Big Water Advice Needed

[SNAREMAN]

Was wondering what you guy's think about fishing from a 16ft boat out of grand haven in the 160-200 or so f.o.w.?The boat is a lowe that we mounted some rigger's/rod-holder's on,40 hp motor,kind of a bass-boat type[casting deck front and back ect..]Of course we would only go out in good weather.Only fished the big-water a couple time's[out of a bigger boat]so I don't know if i'm crazy even thinking about it.What do you guy's think?Thanx for the input.

[Spoon Fed]

Those nice days can turn ugly in a matter of minutes. Good for pier patrol, but I wouldnt make a 10 mile run untill your comfortable. If you have doughts about it now when its on the trailer, i would get some time on the big pond before wandering to far.

[DANIEL MARK ZAPOLSKI]

do you have a radio? is it a deep -v boat? and how far offshore is 160-200 fow? do you have a back up motor? and most important of all do you have a ROUTE PLAN printed up and on shore for RESCUE if you answered **NO** you have your answer! there's no fish in the world worth your life!

[JWheeler]

I was out on lake huron last year @ sanilac, the wind was blowing good from the west, 1-2' chop. At some point the wind completely changed and started blowing harder out of the north. Before too long we were in 4-7's, they were rollers and I was OK, but I own a bigger, much deeper boat than a bass boat with a lot more free-board. Even in that when it gets big on the lake it is not fun...be careful dude!

[rogerh69]

Going out in the big lake to where the fish are (sometimes 5-8 miles out)
w/ a 16 ft bass type boat?? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDIN!! Somebody must have a death wish. All I can say is have a minimum $500K life insurance policy (paid up) or make sure you leave no dependents behind. I think this link will give you a hint of why its foolish, foolish.
SORRY. Site won't let me post URL's, so GOOGLE this:
"JS Online: Coho fever"
and look at the deadly results of coho fever.
And GOOGLE this for another example of Lake Michigan fury:
"Armistice Day storm lake michigan"

(AIN'T NO FISH WORTH MY LIFE)

[Spoon Fed]

we went out of st.joe last year, the forcast called for 2 to3 building late afternoon. when we broke the pier heads it was 3's. we fished for an hour or so, heading north with them. then she started to blow, and we ended up coming back in 8 to 10's. you cant trust what the weather man says, just figure its the only job that you still get paid even when your wrong. ive seen a bass boat with the prop in the air down on lake erie.:eek:

[salmon_slayer06]

A 16 footer would be fine if you like trolling the Manistee Lake in Fall for darkies.

[fish-on]

well lets see,couple weeks back we had a guy die in a 23 fter only a couple miles out so i'd say stick to the river or small lakes with a little boat.The big lake will kill ya if your not carefull and can kill ya when your are.;)

[res]

I started salmon fishing last year. I went out in a buddies boat that is 18' and with about 3' waves you had to be on the wheel EVERY minute. As has been said, if the lake is calm or a slight roll and you have a deep v then you might get a bit of time in. One thing that I remember from last year was a 16 foot tracker that went out of Manistee last year. It was before daylight. I was on the water that morning and it was not a really bad morning. Somehow their boat ended up upside down. Thankfully they had a hand held radio on their neck and a gps so they were able to summin help. I still don't know what caused them to flip but my guess is a swell from a tanker or a larger boat. I have a 20' and at about 4' I start to think real hard about coming in. I also have a 175 behind it to push against the wind if need be. I have been out in some that were probably over 6'. Did the boat handle it? Yes. Do "I" want to handle it? NOPE!!!!!! NO fish is worth it. I will admit I see a lot of smaller boats out but it is a serious risk. Rick

[Crowhunter]

I do it all the time in a Lund 1660 ,wear a life jacket and watch the weather .Bud

[fish-on]

I have to admit I've ran off shore with my old 16fter on calm days.That was before I knew what the big lake can do and i mean "can do NOW".1 wave over the rail in a little boat like that and your DONE.Life jacket will only help them find your body.You dont last long in 40 degree water ;).I've seen way to many people die on this lake to not give it my upmost respect.It's your lfe.Is it only worth a fish?

My 3 1/2 cents

[SNAREMAN]

Thanx too all for the input.I'll stick to the small water or at least wait untill the fish are at the peir head's this fall.

[duckhunter382]

You guys are safety minded but I have to say a 16 ft boat is good for lake michigan. the 23ft boat that went down shouldnt have been there. east winds are decieving and people forget that because you can get out you still have to come back in. If you use caution and err on the side of safety you will be fine. Ive seen countless 14ft boats out there on really calm days. I fish out of a 16 ft northwood and I feel perfectly safe out there. now I have ticked off friends by turning around when they thought I should have kept going but most of the time when I turn around other bigger boats turn around also. 160ft is really not that far out anyway

[AKFlyfish]

Was wondering what you guy's think about fishing from a 16ft boat out of grand haven in the 160-200 or so f.o.w.?The boat is a lowe that we mounted some rigger's/rod-holder's on,40 hp motor,kind of a bass-boat type[casting deck front and back ect..]Of course we would only go out in good weather.Only fished the big-water a couple time's[out of a bigger boat]so I don't know if i'm crazy even thinking about it.What do you guy's think?Thanx for the input.

20 years ago me and my buddy were fishin steel out of Michigan City in July. We started at the piers and took some fish, then they quit biting. We were in My 14 ft. Mirrocraft. Lake was pancake calm and air rtemp was in the 90's. Our handheld indicated there was a bite going on abou 12 miles out. Forescast was fo calm winds. We go out there. catch a few fish and then it starts to blow. Hard. Not forecasted. We head for shore in 7-8 foot swells. Three + hours later we arrive on land. Never again.

[limige]

it will be fine as long as you pick and choose very carefully.

mid summer fishing mostly, days when you have 2-3 days of 2ft or less reports, stable weather systems with no wind. if there's a breaze forget it, no telling what it'll turn into.

your not talking about going out far really, if it's flat it's only a 15-20 minute run. if you get any breaze pickup and head in. don't go out in an offshore wind either. fishing westside that shouldn't be a problem. if you have engine trouble thats a small enough boat to oar and the wind will blow you inshore anyways.

don't leave shore without a working VHS, a compass and a gps.

[DangerDan]

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/amgvideo/dvd/cov150/drt500/t589/t58989j0tnk.jpg


I think your gonna need a bigger boat.....:tdo12: :lol:

[kozlov1]

I have a 16 foot grumman flat bottom. If waves get two feet high I'm screwed. I've dared to go out into 180 feet of water but I'm done with that. I've seen the lake get nuts really fast. 60 feet of water and thats it for me.

Ed

[Cpt.Chaos]

We were out in 2-3'ers last year off of Manistee with a good breeze blowing off-shore. In less than 10 minutes the wind shifted, started blowing from the NNW, hard. In what seemed like an imstant, we were now looking at 5-6' waves. We picked the gear up as fast as possible and headed for the pier, we were out near the shelf, 2 miles south of Manistee. For what seemed like a little less time than eternity, we were making our way back to port. By the time we made the pierhead, we had 8'ers having their way with us. My big lake boat is a 25' sportcraft hardtop, after that expierience and a few other times plying the inland seas, I don't think I would go out in anything smaller.

[7MM Magnum]

I went out one morning and had a couple friends from Ann Arbor come up to do some big water fishing out of Thunder Bay with me in my 27 ft. Sea Ray deep V Cruiser. She has a 3 ft draft and a 8 foot beam on her with a 350 cu. in. I/0 alpha drive.

The morning started out great with a couple of nice coho's. Flat water, very slight breeze, and nice and warm for that early in the morning. We were still in the bay about 2-3 miles out,... the sun came out at about 6:30 am and left just about as fast as it came as it got cloudy. Still it was a nice morning and we decided to go out to an area that there was a wreck just the other side of the lighthouse. The marina was about 5-6 miles away and the shore to the north about 1 mile but there wasn't any harbor just shoreline. I got to the spot set the 4 riggers and went back to the helm. I had NOAA on the radio and they were talking about small craft warnings.

About 1/2 hour later all hell broke loose :tdo12: those flat waters turned into 4 footers quick ! All the rigger lines came in fast,... equipment stowed below, jackets went on,... waves got BIGGER and the winds much stronger. We were now about 6-7 miles out from the marina, close to 8 foot rollers and fighting a headwind to boot. Was not a very pleasant ride back in to port and I have a big boat! They don't have all those shipwrecks in the bottom of that bay for no reason. Bad weather can and will pop up without any warning or apparent reason.

Big boats,... big water. ;) :D

Small craft,... inland lakes, 1/2 mile to harbors in big water, rivers & streams. ;)

Just my point of view,... like many here have said :

"No fish is worth your life"

[walleyeman2006]

... a thunderstrom can come up in 45 minutes from no where over the water......limige did something really smart today he called me after seeing dark cloud ..the storm he could see was over lake michigan yet and he was fishing saginaw bay...if you have a cell and some one on shore..who can watch the radar for you.....its nice now you dont have to spend the money on boat radar...but i wouldnt go out over a mile on any great lake in less then a 16 ft deep v any more....like has been stated fish arent worth your life....ive personally been in enough wild weather in small boats..bass boats just arent stable in rough water

i have an 18ft starcraft deep v and you wont find me running very far out on the big lakes.......find a guy with salmon boat who like to bass fish and trade some trips

[adjusted3]

Many of us run small boats on Lake Michigan. I personaly run a 17' But, all of these boats are deep V boats designed for rough water. For the most part they are walleye boats designed for the Erie chop and waves that that lake produces. A small bass boat, or a 20-22' bass boat has no business being on the Great lakes other then maybe harbor patrol on a calm afternoon. Eveyone has had their panties in a bunch out there at one time or another, and the common thread is that they were running deep V or a large boat, a boat that allowed them to get back safe. Bass boats don't offer that security.

Mark

[finlander]

I have a 16' Naden, deepV with a 15 Honda. It will go 18 mph when its calm out there. I have only had it one season but the wife and i went out for salmon last August with a se wind pushing us out. It was smooth, sure but ya got to turn and come back into the wind. We went to 90 fow. And we caught some fish. What was spooky was trooling in after dark with 2 footers coming at ya. I was waiting for that wave you couldn't see. I prefer days now. Benn on Muskegon Lake for walleyes several times at night this year and that is another spooky trip heading for the state park at the west end with no lights on shore in the park. Like driving into a black hole. Once years ago buddy and I went out in my dad's Sea Nymph, a 13 footer, where the rollers had 20 foot boats disappearing behind them. This was a 1/4 mi from the lighthouse. We caught a fish that day but we were getting some looks from the other boats that day let me tell ya. I do not trust the Grand Rapids reports so I have a NOAA weather radio. I do not have a marine radio but that is next. I will wait til August when they come in closer. Up by Stoney Lake deep water is closer to shore. But not a large port to take shelter in, that's for sure. Stay safe.

[Thunderhead]

20 years ago me and my buddy were fishin steel out of Michigan City in July. We started at the piers and took some fish, then they quit biting. We were in My 14 ft. Mirrocraft. Lake was pancake calm and air rtemp was in the 90's. Our handheld indicated there was a bite going on abou 12 miles out. Forescast was fo calm winds. We go out there. catch a few fish and then it starts to blow. Hard. Not forecasted. We head for shore in 7-8 foot swells. Three + hours later we arrive on land. Never again.

a 14' in 7-8 ft. swells ? Your lucky to be alive man. I'd have been crapping my pants in calm seas that far out in that small of a boat.

[Nemesis_318]

No way I'd do it in a bass-boat style watercraft. I saw a bass boat take a boat wake (probably around 2') over the stern and it washed over half the boat and flooded all of the storage compartments. This happened while fishing in an inland protected area.

If it's a deep-v with a good motorwell to prevent waves from crashing over the stern into the boat it shouldn't be a problem if you use good judgment. I have had a 16" deep V out in ~6' waves before with no problem. I wasn't fishing, just cruising along at a good safe speed. Fishing would be impossible at that point. Wasn't the most comfortable ride but the boat handled fine.


You have to take your boating experience into account too. There is a safe way to handle heavy seas and not so safe ways to handle heavy seas. You must be on the throttle and steering 100% of the time with 100% of your attention focused on what's going on with the water and wind. Watch out for rogue waves too. If it gets rough, don't rush it, you'll get back when you get back.

How big of a boat do you need? Well, that's a pointless question. The Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the Great Lakes and I believe that was around 500 feet long. An experienced helmsman in a 16 foot boat would probably fair better in heavy seas than a first-timer in a 25-foot boat.

[Far Beyond Driven]

Row back to shore with waves behind you? That's nuts. For one, you'll be going slower than the waves so they'll be in the boat in no time. Two, unless you get a drfit sock out now to bring your bow around, you'll get swamped or rolled. Lastly, if you make it to shore, you'll die in the surf. I had a novice driver take us too close to shore in 4-5's fishing the harbor and we had a wave break beam sea to my boat.

Feeling a 4000# deep V move 30' to the side and watching you diver rod roll under the boat is not a pleasant thing...

That said, I fish a lot in a 14' Deep V with a 20" transom and a 74" beam. I've fished it in 3's right at the harbor and been caught in 4's out in 80' when a front came through. Made it back both times. Both nights sat in the Jeep for a long time back at the launch before heading home. Anything more than 1's now and we wait for another day.