Note To Self: Don’t Do That Again

[TOXIC]

I met a buddy at the Potomac River one day.  We were launching from Leesylvania and going across the river to Mattawoman.  River is probable 3 miles wide where we put in.  He knows the river well so he didn’t even bring his electronics (we were in a NITRO 911).  Not far from shore we entered a thick fog bank.  As we idled, we heard other fishermen talking and even boats running on plane.  After about 45 minutes the fog was starting to clear and as we emerged…..we were right back at Leesylvania where we started! Currently, we do fish in the fog, it’s a constant on the hot side of lake Anna  due to the warmer water.  

[JackstrawIII]

I drove past Sacandaga yesterday… very foggy indeed. Glad you made it out ok. 
 

If you want a fishing buddy sometime next spring, let me know and I’ll drive out 👍🏻

[Woody B]

A few months ago I was on Lake Wylie in the worst fog I've ever been in.   It wasn't that foggy when I launched but the fog really thickened as the Sun came up.  There was a tournament.  The guys in the 60-70-80mph boats were idling around.  I was idling in an area of the lake I'm very familiar with needed my graph/gps to know which direction I was going.  

 

FWIW, I have a compass in my boat in case all the electronics fail.  

 

 

Edit:  I'm just going to add this instead of posting again.  When there's "weather" I run my Navigation and Anchor lights.   I was pleasantly surprised the foggy day I was talking about because most people had their lights on.   

[KSanford33]

17 hours ago, JackstrawIII said:

I drove past Sacandaga yesterday… very foggy indeed. Glad you made it out ok. 
 

If you want a fishing buddy sometime next spring, let me know and I’ll drive out 👍🏻

Definitely, that'd be fun!

[Bluebasser86]

Fog is very disorienting. I deal with very thick fog/steam each winter on the power plant lakes and even with GPS, it's unsettling. I think the worst of it is the guys with GPS that decide to just send it into the fog because they "trust their gps". Know what the GPS doesn't map? Other boats! I've had some pretty close calls with some idiots on the water so I've gone more to idling close to shore in shallow water where they're less likely to be running. 

[Tennessee Boy]

20 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Know what the GPS doesn't map? Other boats! I've had some pretty close calls with some idiots on the water so I've gone more to idling close to shore in shallow water where they're less likely to be running. 

They were doing it before GPS.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard boats running at high speed in fog I would go 10 MPH in.  In the 90s I was on Guntersville in a very thick fog and there were boats running everywhere.   When I got home there was a story on the news about 2 guys that died on Guntersville when they hit a causeway at high speed.  People are crazy.

[TnRiver46]

And guntersville is crazy 

[Dogface]

I have at least a compass if there is no GPS on my boats. I even had a hull-mounted compass on my sneak box I used for duck hunting. The areas where I hunt and fish experience a lot of fog or reduced visibility and I prepare for it. 

 

BTW GPS has spoiled me in a good way. 😉