Lessons learned

[Mobasser]

Almost 30yrs ago, I was invited by a friend to fish a tournament on Truman lake here in Missouri. My friend worked in the HVAC field, and his company hosted this event each year. Between his company and another HVAC outfit, 35 anglers were fishing in a 2 day event. It was mid April, a time when we can have some bad storms come through Missouri. The first day was slow. We had trouble catching any keeper fish, and only brought in 1 bass between us. Other anglers didn't fair well either, due to a cold front the night before. The second day started out more promising. Overcast sky, humid spring weather. We caught bass on jig/ pig combos. We still needed 3 bass to fill our limit, and we're hoping for a big fish also. A storm had been predicted for late afternoon, and we were to be at Bucksaw Point marina by 2:00, for the weigh in. We found fish at the mouth of a cove, all the while the sky looking more threatening. My partner put on a spinnerbait, and caught a 4lb bass. I was throwing a chrome 1/2 oz rattletrap. The closer the clouds came , the better the fish hit. It was some of the fastest fishing I've ever had. It kept getting darker. A crappie fisherman who was fishing in some trees not far from us hollered" you guys staying out"? We said yes, we'll leave shortly. He fired up his motor and took off. It started raining lightly at first, then harder. I said we better get going! We jumped in the seats, and the storm was on us. We still had to go clear across the main lake to get back in. Large waves smashed into the boat. Two times the boat went vertical, smashing down on the water with a loud crashing sound. Basically, my partner had no control of the boat. We were at the mercy of the weather. At one point, a large log which had been washed in from the storm, smacked the side of the boat so hard I thought it would knock us over. By the time we made it back to the marina, the worst of it was past, and it was raining lightly. Everyone else was there already. They couldn't believe we made it back. I was soaking wet, cold, and exhausted. I had lost a nice rod and reel that went overboard, and, a cheap BPS fishing cap. At that point, I didn't care about my rod/reel, cap, money, fish, or anything else. I realized we were lucky to be alive. We did take 4rth place in the tournament. I received a small 6" trophy, and 50 dollars. The 50 bucks went to help with gas money, and a couple of burgers on the way home. I still have the trophy. It's a reminder to be safe out there, and to never put myself, or anyone else in that position again. It doesn't matter how good the fish are hitting. There's always another day.

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Sounds like you should've stayed and fished that spot out through the storm. ?

[A-Jay]

Glad you guys were OK ~ 

This story plays out thousands of times every year up & down the east & west coast, for the entire length of the Mississippi River, on all the Great Lakes and Every lake, river & reservoir, bay & back water big enough for a ship, skiff, boat, kayak or canoe.

Most get to retell their big pucker factor story, some do not.

Despite my professional experience, or perhaps in spite of it, I would be lying if I said I haven't had one or two self-inflicted deals that sounded a lot like the one above.

Bottom line - Macho can be a bad decision.

Better safe than sorry rarely is.

Stay Safe out there and Thank You for the Reminder.

A-Jay

 

 

[Koz]

Thankfully I've never been caught out on the ocean or a lake during a storm. One time when we were fishing Lake Murray it was close and managed to get back to the dock about 20 minutes before the storm hit.

 

We were tent camping on the lake and rather then huddle up in the tent we went to a nearby bait shop / pizza place. We went back to the campground after the storm and saw a few tents that had been blown out into the lake. Luckily, none of them was ours.

 

 

[WRB]

Our terrian has lots of high mountains so it isn't possible to see approaching storms and rely on the weather forecast knowing high wind and thunderstorms are extremely dangerous.

It wasn't until fishing off shore ocean using radar and seeing the horizon with approaching storms that I understood how fast things change when the terrian is flat.

When fishing Lake of the Woods in Canada the terrian is hilly but not mountainous and you could see approaching storms. My father inlaw was a pilot and new the local weather patterns well. He pointed out a approaching storm that has green streaks in the dark clouds and said we need to run to the shore now! We made in and he flipped the boat over so we could get under it as golf ball size hail pounded us for about half hour. The storm passed and we back out on the water headed back.

Be safe!

Tom

 

[Columbia Craw]

My ego ends when the waves get big.  

[TnRiver46]

Never go fast enough to rocket your boat out of the water during a storm haha. Take it easy to the nearest safe spot 

[Tennessee Boy]

Yeah,  I think we've all been there.  I was headed for a weight in on Guntersville one time with some nice fish in the live well when a bad storm blew up.  We were about 3 miles from the weight in and were passing a marina that would be our last opportunity to take cover.  I ask my partner if he thought we should risk it or take cover.  He said he was willing to risk it if I was.  I said let's go for it.  About a two seconds later, a bolt of lightning struck very close to us.  That boat turned immediately and we headed for cover without any further discussion.  Our fish did not get weighted that day. 

[Fishes in trees]

So you made it back in time and didn't get disqualified for being late?  Strong . . . . What some guys will do fo $50.  I probably would have pulled in at State Park Marina or Long Shoal and waited out the storm, but I'm a wuss and not a great boat driver.   In the 80's there was alot more debris in the water than there is now - and there is quite a bit now.

[Log Catcher]

My brother and I got caught in a storm when we were about 10 miles from the boat ramp. Found out after we got home they had a tornado warning for the area we were in. Got caught another time when we were only about a mile from the ramp. It rained really hard and lightning was hitting about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away from us. We had to ride out both storms where we were since there was no place to go for shelter.

[Sam]

Fishing a tournament on Lake Gaston when we decided to head across the lake from Sixpound Creek to Poplar Creek in order to beat the approaching storm.

 

We exited Sixpound Creek into the main lake and I just held on and closed my eyes due to the rain stinging my face as my friend, who was the boater, took us across the lake in his old Cajun bass boat.

 

The wind was pushing us across the lake so fast we made it in about three minutes. I opened my eyes as we entered Poplar Creek and could not believe we made it so fast.

 

I learned that you can't beat Mother Nature and if you see storm clouds approaching, hear thunder, see lightning, or note bad weather on your iPhone Weather Radar app you head for cover.

[OCdockskipper]

On Monday when I was out, the wind kicked up and blew a leaf onto my casting deck. 

 

I know that story sucks compared to all y'alls, but with our lack of weather, that is about as dangerous as it gets around here.

 

Wait, here is one that could have been dangerous.  Back in June of 1992, a pair of acquaintances of mine were fishing Big Bear Lake in Southern California (WRB used to fish this lake in his youth, but I digress).  They were on a boat, in an area where the depthfinder (the old flasher style) read 55 feet.  All of a sudden they heard all of the pine trees on the shore rustling, with dust kicking off of them.  It took a few moments to realize that what they were seeing was an earthquake, for they weren't really moving, but stuff on the shore was.  It was a fairly big quake (6.5), caused quite a bit of damage.  After it settled down, they were kind of stunned, looking around when they noticed a lake ranger headed full speed up the lake, away from the dam.  They thought that was odd and one of them glanced at the depth finder, which now read 40 ft.  They continued to watch the depthfinder as it changed, 35 ft, 30 ft.  "The dam collapsed, the lake is draining!!" one of them yelled as the depth continued to lessen.  Panicked, they didn't start the engine and instead just grabbed the sides of the boat for support as the depth reached 20 ft., 15 ft.  They braced for impact with the lake bottom when suddenly, instead of finding themselves beached, they saw the entire lake start bubbling.  

 

What had happened was the earthquake had shaken years of sediment and gasses loose from the bottom of the lake.  As they rose from the bottom, the depthfinder misinterpreted them as the lake bottom.  Once the two realized what had happened, they both bust a gut laughing at their reaction.  Of course, they quickly went back to the Marina just in case the dam was going to collapse (it didn't).

[N Florida Mike]

^^^Wow.

 

Five of us went fishing on Fourth of July to a remote lake in N . Florida with 2 boats. Dark clouds began to appear to the northwest. A few rumbles of thunder. We had time to make it to the ramp, which was a couple miles to the southeast. We ran down to the ramp but idled there and had a debate about what to do. It looked like it would pass by well to the north. So we decided to go over to the far southwest side of the lake and keep fishing. Suddenly a flash and roll of thunder alerted us to another storm that had come up from the south . It literally wasn’t there when we left the ramp area , and came up 10 minutes after we made it to the new spot.

For an hour it was one lightning strike after another and rained as hard as Ive ever seen. All we could do was pull in under some cypress trees and hunker down. The water in the boats got so deep everything was floating around. 
We had a fervent prayer meeting to occupy our time. ? 

[Way north bass guy]

Up here there’s a lot of big boathouses on most of the larger lakes, and a few times while in a tournament I’ve pulled up and tied off to someone’s dock, or even pulled into the boathouse If the slip is open, and waited it out under cover. You will never, ever catch me out on the open water in a lightening storm, it’s just not worth a few fish. 

[Bankbeater]

Last June I was chased off the water twice by thunderstorms.  Back in July I had a thunderstorm form over me, but by the time it was strong enough to do anything, it had moved past my location.

[Fairtax4me]

Been learned a few times. Haven’t learned yet!  

 

Feb 25 2017 I was bank fishing a local reservoir. It was a warm day, mid 70s partly cloudy, and from what I remember a “chance of rain”. 
 

A little after noon I was almost a 2 mile hike around to the far end of the lake out on a long point. The point drops off to very deep water at the end, and at the time was not a heavily fished spot, but was still accessible through the briars and locust trees if you made the effort. 
 

That’s when I heard the first rumble. Maybe it was a truck? 
A few minutes later I hear it again. There’s a mountain behind me to the southwest, where the rumble came from, so I can’t see anything in the sky beyond that. Try to check the local radar on the weather app and of course, I have no signal. 
 

Decide I should probably heed warning and head for the parking lot. At best this would be a 35 minute walk, but I have gear, rods, there’s several downed trees I have to jump over, and the trail back to the parking lot is not exactly a direct walk around and over two mountain ridges. 
 

Thunder keeps getting louder, and now I can see over the trees the dark clouds are moving in... fast! The wind starts picking up, and I’m less than halfway and now in the woods. Tree tops start whipping in the wind, there’s lighting getting closer, and now the rain starts to fall. Light at first, but cold, and I don’t have my rain jacket, because I wasn’t “expecting rain”. 

Im hustling at this point, but you can only move so fast on a leaf covered trail in the woods, with 3 rods and a backpack, and things getting wet, and trying to keep an eye up for falling tree limbs. The wind is whipping now, and the rain is picking up. I make it to the emergency spillway where I can see out across the lake, and the wall of heaviest rain is not far behind me and moving my direction! Another 3 minutes I’m through the last section of woods and out into the open crossing the long dam to get to the parking area on the other side. The rain is driving Hard at this point, and winds are probably 30-40mph gusts. I’m soaked from head to foot, and then I start to hear clicking on the gravel, and feel the sting of suddenly MUCH colder rain. Hail starts pelting me in the shoulder, arms, back of my legs, and neck. Not large hail thankfully, but pea sized and a few stones up to about the size of dimes. I’m in the middle of nothing, nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, so I put my hand over my hat to keep it from blowing away and keep on trucking. I’m about 300 yards from my car at this point, I just wanna get there. 
 

The rain is Freezing cold, it’s a complete deluge, wind is whipping tree tops every direction. I make it to the car and drop all my gear on the ground and just hop in and shut the door. Start the car and turn the heat on because I’m shivering, despite the 2 mile marathon I just ran. It’s now 1:20, and I have a stack of paper napkins in the glove compartment I’m using to dry off my hand and my phone to take this picture.

The rain continues for another 15-20 minutes, and finally eases off so I can get out, shake off my gear and get it put away in the car. I strip down to my boxer shorts and drive home to get a hot shower and then spread out all the fishing gear from my backpack to let it dry. I caught one bass. It was worth it!

 

[N Florida Mike]

One time when I was 16-17 years old, I got caught at the other end of the lake by a severe thunderstorm . One of the few times I ever saw white caps on this lake .There was nowhere to go . So I jumped in the shallow water, turned my little boat over, held my small amount of gear in one hand,and slowly made my way toward the way out, of course staying where It wasn’t Too deep and I could walk the boat. I couldn’t see where I was  going , but it was kind of fun. Lightning cracking all around. Was not ‘skeered. Made it home.

I realized later that a metal Jon boat is not the thing to protect yourself with in a lightning storm. ?

I should have listened better in science class, no doubt!

All I can say is, it just wasn’t my time.

[NorthStar]

Lightning hit the boat house on Lake Vermillion that we were using as shelter.  I heard click, click, pop, boom and watched sparks fly out of all the electrical outlets.  Thats about close enough for me.  

[GreenPig]

Fishing one night with a friend in his 18' boat, we had a storm ease up on us. It got pretty rough very quick so we tied off to the only dock(no roof) we could locate. We were sitting there both realizing we needed better rainsuits, when the home owner that had apparently looked out the window and spotted our poor wet rumps flashed a flashlight at us. We made our way up to the house and waited out the storm on the covered porch. Roughly 20 minutes later the storm abated, we thanked those folks and headed back down to continue fishing. The boat was 1" shy of being completely full of water. We knew it was raining hard but to almost sink his so quickly was a shock. He installed a auto bilge pump before our next excursion. 

[schplurg]

Went fishing Sunday with a friend. Set out to do some bank fishing.

 

I had a back spasm after walking a 1.5 miles around the lake. Ended up on my back after about 10 casts. I was simply walking on almost flat ground when it hit. Didn't bend over or do anything - just instant pain. I do have back issues, not serious.

 

My friend carried my backpack and I hobbled back. I'm lucky I was able to do so.

 

That made me think a lot about getting injured. There are Mountain Lions out there, not a good place to spend the night. Spotty phone signal.

 

I usually, but not always, tell someone where I'm going. I will now every time. I'll carry my kayak whistle I think, someone would hear me most places I fish. Maybe a mini air horn for animals. Dunno about that, but my friend carries one.

 

And I should have stretched. Went straight from bed to the truck to the lake.

 

Gotta be prepared. My back still hurts but it'll heal.

[Ogandrews]

Worst I have ever been in was a storm while musky fishing on lake vermilion in northern mn. I knew a storm was rolling in but I thought it looked small so I headed out to a shallow rock reef in the middle of one of the biggest basins of the lake. By the time I got there the wind had started to pick up to 20-30 mph, but me being hardheaded I decided to try and fish the wind blown side of the reef. Weather started to get worse and worse, and I started to realize that the whitecaps were getting 4ft or higher, and that my trolling motor couldn’t keep me off the reef. Had 2 waves in a row go completely over the bow of the boat so I panicked and started the motor just to realize that the wind had pushed me straight on top of the reef, and with the passing of every wave my motor was hitting the rocks. Water temp was 45 and all I could think about was hitting one of those rocks just wrong and sinking my dads brand new ranger. Ended up getting incredibly lucky and was blown right off the reef and made the 30 min boat ride back home through one of the worst storms I have experienced in my life. I take storms a little bit more seriously now

[Topher89]

A few years ago on Lake Harding (Alabama) my fishing buddy and I noticed some clouds and decided to fish anyways.  We get about 2 miles from the boat ramp and started skipping docks.  Well it started raining no lighting no thunder just rain. So of course we continued fishing.  Well the wind starts picking up.  My buddy says "where is everyone going in a hurry?" I look up and boats flying everywhere.  One guy is waving his arms at us pointing back... I decided lets leave. We still had no clue what was going on.  I thought maybe a school of frankein fish were attacking.  Well we get back to the ramp load up.  Instead of people standing around talking everyone was leaving.  I get to my phone and my dad has called 20 plus times.  I call him back after getting yelled at for not having my phone. He told me a tornado was near the lake.  We were very fortunate that day God kept our ignorant butts safe. 

[BassNJake]

On my very first trip to Lake Erie, there was a slight North wind.

The forecast was calling for a south wind.

We bounced around getting further and further off shore.

The further we went the better the fishing was but it was also getting windier and coming from the North.

We are about 5 miles out and we're catching them one after another 

We look around and none of the other boats that were around were still there

Now that North Wind from Canada was really rolling

 

As we limped toward shore, I was looking straight up at the sky and then directly down at the water, the waves crashed over the bow as we went back to looking at the sky and then back to getting soaked, rinse and repeat for 5 miles

I am very fortunate the person I was with was such a skilled driver

 

I was amazed how in a short time the small rollers turned into 6 footers

Thanks a lot Canada.

 

We did have a helicopter do a fly by, they take on the water shots and you can go to their website to buy them

 

The guy I was with won a BASS weekend series event about 3 months later fishing the spots we found that day

So it had a great ending to what was the second scariest boat ride I ever had

 

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, BassNJake said:

I was amazed how in a short time the small rollers turned into 6 footers

Erie is relatively shallow, and you don't have a lot of time to react when the wind kicks things up.  On Ontario, you have a better than an hour or so to react, usually.  Erie, 20 minutes tops.  If I see any white on the surface of a wave, whether it's 2 inches or 2 feet, I'm out.

[Smalls]

The second, maybe third time the wife and I took our kayaks out got really sketchy, really fast. 

 

Supposed to be a beautiful day, sunny and and only 3-4 mph east winds. The launch is on the west side of the lake, and we paddled out towards the opposite side and started fishing. We're out maybe a mile and a half from the ramp. 

 

Let me tell you about NM winds- whatever the forecaster says is a lie, he has no clue, and that wind comes fast and brutal. 

 

Within 10 minutes of fishing I noticed the wind shift. Another 20 minutes and it starts picking up just a little bit. I didn't wanna make my wife paddle that far in a strong headwind, so we start paddling back.

 

We're in no rush, just paddling comfortably. The wind is constantly picking up, and the so is the chop. About 3/4 mile from launch we come out from behind a bluff wall to the main lake, and it's like we got sucker punched. An almost 35 mph west wind hit us in the face. 

 

There's literally nowhere close to beach, so we have no choice but to continue on. I watched my wife do the "moon walk" for a solid 5 minutes, where she would paddle forward, but go backwards ?. I paddled over to her and reminded her she needs to paddle correctly if she wants to see land this week, and we started making progress. 

 

I couldn't even tell you how long it took us to get back. Felt like half a day. We were so exhausted, we ended up napping right there in our vehicle once we finally got back. 

 

I grew up on St Clair in Detroit, so I'm used to that kinda weather just appearing out of nowhere. But being new to kayaking, it scared the hell out of me. I watch the wind pattern the entire week before going out to that lake, now.