Tonka Death Circle Saturday

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Who practices turns? I’m thinking he was probably driving like on a pwc in July.

Resting on elevated bench seat whipping donuts… yeah, he’s experienced lol

My thoughts as well.

Duluth, thanks for the specifics. I have not researched it myself.
I recall a catfish tournament in recent years where dnr ticketed many running a spot.

I also agree, spot should not be shined on others. There were 5 occasions where a late season hunter and I met full throttle on the river, and they had no lights. My spot prevented the head on. Turned off immediately upon recognizing another boater was present (albeit not mentally!!!)

About 500 occasions where spot saved my hide… or, rather allowed high speed travel at night without risk of running blind.

Busy evenings I don’t spend time on the water after dark if I don’t have to as spot cannot be safely ran without impacting other boaters and running the river after dark without spot isn’t very safe. You wouldn’t imagine the amount of things I’ve seen on the water that’ll wreck your day or worse.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>
Dodged a many of tree and ice after dark.

Steering wheel knob is almost a must at full plane to avoid such hazards accompanied with spot light.

I think both are illegal… only in mn would such safety devices deemed illegal.

Lets not spread fallacies. There is nowhere in the boatings regulations that say either of these are illegal. In fact, page 23 states “All accessory lighting such as docking lights, spotlights or accent lights must not impact navigation light visibility as required by law.”

That is the only mention of spotlights in the boating regs and is simply stating your nav lights must remain visible which I think is in the interest of safety. There is no mention of the steering wheel knob or anything related to steering wheel regulations.

Speaking of safety, I’d argue coming up on another boat that is flashing a spotlight at them is indeed a safety issue.

Fallacies? Depends on what waters we’re talking about.

2014 version of the USCG Rules of the Road (that apply to all Federal Waterways)

PART C – LIGHTS AND SHAPES

Rule 20 – Application Return to the top of the page

(a) Rules 20-31 shall be complied with in all weathers.

(b) The Rules concerning lights shall be complied with from sunset to sunrise, and during such times no other lights shall be exhibited, except such lights which cannot be mistaken for the lights specified in these Rules or do not impair their visibility or distinctive character, or interfere with the keeping of a proper look-out.

****
In other words running with headlights attached to the bow of a vessle is not allowed. Mooring lights are just that, used for docking and not running.
A light under the bow could work if the red and green nav lights were still visible.

There’s more but you’ll have to read it yourself. I’m starting to nod off.

https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=NavRulesAmalgamated#Rule%2022

Brian Klawitter wrote:

A light under the bow could work if the red and green nav lights were still visible.

That’s how I run mine, custom mount on bow, so light is below bow and fully adjustable.

#1, it’s below bow so the light source isn’t visible to boat operator (no night blindness)
#2, it’s lower to the water, lights up less bugs above bow line, snow, and rain (no night blindness), shows more debris in water.
#3 red green visible

I was fishing from shore on Minnetonka on Saturday afternoon and no way would I have been out on any of the big bays, especially not alone. No way. The wind was whipping hard.

And this time of year, with as cold as the water is, I’d say don’t even mess around with an inflatable — go for the real thing just to be sure it will inflate. This time of year, if you go over, you absolutely need a PFD no question.

Noddin off at 1:53pm?
Didn’t know Spam had triptophan

queenswake wrote:

no way would I have been out on any of the big bays, especially not alone. No way. The wind was whipping hard

It was rough but not that bad to were a person in the correct boat could not navigate safely, just needed to make good decisions. I certainly do not want to judge him for his actions but have to agree practicing turns in that chop at that speed was a little on the other side of those decisions

BK – thanks for the info. I didn’t know that. Do you have a list of what federal waterways in MN or what the definition is? I did some google searches that are coming up with a variety of results. Various definitions say water that flows to the ocean. Does that mean unimpeded? For example, I’m guessing the Mississippi is a federal waterway, but is Mille Lacs then too since Mille Lacs technically (eventually) flows into the Mississippi even tho its not navigable the whole way?

Loaded question Duluth1fan!

Mille Lacs** and all of the other reservoirs are federal waterways.
**The Right To Fish Act of 2xxx was passed and a person does not need a USCG license to guide on Mille Lacs. We do for the other reservoirs.

The Minnesota River, The Great Red River of the North, and the St Croix River.

The USCG had a list on their website at one time, but the last time I checked it was removed. (I’m not sure if they have a clear understanding < that’s not a bash, it’s just true)

I remember someone saying any body of water that a toothpick could make it to the ocean was a Federal Waterway. I do think that was said tongue in cheek though.

There is an official list. Here it is for Minnesota. It is on the Army Corp of Engineers web site.

Link to ACE: https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Portals/57/docs/regulatory/RegulatoryDocs/mn_nav_waters.pdf

I believe the Right to Fish act was passed by Congress in 2012 and includes the following statement: ““(except that, for purposes of this section, the navigable waters of the United States shall be treated as not including Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota)”.”

So Mille Lacs is now under state control and not federal, for anything, not just guiding. ACE just never took it off their list.

Oh by the way, I too am really glad the guy made it safely off the lake. That is a good reminder to wear safety gear, especially considering the water temps we have right now.

Thanks R. Deway. Way more then I thought!