Tell your scarest moment on the water.....

[BigB]

Ok guys here's somthing to think about. What is the scarest thing that has happened to you on the water. Mine would have to be just about sinking my boat at guntersville. Ok here goes my story.

It will be three years this March that I have owned my 1996 205 LS hydrasport, bought it from a fellow member on here. Took the boat out a couple of times before my big trip to guntersville, everything worked like a dream. She ran great and had not problems what so ever. Ok, off we go to a long awaited trip to the Big G to catch some of those hogs. Drive all night to get there early to start the day off early on the lake fishing. Arrive around 6am dead tired take a short nap and off we go about 8:30 down the lake. This had been my 3rd time to the lake so I was familar with where I was going. Take off down the lake, boat is doing great, runs greats no problems. About 10 min run to spot where we were starting the day off fishing. Arrive at my honey hole and start fishing, little did I know I was about to have the scare of my life. I look down and see a little water in the drain hole, no big deal, so I turn on the bildge, maybe I took on a little water when I stopped the water came over the back. Ok 5 min later water is still pumping out, crap, so I lift the hatch and water is 1/2 over the batteries. Well better get back figured I left plug out, Ok well I start up the boat and get her heading back in the direction we came from ossa wintha. Except when you put that much water in a boat and two guys there it a problem. Too much weight and the boat won't plain out. Here I am heart goin 200 beats a min thinking well looks like were getting wet. I stay close to the shore and finally which seemed liked forever I got her on plain and headed back to the boat ramp. As we were gaining more speed the the water came in faster. Ok if plug was out then the water should be going back out right........Well it wasn't, it seemed like it took us 30 minutes to get back to the ramp when it was only like maybe 20, by the time we got back water was up to our ankles and I was white as a ghost thinking, please dont sink going across the middle of this lake. Well we made it back and got here up on the trailer with water just pouring out of the back of the boat. Ok so I left the plug out, get down to look and plug was in. What had happened was the previous owner had hit a rock and cut the bottom of the boat and had it repaired. Well it was repaired with bondo, ane I guess this patch job didn't hold. The patch was completly ripped off and there was a big hole in the bottom of the boat. Needless to say we only missed two days of fishing, and was able to get it repaired locally. Thought I would share this scare with you guys, hope you enjoyed the laugh. Looking back it was kinda funny.

O yeah Jarod no hard feeling.

Love the Boat
B

[bereabasser]

My scariest moment was actually not scary but stupid.2 years ago me and a buddy went to ky lake for spring break to catch some pigs.well the first night we were there we stayed right around the campground and caught a 7+ and 2 more over 5lbs with several little fish.Well the day after we decided we were guna find some new water so we start to head down lake.We followed the buoys all the way up until we wanted to go across,now we were teenagers so we really didnt think nothing was guna happen to us and it didnt thank god.But anyways,we crossed ky lake without any gps or map and came back across 2 times and didnt hit bottom anyweres,now from what ive heard theres really only certain spots were you can cross all the way without gettin into any trouble and thank god we apparently hit em

[DJD]

Years ago we were fishing a tourny on Lake Kissimmiee in Central Florida. We put it at Lake Cypress and went rippin' down the lake into Canal 54 toward Lake K. once into Lake K. we took a left to head through the short cut called the pig trail so we could fish North Cove. So we could save time, you know how it is wanting to get to the spot first!

Anyway the pig trail is shallow, fairly long and the trail moves a little based on the wind blown chunks of debris. Unfortunately for us my buddy slowed down because of a bad decision on which way to go around one of these floating islands. Well we got stuck! So after a few minutes of rocking the boat and trimming the motor up we got around the island and were on the other side cleaning the intakes out from all the silty gunk that the bottom holds when I hear a boat wearin' it out coming down the trail.

I looked at Rick and said " oh good gosh" (not really but that's what I'll type) and within seconds I see the nose of a big Gambler splittin' the weeds of that island coming right at us! The world was in slow motion at this point I mean I saw the guys eyes (huge like boiled eggs!) his partner was holding on and had his eyes closed. Rick stood there like a Statue and I was just about to jump into the most Alligator infested lake in the region. The boat landed so close that we got SOAKED I mean water and gallons of it!!

I was shaking because I don't know how he missed us and had to sit down for a few. We were 25ft away from the island and his boat was around 20ft long moving at 55+ mph right at us, who knows but we were very lucky! If the boat would have landed on ours someone could have been killed. We talked to the guy and he was white as a ghost like us I'm sure. Whew!

[Don Daniel]

Me and a buddy were fishing behind the Mcalpine Dam in Louisville on a very cold November day. The water was up I think it was 17 feet or so. We had problems holding the boat with the trolling motor so we were running up to the flood gates with the engine cutting it off and floating down river while casting. About 500 yards behind the upper flood gates the water depth goes from thirty feet to about 5 feet rather rapidly causing a good sized ripple. Each time we floated down we would crank the engine up before we hit the ripple to get out of the way. On about the fourth trip we weren't really aware of where we were and got the boat sideways in a huge dip. My buddy did get the engine started before it flipped the boat but we did get about a foot of water in it and both of us were soaking wet. Scared the living crap out of me.

[WacoWildcat]

A few years back before I got my own boat I went fishing with a buddy of mine and his step Dad. We met up early one morning and went to a new lake (new at the time) cedar creek. Well my buddies step dad likes to do some drinkin from time to time, which is no problem, but this time it was a big problem.

He slept the whole way to the lake which I never thought anything about but apparently he never went to sleep that night and had his last drink right before they left the house. Well we got the boat in the water and started fishing and I knew it was going to be a long day. 5 or 6 casts into it all his poles were backlashed and one was broken and he was stumbling all around his boat. My buddy and I were both starting to get pissed and ready to pack it in .

We pull into a little cut where they had caught some a couple weeks before and he fell in the lake really hard, and with no lifejacket. We both knew he could swim so we thought he would make his way back to the boat. Well about 10 or 15 seconds went by and he never came up . I immediately dove straight in to the area he fell in at. I swam down and down and down and was really panicking. Keep in mind we were in 25ft. deep water and it was pretty stained. I swim a little deeper and see a faint white color, thankfully his t-shirt. I grabbed it and with everything I had kicked and swam my way to the top of the water. As soon as we get up to the top of the water I could tell he wasn't breathing , so I started punching around his chest while we were in the water trying to get him to come back. Thank god he spit up that water and came too. My buddy had some floats waiting for us so I grabbed them and we made our way back into the boat. Needless to say after some harsh cuss words towards him we got outta there.

I learned a great lesson that day that I have been told before. Alcohol and boating don't mix. I still may have a few beers in the boat (shhhh) on a long fishing trip but I will limit them, and if you're in bad shape you're not getting in my boat.

[Rangerman]

Where you at Supersprint? You will enjoy this one!

Supersprint and I were fishing a tournament on Barkley one year and they were forecasting for potentially severe storms. Long story short, we are nearing the end of the tournament hours and we noticed the sky looking kinda weird (kinda had been all day), so we decide to head back down the lake closer to weigh in. As we come out of the creek we are in we notice it looks bad so I lay the hammer down and let the big cat scratch as we head down the lake to the launch ramp. The wind which had been kinda calm starts blowing, you know what I am talking about, just like right before a bad storm. We are in the channel on one side of the lake and we need to get to the other side and we will be at the launch ramp. As we proceed across the lake the waves start getting bigger and bigger. I mean waves in the 6+ footer range. Then it hits, HAIL!!!! I mean BIG HAIL. Here we are in the middle of lake barkley and it is hailing like crazy from pea size up to golf ball+ size hail. Let me tell you it hurts like heck. The waves are rolling so big that all I can see is water at times as we are in the dip of the wave. I just keep going at a fast idle because of the rollers and also, not sure if there is a tornado in this storm (which there was). We had 3" of hail in the bottom of my boat, mashed most of the guides down on my rods that were laying out. The smaller peices of hail got under my bilge pump buttons and would not allow me to turn them on. The water was shin deep in the bottom of my Ranger when I finally ran her aground near the launch ramp. Luckily I have an automatic bilge. Needless to say, we made it but not without severe hail damage to just about every vehicle in the parking lot, ruined rods and of course our heads and hands were sore for about a week to 10 days.

Probably one of my most scarest moments on the water.

[BOURBONBALES]

a couple of years ago i went wading at one of my favorite spots on the opening day on dove season. it was a perfect day and about an hour in i was absolutely having the best day of my life catching smallmouth. i had gotten in the water on private property that was owned by a friend that i had fished many times. well i guess i should have payed more attention to the gunshots that were getting closer to me but i was too busy reeling in brown fish. long story short my day was cut short after an arguement with a couple of guys toting shotguns and drinking beer over whether or not i was in the wrong wading the creek. after having the guns pointed at me and a warning shot in the water close to me i decided to appologize ( even though i believe i was in the right) and get the you know what outta there. after all of that it is still prob one the best days fishing i have had, guess it could have been alot worse.

[cumberlandguy1]

My worst day on the lake was a little over 5 years ago. My daughter had went with my parents to the lake. They took my dad's boat and the jet ski down to Laurel Lake. My daughter called me from the lake later in the morning to tell me that my dad was missing. They had stopped in Indian Creek to get out of the rain and a bite to eat. My dad decided to take the jet ski for another ride after the rain had stopped. When he didn't come back in a few minutes, my daughter thought he might of run out of gas....she looked down and then saw that he had forgotten his life jacket. She fired up the boat, went around the bend to find the jet ski sitting in the middle of Indian Creek. I spent the entire afternoon, then an entire week with 2 Fish and Wildlife officers searching for my father. Thank you very much guys. You know who you are. Those 2 officers actually caught some heat for having me on their boat all week. Government at it's finest. Also a big thank you to the Laurel County rescue squad for staying on the lake until my father was found. There were so many people that helped our family that week, that there just isn't enough space to put it here. Ok....this is still a little to hard for me.

[joebw]

St. Jude’s Classic Kentucky Lake in Western KY.
Team Tournament
96 Boats – Missed weigh-in. Disqualified.
Kentucky Lake was extremely rough on this day due to high winds.

On the way back to the weigh-in, my partner noticed a young girl frantically waving her arms for help. We immediately headed towards her when we noticed two other people in the water.

The boat, a small paddle boat, had been swamped by the high waves. The girl was sitting on the back of the paddle boat, which was the only part that was not submerged, with out a life jacket. Her brother was in the water with out a life jacket treading water. Her Grandmother was in the water holding two youth life jackets to help keep her afloat.

My partner and I were able to rescue all three, thank God, with out injury to any of them. We tossed them our throw cushion and our life jackets to keep them afloat until we were able to pull them out of the water. Now I know why a throw cushion is required by the coast guard and water patrol.

It turned out that the Grandmother took her two grandkids for a paddle boat ride at the mouth of a bay where they were camping. The high winds and the current pushed them out into the main lake where the high waves swamped their boat. They were actually in the channel when we got to them.

Unfortunately, they only took two youth life jackets for three people. That could have been a very life threatening mistake. The current and waves separated two of them where they could not hold on to the swamped boat to help them stay afloat.

The sad part about this story - - - at least five boats went by them with out even slowing down. I guess getting to the weigh-in was more important to those fisherman than helping people in distress. Not one bass boat even stopped to help after we started our rescue, they would veer around us and just look.

Anyway, to finish a long story, we took all three of them safely back to a dock close to their camp. We stayed with them for a few minutes to make sure they were absolutely ok. After that, we took our time getting back to the ramp, released our fish, took our boat out and reflected on the day. In our eyes this was our best finish ever at a tournament – dead last!

[Col Forbin]

I have taken a few baths, and been in a couple of surprise storms that put the fear into me, but my scariest moment was more for someone else than myself. A couple of Decembers ago, I was fishing sugar bay. I watched this guy launching a jon boat with about 20-30 5 gallon buckets filled with concrete and lumber (sinking brush). He launched his boat, and with 1 minute his nose of his boat went under and the entire boat sunk. I was across the bay watching this, and flew over to him, almost ripping my trolling motor off (I left it down). I got to him just in time. He was in full winter gear, boots, coveralls, but no life vest. He was starting to go under when I got to him. He was a big guy - but I must have had the adrenaline pumping, because, somehow, I reached in and grabbed him, and pulled him straight up into my boat. It took me a few hours to quit shaking from that. He must have been in a little shock, and didn't seem to realize how serious it was, and kind of laughed it off. Everthything ended up OK in the end. I did go back after it was all said and done and mark the spot where the boat went down, and still fish it. Ever since then, I always wear my life jacket when by myself.

[fisheater]

I own a 16 foot bassboat and enjoy fishing the Ohio river exclusively.Ive had a few storms come up that turned the river to the ocean it seems.Got caught driving through the locks when they opened it in the shoot.Had fuses blow where i couldnt get the boat started in a few high current areas-potentially fatal mistakes and the river go hand in hand no matter how much experience.Oh and ive been running the river late at night and have came across more than one boat directly in the middle with no lights on,thats no fun flying 50 miles an hour 10 feet away from them.Speared a wave once,not bad but enough to wake you up.Ill post more as i think of them.

[HiDefFisherman]

Two of them, one I remember, one I don't.

The one I remember, I had just had my new "FAST" boat for about 2 months, was running in upper 60's--GPS, and hit some unseen 4 foot rollers from those ocean crusiers down there. Thought I was dead for sure.

the other, am told I was found floating face down in the river when I was two, and had to be recussatated. scares me now more than it did then, i imagine.