Fatal boat wreck on Barkley this morning

[AndyG]

I was in the BFL, I didnt see it but was just a couple boats ahead. Remember the family of the man who passed. They came all the way from mississippi with him for the tournament, how many co-anglers have that kind of support?

Also, I dont understand why the news and officials worded the story as they did because everyone involved had a life jacket on.

BTW- the lakes were very crowded, but it didnt seem much worse than regular BFLs on the smaller lakes.

[raincheck]

Back in May i decided too stop running Div.33 ABA The main reason was Mother nature i can't contol the other was there are just too many FAST boats on the lake.Why don't they just make speed limits on some of the lakes.Ky lake is big but still a river for the most.I have been around boats all my life.Back in the early 70s my dad put a 20 on a 12ft row boat and it was FAST.I ran 5 to 10 gal,s every day all summer and respect speed on water.Last yr i sold my Triton tr20x and decided too fish as a non boater.After reading this today i love my life and won't put it in any other boater's hand.Say a pray for those who were in this wreck and the safty of those still on the water.AMEN

[bassin bruce]

It is a miracle that there are not way more fatal accidents on the water during these big tournaments! The unsafe manner in which these fast boats are operated never ceases to amaze me. I no longer fish in these bigger tournaments. The ones I fish are usually less than 30 boats. Still, there are way too many dangerous practices happening. Everyone should learn to back off just a little. Your reaction time at 60mph is much greater than at 75. I have a tr20 with a 225, but rarely do I drive it all out. The 2 minutes fishing time I lose is well worth being safe and alive. My prayers go out to all involved in this tragic accident.

[Trophyhunter8]

heres a link to more on the story


http://www.azbasszone.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=108387

[Jbyrd]

I was there fishing the renegade.WE had just stopped in that area to fish The wreck happened at buzzard rock where the channel swings across the lake. One of the boaters was running the WRONG side of the channel trying to cut the corner of the bouys (not hard to figure out since the impact was on the passenger side ) NO fog , visibility was great. I personally called FLW last dec when they put out the schedule for that regional and told them the renegade has had their classic that same week for 19 years. Last year the bfl was a week later. But their response was we don't schedule around other people. I called the director for the renegade and he said they had a standing reservation with ky dam village for the same week in Oct. Where there too many boats on the lake ,YES who was to blame? I would say the lawyers and insurance companies will decide that. The reality of it is the loss of life is not worth beating someone to a fishing spot no matter what the prize is.

[GeoFisher]

Is there a specific rule with regards to what is the right and wrong side of the bouy. Obviously, I know the NAV rules, but I didn't think you had to stay within the bouys??

You stated WRONG side of the bouys, and I'm simply trying to get clarification. BTW......I use buzzard rock quite a bit, since I stay at poplar creek.......

Later,

Geo

[Jbyrd]

Ok boating regs state that you must drive on the lake as if it was a road. Right hand side of the channel no matter which direction you are going. If you are going up barkley red buoys on your right as you go up stream one of the boats was going up stream and was against the red bouys as he should be the other one should have been over next to the green buoys as he was going towards the **** . The channel bouys make a big swing to the right and then back to the left . as we went up thru there everyone coming out of kuttawa was in line on the right side of the channel ( going towards the ****) and every one going south on barkley was on the other side. But if you cut the corner( shoot straight across ), there a person can gain a bunch of ground on someone in front of you.

[Jbyrd]

Is there a specific rule with regards to what is the right and wrong side of the bouy. Obviously, I know the NAV rules, but I didn't think you had to stay within the bouys??

You stated WRONG side of the bouys, and I'm simply trying to get clarification. BTW......I use buzzard rock quite a bit, since I stay at poplar creek.......

Later,

Geo

God (when he made the land in that area) and whom ever built the dam( that made the lake) at barkley decide the right and wrong side of the buoy you get on the wrong side and you might loose a lower unit or worse. Heck just ask the guy who was in this accident think he had another incident where he was out of the channel markers and knocked his motor up into the back of the boat and there was severe injuries as a result . I should have said wrong side of the channel . But I think I clarified that in my last thread

[brlfishing]

It is without a doubt a very sad situation. However, reguardless of any sport, there will be fatalities involved. statistically, you have a far greater chance of getting killed in an auto accident than on a boat. So trying to mandate some guideliness is not going to change anything. It would be like telling basket ball teams that players cannot RUN up and down the court because they may have a heart defect witch may lead to death. The obvious is to drive defensive all the time, the same as you do when you are in your car or truck. And even then, accidents will continue to happen but maybe not as often. Im not sure if the hp and speed are as much of the culprit as simple (not paying attention) is. I feel really bad for the guy that lost his life, i can only imagine how his family feels. And if the above mentioned is true, that the bfl driver has had multiple accidents, I would be suprised if this investigation does not lead to escalated legal issues for him if he is found at fault.

[barkleyhawggitter]

i cant tell you how many times i have almost been run over while sitting still fishing. twice this year. once by a bass boat and once by a big cruiser while fishing a ledge. many times before. i dont fish an lot of weekends anymore because of it. in the last decade i would say at least a dozen times. sometimes i have had to run and start the motor and move. the idiots just look at you like whats going on. driving a boat is dangerous if you do not know what you are doing and there are a lot of idiots out there. maybe the use of firearms should be implemented for self defense.

[brlfishing]

i dont know about firearms, but it would be kinda funny to keep a paint ball gun on hand.

[fishincreek]

I believe we will see the "multiple" accident thing to be a non-issue. Written report of the previous "accident" was fishing a tourney on KY/Barkley and he hit an unseen underwater obstruction. How many times a week does that happen on those two lakes?