Largest inland water waves seen/experienced !!!

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I've fished Lake of the Woods most all my life, I'll share a few that come to mind over the years.

A couple of them are during a local fishing tournament held each year on LOW. The first one was not a huge wind deal, but big enough to get your attention. We were fishing most of the day on Starren shoals by Garden island. We were backtrolling my Ranger into swells big enough that about every 4th wave would come straight over the back, had the bilge pump just running steady... We were catching fish hand over fist, people around us looked at us like we were some sort of lunatics just let of our cages. So at days end we had a nice catch in the livewell, and decide to head back to Warroad for the weigh in (about 28 miles) into a sloppy SE cross chop... Well about a 1/3 of the way home I hear a BIG crack from the back end... I look back to see my 175Hp motor taking the transom off the back of my boat.

So there we are 20 miles from home in some pretty big swells with my 175 hanging on by the steering cables and my transom gone. Water is filling the boat... well you can imagine about how fast... I let out a Mayday as quick as I could... and boy did we luck out... My buddies heard my call just a couple of miles out in front of us... seconds later my radio is under water along with everything else.

My partner and I were hanging on for dear life as the waves came right through the boat. He was hanging onto the casting seat in the bow, and I was hanging onto the wheel. I remember my partner being white as a ghost... I remember telling him not to worry that the boat won't sink, just make sure to hang on to something... I remember the comeback too... "If you are so f-n sure the boat won't sink, give me your life jacket too!" Not much else was said... we both held tight, and waited... The boat didn't sink but if you weren't hanging onto something tight the waves would have taken you right from the boat... Well my buddies ended up saving us... my partner caught a ride home with them, and I stayed with the wreck eventually getting a Guide launch to tow the remains of my Ranger home... That long tow home was the longest ride of my life... so there I am sitting in my wreck with my catch of the day literally swimming around in the boat with me... lots of emotions... scared, mad, wet, cold, frustrated about a good tournament finish blown, but most of all thankful my partner and I lived to tell about it... surreal.

Well that took longer then I thought...

If you want to hear some bigger tales, let me know... I have a myriad of others, including a 90+mph straight line wind adventure.

7 lives and counting...

[fiskyknut]

Ahhh yes, tales from the triangle! I remember a couple of pretty darn nice boat rides on this pond over the years myself WT. Fortunatly none involved the boats transom falling off! I do so enjoy that story though. I wonder.....Did Arnesons get any pics of that ride back?

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No pictures were taken out on the pond... Only of the wreck back on shore... The pictures are still burned perfectly in my memory though.

[fiskyknut]

Did you have your life preserver on that day! That boat was a speedy one, nice of them to build you a new one too!

Strieff's sheet rain tourney a couple years back was a pretty fun ride back to shore, fairly good sized waves coming from 2 or 3 directions at once always makes it more challenging!

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Fisky: I edited the post about the life jackets...

PS: yes I have another story about the year you are talking about... another time!...

[MuskieSlayer]

Quote:

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

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[fiskyknut]

I just love the rush you get when the big waves come together from 2 directions just right and pop you upward like a cork!

Then there's always the big hole in the lake behind the next wave to look out for.

I don't even want to remember some of my rather unwise calls on the pond. 16 foot kick boat last year, went from calm to 40-45 N-easterly in 15 minutes tops. Fishin way good so I stayed a tad too long. Only out near GR so it was'nt too bad getting back to Arnesons but I don't like a big and breaking following sea in a puny boat! Another short kick boat trip last year. I did'nt check gas supply, ran out but the wind and waves were perfect and I could adjust our deaddrift with the tiller motor and we drifted right into the rock harbor mouth!

Then there was the time coming back from the angle 4-5 years ago. Big SW wind.....First attempt came into little Traverse and she was pushing like 5-6 foot there. No way am I heading for Warroad accross big Traverse as it'd be way worse. Back to my aunts place at Pine creek. Friend who was with cried and cried about him losing his job at the big P iffin we did'nt make it back that day. Off we go again against my better judgement. Words cannot describe the steep and deep on the Big Traverse. Full on attention/concentration in order to drive that 22 foot boat. No chance of making Warroad in a headsea like that. Made it to Zbay 4 hours later and I was shakin from the excitement. Did'nt see another boat the entire crossing! The guy worried about his job busted up his elbow when he crashed on the cockpit sole. The engine in that boat blew a week later, we'd have been done had it blown that day in that weather. This was my second worst expierience ever on the LOTW. PTSD will not allow me to elaborate on the worst!

fiskyknut

[Muskycrazy]

Fishing Halibut on the Bering Sea we got hit by a wave like that . It was a long time ago but I think we used to call them Green Water . Hit the boat from the starboard side , we had 3 feet of standing water on the deck because it couldn't run out the scuppers fast enough . There is that point of time where the boat kind of languishes between floating and sinking that you just stand motionless waiting to see what happens . Its one of those moments that goes on forever , the last minute at the time clock , the two minute warning when your team is only ahead by 1 point . That kind of eternal minute . Hit so hard it knocked my chew out of my mouth . But I was only 26 and lovin' it !

[analyzer]

I've been on sag in a canoe many times in 4 footers, was also on brule during the 4th of july blow down (but fortunately was at a portage when it hit), but honestly have not been more scared than two years ago in stillwater.

Every year for the 4th of July, hundreds of boats parade up to the stillwater bridge to witness the fireworks. I bought a new 1850 crestliner the year before, so decided to spend the 4th on the river, and we joined the parade. I anticipated an ugly mess after the show was over, so I stayed toward the south end of the traffic jam so I could exit quickly when it was over.

OMG, picture 400 boats of various sizes going balls-out down the river after the show. Like the indy 500.

You know how when you take your kids tubing, you can go around in circles and develop some 6 footers... it was just like that. With the entire river blanketed in boats, the wakes crashing into each other were higher than my windshield. I have never been so frightened.

I was well aware, that even if we took on water, my crestliner would not sink. Too much foam pumped into the crevices. The problem is, with hundreds of boats going full out, if you swamp (and it's dark), you're going to get run over, and there's no way to swim for it either.

We found a nice 40 ft yacht to sit behind in their prop wash and road it down river till we could find a calm bay to slip into. But I will never subject my family to that peril again.

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I find it interesting how many people were "slaying" the fish immediately prior to their harrowing adventure...but I suppose that's why they were still out there in a bad situation.