Largest inland water waves seen/experienced !!!

[MuskieSlayer]

Here is a good link to calculate wave height based on wind speed, depth, and fetch (distance traveled by the wave).

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/staffpages/csherwood/sedx_equations/RunSPMWave.html

To convert your units into metric, go to:

http://www.digitaldutch.com/unitconverter/

I'm in agreement with many here that there may be just a little bit of exaggeration on wave heights (Besides the Superior and Bering Sea posts). Take an estimate of a stretch of open water on Mille Lacs (let's say 33ft deep over 20 miles, omitting reefs, etc. which would reduce wave height), you would need almost 74mph sustained winds across the long part of the lake to produce 10 footers. And at some point the wind will overpower the wave and the wave will break. I know they look big, but the physics don't lie. And yes, that is the height from the trough to the crest.

[eyehead]

Would have to be last summer on Mille lacs. We went out to try and catch a musky after dark. There were prolly 4-5ft rollers and we got beached twice on the weathwood access. It was october and it was freezing a#$ cold out. So everytime we got beached my bro had to rollup his pants, take one for the team and push us out . Wish I would of had a video camera to replay it all.But the biggest rollers ive seen on a lake besides the great lakes was defienitly a couple years ago when we were duck hunting in Devil's Lake. The wave's were pretty much going over the road it was crazy.

[prov1900]

Anyone else's heart pounding when you read these stories? I posted once on this, but here is the story that explains my racing heart. In 2004, we were staying on Kabetogama in September. Me, wife, dog, and infant son. Woke up in the morning and the waves were probably in the three foot category. Wasn't horrible, but waited to go fishing. Weather didn't mention much about wind. By noon, the waves had seemingly doubled in height and my boat started to take a pounding. Went down to the dock to try to "re-secure" it as some ropes busted. By this time the reported 70 mph straight line winds hit. I was doing all I could to stay on dock just to tie the boat, along with the fact that it was pouring rain. My wife came down to help, but nearly fell in the water. Told her to get back to the cabin. The resort owner came down to help and he was literally swept off the dock into the lake by a wave. We got the boat tied down and got the heck back to the cabin. It was a very long day as the winds didn't die down till after midnight. It was very humbling and sickening to watch the wind pound the heck out of the boat. I really thought that the next morning the boat would either be washed up on shore or just plain gone. The cleats were bent upward if that tells you anything, but the ropes/knots held. I sustained 7K worth of damage. The docks were trashed. On the bright side, it did get me a new boat! Learned that a weather radio is extremely important. Now I monitor that thing really closely and if there is a hint of big wind, I get pretty skittish and either get back home and/or get the boat off the lake period. I couldn't imagine having my family out in that stuff. If we would have been out on the lake when that hit, it would have been a really, really bad deal. Best case we could have took shelter somewhere, but in the pouring rain and cold nights it would have been a long one. I also learned that I pack my boat with the necessary gear to survive something like that if need be. This is a great thread by the way.

[mille lacs muskie bum]

I have bobber fished in honest to god 8-10 footers on mille lacs. also i was coming off the lake with my pontoon and swamped the whole front of the boat.

[knoppers]

lake superoir

[Bobb-o]

anyone else thinking aboot the edmund fitzgerald song while reading these?

[Smeds]

Lac Seul last June. We had run from Lac Seul lodge about 25 miles in two boats to fish Sunlight/Broad lakes. Fished most of the day in a pretty stiff wind, but these two lakes are small, didn't really have any waves over 2'. Came out of the mouth of Altimeter Creek to a coffee colored cauldron, and we weren't directly out in the wind yet! We pulled behind an island, donned rainsuits & lifejackets and headed out. We made it about 200 yards past the island out into the full gale before better sense took hold, and we turned around ... water was coming over the bow on every crest! We ended up running back into Broad Lake and waited till dusk for it to lay down. This area of Lac Seul has some stretches of open water that will rival any body of water ... waves were probably 5-6 footers. I've been in bigger seas between Grand Marais & Isle Royal on Lake Superior, as well as the Apostle Islands, but those were in much bigger boats. I think the estimated size of a wave is directly proportionate to the size of your boat! I know this ... 5-6 footers is no place for a 17' resort tiller.

[The Grebe]

Very first thing that came to mind!

[Fish&Fowl]

Working for Voyageur's a couple summers ago we were out on Rainy with a sustained 50mph west wind and when we got near Brule Narrows, where we exited the protected inside channel, I'm sure the waves were 10 ft. or better. Another park boat with our not-so-smart co-worker was ahead of us and went out a ways before deciding he better turn around. He was in a 23 ft. Monarch and it would completely disappear in between waves.

We watched him from the protection of the channel, I honestly didn't think Rainy could get that big and still probably wouldn't believe it if I hadn't been there. Very cool experience!

[swamptiger]

A buddy of mine works on the boats in the Great Lakes. He said there is a long walkway in the hold of the boats, and when the water gets rough, the boat flexs enough so you can't see from one end of the walkway to the other....

[swedishpimple]

I have been on LOW with some very large swells, the swells were big enough to have their own little "breakers" ontop, we were way overloaded and underpowered, but we made it.

Last year I had some friends that lost 2 boats late in October in the Basil Channel. They claimed to be in 10' waves. I have no reason not to believe them, West of the Basil is a whole lotta open water. The ice and snow late in October is what really did them in, but that is a whole other topic.

[Carp-fisher]

There are some great stories on this post, but wave height is very easy to overestimate. I've been in true 8 to 10 foot waves deep sea fishing several times. I have a very difficult time believing there are any waves like that on any inland lakes in Minnesota (except Superior). I think the "10 footers" on this thread are more like 3 to 4 footers.

[Kingfisher]

I am surprised there aren't more Lake of The Woods stories. We were on the south shore fishing in a 27' Sportcraft when a high NW wind came up, I don't like to be called for exaggerating when saying that the waves were 10' high, but if you have ever seen a 27' Sportcraft with a canopy you know its quite high. When we were at the bottom of the waves we could not see over the top of the waves. We took the waves at an angle and rolled over them very slowly with no problem, just took us a long time to get back to Warroad.

[Milkdud]

Last summer downrigging out of the Sportsman in 30' charter boat we had a rough day. Wind picked up out of the North East and the guide did everything he could to get back from Long Point safely. Waves were easily 10 feet. The guide would gun the boat up the wave only to have the back wave crash inches from the back of the boat. When we were down in the trough it seemed like we were 20 feet down with water everywhere. It was the scariest (Contact Us Please) thing I have ever experienced. When we finally got back to the sportsman there were other guides waiting for our boat to return and many said they have never seen waves that big before on LOW! I have total respect for the lake now!

[Milkdud]

By the way I just read Carp-Fishers post and I have seen 3-4 foot waves on a 250 acre lake! I suppose everyone on this post has a depth perception problem except you huh?

[Senior]

About thirty years ago I was on Rainey Lake with the family in one of those big houseboats you can rent. We were headed back to the resort on the 4th of July after waiting about 6 hours for some bad weather to pass, it went east of us and I figured it was safe to head out onto the main lake. After about 30 mins of cruising I happened to look off to the north and all I could see was a wall of water coming at us! Rain and waves, I turned the boat into the oncoming wind and wall of water just before it hit. I had no place to go for shelter and had to ride it out on open water. The waves were breaking over the bow and smashing into the cabin portion of the boat, I thought they were going to break out the glass doors! If I gave the boat to much power the bow would plow into the oncoming waves, but I couldn't let the waves push us back, because the shore was all rock and wasn't that far away. I didn't have time to measure the size of the waves, but the motor on that 40ft. houseboat was coming out of the water and I've never been that scared on a lake before or since that day. Two people lost thier lives that day on Rainey Lake. Three days later we were on Mille Lacs when the wind brought some 4 footers and they were a piece of cake in comparison.

[Hemlock]

Another one for LOW...I was onlyt 16 years old driving from work (Sioux Narrows) to our cabin on an island. These were only 3-4 footers, but I was in a 16' Lund/20 hp Evinrude. The closest I've come to swamping a boat was this day. I made the mistake of slowing down, while at the bottom of the swell. Looked back for some reason, and gunned it. Had I not, I would've had the wave break right over the motor. Keep an eye out what's behind you as well as picking a path of least resistance ahead of you.

[ScottL]

I have been in 2 large wave situations. 2nd place local shallow lake 70 MPH straight line winds in a 16.5 ft Aluminum V hull. I bent the prop shaft on my 50HP outboard when it bottomed out in 5 feet of water and swamped boat when we speared 2 waves. It had to do with wave frequency (very close together)wave height 3-4ft. 1st place LOTW summer of 2005. Fishing out of a 27' Sportcraft out of one of the resorts on the River. Had to run from Garden Island back thru the gap with 30+ MPH NW winds. Charter captain more or less surfed us all the way back in. I will GUARANTEE anyone on here that from trough to crest they were all of 10ft if not 15ft.We would fall off the crest into the trough and were completely surrounded by water. The following wave would break and hit the downrigger booms that were folded straight back. Pucker factor real high.

[Hookmaster]

Lake Osakis in the late 70s. Fishing on a summer day. Launched just north of Linwood Point and went to the north end of the lake. We fished there for a few hours and couldn't tell that the wind was getting worse. When we rounded the point, the wind was coming right up the lake. We were in a 12 foot boat with a 9.5 hp. The boat would disappear in the troughs and float like a bobber over the crests. I was looking back at my buddy and the back end would almost go under each time we climbed a wave. He was bailing the best he could. He grew up on a lake and if it wasn't for his driving skills we would have dumped. We didn't have life jackets, only boat cushions. The most scared I've been in a boat.

[Big Julie]

I was just finishing my tour with the navy in the mid 70's and was assigned to the sailing center at Great Lakes Naval Center where my 'job' was renting out sailboats. We had about an 18' Boston Whaler with I think a 70 Johnson we called 'the crash boat' that we used mostly to service the sail boats.

The base had a pretty good size harbor with a breakwater around it. Just north of it was the beach.

The wind was out of the east around 40 or so one day and we heard an ambulance come behind us heading that way. We looked out and saw people on the breakwater. A friend and I jumped into the boat and headed over there inside the breakwater.

When we got there, the people said that there were people in the water drowning and that we should go help them.

We looked at each other and basicly agreed to go.

When we got to the opening of the breakwater, the waves had to have been 12'+.

We went over to the beach and found one sailor, but we couldn't find 7 or 8 others.

What we were later told was that someone was swimming and got into trouble with the undertow and a lifegaurd went after him. More and more people kept going in to help others and the undertow was just too much for them. I knew two of them.

The next day we went back out with the divers for the bodies.

We didn't think much about anything other than helping, but it was one heck of a rough ride.

Boston Whalers are a great boat.

[fishnfool59]

40 yrs ago on Turtle River lake just outside Bemidji. My grandparents owned a resort there. The dock boy and his trusty assistant...me, had a blast on a windy day(3-5ft waves)in the little 12 ft alum with the good ole trusty 3.5 evinrude riding the waves out front of the resort!!! Oh to have it all back again!!!! Learned alot from from those dock boys!! Great thread by the way!!!!!

[canobeans]

I was out on leech one day when they were easily 10ft. It is very possible and your co-worker is probably tellin the truth and is extremely intelligent. Dont ever underestimate a bass fisherman.

[Black_Bay]

Here are some real large waves. http://tv-antenna.com/heavy-seas/

[Questor]

One important point about waves is that size isn't everything, it's frequency. In other words, the distance between crests. In freshwater lakes, the crests can be so close together that the waves will batter the boat and may even swamp it. I have seen many a 12 foot boat swamped in 200 acre lakes on windy days when the waves could not have been more than about a foot. Jon boats seem particularly susceptible to this. 14 footers seem to be a big improvement in seaworthiness under those conditions. I have also seen the low, heavy bass boats having trouble in similar conditions. Part of this is that the operators should realize that the bow should be into the wind on windy days.

Also, most of us using small aluminum boats here in Minnesota are using boats that are not seaworthy (i.e., safe) on water much rougher than a dead calm.

[DTro]

I'm pretty sure this video was shot on Minnetonka. Biggest waves I've ever seen: