Pymatuning winds

Last Saturday was brutal out there. Our bass tournament was canceled mid day and the one on Sunday was canceled as a result. I heard 4-5 boats got capsized. I hope you all are safe.

I was on Arthur Saturday and it was pretty unbelievable.  The wind was blowing perpendicular to the 529 bridge and it was INTENSE.  I have a 16' Mirrocraft deep V and the thing is like a tank so the boat stayed dry but it was interesting.  I have a 7.5 merc outboard that was giving it all she's got and it was hard to keep the bow pointed into the wind.  I was afraid to cut the motor until I got myself into a sheltered cove and threw anchor.  

its called a Crestliner,a 20hp kicker and a drift sock.Pull your SKIRTS up and fish!

Got beat up at Crooked Creek on Saturday. 1st time at the lake, my trolling battery died.  Caught some of the smallest bass barely larger than the minnow. I'll go back and try her again.
 

my hunting and fishing buddies are retired ohio rangers.  they recovered a lot of drowning victims over their 25 plus years, each.  some were from small boats, some from big.  the lake can get dangerous.  be smart, there is always tomorrow.   

page 6  of the pa reg book apr 18 - june 12 catch and release ( bass ) NO tournaments permitted.

yes, my mistake.

ORIGINAL: Beaver Trapper

its called a Crestliner,a 20hp kicker and a drift sock.Pull your SKIRTS up and fish!

Spoken like a true statistic...

Tell me Beaver Trapper what brand and model of 17 ft boat and what was the 18 footer since you where out in saginaw bay with in real 4 ft waves multiple times on different boats.  What was the wind speed and direction during these days on S.B. when you were catching a pile of fish? What methods & tackle where you using to catch the pile of fish in the 4 foot waves?
I might want buy a boat on your recommendation so that I never have to go in and can catch fish under difficult weather situations.

I will definetley agree with the masses and say that common sense and good judgement are paramount in averting a dangerous situation!
 
With a year of offshore walleye fishing in a small craft on Lake Erie I have already found myself in some dicey situations. In 7 trips last year I've gained invaluable knowledge on: navigating in rough waters, knowing the limits of my craft, boat control, saftey precautions, and above all respect for the weather and lake conditions.
 
For the record, my boat is a Ranger Fiberglass 19ft Deep-V w/150 h.p. & 9.9 kicker.
Boat is rated for 175 h.p., so I am within 20% of rated max horsepower.  [20% x 175 h.p. = 35 h.p.  175-35=140 h.p.]  Anything less than 140 h.p. for my rig would be considered unpowered.  This rule of thumb applies to all boats I think. 
 
From my limited experience in my boat on bigger water:
 
  Calm to 1 ft waves:  No problem, can push boat to it's top speed of 50+ mph (Normally run at around 35-40mph)
 
  1-2 foot waves: Not bad at all for trolling, able to run on plane around 30-35 mph without crashing hull.
 
  3 ft waves:  Fishable while trolling albeit somewhat uncomfortable.  Boat stays relatively dry depending on wave direction.  Unable to maintain a planeing speed while traveling.  7-8 mph up the face of oncoming waves and back down. Repeat for duration (Not too enjoyable).
 
  4 - 5 foot waves:  Quite uncomfortable in my 19ft boat.  Struggled to keep the nose of the boat from spearing the waves.  Motor was practically at full throttle just to climb the waves @ 5 mph.  Was able to return safely to port both times, but it was a long, uneasy, and wet ride.  Would not venture out far given waves of this magnitude.
 
  5+ waves:  I will stick to the bay or other inland lakes.
 
Just figured I would offer my scenarios for anyone out there who might care to listen...
 
              

I agree. Pymy lake was rocking this Sunday. I even heard of someone who fishes regular getting seasick...

Fished Presque Isle on Sat and Sun.....Pretty rough both days but nuthin like you guys are reporting elsewhere..... wuz in a 16' fglass bass boat w 50HP and 70# trolling motor....dont know what the main lake was like in fact we were too scared to even look haha...

still didn't hear anything from beaver trapper the rough water tuff guy I went on a charter out of hattereras island this past week 5 ft seas predicted for day, our charter capt. warned and said 5ft is fishable but very uncomfortable for passengeners and asked if we wanted to go as rollers in the gulf stream were 5 ft +. this is on a 51 ft boat built specifically for outer banks fishing (we voted to go)   I would have said 8ft for the 5 ft waves kind of like beaver trapper probally calls .5 ft bumps 3 footers... to bad you where not on this trip you would have **** your walleye pants towards the end of the day when true 7 ft rollers occoured which ended our trip early. Picture at the following link http://www.fishbiteme.com/report/viewtopic.php?t=1080
 Im the guy bent over (gray t- shirt) over, all 3 kids were sea sick from the trip out in 5 footers boat was awesome ran at 20 + knots all the way back in from 22 miles out.
but i guess Beaver trapper could have done it in a 18 ft walleye boat

lovegren, good post! Hope to see you up the lake this year. If it's too rough hitch a ride with us.
 
fryem: You can't compare ocean swells with eries waves! It is very possible to fish 4-5 footers in a 19 foot walleye boat, not something I would do though. After owning many boats and finally graduating to a 30' loa hardtop with twins, I can say a 24 foot boat is about as small as I would travel offshore in lake erie in. That lake changes very quick and I just don't want to battle the waves in a smaller boat. Not saying anyones crazy for taking smaller boats out but I just wouldn't do it.
 
Back to the post, I've seen easy 4 footers on pymatuning and with that lake being shallow it is very dangerous. This doesn't happen often but when it does it's bad. I've seen pontoon boats with the pontoons tore loose from the deck. A 12 footer is good out there on a good day but wouldn't want to get stuck in bad weather. The nice thing about the lake is if it gets bad you can access the shore fairly quick. If it's bad who cares if you beach the boat and get a couple scratches in the hull. It sure would beat capsizing!