Northwest Fishing Reports

Hey Guys, just wanted to post this. Was out recently and it amazes me the amount of people who have no Boat Ramp Etiquette. Most of you this doesnt apply to, but maybe someone will get the hint. Have a great weekend.

Waiting in line at the boat ramp is a fact of life, but when someone blocks a ramp while they load their boat with fishing gear, have problems getting the motor started or experience some other delay, tempers can flair. Follow these guidelines to help keep the line moving. Or, print a copy and hand it to others who might need some "education."

Launching
Prepare boat at far end of parking lot. This includes installing transom plug, raising Bimini top, loading gear, placing fenders, readying dock lines, checking fuel, finding key and turning on battery switch.

Once you are 100% ready, get your truck in line to use the ramp.

When it’s your turn, back down the ramp, get your boat off the trailer and quickly move your truck to the parking lot. Someone on your boat should immediately start the boat’s engine and move it away from the dock (so the next person can immediately use the ramp.)

Do not put your boat in the water, then prepare or load it while at the ramp.


Retrieving
Organize your gear while underway back to the ramp area.

Approach the ramp area, drop off the passengers and move away from the dock while your partner is getting the truck. Dont tie up the dock.

Have someone get the truck and trailer from the parking lot. They should wait in the truck line until it’s your turn.

While one person backs the trailer down the ramp, have the other person drive the boat on to the trailer.

Once boat is on trailer, raise the propeller and immediately move boat to the far end of the parking lot. Remove transom plug and gear. Turn off battery. Lower Bimini top and install tie-downs. Only now is it okay to take your time.

Do not tie boat up at the ramp and then leave to get your truck. This can enrage other boaters.



Remember to be well prepared and to know your launching/retrieving routine. Do each task in the same order every time. Having a checklist allows you to quickly proceed through each task without fear of forgetting something important (like the drain plug!)

tallman8251 wrote:Hey Guys, just wanted to post this. Was out recently and it amazes me the amount of people who have no Boat Ramp Etiquette. Most of you this doesnt apply to, but maybe someone will get the hint. Have a great weekend.

Waiting in line at the boat ramp is a fact of life, but when someone blocks a ramp while they load their boat with fishing gear, have problems getting the motor started or experience some other delay, tempers can flair. Follow these guidelines to help keep the line moving. Or, print a copy and hand it to others who might need some "education."

Launching
Prepare boat at far end of parking lot. This includes installing transom plug, raising Bimini top, loading gear, placing fenders, readying dock lines, checking fuel, finding key and turning on battery switch.

Once you are 100% ready, get your truck in line to use the ramp.

When it’s your turn, back down the ramp, get your boat off the trailer and quickly move your truck to the parking lot. Someone on your boat should immediately start the boat’s engine and move it away from the dock (so the next person can immediately use the ramp.)

Do not put your boat in the water, then prepare or load it while at the ramp.

May want to add this to your list: Turn your head lights off while waiting in line. If you don't you will blind the poor bastige trying to back his boat into the water.


Retrieving
Organize your gear while underway back to the ramp area.

Approach the ramp area, drop off the passengers and move away from the dock while your partner is getting the truck. Dont tie up the dock.

Have someone get the truck and trailer from the parking lot. They should wait in the truck line until it’s your turn.

While one person backs the trailer down the ramp, have the other person drive the boat on to the trailer.

Once boat is on trailer, raise the propeller and immediately move boat to the far end of the parking lot. Remove transom plug and gear. Turn off battery. Lower Bimini top and install tie-downs. Only now is it okay to take your time.

Do not tie boat up at the ramp and then leave to get your truck. This can enrage other boaters.



Remember to be well prepared and to know your launching/retrieving routine. Do each task in the same order every time. Having a checklist allows you to quickly proceed through each task without fear of forgetting something important (like the drain plug!)

May want to add this to your list: Turn your head lights off while waiting in line. If you don't you will blind the poor guy trying to back his boat into the water.

CHECK OUT A BASS TOURNEY AND SEE HOW SMOOTH IT CAN BE! I LOVE THE ONES THAT PULL UP AND BLOCK ALL THE RAMPS WHILE THEY GET THERE WETSUITS ON!

I agree with this 99.9 percent of the time.



Its EXACTLY what I follow when the wife or someone is coming fishing with me.








Now when fishing alone, its a little different. I have to lauch my boat by myself.

This is what I do.


Ready boat like the list says....

Back to the water, get out unhook winch and attach bow line. Attach bow line to trailer winch.

back into water and force boat from trailer so it floats clear.

Get out, grab bow line and pull it to shore if readily available. If not then I move to the offside of the dock or the very end.


Haul azz to the parking lot and hurry back to the boat.


I know it takes time and 'hogs' the ramp...... but time in water is less than 5 minutes till boat is secured.

Depending on what ramp I use the time to get from lot to tied up boat is about 5-10 at most.


Any advice?

I wanted to second 2muchtq. Allot of the time I fish with people who have never driven with a trailer before. It can be intimidating to them. Usually those people are not anymore comfortable driving the boat onto or off the trailer; I end up doing it all. I show a sense of urgency and don’t appear to be taking my time. I always try to remember to bring my patience and try to leave my frustrations at home whenever I go fishing. Although I maybe cussing out the person ahead of me in my head I know I can’t control their actions. Many people have no clue what they are doing. They were probably never taught.

There should be a boat ramp etiquette section in the new boater’s education program.

Excellent thread. All good things to consider. Another important one is if your boat is not run very regularly then you should run it at home on the hose to see that it is running without mechanical issues. While I always feel badly to see anybody have a mechanical problem at the dock.... I often see people who are personally frustrated with their own situation of motor troubles, but it also clogs up the launch when people are working on their motors at dockside.

Yesterday I ran into a group of folks at the Corps boat launch as I was coming off of the water at Rufus Woods. This was a group of complete IDIOTS. As I pulled in close to the ramp the first thing I noticed was that the boat driver had only tied the front of the boat to the dock allowing the stern to swing away from the dock effectively blocking the single lane launch ramp. The second thing I noticed was that the guy was standing in the back of his boat and had two very young children (Under 2 years old) setting in the bow of the boat without PFD’s. When I noticed this I bit my lip. I knew that I was in for a long wait and looked at my watch. I stood off for 20 minutes and then lost patience. I pulled a little closer and asked this complete and total knuckle head if he was planning on pulling away from the dock anytime soon. He stated “Yes, I’m just waiting for the woman to finish their picnic.” I backed off and dropped a line back into the water rather than confront this idiot.
I spent another half hour fishing close to the dock. It was OK because I caught & released two more nice Triploids. The women finally came down the dock and proceeded to load up. One of them was carrying a small baby. In total there were six women, one guy, three older children, two young children and a baby…None of which was wearing a PFD on this very old 17 foot Bayliner. In total I waited 50 minutes for them to pull away from the dock. As they cruised by I waved them over and politely explained to the driver that every child in his severely overloaded boat was required to wear a PFD and I would be calling the Sheriffs as soon as I had loaded my boat. With that he flipped me the bird, cursed at me and sped off. He made it about 50 feet out and his motor died. I was by myself and had time to pull up to the dock, tie off, walk up to my pick up. Back it down to the ramp, load my boat, pull it back up into the parking lot and call the Sheriffs office. The guy was still trying to get his boat started as the Deputy drove up, backed his boat down into the water and launched it. I walked out to the end of the dock and gave the boat driver a big healthy and somewhat sarcastic “See ya soon” and waved at him.
What else can ya say?

Well I guess we know what the "D" in Big D stands for. Harassing those poor folks that just wanted to go out for a spin on the lake! LOL j/k. All I can say is you have a whole lot more patience than I. Some folks simply don't have a clue. You may have saved those folks a lot of grief and saved some childrens lives at the same time. Nice work my friend.

Bravo for the lifejacket talk. My two little boys know that they are not to be in the boat without them. I would not have waited that long, but definitely would have given the same talk.

Wow never would have figured this topic would generate so many responses. I am glad I am not the only one frustrated. It amazes me that someone would jeopardize their children’s lives with out PFD's.. If you are running solo it definitely makes it more difficult and I am sure most people take that into account. But if you and 3 of your buddies out there, then its a different story. I have tried all my friends and girl friends how to operate the boat and drive the rig on slow days, One of my girlfriends actually tore the heck out of the prop once, LOL... That was the end of her, I ditched her.. LOL.. HA HA Just kidding, good learning lesson for her and me. The unfortunate thing is that the people who really need this advice and lessons would never be caught dead on a website like this. Thanks for the responses guys.

I run solo more often than not. Well not actually solo...I've usually got the dog with me.
I pride myself on not blocking the ramp and have actually been complemented several times on how fast I can unload and load my boat and get out of the way. One thing that also helps is to watch the launch and head in only when it's not so crowded. Who couldn’t use a few more casts?

Or spend a couple of minutes throwing a stick???

tallman8251 wrote:Wow never would have figured this topic would generate so many responses.

That's because we have all experienced an inexperienced boater or the majority who just plain don't give a crap about anyone but themselves. Funny thing is, launching a boat isn’t a hard task to master.

My boat is completely ready before I leave my house. When I am alone and arrive at the launch, I remove my rear tie down straps while in line and when it’s my turn, I back my trailer into the water, release my boat from the trailer, and push it off the trailer manually. This all takes about 1 minute from the time I back into the water. I quickly move my boat away from the launch to the shoreline, a few boat widths down (maybe 15 feet) to allow others to launch and do the same. If there is a dock, I pull the boat to the dock side, tie up, and return to my vehicle to park it. I park quickly and return just as fast to leave the shoreline or dock. When I have another person with me, they have their instructions before we get to the launch and they know what role they play before the procedure takes place.

I am often frustrated with those who don't care about anyone but themselves and demonstrate so at the launch or on the water for that matter. Those who think its okay to load their gear while launching, put in the plug, and dink around at the launch are an inconsiderate bunch, but I have learned to expect it which is a shame. If only people cared about others, things like this wouldn't be an issue. This includes knowing what you are doing and having everything ready before you take a place in line. Great topic and one most of us can relate to. I hope those less proficient boat launchers who read this topic will get the message and have a game plan the next time they are at the launch.

BOTH OF MY VARMITS ARE IN LIFEJACKETS BEFORE THEY STEP OUT OF THE TRUCK ITS MY SHIP AND YA DO WHATA SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1:compress:

Excellent suggestion to have this topic included in the boating education courses. I had my son down to lake Sammamish a couple weeks ago during a quiet weekday, because he wanted to get to use the boat this summer before going off to college. I will admit to a certain amount of inner satisfaction after showing him how to back the trailer down, watching his struggles with backing and then his admitting "it's a lot harder than it looks". Ah, sweet parental revenge, to have your teenager admit you're right about something, LOL! (actually both my sons are great kids).

My point to the above is I think a lot of casual boaters just don't have the practise and are trully ignorant of what is courtesy at the ramps. At least, I'd rather believe it was inexperience and ignorance, not rudeness.

BTW, nice doggy Big D.

Dave wrote:
I am often frustrated with those who don't care about anyone but themselves and demonstrate so at the launch or on the water for that matter. Those who think its okay to load their gear while launching, put in the plug, and dink around at the launch are an inconsiderate bunch, but I have learned to expect it which is a shame. If only people cared about others, things like this wouldn't be an issue. This includes knowing what you are doing and having everything ready before you take a place in line. Great topic and one most of us can relate to. I hope those less proficient boat launchers who read this topic will get the message and have a game plan the next time they are at the launch.

+1.

Couldn't have said it better...Dave's on the money...

Boating brings out all sorts of characters....

Slightly Off Topic

Where is law enforcement (present company excepted) when there are 19 people swimming at the launch, under a sign that says "Swimming Prohibited?" I actually counted 19. There was also a party barge moored about 20 yards off shore being used as a diving platform. I talked to the proprietor of the resort and was told that they had tried to enforce that regulation before to no avail. Because it is a public access, only the sheriff can do anything. I was also told that any time the sheriff does show up, he never issues any citations. Coming off the water in a situation like that can be frightening. You never know how many of those swimmers floating around on air mattresses are drunk and don't even know you're there.

Rant Over

I agree with the list with the exception of solo launching, and launching with someone who neither drives the boat nor the truck/trailer - in my case, that's my wife, so for all practical purposes that means I/we solo launch every time. We, however, are considerate boaters, when we back to the water, the boat is ready to go. I stop in the parking area to do pre-launch prep, remove tie downs, transfer stuff from the truck, connect bow line, hang boat bumpers, etc. so that when I'm at the launch all I have to do is remove the winch line at water's edge (I have slick bunks and don't tempt fate!). My wife is good at moving the boat to the extreme end of the dock, and I am quick to the parking area and back. I unhook the bow line, remove the forward bumper and climb in. The fuel injected OptiMax starts so quickly and easily, once it fires, we're out of there.

Basically, we do the same when recovering only in reverse. All our post outing stowing is done in the parking area. I can launch and recover in less time than it takes me to drive to the parking area. Sad to say, not everyone is as conscientious about such things.

Joe - I hear ya on the swimmers, and I don't want to get started on that one.

Big D - Good job! If I see the same, I do as you did. No need to put kid's lives at risk. People have to learn somehow, some just have to learn the hard way.

Lotech Joe wrote:Slightly Off Topic. Where is law enforcement (present company excepted) when there are 19 people swimming at the launch, under a sign that says "Swimming Prohibited?" I actually counted 19. There was also a party barge moored about 20 yards off shore being used as a diving platform. I talked to the proprietor of the resort and was told that they had tried to enforce that regulation before to no avail. Because it is a public access, only the sheriff can do anything. I was also told that any time the sheriff does show up, he never issues any citations. Coming off the water in a situation like that can be frightening. You never know how many of those swimmers floating around on air mattresses are drunk and don't even know you're there. Rant Over

Good question Joe. One would think if it’s a safety issue, law enforcement would take some form of action. If you are curious to know more, your best bet is to first identify which police jurisdiction that lake or launch is policed by. Then go to mrsc.org and look up the city or county code for that jurisdiction to see if they have any codes they can enforce related to restrictive signs or park regulations. For example “fail to comply with restrictive signs.” Some municipalities may not have codes related to restrictive signs in parks. This will allow you to know whether you have deputies with their hands tied so to speak (no codes) or if the decision to not cite is based on officer desecration. If the swimmers have been asked to leave in the past by the Sheriff's Office, and they were cooperative, a warning may very well be the right course of action taken by the deputy. I think in many cases it is appropriate to reward a cooperative violator with a warning, especially if voluntary compliance is achieved. Just my thoughts.

I'd just like to add; We're all out there to have fun and everyone does things their own way. Some people are fast, some people are slow, we all pay the same to lauch our boats weather it's in the form of a launch fee or taxes. If you're concerned about how long it takes you to get in the water, my advice is start earlier, you're the one that's late.

So to recap:
1. If you are having problems with others at a public ramp, the problem is most likely you.
2. If you are not getting into the water as fast as you'd like, It's your fault, get there earlier.
3. If you are one of those guy's that likes to put on a show when people are taking their time, Un-bunch your panties.
4. If you think you're the best, my wife can back the trailer in faster with more precision than any of you, and she usually helps the slow people while she's at it.

Remember we go boating and fishing to have fun, knock it off and start having fun.

Fast or slow Bodo there is a way to do things and a way not to... All the advise listed here is very valid and many people would do good by reading this..