like we are to be the experts so you want to act as if you are the expert and take as little time in the ramp area as you need and do every thing safely. Now get the trailer and vehicle to the parking area and go fishing.
When the day is done, dock your boat out of the way of the ramp. Go get your vehile and trailer and back in down the ramp when it is your turn. Get your boat onto the trailer and secured enough to get it to the packing area and do the things to get ready to head for home there, and not in the ramp area. If you can spend as little time in the ramp area and other will notice and try to follow the things that you do and helping with the conjustion at the ramps and everyone wins.
I got an other story from my early years of fishing. Do any of you have a young brother or sister that seemed to come up with ideas that sounded good but turned out not so good and you being the oldest, you get the idea. Well, I had a brother who was two years and ten months younger than me and to this day, I still do not know why I let him talk me into going into the inlet of the lake that our folks own a place on. OK, so this is how the day started. We up and one the lake by 6 AM and where having pretty good until about 10 AM when the fish just quit biting so we decided to go in for a bite to eat before heading to our spot that we fished when this would happen. After lunch, we decided to head across the lake to our spot. We were there about an hour and nothing was happening so my brother decided that we need to move to an other spot that was over close to the inlet. So we stopped at that spot and fished for about a half hour and nothing. My brother started to get antsy and he said to me, “You know, now would be the time to try out the inlet like we have been talking about doing.” I thought OK nothing happening on the lake maybe we should just try it since we are right here. So up anchor, and away we went with me at the ores, we did not have a motor, rowing up this lily pad lock water way. The brother was in the front of the watching to make sure we did not hit something and put a hole in the boat. After a lot of work we got to a hole in the pads and decided to see what we could catch and the day being what it was, nothing. So I said lets go so we can eat before we come back out to fly fish a little after 5 PM. We always had good luck for pan fish in the evening. So I rowed us back out of the inlet onto the main lake where my brother took over to row us back to the trailer. We were about to the pier when I heard something behind us. I realized that it was snake and had plains of joining us in the boat which I did not think was a good idea. So I told my brother to move and I replaced him at the orrs and rowed as fast as I could.I just got to the pier when in the boat came the snake and out of the boat we went and up to the trailer.We waited awhile before go back to the boat to see if the snake was gone, it was. Let me tell you that was first and last time we thought about getting off the main lake.
If you drink don’t drive. That is the rule if you drive a car. If your caught driving and drinking you lose your privileges to drive, your insurance goes up and you pay a hefty fine. Unfortunately if you’re driving a boat and you are drinking aside from a possible fine not much happens. As the weather warms up hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions flock to the water with their boats. Some are anglers, some are pulling water skis, inner tubes, and wake boards behind them and others are just out to enjoy the water. One thing is certain however and that is a lot of alcohol is consumed while folks are on the water. Classes in boater safety warn against this as do most law enforcement officers who patrol the water ways but there is still a huge problem with drinking and boating. Often these boats lack the correct life jackets or amount of life jackets and are not well equipped. Instead many of the boats are full of booze and booze and boats don’t mix. Safe boating is dedicated to smart boating not only for the boat owner but also for the people around them. The laws are not real strong on drinking and boating but just like driving a car laws need to be put into place to severely punish those who ignore it and continue to drink and boat. With an increase number of boats entering the water every year boaters need to be more attentive to safety.
During the spring and summer months the waters in and around the country are filled with those who enjoy boating. Because unlike cars no license is required, unless you’re driving a commercial vessel, there are often times that boaters put those that are on their boat and other boaters at risk because they do not know the rules of safe boating. Fortunately the United States Coast Guard, through its auxiliary, offer safe boating classes everywhere around the country. These classes offer information on such topics as what a boat needs to be well equipped, what types of life jackets and how many should be on board a
boat and safe operating procedures. They also offer classes in navigation, boating first aid and other valuable topics. The fact that these classes are not utilized by all boat owners and drivers, are proven every year with the thousands of accidents that occur each year on the water, many of which could be avoided. The classes in boating are meant primarily to teach boating safety and those who take courses can often get discounts on boaters insurance but still with insurance incentives many still ignore educating themselves on boat safety figuring they know all there is to know about running a boat. Just like driving a car certain rules exist and if those who don’t know the rules are on the water the risk of getting in an accident are significantly higher. Boating safety classes are a valuable tool to have in order to enjoy the water.
Each spring boaters all around the country flock to the water as the sun starts to come out and begin the boating season. Some come to water ski, some come out to fish and others are just out for a good time. Unfortunately most of these boat owners have little knowledge of basic boating etiquette and boating safety. Without knowing what they need to have a well equipped boat or even the right amount of life jackets many of these boat owners armed with food beverage and a desire for a good time take to the water with little regard for such things as rules of the road knowledge or what even basic buoys mean. Boating is unregulated and although there are hundreds of classes offered by the Coast Guard each year many of these boaters feel they know everything about running a boat and end up causing accidents and even in some cases death. Law enforcement personal can give tickets for certain violations but the regulations of running a boat are often disregarded by the drivers of these vessels. This is not always the case and there are plenty of safe skippers out there but for the most part boating safety is disregarded. Until regulations are put into place there will be scores of accidents and troubles on the nation’s water ways. Those who are out enforcing the rules they can do a great job but undermanned and lack of licensing prevents a safe environment for those who enjoy the water.
P.S. By the way, while you are on my site please feel free to check out my shopping page. There are 50 stores from which to buy and window shop from. There are items from books, printing needs to jewelry. It also includes Home Depot for all your shopping needs.
Each year thousands of boating accidents occur in the waters in and around the United States. Despite an increase in law enforcement on the water ways people still don’t take the time to learn proper boat safety. For the weekend warrior the idea of taking a boating class makes little sense yet those are the very individuals who continuously risk the safety of their lives let alone others with their poor boating skills. Each year the United States Coast Guard offers classes all over the country for boaters to learn boat safety but those who need it most often ignore taking the courses and thus putting other boaters at risk. Courses in such things as boat safety, rules of the road and navigation are offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary (volunteers to the Coast Guard) in order to make the water ways more safe. Because no license is required to operate a boat unless you’re piloting a commercial vessel the problem of boating safety is negligible. Commercial vessels require those wishing to pilot a boat sit through a series of tests conducted by the Coast Guard and require a ninety percent on the first test (always rules of the road) in order to advance to the other tests and receive your license. Although it would be difficult this type of licensing should be required for all operating a boat. Information like what a well equipped boat has and the importance of life jackets would go a long ways toward safe boating.
Welcome to my new Web site that will deal with everything with fishing. Why would I want to start a new site dealing with fishing when there are so many on the web already? I have just retired and find that I have the time now to get into my life long interest of fishing and looking forward to giving out useful info and getting information out that other sites are not. I am also looking forward to receiving comments on places, preferred baits, guide services and whatever you as a reader would like to share with others.
Please continue to check back to see what topics are being added continuesly along with any new comments that have posted by others. If you fish we want to hear from you. A few of categories that will be up for discussion will be: safe boating classes, different types of knots used and favorite fishing spots to just name a few.
As a youngster I did as much fishing as I could and even worked in a bait shop (for free) just to be around people who fished and always had a good story to tell and some of those stories I would say where a bit of a tall tale, if you know what I mean but as I became a nine to five guy there just didn’t seem to be the time for me to be fishing. While you are here and checked out the articles, take a minute and look at the Shop Tab and check out the stores that we have. As we all know, you get your best deals on line and without leaving home to stand in a checkout line when you could be sharing fishing with like minded people.
