Personal Watercraft Bad Reputation

[n3k0de]

Not sure if anyone has talked about this.. Didn't care to search for it but, Im not caring to much about this topic just something to talk about... The people I work with are all Old school Bass Fisher man, and for some reason they all hate "Jetski's" I know it's a name brand not what they are called but to the non ski person they all called them Jetski's...

I heard story's, Pwc Don't care for other boats fishing in areas and they fly by them... I heard people say they would cast sinkers from Peirs at ski's that got to close..

I heard about how PWC dont care about No wake zones..and dont understand boating rules...

I heard about why most jetski trailers are messed up beacause most pwc owners are stupid.. and run into everything...

I have talked some old school pwc'ers and they told me when the first ski's came out they were very noisy, and flooded the water ways, making it hard to enjoy a relaxing evening on the water. >>

Dunno I always wave to the boats fishing in the fresh water but sometimes I feel Im always getting stink Eyed..

 

[Dr Honda]

Well........

There is always 2 sides to a story, but here's my input.

Yes... without a doubt... PWC have gotten a bad rap in the last few year. Basically, we went from being a fun "Water Go-Kart"... to being the fastest things on the water, and any A-hole could buy one, and not pay attention to the LAWS of the water. This problem is starting to subside because most states now require a PWC drivers license of some kind. In PA... it's an actual card. In other states, you just need to take a safety class, and they give you a document saying you took the class. Either way... it's getting better because of it. Now... if a PWC driver is ignoring the laws... that's an individual, who would be doing the same thing in a boat.

The other issue is that Fisherman in general, do not like any "Recreational" boating on a lake that they are fishing. Basically, it's because it stirs up the mud, and makes the water choppy. But, generally, it's the PWC who are making the most "Noise".


Here's my stance on all of this...........


In PA... there are only a few places to ride PWC... but there are hundreds of places to go fishing. So, at my local lake, I almost take offence to the guys fishing. They are in small, slow (old) boats, and they get in MY WAY !!! They do get angry when I go past doing 50 mph, and they get rocked/splashed.... but heck with them. They can be on a lake that's bigger, and only 5 minutes away, that I'm not allowed to be on. Not to mention... within 10 miles... there is probably 15 other lakes they can fish on, and I can't ride a PWC on. Now... in my defense... even the park rangers generally are on the side of someone riding a PWC because they understand that this is the only recreational lake in 30 miles.

Oh... and this lake has one long, almost river-like, section... and it's allowed to be full speed... but yet, the fisherman want to sit by the shore in a section that is only 100 yds wide... and they get bounced into the rocks when PWC and boats go past, at speed. This section is also favored by people learning to ski because the chop is low. (but ski boats still make big wakes at low speed)

Now... when you ask the fisherman why they are on this lake... they say it's because they don't want to go to one of the lakes with a HP limitation. Well... last time I checked... you don't need 40hp, on a 6 person John-boat to go fishing.


Now... as far as PWC people breaking the laws... 2 weeks ago, I was out with the fam... and I had my 6 year old on our big Polaris... and we went to the end of this lake, where the dam is at. We go out there so she can swim in the deep, clean water. Well... as we were swimming an splashing around... some A-hole in a John-boat came past the no wake buoys at about 1/4 throttle. It only took 2 seconds for me to yell at him... along with a few other boats who were trying to relax back in a no wake zone. So... it's not just PWC causing issues.

Anyway... just my 2 cents.

 

[Mr. Howard]

I see it as... If a boater is upset at a jetski'er then he hasn't been a boater very long. Most skiers I know are MORE cautious because of the smaller size of the watercraft. Growing up as an avid boater I've never had a problem with jetskiers, it's other boats that think the own the water that gave me trouble.

Some people are just set in their ways. There is good AND bad everything.

 

[skewba98z28]

Dude you ought to ride in KY. Everybody here is a "professional angler" and they all have 200 hp+ bass boats. I've about been ran over by a bass boat two or three times. I enjoy fishing myself and respect there space, but damn some of them are just plain nuts running to there next fishing hole. We didn't even go ride last weekend because there was a FLW tournament going on. We went last year at the and theres a bridge you go under that is probably 500 ft shore to shore. A buddy and myself were going under it two wide at about 1/2 throttle and this crazy dude on a bass boat came from behind us and went right between us wide open. He had to been going 60 mph+. He waved and I let him know he was #1 in return. Thats the one time I wish I had a TDR waterbox so I could find his next spot and run past him a few times wide open!