<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>John Rasmussen wrote:</div>
This may be a possible resolution.I’ll start packing some spares. If you see a white/red Nautique, wave us down and we’ll toss you one.
Sounds good Raplh I prefer Golden Light in the tall boy can. But will be alright with a blue smoothie. I will be looking for you. 
The lake I live on has a few regular wake boats, I’ve never had a problem, but I have a 3′ rip rap boulder wall on my shore from previous owner. I have heard about Some docks with inserts that have been blown out, which would be very annoying. In any group of people, you will have some bad ones. Even fisherman, believe it or not!! Last week one day people were casting by my dock/lift which is 100% good with me, If I’m out there I’ll usually shoot the breeze. This time, I was in the house when I saw someone got tangled in the dock, gets out of the boat, walks on the dock, checks my boat out, gets his lure untangled and continues fishing. I thought about voicing my opinion, but though if someone is that bold, ain’t nothing I say gonna make a difference anyways.
I just try to be nice and live by the golden rule..
I’ve heard from dock owners that they’d actually prefer that fishermen get on the dock and remove the hooks/lures from the dock out of safety for kids running or swimming around. I recently saw someone share a picture of a sign on a dock even requesting this.
I see both sides of this and it’s an interesting thought.
Without enforcement it means nothing. I can’t recall the last time I saw DNR on Leech or the sheriffs. Except if there’s a drowning
Also realize that we’re going 10-12 mph in a straight line. It’s pretty easy to predict where we’re heading.
This to me isn’t the issue, it’s where and the surroundings. It’s also easy for them to see families swimming and people kayaking, fisherman, and what not. But the ones out on Chisago are dumb and inconsiderate.
Again I enjoy doing it my self. It’s just like me riding my dirt bike down the road. Nothing wrong with it, but a few bad apples have ruined it. I love ripping wheelies and know there is a place and time. Neighborhood streets are not it, just like wake setters shouldn’t be on small lakes or near shore.
This time, I was in the house when I saw someone got tangled in the dock, gets out of the boat, walks on the dock, checks my boat out, gets his lure untangled and continues fishing.
Slightly off topic here. I’m not a lake property owner and never will be. I do bass fish around docks though and I only use weight less stick baits so there’s no clanging hard lures. Additionally, I completely avoid docks with people present too. Just ain’t worth a potential confrontation.
Someone getting out and actually walking on a private dock is ballsy. That’s trespassing. Won’t see me doing it. If I owned lake property and I saw someone doing that or snagging stuff around the docks, I’d probably get pretty upset too.
Tell ya what…if they can enforce any rules on these, I hope they add a “content” clause to the music being played at ear shattering volumes. Last summer out on Lake Minnewashta, I couldn’t believe the lyrics/volume the entire main lake was forced to listen to by one of these idiots. Now I’m a lifelong construction worker and I use colorful language regularly but there’s a time and place. I also understand peoples rights to listen to music of their choice (no matter how profane it is) but again, is the middle of any lake the right time and place?. They were blasting your typical rap…”N” and “F” word repeatedly used, sexual language track after track. What I don’t get is people’s lack of consideration for anyone else. It was bad…I was glad the grandkids weren’t with me.
The biggest issues against Wakeboats I see is that they keep getting bigger and bigger (so todays 3’ wake is 4’ in a year or two) If Invasive Species protection is to be taken seriously, these boats carry 1,000 lbs in water ballast tanks that likely dont drain completely, they basically put 3’ speedbumps throughout the lake, some yahoo going 50 mph in their speedboat wont see one and sends his young kids into the lake (surprised this hasn’t fatally happened yet…)
The only way I see this getting “resolved” long term is boat manufacturers will need to limited the wake size their boats can make (eliminate all onboard water ballast? Limit it via hull design?)
I was fishing on North Arm of Minnetonka yesterday, which is a bay notorious for wakesurfing. We were surrounded and the waves were coming hot and heavy and we’d have to warn each other that they were coming so we could hold on and brace ourselves. I am used to it and know what I am getting into by fishing there. We catch a lot of fish so it’s worth it to put up with it.
However, as a kid fishing out of a 12 ft rowboat in that very same bay, it would’ve been a different story. Honestly, yesterday I was more annoyed by the 1990s standup jetski — as annoying as they are now, I forget just how loud they used to be. It was aggravating listening to this thing, especially as it cleared the water.
I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t want to favor regulation because that can lead to more regulation on other uses of the water, including fishing. If one group gets restricted, we all will.
I was fishing on North Arm of Minnetonka
That’s where me and my grandparents would go almost exclusively, all the way up to the scout camp shoreline. Dirt lots back then.
It will have little if any impact. Some of you may need to find some better honey holes. I fish 3-4 days a week and have encountered maybe one big set of waves from a wakeboard boat.
Never came close to launching me out of a boat.
I simply choose not to fish Minnetonka or other busy rec lakes or river Saturday afternoon. I guess I just find it easier to avoid them than to complain about them.
It will have little if any impact. Some of you may need to find some better honey holes. I fish 3-4 days a week and have encountered maybe one big set of waves from a wakeboard boat.
Never came close to launching me out of a boat.
I simply choose not to fish Minnetonka or other busy rec lakes or river Saturday afternoon. I guess I just find it easier to avoid them than to complain about them.
What kind of boat do you fish out of? How old are you? Do you have any physical disabilities, balance issues, maybe in a car or work accident years ago that has put restrictions on what you can do? What’s your income like? Able to afford driving extra miles to launch a boat?
I had a Coast Guard officer remind me I’m responsible for my own wake. If true, would the Minnetonka law be necessary?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
It will have little if any impact. Some of you may need to find some better honey holes. I fish 3-4 days a week and have encountered maybe one big set of waves from a wakeboard boat.
Never came close to launching me out of a boat.
I simply choose not to fish Minnetonka or other busy rec lakes or river Saturday afternoon. I guess I just find it easier to avoid them than to complain about them.What kind of boat do you fish out of? How old are you? Do you have any physical disabilities, balance issues, maybe in a car or work accident years ago that has put restrictions on what you can do? What’s your income like? Able to afford driving extra miles to launch a boat?
What does that matter? If you own any fishing boat pretty sure you can avoid Tonka. So make laws that won’t be enforced for the 1 percent. Got it.
It’s a matter of civility. I grew up and teach my kids to be civil to others. Take care of your own, and hopefully others take care of theirs, and the world spins around pretty efficiently when that happens.
If folks don’t see the complete disregard for civility when these boats throw a wake that now others on the water need to accommodate for then idk what to tell ya. It’s the same cant see past the tip of your own nose perspective that is plaguing this country in general.
Perhaps it’s only 1%, I’d argue it’s much higher, but dam right I’ll argue for them any day of the week. I used to be in that 1%, know quite a few others who currently are, and they have a right to not be disturbed, and yes I said a right.
If you own any fishing boat pretty sure you can avoid Tonka.
It’s not just Lake Minnetonka. I fish a variety of lakes in various sizes and they are present on most of the lakes I fish from June – September. In the spring I do fish Tonka for crappies but the water is too cold for wake surfing, and I refuse to go out there past Memorial Day.
Some lakes are simply too small for it. Tonka is actually a sizable lake and there’s bays big enough for it.
“If folks don’t see the complete disregard for civility when these boats throw a wake that now others on the water need to accommodate for then idk what to tell ya. It’s the same cant see past the tip of your own nose perspective that is plaguing this country in general.”
Seems like just the opposite happening. You seem more worried about being inconvenienced by a wave when you are on the water. Aka can’t see past the tip of your nose and want to regulate those creating them.
I simply said I will avoid those areas and carry on.
More regs and rules on a public body of water just what we need. Since most of the original ones don’t get enforced in the first place.
Carry on.
In my 19′ I don’t worry about too many, and if I fish the metro in the 14′, by the time the wake bros come out to play I’ve have caught my fish, put the boat back in the garage, and maybe enjoying a lil splash of Bailey’s into some coffee to make a late bfast.
Pass all the laws you want, but the enforcement isn’t there.
Someone on patrol in the channel of Pool 4 on a sunny Saturday could stop every 4th or 5th boat for some violation…but they’re simply not there to make it happen.
Thank God I have no desire to ever fish a metro lake. Betting on wake surfing regulations making a significant difference would be like betting on Kirk Cousins carrying a team to a SB title 
I’m with many it seems.
Don’t go on a lake on the weekend or the popular in the evenings. I am able to get out during the weekdays and on before 7 and off before 10:30.
We’ll never see change unless they are enforced – period. Same with every aspect of our world – no enforcement – no change.
As for docks, I am super preachy about this with my boys. NEVER get out on someone’s dock, we float up to it and get it removed from the boat. If you snag it, don’t jerk and set the hook or line deeper – no sweat to go over and get it freed. Also, any dock/s with people on them we skirt wide, especially if they are fishing.
Common courtesy.
there’s nothing here that a properly anchored deadhead won’t solve.
I’ve had 2 experiences with wake boats in the last year on Minnetonka. First one was early morning and the wake boat was working a shore on a small bay I wanted to fish. I started fishing it and they moved to the middle of the bay. Later last summer in another small bay the wake boat was not getting close to other boats but they had the music so loud it was hurting my ears from 200 yards away. Very clear though. I suppose they put some good stereo systems in those boats.
In the early ’80s in front of the Lafayette Club I was anchored off the buoyed reef. I was in a 12 foot boat and took water over the back a few times from the big cruisers. A few years later when I was out of college I bought a 16-foot boat and have only gotten bigger boats since then.
I think a lot of the comments here are missing half the point of the regulation’s purpose.
This is not solely about disturbing other boaters.
This is about shoreline damage, weed bed damage and invasive species spread.
While the new reg does nothing for the spread of invasives it will help with shoreline and weed bed damage.
Exactly right Tom. Thanks for bringing us back to the point.
No disrespect to owners of wake boats, but there are private lakes designed specifically for this and other water sports. Better for the natural lakes and potentially a safer environment for participants, as well.
I’d like to see them limited for use on those types of water bodies although I would also argue against more red tape and bureaucracy.
More regs and rules on a public body of water just what we need. Since most of the original ones don’t get enforced in the first place.
Agreed. More regs are meaningless unless they are enforced.
More regs are meaningless unless they are enforced.
I wouldn’t say they are completely meaningless. There is a certain amount of voluntary compliance out there whether or not rules and laws are actually enforced.
I buy my licenses, hunt and fish within the designated seasons, obey no wake zones, etc without any kind of enforcement from an officer. I do it because I am a law-abiding citizen and I value the privilege to participate, not because I think I’m going to get caught.
It would require a massive communication effort and obviously there would have to be better enforcement of these potential rules too. I understand that. But not doing anything is not an option anymore.
You are talking about common sense and decency which I dont think applies to some of the wakeboarders Ive seen. They may be the minority in that community, but seeing people’s comments here about what they encounter just cements the fact that even if rules are in place those people would likely not do as you and most decent people do without being punished.
All regs are meaningless for those who aren’t law abiding citizens, plain and simple. I don’t much care for the wake boats, however I care less for the government trying to regulate the few bad apples by creating more rules for everyone.
Not sure if is true or not. But a coworker told me a story of a hero with a hole saw on Tonka some years back. Seems he didn’t like wake boats either.
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