RedactedNarrative: On 06/01/2019 at approximately 6:15am, a boating incident occurred on lake wylie in the area of copperhead island. The incident involved two bass fishing vessels inside of a marked no wake zone.  Vessel one was a 21-foot triton owned by operator1.  Vessel two was a 20-foot javelin owned by operator2.  Operator1 was fishing at the bow of vessel 1 when vessel two struck it on the right-side causing property damage to his vessel. 
  
  Operator1 was fishing in a bass tournament and had stopped to fish a point inside of the no wake zone at mcdowell park/copperhead island.  He was standing at the bow of his vessel operating the trolling motor and fishing.  He stated that he saw another bass boat further into the cove also fishing.  Operator1 had been there approximately five minutes when he noticed the other vessel coming out of the cove using its outboard motor.  He then noticed that the other vessel's bow was up and was coming right for his vessel.  He attempted to use the trolling motor to avoid a collision but was unable to do so.  Vessel number two struck vessel number one on the right side in the area of the operator's position.  The impact caused significant fiberglass damage, damaged both consoles, broke the steering wheel, and tore the operator's chair from its mount in the floor. 
  
  Operator2 stated that he was fishing for pleasure inside the no wake zone.  He stated that he had saw the other vessel while he was fishing.  He decided to move to another area.  He stated that when he started his outboard motor and “gunned it”, he noticed that his bow went up and that his outboard motor was trimmed up.  He stated that he was focused on getting the motor trimmed down and not where he was going.  He stated that he knew he was in a no wake zone.  After the collision, operator2 put his boat in reverse and was able to get his vessel off vessel number one.  There was no damage to vessel number two.  There was only a contact mark on the keel of the vessel approximately 48 inches from the point of the bow.  The mark was able to be removed by hand and the location of the contact mark indicates that the bow of vessel number two was up at the point of contact.  This evidence corroborates both operators' accounts of the incident.  Operator2 exchanged information with operator1.  Operator1 continued to fish in the tournament and law enforcement was not notified until approximately 4:00pm. 
  
  It is apparent that vessel number two failed to give way to vessel number one as the overtaking vessel.  Operator2 admittedly was operating without proper lookout and not paying attention to where he was going.  He also was operating at greater than no wake speed inside a marked no wake zone.  As a result, operator2 was issued citations for both careless/negligent operation and a no wake zone infraction. 
  
  No witnesses were present at the time of the incident. 
  
  No persons were injured during this incident.
  
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