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Post by mwardncsu on May 3, 2014 8:18:16 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2014 9:03:35 GMT -5
Terrible, terrible tragedy. I honestly don't see how this doesn't happen every other week. I just about guarantee we all have at least a dozen near misses a year. It's about to the point that I don't feel safe taking my family out for a boat ride.......No amount of fish or fun is worth someone getting hurt or losing their life.....so sad!!!!!!
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Post by mwardncsu on May 3, 2014 9:27:01 GMT -5
Terrible regardless of how or why, but sure hope it didn't happen with someone running to Gills Creek Marina for the Challenger Little League Baseball tourney (formally the Optimist) - would be a terrible stain on their first year, and certainly no fish or prize is worth that. Says it happened in the "Wirtz area" which I guess would be over on the Blackwater.
Yet another reason to wear those life jackets at night if not other times, and use the kill switch.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2014 9:41:34 GMT -5
Very true Mike, everyone please be extra cautious on the water........
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Post by craddockcreek on May 3, 2014 14:26:21 GMT -5
Appears it was near Bernard's. Found the body--37 year old. Not identified yet. Very sad.
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BentRod
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Post by BentRod on May 3, 2014 15:54:47 GMT -5
Dang that's really sad and such a shame. Glad they at least found the body for the family's sake. We came through there not long before that time last night...It was about 9-9:15pm when we came through there coming back from Gills..crazy..traffic didn't seem bad at all, but it was pretty windy and choppy and it doesn't take much to run over somebody if you're not paying attention. Definitely makes you count your blessings and remember to always put safety first out there.
I tell you..and this isn't a shot at the bass guys and this may not have even involved bass boats, but some of the lights on bass boats are not safe. I can't tell you how many times I run up on a bass boat and cant see it til the last minute because their lights are terrible or not even visible. Now I'm seeing guys using dimmers and shades on their anchor lights when night fishing so they're not blinded or the light is mounted so low you can't see it because their body is blocking it . That's just dumb in my opinion.
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Post by grasscutter on May 3, 2014 17:44:56 GMT -5
I agree....back in the day I've hung a hat or something over mine....finally bought a light that has a top (legal)on it but still projects a light 360....but really for the amount of light on boats at night....anything much over 20/25 mph is hard to see and judge
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Post by mwardncsu on May 3, 2014 17:51:08 GMT -5
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Post by CorneliaGale on May 3, 2014 17:54:47 GMT -5
Or the guy sitting in the back seat puts his cap over it so it won't blind him or draw as many bugs. Nav rules say 1 meter above the deck, I see a lot of them out there shorter than that. Its a shame some one had to die on the water, Just hope this isn't the start of a bad year on the water. That is one thing SML don't want again is most deaths on the lake in the state of VA.
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Post by CorneliaGale on May 3, 2014 17:56:45 GMT -5
Everyone out there please be careful.
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Post by slammer on May 3, 2014 19:03:01 GMT -5
Bad bad stuff ! Scary too because I had a lot of friends on the lake last night in the same general area.
I had been at the lake night fishing for the past 3 weeks, came home early yesterday because of the tournament and all the crazy boat traffic associated with it. Told my wife when I came in yesterday that I didnt want to be anywhere near SML and there would be some close calls out on the lake this weekend.
Buddy of mine said boat traffic was pretty bad last night on the main lake area.
I hardly ever fish a weekend after the weather warms and people come out of the woodwork.
My 2 cents is that the tournaments are out of control as well, 250 boats is too many and 600 is insanity. It basically turns the lake into a racetrack!
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jmr04
New Member
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Post by jmr04 on May 3, 2014 20:11:12 GMT -5
I agree. These tournaments are risking lives. It's not all that bad this weekend and you see what can happen. Last weekend was crazy. 750 in a tournament is risky. We were lucky.
A tournament that allows night fishing??? I hope they have top notch lability insurance.
God bless the family.
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Post by hillbilly on May 3, 2014 20:56:19 GMT -5
Terrible tragedy. Many nights when I'm out, I don't get the boat up on plane. But I will admit I'm usually fishing near the house.
Last week around dusk we had two boats out and were making our way down to the S curves when two kids came ripping out of a cove cutting across the lake. They weren't watching where they were going, not sure what they were doing, but my brother was driving our lead boat and literally shut his boat down off full plane to avoid a close call. It can be insane at times
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Post by ray on May 4, 2014 0:24:49 GMT -5
I was at B/W a cple years back went to take off and thought I saw something, Some guy out there paddling around in a kayac at 12;30 am, not kinda light at all, another night I was at the s curve 50 yrds. off the bank at the osprey nest, I was leaned over the side of my boat putting a beautiful 4 lb 13 oz smallie back in the water, heard something, looked up and here came an idiot in a tracker boat between me and the bank, he was within 10 ft. of the front of my boat, I gave him an earful as he went by but he never stopped. What I read a husband and wife going down lake ran into the boat with 3 guys in it, One of which we know drowned, God bless his family dealing with this loss. I have a bass boat that will run 76 mph. Never done it on Smith, at night it will plain out at 23 mph and thats fast as she goes. And if I can't see the bank I headed to I'll idle. I'd rather take 5 minutes to get there the get hurt over a darn fish.I always check my light to make sure they are bright. I really think they should impose a 25 mph speed limit after dark, no need to run any faster IMO, and it is certainly not safe. Fished friday night got two largemouth, missed 6 or 7 had a pig pull off got two channel cats 4-5 lbs. All on the thunder stick. Fish the oakley, caught a pile of 3 pndrs. Got 2 off one dock throwed the spinnerbait back by the dock again fish like to have jerked the rod outta my hand rolled near the surface , was a striper about 2 ft long, he pulled off. So sad about the fella that drowned, My prayers go out to his family, And fellas, Please make safety your first concern out there. These trajedies could be avoided if everyone paid more attention to what there doin.
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Post by CorneliaGale on May 4, 2014 19:02:30 GMT -5
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