Boaters who enjoy wakesports in Kentucky could be required to stay a predetermined distance away from shore.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife commissioners on Friday voted to send a proposal to the Kentucky legislature that would require wakesports (wakeboarding, water skiing, wakesurfing, tubing, etc.) participants to engage in the activities at least 200 feet from shorelines at 15 Kentucky lakes, including Rough River Lake (maximum depth 65 feet) and Nolin River Lake (average depth of 35 feet with 100 to 110 feet depths near the Nolin Lake tower during summer pool).
Additionally, the proposal would require wakesports activities to remain at least 200 feet away from commercial docks and harbors.
The commissioners who voted in favor of sending the wakesports proposal to the General Assembly did so because studies show large wakes cause shoreline erosion, create algae blooms, harm fish and fish habitats, and disturb sediment.
Some studies, though, promote the 200-foot buffer as fiction, instead saying that wake boats should operate at least 600 feet from shorelines, including a Lake at Stake, and Wisconsin’s Green Fire studies.
On the opposite end of the wakesports spectrum are those who advise that pushing wakesports participants into the middle of a lake places them in danger from other boaters.
“There’s safety concerns when we push riders into the middle of a lake, where we’ve got additional traffic that may be going 40, 50, 60 miles an hour down the middle of a lake, and now we’re in their way,” Allison Daniel told WDRB.com. Daniel and her husband operate TNT WaterSports Ky in McDaniels.
In addition to Rough River Lake and Nolin River Lake, the lakes potentially impacted by the proposal include: Barren River Lake, Cave Run Lake, Dale Hollow Lake, Dewey Lake, Green River Lake, Herrington Lake, Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, Lake Cumberland, Lake Linville, Laurel River Lake, Taylorsville Lake, and Yatesville Lake.
It’s possible the General Assembly could begin studying the issue when the body reconvenes for a 60-day session on January 6, 2026.
(Photo courtesy of SeeCannes.com)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
