Lakes Vs Rivers

I ride a slough in the Mississippi River and love it. I've been to a bunch of lakes and it seems like it's quite a bit harder to find flat water on a lake unless it's super early in the morning. Lakes are almost always wider than rivers which make them more susceptible to wind. There is also no common direction of travel so rollers get thrown in every direction. Really the only advantage to lakes that I can think of is they tend to be deeper and they are less prone to flooding. What do you guys think? Not to start a war but I want all the lake snobs to fill us river rats in on why they are so superior.

I think that there's something special about being on a river. I don't know if there really is something different or if I've just been listening to too much CCR lately but that's my perception.

I much prefer riding on the river. Even when it is pretty blown out, you can find nice water around the next bend. The only thing we have to deal with is barge traffic.

I prefer lake just because theres not always a current

lake trumps river! nothing beats the clean clear lake water or the overall environment. I ride on a river, its dirty, disgusting, salty, narrow and windy.........but its always flat! id take a lake anyday but for now im happy with what i got.

Lake: No current, good water in the AM, wakes are bigger since it's deeper but not always the case, and more friends there so there is a big party.

River: Current, good water most if not all day, wakes are fluctuating because of depth, logs and tree's floating down the river constantly so you have to be more aware of what is in the water, and it's narrower.

I like both but it also depends upon who we have boating that day. If my children are with me (<10 years old), I will go to the lake because they like tubing and they can swim. I won't let them step foot in the river at that age. But, I have had great water in both spots and boarding in any condition is better than not boarding at all. $.02

I like lakes more...although the delta is nice out here in cali as far as flat water (where it isnt windy), i still like the lake more. The environment is much better and if you have a lake with a few fingers, its typically not hard to find water thats just as good as the river. I dont like riding on a current at all, it makes riding awkward. Lake water is typically cleaner too, but ill ride in almost anything. The biggest reason why im not a fan of rivers is the current....

I'll take the river....All you other guy's go to the lake deal .
Logs and debris floating gives you good bunny hop practice ! You even get the occasional dead animal/person lol.
I don't notice the current to much unless I'm going down river into the wind. Then it just feels like you are hauling azz.

(Message edited by hillbilly on July 27, 2009)

narrow river with a tree line = butter.

A good river to ride on trumps a lake everyday of the week. Who gives a •••••••••• water clarity? give me conditions where on a 30mph wind day I can hit the bend and be on glass than some blown out cove with 4 wake boats running back and forth any day.

I still don't understand the current argument. If you're running a paddle wheel for speed control whether it's perfect pass or the wrist you are still moving across the water at the same speed in either direction. Wakeboarding is based on the rider's relationship to the tow vessel and line tension. The rider's speed in relation to the water is constant. Granted newer GPS systems do not take this into account and would fluctuate depending on whether they were traveling up or down stream but explain further what is meant by having a current affect your riding.

I like the lake because there are no rivers around me that are even deep enough for me to bathe in haha. I'm pretty good at finding my spot and keeping it to myself until I am finished. We have one of the windiest areas around and I still have managed to get flat water all but one day without having to dodge other boats.

I can be out of the house, pick up the boat and be on my local lake in just over 30 min. There is a great river available to me but I have to pull my boat 80 miles to get there. We ride our local spots mostly - hitting the river butter is sort of a special treat when we can burn more time.

I grew up 2 miles from the best river in Georgia. I specifically blame this for my lack of progression after having moved away. When you cut your teeth in heaven it's hard to get as motivated to drive an hour to the lake knowing full well when you get there you're going to be sharing some blown out cove and praying you can get atleast one line per set with decent water.

You could go MILES up the river without turning around and 10+ foot gators kept a lot of idiots out of the water. The only thing you had to worry about was the occasional skeeter bass boat that would come around some of the corners going 80mph.

There really isn't much of an argument to be made here. The best conditions for riding a wakeboard and progressing is on a river, you want to get drunk and party then the lake is the ticket...unless you get out there before 10am, after that all bets are off.

River.

have a place on a lake, but I have rode with Brett a few times and I'd say his slough is the best spot I've ever ridden. Probably seen just a handful of boats back there.

lakes stink in my opinion. They are the single handed reason I bought a saltwater boat. I am now garunteed flat water when I go out. The true testimonial to this is when I went out on 4th of july and had flat water all day.................ALL DAY!

I ride both weekly. The river generally has flatter water, but it's dirty and that screws up my sinuses. We don't hang out at the river, we ride and leave. I probably would never swim in the Fox river for fun.

The lake I ride is busy some days, but it's a really nice spring fed lake. I personally enjoy the days at the lake more. But there are a lot more wally's.

It is much harder to drive a double up in a River that is my downside. But at the same time you can drive for miles without having to turn around on a river which can be nice if you are putting together a nice line. And all the rivers in the Austin/New Braunfels are called lakes but are just damed up rivers and they are alot cleaner than your "Normal Lakes" in the Area

You have to factor in the region before any of the answers have any validity.

You have to understand that a lot of people in California have never even seen a natural lake. What they call a lake out here is actually a reservoir, which can be a terrible spot for wakeboarding.

On the other hand, there aren't that many rivers out here that you can wake board on either. There are some nice rivers, but the class 5 rapids are a bitch! The rivers that aren't tumbling down steep slopes are coming out of the bottom of dams and the water is COLD!

And then there is the Delta.....


Rod

I'd put my stretch of river up against the Delta any day . And it is only a little bit cleaner than the D.

Got to love scrubbing off the scum at the end of the day....lol

I love the Rivers here in Pittsburgh. There is a boat ramp less than a mile from downtown (where I work), and if you go upstream another mile you get an area of pure glass. Check out the pictures.




Sure it can get a little dirty with debris after a rain, but it is a much better option than the lakes around here where there is no suck thing as good water. Way too many boats.

Depends a lot on the lake. If it is a round type lake without many fingers or channels, it is tough to ride anytime other boats are out. If it is like Hartwell, there are tons of channels to choose from and yes you might not find glass on the busiest times of the busiest weekends, but most of the time you can find decent riding. Lakes you can usually find slips and lifts but that is more rare on rivers so it is more convenient on lakes. The debris issues keeps us from riding the river most of the time. Nobody that I ride with wants to risk their prop.

Nice pics Kyle P.

Our river has a tide swing of 8 feet. Add that to all the rain we've had this year and the debris factor can be high. The upside is the river has many bends so if one section is blown out you can usually find flat water somewhere.


I have visited some lakes that are really nice, SML comes to mind!

I live on a lake, but tow my boat to the St. Croix river every weekend I don't work...nothing beats it.

I ride a river and go to Table Rock for a week every year and I'd chose a lake any day over the dirty river!