I almost got fubared, yesterday....

[Big Muddy]

I love crappie fishing the approaching weather fronts, and the strong cold front that you Okie and Arkie guys had gotten the day before was not supposed to be coming thru here until about 7pm, last night(according to the dumb-azz weather man)....finally, yesterday, was a beautiful 80 degree spring day, and I decided to crappie fish another little local lake, ahead of the front....water is still a bit cold for spawning, but I managed a couple of early fat males in shallow water.

About 3 pm, a few lofty clouds passed overhead, but nothing serious-looking....about 20 minutes later, I heard what sounded like a low-flying jet, approaching from the northwest....I would never have detected the noise, if not for my new hearing aids, and I, suddenly, got this eerie feeling that some bad sheeit was fixing to happen, so I started skulling the little boat, rather rapidly, in the direction of my truck.

Literally, within minutes, the sky turned completely black and the northwest wind was howling about 40 mph....the trees on the bank were bending at 45 degree angles....I was in my little 12 foot john boat, and about 1/2 mile from where I had slid it down the bank into the water.

The fierce wind was blowing straight down the lake, and I had to paddle straight into it....the lake had suddenly changed from not-a-ripple-on-the-surface to the proverbial waves of the Red Sea.

The ironwood bushes were too thick for me to escape to the bank, so I just grabbed hold of a few branches, and held on for dear life....the waves were crashing over the bow, and the little boat was quickly filling with water.

All I had for bailing water was an empty plastic 2 liter soda bottle, so I cut off the top, and started bailing like mad....it was not raining, yet, so I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up.

Finally, I just went balls-to-the-wall, and started pulling the boat from bush to bush into the wind, stopping only to bail water....after about 45 mins., I finally reached my truck.

The temp. gauge in my truck displayed 50 degrees, so the temp. had dropped 30 degrees in less than an hour....I was soaked to the bone, and freezing my ever-loving azz off.

I loaded up the boat, and headed home, cussing the day'um weather man the entire way.

This is only the second time in my life that I have been scared sheeit-less on the water....the first, years ago, was a capsizing in bad weather just like this, which involved bad judgment on the part of my fishing buddy, in his bass boat.

Sheeit happens, but I'll be back, chasing those crappie just as soon as it warms up, again!!!

[Buckrub]

Good grief, man! WOW.

I've done similar stuff, but man, I was a LOT younger! Glad you're ok. That coulda been bad.

[Big Muddy]

It was all your's and Phole's fault....ya'll sent that day'um front down here, just to screw with my fishing !!! ;););)

[Buckrub]

Sorry!

[Big Skyz]

Glad you came out of that okay. I've had two times on the water that I wasn't sure I was going to make it. It's a darn scary feeling. The last time I was so glad to get my feet back on land that I literally kissed the ground. My partner thought it was pretty funny, but he had the same look of fear in his eyes just moment before landing the boat. The waves were so big you couldn't see over them and we were in the ocean off the coast of Alaska. You go in the drink there and you don't come back out alive. Shook me up pretty good.

[HideHunter]

So, were they white crappie or blacks?

[No-till Boss]

Big Muddy I got caught like that once myself. We were bream fishing right next to a hunting refuge with very tall trees, when the storm broke over the tree line it was tooooooo late. We each had to hold a dead tree trunk to keep the boat from flipping. We lost our bream baskets fishing poles, hats and I even lost a ring because i had such a death grip on that old dead tree. We were no more than a 200 feet from the bank, but it was the direction the storm was blowing in from, we had NO chance but to hang on and ride it out.......my friend never went fishing again that I know of.

Got caught in another storm on Greers Ferry in my pontoon, it's a 28,5 Premier with a 21' hardtop and 350hp inboard. We were up in the North end where the bluffs are real high and a storm blew up and in on us the same way. I had two 35lbs anchors out, and the storm broke us lose. I was having to bump the throttle to keep from being slammed into the bluff. This storm was so violent, people were pulling up and handing us their kids we didn't even know, we have them covered up under a table. Water ran two inches deep from the front to the back.

The one thing I've learned from bad weather experiences, always have a good rain suit and ALWAYS put it on before the trouble starts, even if it's 95 degrees. I've used it many times in the summer on Greers and everytime I'm glad I have it.

[DeputyDog]

Man o man, that sure must have been scary! Yup, it was Posty and Bucky's fault. You keep posting up the pic of them fish and made them jealous.

[Captain]

Man glad you are alright
I've been there and done that twice...
Once a buddy and I were fishing in the Sandhills Refuge near Patrick SC and all of a sudden the fish would strike ANYTHING you threw in the water just cast after cast.
My buddy who has now passed on mentioned the clouds were moving one way and the wind was coming from the opposite direction. He said he had seen it like that before in Florida and we should get out of there. I took off to the boat landing as fast as the little trolling motor would take us. (cannot have gas motors in the refuge) Long story short is my buddy had MS and it was a JOB getting him in and out of the boat, by the time I got him in the truck i was loading the boat in some awful wind and hail. We finally make it out and I was driving his El Camino. you could not see the road for the rain and hail and tree limbs falling. Went back a couple of days later and it looked as if someone had taken a giant bush hog and set it about 30 foot off the ground and cut ever tree in the place. There were 9 people killed in that area from those Tornadoes that day..
Another time I was not nearly as lucky and actually did get caught up in an f-4 Tornado that took me, Truck, Boat and trailer up for one hell of a ride. Don't remember all the details of that as I woke up in the hospital a couple of days later. But I do remember seeing the tornado going around to my left and then the truck coming off the ground and going to it. It was not a good day.
I HATE the wind, Now a days I don't even like the air conditioner vent blowing on me....

[Buckrub]

Life is danged dangerous. Especially for crazy males.

Been in one tornado myself. But I'm eerily attracted to storms, sorta like a moth to a flame. No less scared, just.........um.....mentally deficient and can't help admiring them.

And I rarely fish Greers, because like Maumelle, the wind blows 10mph and you're looking at 10 foot swells!!! I hate wind when fishing........hate it. But a little slight breeze sure seems to help.

[LJ3]

Say what you will about technology but Egghead and myself were finna do some night fishing after smallie fishing during the afternoon one time a couple years ago but kept an eye on the weather map on our phones just in case. We saw the derecho coming, made the call to get the hell out of there. The derecho hit right about 5 minutes after the boat was back in the garage. We would have taken some serious damage to ourfineselves both to our personal handsome personages as well as the 16ft jet boat.

You guys could learn a lesson or two from that. Dufuseses :)

[Buckrub]

Storm Eye is a great app.

In fact, I think I got that info from Egg.

[LJ3]

I remember sitting in the boat enjoying the peace and quiet and here from the front seat.... "whoa, uhhhh, we should go" That derecho line was pretty fierce looking.

'course, can't really top getting sucked up in a 'nader like Cap'n :)

[Chicken Dinner]

Eric must be getting a little wiser with age. I remember riding out one helluva storm with him where we abandoned the boat and hunkered down in the dry part of the C&O canal bed. There were ground strikes all around us and I swear I could feel the electricity on the back of my neck. I knew it was bad when I looked over at him and he was smoking a cigarette and reaching for a fresh dip at the same time.

[LJ3]

We have to promise not to die when we go fishing now. Seriously sucks the fun out of it!

[Chicken Dinner]

You haven't lived until you've ridden out a thunder storm on a sail boat. There's no better motivation for making peace with your life then sitting out in the middle of the Bay underneath a 50' high aluminum lightening rod.

[LJ3]

Now THAT, I have done. More than once. And it's no less scary in a 37ft blowboat, either.

[Chicken Dinner]

I think I was airtight for at least a week afterward...

[Big Muddy]

Hide, both fish I caught before the storm were white crappie, but they were as black as Sammy Davis, Jr. ;)

[LJ3]

I thought he was jewish?

[Thumper]

I was once fishing out in the Gulf and it was a fairly clear day, but the normal summer clouds were starting to build. I figured on fishing another 15 mins. or so, then heading on in to port. All of a sudden my fishing line started rising off the water and straight into the air ... I KNEW what was coming next ... KABOOOOM! It was one of those lightning bolts that was so close there was zero time between the lightning and the thunder clap! I think if Guinesses Book of World records had a section for fastest reeling in of fishing line, my name would be listed. I was headed back to port pronto!

Another time I had my boat about 6-8 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico when a storm blew in. I've ridden out MANY storms, but this one scared the bejeebers out'ta me. I had three others with me and they were so scared, they hid under a pile of blankets in the cabin for the whole trip back! The waves were so high I couldn't come close to seeing the horizon and just had a compass reading to follow ... which didn't do squat when the boat is slipping sideways. I flew by the seat of my pants and came out right at the channel markers into my port. I couldn't believe it ... but it happened. During the trip in, lightning was striking the water all around me at about 3 strikes/minute! I'd never witnessed that before and haven't since. The lightning bolts would hit and a huge plume of water would shoot high up into the air, and it just would not let up! I have no clue why the boat was never hit ... seems it would be a target.

[Big Muddy]

I thought he was jewish?

Yep, a very black Jew....;)

[LJ3]

Yep, a very black Jew....;)

One eyed, black, jew. Shalom.

[Big Muddy]

One eyed, black, jew. Shalom.

Yep, and he could do the soft-shoe and tap dance purty good, too....come to think of it, wasn't he really good at quick-drawing a pistol, too???

[Buckrub]

You mean like Big Sky?

[Big Muddy]

I didn't know Sky was Jewish....I thought he was Montanaish. ;)

[Buckrub]

No..........Big Sky is quick at drawing a pistol.

Kaboom.

[No-till Boss]

I didn't know Sky was Jewish....I thought he was Montanaish. ;)

Awwww those must be kosher fish ......

[Chicken Dinner]

I thought that was "Three-fingered Bert"...

(How's he doing anyway?)


No..........Big Sky is quick at drawing a pistol.

Kaboom.