They Could Have Been Killed On Erie!

[Bankbeater]

The great lakes are inland seas.  There is no way I am getting on one of those lakes in a bass boat.

[Sam]

Did you guys hear or read that Day 2 of the BASS tournament on Lake Erie cancelled today's day due to 25+MPH winds and 5-7 high waves?

 

Ike is in the lead and everyone will fish on Saturday.

 

Wouldn't you think the BASS and FLW people would pull their heads out of their fannies and not fish those Great Lakes?  There are so many other places to fish without putting the guys and gals in peril.

[J Francho]

 

Wouldn't you think the BASS and FLW people would pull their heads out of their fannies and not fish those Great Lakes?

 

Please, it's some of the best fishing in the Northeast, if not the country.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Any lake is dangerous Sam.

 

I can recall crossing Kentucky Lake a few years ago at the mouth of Blood River. S to N wind blowing right up the lake. I wouldnt want to venture a guess as to the size of the waves but it takes a lot to freak me out and I was freaking out.

 

They might just have to allow time to safely get back or they can chance it. Play ball!

[MarkH024]

The great lakes are inland seas.  There is no way I am getting on one of those lakes in a bass boat.

My father in law has a 38' Sea Ray in Burnham Harbor-Chicago. Even on a boat that size in 3-5 footers gets dicey really fast.

 

I was on an inland lake 7,500 acres in size on my 17.5' Ranger and got caught up in 2-3' waves. Scared the hell out of me.  And that is a small lake in the grand scheme of things.    

 

The Great Lakes are amazing but unforgiving. I agree with John, some of the best fishing in the upper US for multi species.  I think Dwights catches on Erie speaks for itself in the bass category. 

[J Francho]

Do a search for "Burnie Haney" - he's documenting some truly remarkable catches in the Eastern Basin and Bays of Lake Ontario that aren't quite Dwight material, but pretty darn close.  Remarkable really, for a smallmouth fishery that was considered toast.  Check his youtube videos and PDF reports. 

 

Going out in Ontario and Erie isn't dangerous.  You MUST pay attention to the weather systems, not only in your planning, but through out the day.  If there is something approaching, assume it's coming directly at you, and get back to harbor.  I think of it the same as I did when kayak fishing - read the wind and waves, and have an exit strategy planned before you shove off. Probably about the farthest I travel from any safe harbor is about 10 miles, and even then, I'm rarely more than 2 miles off shore.  10 miles may sound far, but really, that's only a 10 minute run in calm seas.  In rough seas, maybe a half hour. 

 

I will say this, Lake Ontario is deeper, and barring sudden, extreme winds, takes some time to get kicked up. Erie, the minute I see foam on the tops of waves, I'm headed back to the Buffalo boat harbor. 

[wnybassman]

A buddy was out yesterday prefishing for our club tournament out there tomorrow.   Took a wave a little too hard.

 

[Sam]

Please, it's some of the best fishing in the Northeast, if not the country.

 

Yes, J, if you live through it!

[J Francho]

If you want to fish the Great Lakes, you pick your days. By not fishing today, the pros picked their day.

[Sam]

Hope Ike can hold on and win the event. He needs a win.

[mddrew88]

This isn't really related to the story on Eerie, just one of my own scary accounts.

 

When I was about 12 I went bass fishing with my parents and brother on a local lake here in Texas. We had a 16' bass boat, not ideal for wicked conditions let's say that. We fished until we started to see a weather system coming overhead and decided to pack it up. Motor wouldn't start, we were stranded dead center of the lake. Rain, heavy winds and waves start to come while we all got more and more nervous. After a while my parents started to freak out and made both me and my brother turn away from the storm and watch for boats. 

 

What they didn't tell us was that a tornado has touched down on the lake becoming a water spout. We would have been really SOL had someone not come to our rescue and tugged us back to the ramp. How he got us back in those waves we still don't know.

 

Anyways that's my fish story of the day.  

[gravestone]

The guy told me he had never used drift sock.  I wonder if the sock played a role in the disaster as you guys wrote. Very interesting.

If he had the driftsock tied to the back of the boat it's highly likely. Growing up on Longisland and fishing the LI Sound and ocean it was common to hear of boats sinking cause they anchored off the stern.

[Ohio Dave]

I love Erie: its a wonderful,  challenging place to fish for sure:  but you just have to respect her:  storms come up fast and mean

everyone who is out has stories to tell of how fast this lake can be turned on its ear in a heart beat

 

I got to see six water spouts form as a massive thunderstorm grew right in front of us while taking a class at Stone Lab (Ohio State's Erie research station) on South Bass Island (actually a tiny island just inside put-in bay) 

 

I worked the radio reporting the spouts and their directions while the captain gave me a crash course in operating the big boat and how to keep her safe if something happened to him in the storm.  the forecast by the way was for a 20 chance of a passing shower.  That was before doppler radar was common and no cell phones yet either LOL

 

the bigger bass boats are safe on Erie but you must know the weather and know how to handle the waves