From pontoons to kayaks and everything in between, boaters fine their place on the Mon and Tygart rivers

“I like to putz,” Sago said. “I have a pontoon boat. … We got away from going fast and tubing and kneeboarding to basically just cruising on a 21-foot pontoon boat. Our day is usually making a couple of trips up and down the river. … We just take in the sights and say hello to people. We might go to Palatine and down on the Mon (River) a little bit, then we’ll come back up river and dock. We like to put the anchor out and just sit and eat. We might read a magazine or talk or fish or swim, depending on who’s with us.”

Sago added that he now has a house right on the river, allowing him to hop on his boat and take it for a spin at a moment's notice. This, he said, is the peak of relaxation and bliss.

“It’s the solitude and getting away from the every day hustle and bustle,” Sago said. “It’s a calm way of life. It’s living in paradise, basically, when you have the weather that is conducive to boating. It’s a lot of fun. … Walking down to your boat is almost like walking down to the beach and then walking back from the beach to your house. We’re fortunate to have the place that we have. It’s just a good lifestyle. … It’s a lot of fun to get away from any of the other things that may be interfering in your lifestyle.”

Another boat lover, Kendra Payton, explained that boating life for her resembles one big party, and her and her family and friends take every chance they can get to visit the Tygart River.

"I love the river," Payton said. "We spend every weekend possible on the Tygart and I get bitter about having to attend weddings and what not during boating season. We are blessed to have such a beautiful resource here. My family spends so much time together on the river floating, fishing, drinking and eating. We even have floating beer pong."

Tygart Lake, too, is a popular destination for boaters. Misty Skarzinski said that she and her family have been boating on the lake since 2015, calling the location a hidden gem akin to their own private resort.

“It’s like our weekend getaway every weekend, and we don’t even have to leave,” Skarzinski said. “It’s a 40-minute drive from our home. … We just love it. It’s been like one big happy family up there, and it’s a wonderful place to spend summers. … There will forever be memories made.”

She encouraged everyone with the chance to visit Tygart Lake to do so at least once.

“You don’t have to go far to enjoy nature and what West Virginia has to offer,” Skarzinski said. “The beach is free there. It doesn’t cost anything, so a family could go there and go down on the beach and enjoy the lake all day, and it doesn’t cost a penny. It’s a little getaway, and it’s our little piece of heaven in West Virginia.”

With an increase in boating, though, comes an increase in the need for proper education on boating safety. Each year, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources encourages the state's boat-faring citizens to pay attention to the state's guidelines for rivers and other waterways.

“The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources really wants people to go out and enjoy the outdoors and enjoy recreational activities, but to do it in a safe and legal manner,” West Virginia DNR Police Officer Randall Kocsis said. “When it comes to operating watercraft, that includes keeping your vessel properly registered and keeping the required safety equipment.”

The summer brings along with it an increase in boat traffic along the waterways, as well, and Kocsis said that safe boating becomes even more imperative when one is sharing the water with others.

Kocsis said that while these rules may seem unnecessary to some, he knows from experience the value of having these life-saving materials at the ready if the worst case scenario happens.

“When an incident occurs, it’s going to happen just like that," Kocsis said. “We’re not on the Titanic. You’re not gong to have 2 1/2 hours to get ready for the inevitable sinking. I see this time and time again. Something happens just like that, and if people don’t have these (flotation devices) out and ready to go, then they’ve put themselves at a significant disadvantage.”

However, for those who put in the work to sure their boats are safe for the water, there's is a deep wealth of fun to be had, and not only just for those who like to take the boat out for a lazy stroll.

The Mon River especially has become a hotspot for another form of boating and water sports: fishing competitions. For the last several years, B.A.S.S. Nation of West Virginia has had a number of tournaments on the Mon, and Ken Hackworth, the organization's board president, said that there's no place in the state quite like the Monongahela River to get to good fishing.

“The reason we come back to the Mon boils down to four things: the fishability of the water, the quality of the fishery, the facilities and the access,” Hackworth said. “It’s all available to you on the Mon. … You’re right there. You don’t have to travel an hour off the interstate to fish. It’s a convenient place to fish and hold tournaments. The businesses up there want us there and want us spending our money there, and we enjoy it. …

“As far as the facilities go, what the (Marion) County Commission has done at Palatine Park is phenomenal. That (boat) launch is one of the best launches in the state. It’s perfect. You’ll not find a better designed boat launch than what that is. … It’s a phenomenal place. We’re really happy with the Mon.”

While many take their pontoons or speedboats out onto the rivers, kayaking is another favorite among some in the region. Around 2018, the Fairmont Flotilla was formed as a small group of friends who liked taking their kayaks out onto the Monongahela and Tygart rivers, among other locations.

Since then, the group has grown, and Bruce Slabaugh, a founding member of the Fairmont Flotilla known by his friends as "The Admiral", said that there isn't anything quite like taking his kayak out on the river with a group of friends.

“It gets you outside,” Slabaugh said. “It gets you good exercise. It’s a good way to get outside. If you’re on the river, it gives you a totally different perspective of your surroundings. There are places you can see in Fairmont (on the river) that maybe you can’t see from the road or you’re not paying any attention. …

“You see blue herrings and eagles and osprey and every other kind of bird, plus deer and beavers and birds and muskrats. You see all kinds of wildlife.”

Slabaugh said that one of the main things he enjoys about the Fairmont Flotilla is the companionship that comes alongside it, and he and his friends have been known to take their kayaks on the Mon even when the weather isn't exactly cooperating.

“Even in small groups, it’s very calming, paddling in the water,” Slabaugh said. “There are two or three of us who go out in any kind of weather. We didn’t get out in January, but were out in February, and had to chip the ice out at Palatine Park to get in the river.”

Whether it be a leisure cruise in a pontoon, an afternoon of fishing or floating down the Mon in kayaks with their friends, plenty of people enjoy the boating lifestyle, finding peace on the region's calming waters.

“There are no better people than river people,” Sago said. “They’re all friendly and they all help you out if you have boat problems. They’ll do whatever it takes.”