Sunday I was on the lake and trolling along and thought I saw two beavers/otters bobbing in the water - but as I got closer I saw that it was a big log/branch bobbing in the water (part of it out of the water part of it submerged well under the water) - I thought I might be able to pull it out of the water and on to the boat - I tried but it was slippery, waterlogged, very heavy, over 12 feet in length and some real girth to it - there were tons of boats  and PWC's on the lake and I was surprised no one had hit it - it was certainly a hazard and would damage a prop/boat/PWC - I tried multiple times to get a tow rope around it and it kept slipping out and sinking into the water before bobbing back up - yet I did finally succeed in securing it so I could tow it behind the boat - I got it as shallow as I could and got about half of it up on a steep bank yet that was the best I could do (I hope it stays out of the water).

My questions are - What is the proper protocol with something like this ? What would you do ?

Me nothing, because we get hundreds of them coming down the James River arm of Table Rock Lake every time we get a big rain.

Sounds like you did what you could @WaskaCrank12.

Sometimes alerting lake authorities/marina officials will result in them removing it.  You did the best you could - I assume everyone out there knows the risks that come with putting yourself in nature.  There's always random logs and stuff floating around in the lakes I fish.

You did good.. you probably saved someone a major headache or worse. 👍

Large lake with a lot of boat traffic, someone would have likely hit it.

You did the right thing.

 

 

You went above and beyond, a few hundred of them go

by my house daily. I just ramp over them like evil kinevil 

You did the right thing.  The other thing that you could have done is tie some sort of marker like an empty gallon jug to it.  Something people would see and avoid.

There are several Facebook groups I belong to for various lakes around Southwest Louisiana/Southeast Texas. The members will post where they've noticed floaters, lost boats, tackle left at ramps, & even where they're broke down at.

 

These groups are well ran like here & are extremely helpful.

You did your good deed for the day. You can’t be the eyes for every boat out there. People need to pay careful attention when operating watercraft