high wind fishing

[bandsr4me20]

What is the highest/fastest wind yall have fished in?  And waves?  Got to thinking about this today, and thought it might be interesting. maybe not....

[CHEVYRIDAZ]

Don't know about exact wind speeds but we have been out when waves come over and in my bass boat! SCARY STUFF MAN!!!

[tnhiker44]

Wind speeds not known... but the waves busted welded seams on an aluminum boat. Lake Okeechobee, land barely in sight (to the west only), ten plus miles to the ramp. When we got to the ramp at 11 am we were the last team to give up. I think it was Hurricane Elaina.

[Fishing Rhino]

Do my days of lobstering count?

If so, I've fished in days when the swells were over fifteen feet.  Seen days when I've been alongside draggers, and could only see the tops of their masts when we were both in the trough.

The absolute worst to fish in was when the wind and tide were fighting each other.  Created steep chops that made it all but impossible to fish.  Everything had to be tied down on deck.

Never went out into those conditions, but did finish hauling the gear in that stuff a few times.

There is a saying among fishermen (and others I s'pose),  "Heroes die young."

Gone out fifteen miles or more, only to turn around and head back to the dock before we got to the gear.

I'll fish in a lot of wind in my canoe, but do it along the lee shore, or on very small ponds.

[Jig Man]

Around here you can fish up to 30 on most lakes if you have a big T motor but it is not much fun. I fished one day with gusts to 50 but could not stay on the main lake and hated to move back to it heading for the ramp. That was a lesson learned.

A couple of my friends got caught out in a night T with a tornado that had clocked winds to over 100 mph.  They quickly became day fishermen.

[cart7t]

Wind gusts to 30-35mph.  Ridiculous.  I don't recommend.

As for waves?  Lake of the Ozarks fishing main lake points and docks on a summer weekend in the evenings.  Even at 7-9pm the rollers are running from 3-5 feet regularly and they come at you from different directions.  It's imperative that your back seat fishermen keep the guy at the front informed of rogue waves coming from the backside so the front guy can turn the boat in time

[done]

LOL 2 different answers.

I fished in 30 MPH winds with gust to 50 in a 14 ft jon on lake Wylie once....ONCE. The waves were not bad, I spent most of my time in the most sheltered coves but it was a miserable experience I would not repeat.

The largest waves were 10-15 ft in Lake Erie in my Uncles 21 ft Bayliner Trophy. Lake Erie has a nasty habit of going from calm to insane quick. That was one of those days, We were hitting Walleye like crazy, and next thing we new, we were pulling in all our lines, and going full throttle to the launch (20 miles out). I remember more than once we would come down the backside of one wave and the bow would go into the side of the next, had water coming over the top of the boat, bilge pumps running overtime. It was absolutely insane.

[fishfordollars]

Not sure of the wind speed(Probably 40+), but when you went down in the bottom of the swells you could see nothing but water around you. It ain't fun in any kind of boat.

[Catt]

Toledo Bend: mid-February blue northern while running to a weigh-in we took 8 footer over the bow, I found out how much water an 18' Champion will hold & still float.  

Gulf of Mexico: ever see the movie Perfect Strom; during a late July squall a 70' charter fishing boat became quite small.

Highest winds fished: with Jack (fishfordollars) Yates on Toledo Bend; sustained winds 30-35 & gust to ???

[Use ONLY Stren]

45mph, 2-3 foot swells in a thunderstorm, water coming into my BPS Pond Prowler with a 30lb thrust  minnkota. Needless to say I got out of there asap.  ;D

[SammyLee]

Late 70's, 16 foot Larson on the Santee/Cooper lakes.  The wind had been blowing from the NW all night at 20-25. At the ramp the waves looked 2-3 from the NW.  After launch the wave grew to 3-4 and ten minutes later I was in 3-5.  A big chopper crashed over the bow with a hundred gallons of green water. (My guess)  Water was calf deep everywhere.  In a sudden blast of God given inspiration, I hammered the throttle.  That water surged aft and over the transom, taking with it the rear seats and who knows what else.  Seeing a break from the big ones, I made a careful 180 and headed back to the safety of the ramp area.  Whew....

[Raul]

Fast wind and big waves don 't necessarily happen together, the fastest wind I 've fished lately were 40 MPH at Zimapám, man you practically stripped your reels clean of line when casting in the direction the wind was blowing  , but no big waves, on the other hand, at my everyday lake a small wind ( 10 mph ) turns it into something like a scene taken from the Perfect Storm film.  

[Danny1991]

I've fished in winds up to about 30mph gusts. as for waves the biggest havent come from the wind/weather but from other boats, I've had deck boats come by and when on top of the wave the T-motor comes out of the water and when you go down the waves come over the front deck with me. Not fun! >

[SammyLee]

Fast wind and big waves don 't necessarily happen together, the fastest wind I 've fished lately were 40 MPH at Zimapám, man you practically stripped your reels clean of line when casting in the direction the wind was blowing , but no big waves, on the other hand, at my everyday lake a small wind ( 10 mph ) turns it into something like a scene taken from the Perfect Storm film.

Your exactly right Raul.  Big waves come from wind, current and REACH, which is the distance the wind has to act on the surface of the water.  Santee Cooper is a BIG lake and with the wind blowing from the NW and me on SE shore, the reach was huge.  Likewise, with current moving one way, like an outgoing tide at Boynton beach inlet and a strong wind from the East.  Man, that'll put some tall, close waves right on you with a bottom begging to caress your boat.  I've never actually gone out at Boynton having turned around several times.  Lake Worth inlet was much safer.

[Raul]

Also depth, width and bottom contour of the lake has to do with it Sammy, for example, Zimapán is narrow ( canyon ) and very deep ( up to 600 ft ) while my everyday lake is "flat" and shallow ( 45 ft at the deepest part and when full pool ). Can become a roller coaster ride in a second.  

[SirSnookalot]

ike an outgoing tide at Boynton beach inlet and a strong wind from the East.  Man, that'll put some tall, close waves right

I fish the Boynton inlet daily, FYI it is not a real inlet, it's man made and your insurance company will most likely not cover you. Winter winds are from the east and many times strong enough to delay the tide change.  Ground swell plays a major part in wave height as well as the wind, but an opposing wind is usually calmer seas

Gone out that inlet lots of times and it is rough.

I love fishing 20-30 mph winds there, big surf and big fish.