In reading the Fountain crash thread I saw a few comments about the crazy weekend/holiday traffic on the 90 mile lake and I got to thinking why is this the fun place to be with washing machine waves, tons of traffic, WP a holes etc?

I get the 90 miles long part with plenty of waterfront bars/restaurants, the fact it is centrally located for many folks in the midwest, reasonable real estate (condos/docks etc) but what it the main thing about LOTO that is so great?

Bigger question was if LOTO residents hypothetically had other choices would LOTO still be their weekend destination?
What if S. Florida or Lake Havasu were 2 hours from your home like LOTO is would you bail on LOTO?

What is the one thing about LOTO that is undesirable?

LOTO's main boating season runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend. The Holiday weekends are always the busiest. During that 3 month period, boat traffic will begin to pick up on Friday afternoon but by Sunday afternoon it begins to thin considerably. The rest of the time there really isn't much lake traffic. I've boated every month of the year on LOTO. I live 300 miles to the Northeast of LOTO and it can be low 30's and snow at my house and I run down to LOTO and it be sunny and upper 60's to low 70's. My biggest complaint about the lake is that it is overbuilt. For those familiar with the lake, developments like Atlantis should never have been allowed. Otherwise, I like the fact that if I want to take in the commercial scene of the on-water restaurants/bars I can do that. If I decide I want something more laid back I can hit the State Park area that has no development, Ha Ha Tonka, or one of the 1000's of coves and just relax and hang out. It has something for everyone...from the guy with the 48 MTI to the guy with Ranger bass boat.

I have never been boating on Loto, but for the area what else is there? Inland lakes have advantages for gatherings over ocean and the large great lakes IMO, "hot spots" are much easier to find. Housing is also easier to find with so much water front. For people in Kansas, Iowa, Southern Il, and Missouri what other option do they have? And many travel down from Chicago area because lake MI is just too big for them, and having a dock in your back yard in the great lakes is usually not an option.

You mention Havasu, a six mile lake that draws a crowd from SC, AZ and Vegas.....loaded with 100 mph cats, water temps in the 90's and air temps in the 110's. From the videos I have seen that area sports the best chics, but for boating in general it looks like it sucks.

LOTO... a little bit of everything.

your second paragraph sais it all!

mike not to get off topic, but hows the boat running?

good,we went through 2 grand worth of fuel in loto last week,in 4 days

Now that's enjoying the equipment! I got a couple nice shots of your boat at Capt Ron's. I'll try to get them posted later.

Kurt

thanks kurt

Im from miami and south florida and love boating in the keys, but theres just smthing about LOTO that I think is awesome...yes on the weekends its not for everyone especially in the heavy traffic areas, but during the week, the water is absolutely amazing...and ofcourse shootout weekend and holidays its crazy, but thats expected...when u tie up for the shootout and see miles of boats tied up together its amazing and the poeple are the friendliest...ive been 3 yrs in a row to the shootout and cant wait to go back next year!! I hope to try Havasu next year a nd see what that is all about as well!!

Regards,
Brendan