(John Kerr) wrote in message ...
.....fishing is fun, but there is a time
to use your head! Be careful out there in the weather guys!
JK


John,
This is great advise. I have seen horrors on Lake Erie, usually
from some hot shot anglers who have never been on the big water and
take it for granted. In the last year I have witnessed 3 anglers
life-flighted off the launch ramp. One from an event very similar to
what your son experienced, another from an AA who became paralyzed
from hitting a big wave at excessive speed and another from a hull
splitting and causing both the pro and AA to enter the water, causing
hypothermia. Rough water is to be respected. This is the exact reason
why I have not offered to have a Lake Erie ROFB tournament. The
weather is too unpredictable and the water can be very dangerous
(Right Steve?).
I have 15 years experience navigating Lake Erie and last year I
got caught up in the tournament hype and it almost cost me because I
didn't use my head. I was really catching them on the Canadian
shoreline the day before the tourny and it wasn't too rough. Where we
launch in the Sandusky Bay makes the run to this spot about 30-35
miles. The first 30 miles were o.k., about 4-6 ft waves which are
common on LE, but after coming out of the lee of Pelee Island, it was
really rockin', easily 8-10 fters, maybe more. I was less than 2 miles
from the honey hole and tried to continue on. After about another
mile, I realised that it was WAY too rough and tried to turn, filling
the boat up to the top with water (this is pretty common up here too).
I new that I needed to get both bilge pumps going and keep the boat
moving. It took over 2 hours to get back to the lee of Pelee Island
and calmer water. I had just wasted over 5 hours of tournament time,
needing another 1 1/2 hours to get back, leaving only 1 1/2 hours to
get on the fish. But the biggest blunder was putting my AA in a very
bad situation. It was the first time I have ever been truely scared on
LE and I regret every minute!
Remember, there will always be another day if you use your head.