BassBlaster

Water Wars: Boaters vs Waders in TX

For a long time now we’ve been hearing rumbings of impending water wars in the U.S. Recreational (us), industrial and municipal users – plus greenies and the courts – will be batting for their share of a finite and/or dwindling resource.

In coastal Texas (where Jason Bryant  of BassParade fame hails from – wonder why he isn’t writing this…), this is happening in a different, fishing-centric way. Highlights from a TX newspaper article:

> At issue are some of the shallow-water grass flats along the Texas coast. An organization calling itself Texas Wade, Paddle and Pole is suggesting something called Low Impact Fishing Areas – areas that are open to all fishermen, but closed to motorized boats running on anything other than their electric trolling motors.

> Boaters…don’t like the idea of being excluded from any fishing area and, for now anyway, there are a lot more boaters than there are waders and kayakers.

> Shallow-water boats can now roar through inches of water, and there is really no place safe for those who choose to quietly stalk their prey.

> On the other hand, I’ve seen many waders standing in the middle of a narrow channel that is the only route between shallows and deeper water, knowing they are right in the way of the boaters. I have also seen kayakers stroking down the middle of those channels, almost daring the boaters to come blowing by them.

> When the bluster begins, there is hardly any chance that common sense will prevail. Eventually, parks and wildlife will have to get involved. No one really wants more regulations, but some adult with authority will have to settle this one.

A foreshadowing of what’s to come?

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