trippcasey
Senior Member
Its that time of year where the pleasure boaters, new boat owners, googans, and morons are out in full force. In my last 3 fishing trips I have seen 3 boats aground on the wrong side of channel markers. Also on my last 3 trips I have had to wait (along with other patient anglers), and wait, and wait, for people to get their crap together and get out of the way at the ramp. Last weekend we had two guys in a row back down the middle of a 2 slip ramp to launch their john boats. Not only did they back down the middle of the ramp, they launched their little dingy and left it in the middle of the ramp while they parked their truck. The last guy got an earful from another less patient guy who was waiting in front of me. I think he learned a little about boat ramp manners that day, and I hope he passes it along. Yesterday evening I waited for what seemed like forever while this guy loaded his boat with it backed halfway down the middle of the ramp. He loaded his cooler, likejackets, checked the plugs, checked the oil, unstrapped the boat, rechecked the plugs, walked around the boat 5 times, took orders from his wife, backed it down sideways, pulled up, backed it down again sideways, pulled up and finally got it right. I lost my patience this time and had a few words with him about what not to do at a busy ramp. When another guy heard me talking to him, he chimed in with much less respect than I went in with. The boat owner said he will do as he pleases. I told the guy that if he keeps that up someone will put him in his place and teach him about boat ramp manners. That's when he got a park employee involved saying we threatened him, and to his demise the park guy agreed with us and went on to tell him that he was on his way over to tell him to launch or move. High five to that park employee!! When I get the chance to get on the water, Im on a mission. Im usually there at a predetermined time based on tides, time, and conditions. My boat is loaded, my plug is in, my straps are unstrapped, and I fired her up before dragging my sled to the ramp. It takes about 5 min by myself to load or unload. The ramp is NOT a place to check and double check things. Its not a place to load coolers and put on sunscreen. Its not a place to pull the battery out of your truck to jump off your boat either. I understand some people are new to this. Well, expect me to teach you a few things if you clog the ramp for more than 15 minutes. Public service announcement over. Thanks for listening. I feel better now. Some of these people scare me. If their actions at the ramp are a reflection of their boating skills, they dont need to own a boat and I dont want to be anywhere around them. I was new to boating too once upon a time, and still knew to get out of the way as quickly as possible.