I just talked to my son, and he was telling me about his last pro
tournament at Lake Mojave. The first day was great fishing, and he was
in eighth place and was excited about the second day, until he got to
the launch site...winds 40 mph, and rollers 6-8 feet. They made the
decision to go ahead with it. John was headed to his spot, really
fighting the waves, when he noticed another boat coming way too fast for
conditions. The next thing he saw was the boat nosing into a huge
roller, and the driver being thrown through the windshield and into the
water. He started looking for the guy, but the waves were so high he
couldn't spot him at first, then he caught sight of him and moved in to
pick him up. They guy was unconscious, face down, John finally got him
in his boat, he was bleeding badly. Then John went back to see how the
AA was doing, he found him in the boat in shock (thank God for kill
switches). John got them both back to the launch site, and they were air
flighted to a hospital. The pro had 3 broken ribs, a punctured lung and
severe facial cuts. The AA was o.k. after receiving local aid. John
decided to go ahead and continue the tournament, but fished close in to
the launch area...still ended up seventh for the tournament (John said
his AA was probably in shock too, didn't really get into the fishing
after all that had happened, I don't blame him!). John told me that a
lot of boats came in with damage....fishing is fun, but there is a time
to use your head! Be careful out there in the weather guys!
JK