River - a few nice ones & a boating accident

Glad everyone and your boat made it out okay. Hope they learned a lesson or it could be worse the next time they speed. Common sense is hard to get for some people.

 

The California Channel just needs to be closed off to all jet skis plain and simple. The GoPro Racers are real bad back there. I'm very surprised there haven't been more fatalities.

 

There can be some good fishing back there, and it's great for cats.

 

Tom_74 thank goodness no one was hurt. Thanks for the report..other than the Jet Skiing Idiots.......sounds like you did well at the river.

 

You almost need a air horn on a belt loop for back water idiots. I have been in several close calls over the last couple years fishing the river, and its not always Jet Skiers, but they are the usual suspects. Glad yours weren't hurt.

 

was that you that posted on the LRJ page?

 

Sorry Tom, "Common sense isn't very common." Learned this 40+ years ago from an old woman I called Gran. Thanks for the report!

 

We have a house on the river in Parker and over the last 30 yrs I've pretty much seen every moronic exhibition you could imagine in a boat. I've seen a 26' cruiser squash a jet skier, a wave runner hit a dock at 40mph, a flat bottom drag boat launch itself 60' up a beach, several boats tearing up there lower units on rock/sand bars, and the grand finale in stupidity...a guy going 40 in his ski boat, at night, t-boned a boat full of college kids floating the river in there boat..killing 2 of them. Happened out in front of our dock, on a 4th of July weekend...extremely sad! The combination of alcohol and incredibly stupid people creates situations which get out of hand real fast! There's something about the river that makes people leave their brains at home....if they had brains to start with!

 

I stopped frequenting the Parker area many years ago. It just got more and more dangerous. I can't imagine what it must be like now. The last time I went we stayed off the water completely except at sun up and sun down to ski. On the last day we risked going up river to visit a friend and just cruised slowly up the edge with our eyes open. While we were stopped at the fuel dock one of the super "fast guys" came screaming past in an already over full river and T boned a boat. My bf jumped in the boat and ran out to help but left me at the dock. When he came back he said there was little they could do for most of them. We went back to the house and that was my last trip. Martinez was crazy too. We hung out on the bank with the family and that place is full of sand bars. Boats would come flying up and we would stand waving our arms to try to get them to slow. I can't count the number who hit the sand bars and came full stop. Smashing in to their windshields, flying right out of the boat, you name it. The jet boats, like we had, just go right over but those outboards - OUCH! Just plain scary.

Oh, and nice fish!

 

Parker in the winter is a whole different place...peaceful, quiet, relaxing, and best of all....no people! Except for the 90 yr old snowbirds from Wisconsin.

 

I always thought that if you were on the water you were in AZ. NO? If not, why the River stamp?

 

I believe either state licence is good for the river now. I think the river stamp is extinct now.

 

Been a while.

 

I've probably fished the river more than a hundred times, don't think I've ever been checked for a license. They seem more concerned with your registration being current.

 

I bet no one skis. I imagine it's freezing!

 

Correct...snow runoff doesn't make for toasty water. The fish don't mind it much, they're just happy there's no jet skiers buzzing them! I suggest you bring your thickest wetsuit if anyone's pondering getting in the water in january!

 

Been fishing the lower river for more years than I can count. Depending on the winter, I've seen the water in the low 50's down to the mid 40's in January. And correct the river stamp is no more. Easy on the snow birds Mcfish, they usually have good alcohol and every day at 4 is happy hour.