By Louie Stout

Surfer behind a wake boat

It doesn’t matter if you anchor to bluegill fish, kayak or use an electric for sneaking up on bass, today’s wake boats have replaced jet skis as the No. 1 nuisance.

They plow along, throwing big wakes designed so the attached skier can surf over the humps near the boat. However, those wakes carry for several hundred feet and can knock you overboard if you’re not paying attention.

Well, there’s good news! There is a bill in the Indiana Legislature that would offer control over where and how these annoying boats may be used. The bill passed through the senate and is now House Bill 1055.

It would “prohibit a person from operating on a public freshwater lake a motorboat that engages in wake boarding or wake surfing: (1) during the period between sunset and sunrise; or (2) in violation of a rule adopted by the natural resources commission (commission). Places restrictions that apply to wake boarding or wake surfing on a small public freshwater lake that is at least 70 acres but not more than 300 acres. Establishes a procedure for property owners on a public freshwater lake to petition the commission to adopt rules concerning wake boarding and wake surfing restrictions. Establishes a penalty. Provides that an individual may not operate a motorboat with: (1) an outboard engine; or (2) an outdrive unit with a propeller that extends past the motorboat's transom or swim platform; for the purpose of wake surfing.

That bill was assigned to Indiana House Natural Resources Committee.

Anglers are urged to contact their state senators and urge them to get behind this bill. It’s not a cure-all, but it’s a start.

We don’t know of any Michigan legislative efforts to curb Wake Boat issues, but anyone who has fished northern or southern Michigan will tell you the problem is equally bad up there.