Leason Learned

[LostAnotherOne]

I will tell you after what happened a few weeks ago I will probably not forget. I will fishing in Little Lake(just off of Georgian Bay) and I almost lost my boat. The winds were there, but nothing there to scare me. I was out in the middle of the lake when my fish finder started going off like nothing before. There were fish everywhere. I made two passes and then while I was going up on my third I hit two big waves and sent a crap load of water in my 14 foot boat. If there was say 5 or 10 big waves like that I would of capesized. For the next three hours I stood behind a big island where it was a lot calmer before I went home. Before I head up north for the day I usually just check to see if there is going to be any rain, but now checking the wind is a lot more important. When I got home I went on the Weather Network and found out the wind gusts were at 45km/hr. It was a leason learned to respect the water cause it could of cost me my life. Thanks

 

[i2cool2fool]

I am glad to hear you learned the lesson and are here to share it with others. I always check the forecast including the wind.

My lesson from this summer was don't underestimate the wake of a commercial fishing boat. I was out perching in Erie when a commercial fishing boat passed us several hundred feet away. Not paying enough attention, it was an interesting moment when the wake met my stern. Thankfully I took no water but was caught off guard and surprised. Not next time.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[grubman]

Hey Lost

Glad you're ok. It could have been game over for you. If you normally fish in GB, I suggest you get a weather radio with an alert to it. They don't cost too much $30-40 or less but worth it. Leave it on all the time you are out there and don't forget the extra batteries.

I've placed my life at risk more then once and later realized how dumb that was. We both have to think before we fish.....lol. I sure hope you had your PFD on at the time?

Cheers

 

[AaronKrick]

Glad you learned a lesson. All i've got is a canoe, so i don't go out in more than 20km wind. The weather network is a great source. As grub said, a radio might be good, but only necessary if you're fishing big water often.

Glad you're okay!

 

[TRINIBOY]

Wind is one thing to check but I also rely on the chop factor for the body of water. There are some good marine forcast link on the net that's what I use to determine if its safe to go out. 1-3 meter chop and its a day m staying home. It's easy to be caught off guard what Grub and catfish recommends both hold water and should be a good scource to check, i just find the marine forcast more dependable for boating. Be safe dude no fish is worth risking your life for and always have your PFD on, you never know when you'll need it, could make the difference in you coming back breathing or just coming back. Sorry don't mean to sound morbid or anything.

 

[[email protected]]

up that way wind direction is more important than wind speed. for example, on GB you're going to be relatively protected due to land from a south, and east wind, just fish a little closer to shore, this is assuming you're launching from the east or south side of the bay. a north wind is going to be bad, it has the entire length of the lake to build up wave energy. i've fished 45km north winds on northern lake huron and had very successful days, but im in a 21ft boat, a 14ft boat would be dam scarey

 

[Joel52]

On windy or "big" water, I'm always wearing a life jacket. Worth investing in a comfortable good quality - Mustang Survival was my choice for that.
http://www.mustangsurvival.com/recreational/mv5901?division=recreation&country=23