No jet skies or water skiers after sunset here. Water skiers need a 3rd person spotting at all times.

I believe there is a 55mph limit on water and frozen water here in Michigan.........

I'm all for speed/wake/hp regs on smaller lakes.
I look at this way, the guy in a kayak is not effecting the shoreline or any other user of the lake. Quiet, no wake no disturbance to anyone or the lake.
But a water skier does effect others, causes wakes (damage to shore) not to mention the noise.
Jet skis are the worst, I'd ban them on lakes of a certain size and down (about 300 acres or less).

Jet skis are the very definition of a bad attitude, "hooray for me and screw everyone and everything else."

There’s thousands of bass fishing tournaments a year between the major ones down to local jackpots. There are very few accidents. Yes it’s sad when they happen and people get hurt or killed. The BPT doesn’t have take offs or weigh ins so they don’t have the boat races in the mornings or back to weigh in. I think the races in the morning are part of the sport or atleast part of the strategy in tournament fishing. Now part of it up to the tournament directors to not send people out until safe conditions are present and part of it up to the boaters to drive like the conditions allow. Most tournaments do have restrictions on hp. Most max out on a 21’ boat and 250hp outboard. The hp rating on the hull for a boat is enforced so if you have an 18’ boat you aren’t putting a 250hp on it. Like I said I get it that it is unfortunate and sad when accidents happen and people get hurt or killed but by far bass anglers are not the ones usually causing or in the boating accidents. Way more speedboats, wake boats, jet skis, and even pontoons are in accidents on the water than bass boats. Mostly in my opinion because there way more novice boaters driving the recreational boats and most of them have alcohol involved when they are on the water which is strictly prohibited in tournaments.

Classic example of going way too fast after dark....

Show these Clowns a pic of your trolling boat.....

Did I miss something?

I think Uncle JByrd and Boco...are doing that Broke Back Mountain thing.,.

There already are laws. USCG rules of the road. “Every vessel shall at all times proceed at a safe speed so that she can take proper and effective action to avoid collision and be stopped within a distance appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions “. I wonder how many boaters actually have a copy

Even if they have a copy, guess how many actually read it..lol

NY just changed their regs so that EVERYONE operating a boat, or jetski in NY waters must have a boating safety certificate... No matter how long you've already operated a boat including commercials, and guys with USCG captains licenses!.....I'm feeling safer already, lol..Snuck that in after an ugly drunk boating accident that killed a girl some years ago....

As does Alabama, it is an actual boating license endorsement on your driver's license, yet this happened in Alabama.

As they say “You can’t legislate common sense “

Which is why I say eliminate bass tournaments. If you can't make laws that'll work then just hit them where it hurts if they can't clean up their own act.

Having power means you have control. I very seldom run at full throttle as you don’t have any options other than reduce throttle.

My boat tops out at 70 mph, I typically run at 35-40.

This was a very unfortunate event involving fog. They should never have released the tournament boats in such weather

That’s what I was getting at. The conditions, craft, and captain have a lot to do with it. So I disagree with placing a quantified speed limit, because some people and craft will be unduly inhibited, and others will have a false sense of security because they’re going “the speed limit”. I have a 220 ocean pro with a 250 Honda, 25knots feels like nothing even on rough seas, I have a 16’ skiff that feels like a death trap at 12 knots regardless of conditions.

Not a fan of more regulation especially one with so many variables. I would guess that most boats that go fast enough to violate a speed limit have a speedo that is wholly inaccurate or inoperable. The only way to accurately gauge speed is by using GPS. Are we going to require everyone to carry a unit in order to be on the water? As for this particular accident do we know what happened and who was at fault or are we guessing the professional with the fast sparkly boat was at fault?

I have fished in some of these walleye and musky tournaments and have found that the vast majority of the pros are not only great fisherman but also great captains of their boats and very aware of other boats on the water. It's usually the local guy that enters and then wants to show they can run with the big guns who cause most of the issues that I have seen as far as boat safety and etiquette

Ban them because of one accident? There are hundreds of fishing tournaments a year without incident.

I spend a large part of summer fishing northern Canada fly in locations and many have as small as 15 hp motors. Dawn/dusk/fog whatever I never consider running hard even knowing there isn’t a soul for maybe hundreds of miles.
There is always the chance of moose, caribou, bears, floating logs and so on. In the states here all the trouble is compounded.

To each their own I guess as long as I’m not on the receiving end.

Osky

I feel the same way.

That you hear about. I lived on the water for years and bass chasers in glitter boats are the absolute worst about running roughshod over others and when you put them in a group you're just asking for stuff like this.