No-Wake Below Dix Dam

I realize by opening this discussion that I am opening a can of worms most possible, but I keep hearing from the grape vine that from Highbridge on the Kentucky to Dix Dam it is a no-wake zone, or it is going to be sometime in the furture. The Dix is traveled by a wide range of fisherman on a daily bases and there seems a lot of bigger boats do not respect the kayaks, canoes amd bassfisherman on the river. I regularly get washed out on the bank when I bass fish in that stretch of river. I would be interested on how the discussion board feels about a no-wake zone on the Dix below the dam.

I'm all for it.

I don't see it happening any time soon. If you can't handle waves in a kayak or canoe, well then you don't need to be out there. I've run up and down that stretch in a canoe many times with no trouble. Bass boats make very little wake anyways.

Kayaks are no problem, but people in canoes is another story because they are not as stable. My point is when you are fishing the banks and someone comes up the river in a boat going half speed it is worse than going full speed. I agree a fast bass boat does not leave much wake, but then this river is not speed friendly for the safety of othes. Large waves takes the fish right off the banks. One of the reasons you fish this area is the peace and quite you can enjoy in this section of the river.

I have fished that tailwater for many years and am intimately familiar with its sharp curves and hidden underwater obstacles, like the many logs that just out just below the surface. There are also places where the water gets real shallow all of a sudden. Regardless, I see people running wide-open at break neck speed through there. I am just waiting to hear a loud collision some time.

I have also noticed some serious erosion in some areas along the river bank. Then again, who is to say how much is from boat wakes and how much is from river level fluctuations coming from the dam.

Final point - who in the world would enforce such a rule? In nearly 15 years of fishing there I have seen KDFWR only once, and that was on a very busy weekend.

Dont get me wrong, I like the idea.

I fished that section by canoe a few weekends before the 4th, the only boat that scared me and made me stop fishing to turn the bow into the wake was, you guessed it, two game wardens flying upriver toward high bridge. At least they went on by though and didn't fly up within six feet of my canoe and slam it in neutral to make sure I didn't have any beer in my cooler, like they did at Boonesborough on the 4th, TWICE in the same day, same two officers!
I think no wake for the whole river would be a great idea, but that's just from my jon boat, canoe side of things. Most of the time the recreational boaters are the dangerous element, not the fishermen. Shutting the lock system down put a good sized dent in the weekend warriors, that's why I fish the river anyway.

I agree with you TedB, some of our Fish & Wildlife officers are the most disrespectful guys out there. I have never had one slowly approach me or in a couteous fashion. They pull up on you like you've done something wrong already!

The only time a Fish & Wildlife officer was courteous to me was when I had actually called them out to bust a guy purposely duck hunting on a wildlife refuge. He was nice, talked about hunting, where the ducks have been, and so on. Super nice guy, unfortunately he had just missed the law breakers. So out of the goodness of his heart, he checked me for EVERYTHING! That's the way it is though, the bad guys never get caught and the good guys always get a hard time!

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-12-06 AT 06:41AM (EST)[/font][p]I think the entire length of the Dix should be a no wake, it's a narrow river and any wake at all will interfere with any boat that is stationary. I don't fish the Dix anymore though, after Trouts Unlimited came in years ago and dredged out the upper end of the river toward the dam and screwed up the entire reason for going there in the first place.

I appreciate everyone's comments. I still have not heard from the Fish and Wildlife people on this subject. I feel they could learn a lot from regularly viewing this site. I hope they are on a daily bases. I guess my final comment is whether or not there will be a no-wake ever on the Dix, erosion of the banks will continue and the way it looks many trees will fall into the river in the next few years. Fisherman trying to catch the river right for bass fishing will continue to be washed out on the bank and life will go on. I would suggest for those who come up the river to slow down and learn the obstacles in the river before you speed. There are many hiden long and stumps under the water. For those who may fall into the river even during the summer months, need to realize there is a cold under current that constantly flows under the warmer water on top. Life jackets should be worn when boating below any dam.

The bank erosion you speak of is from the increased velocities that result from increased volumetric flow during rain storm events and coordinated discharge from the dam. Boat wakes have little effect on the bank. Cattle walking up and down the banks to bathe in the river cause more erosion than boat wakes.

I agree with the affect of flood control flow from time to time but there are only two places on the river where cows drink and it is has minial affect on erosion in those two small areas.

Bonefish brings up an excellent point...the next time Ky Afield has their annual fishing call in show we need to call in and simply ask KDFWR: "Hey do you guys ever log onto fishin.com?"