Happy Ending - just sharing

[Williamsdad]

It's usually Luc who posts, but I thought we should share an experience from last Saturday. First the fishing report, he'll follow with a couple of pictures. He's become quite skilled at site fishing, and I have to admit to becoming a little "hooked" on it myself. We've come a long way from drowning shrimp in a deep hole, or off some beach.

While Saturday was a long day based on the action, and it never really got warm, our patience was rewarded with 3 overslot reds, 2 of which we each landed throwing at a wake, and the 3rd spotted and hooked up in a group in very skinny water. Prior to that, we learned of some very shallow spots on the east flats, where he poled his heart out just to keep us from spending a very long time in one place.

We've been on hundreds of trips since we bacame boaters, and though I'll hopefully never really feel overconfident, we do feel "experienced". We learned another new lesson Saturday that we thought worth sharing, hoping others can avoid a similar scare.

We were bow end into a dead end creek, in the Mitzi, tide rushing in behind us, Luc on the platform trying to hold our position, me at the controls. We both agreed, reverse was the way to start getting out of there - not a good idea with the tide rushing in, and all the weight in the back of the very low riding skiff.

Before we realized it, the prop had dug in, and water was rushing over the stern, quickly filling the boat. There was a very brief moment when I thought it was gone, then, in sheer panic mode, we luckily did several right things that saved the boat - he moved to the front, I hit forward and we turned on the bilge pump. Water stopped coming in, and started going out. A little scary to realize how much trouble we got in "just like that".

We weren't in danger of drowning, but we could have been stranded in a very isolated spot (see photos), with a boat full of water, sitting on the bottom. Would not have been good at all. Fortunately, our luck was not limited to our fishing.

Hopefully Luc can add a couple of photos of the better part of our day. In the end, no real harm, and a lesson learned.

[Hit-n-Miss]

Glad you got out of it without sinking the boat.

[LucWilliams]

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[kenfly]

Nice fish and way to think fast:)


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[big bend gyrene]

Glad your story ended happy versus being stranded!

Things like that sure do happen quick. 10 years of so ago fellow board member Sharkman and I were fishing out of a wide canoe on which I had a side mounted 2 hp engine. Wide open throttle the engine would push the canoe about 8 mph, but the problem with running wide open throttle was that it rooster-tailed a bit of splash into the back side of the canoe. Any speed under 6 mph I didn't have that problem so it wasn't normally an issue... key word "normally".

Got caught by a fast summer storm while fishing the flats near the lighthouse and pushed for shore as fast as we could. Between heavy rains filling the canoe and lightning motivating us to get to shore, I pushed the speed just a fraction too high with my attention forward of the canoe for boat traffic... by the grace of God we were in the lighthouse channel before the consequences hit us. Being a few pounds heavier than Sharkman and with the water coming in behind me, I felt my end going down and did a ninja jump move to get out and hold the canoe up before it could sink. Never will forget the look Sharkman had when he turned to see me jumping into the water, as the fact we were seconds from sinking hadn't registered with him yet. Was able to keep the canoe from sinking, but only by holding it up and muck walking it over to the grassline and emptying out the water we took on. Day I don't think I'll ever forget.

[charlie tuna]

Water over the stern sinks a lot of boats! We rescued three guys off the keys one year in a rental boat. They rented the boat to fish over night on the reef. Not knowing where the reef was, they ran out past the reef, thru the anchor over the side and figured, as they drifted in, the anchor would catch on the reef. BIG mistake was they tied the anchor rope off to a stern cleat. Not realizing how fast the ocean current was carrying them. When the anchor hung onto the reef, the boat swung around, and water started coming over the stern, and filled the boat up faster than they could react to their situation. Of course, the battery was underwater in less than a minute, so they had no radio. They stayed with their sunk boat overnight, we came across them the next morning around 7:00 AM.

[captkeyser]

Glad to hear it all worked out in your favor Jon and Luc. I have had a few scares similar to that my self. It's times like that when you have to stay calm and work fast. Bryce and I almost sunk at 0 Tower a few years back in the flats boat. Scary stuff.

[SS-342]

That is scary stuff! Never had that experience …. yet, so appreciate the story. Glad everything turned out OK. That was quick, good thinking!

[bman]

Glad you didnt go down and got out of it dry.
We learn things every trip and that was a good lesson!

[Salty Gator]

I'm glad it worked out fellas. Nice fish also

[Jumptrout51]

Some of my fondest memories are of nearly sinking.

[onefishtwofish]

Glad ya'll got yourselves out of a major pain situation. You would have been safe, but you woulda been miserable.

Took a kid fishing when we were in Junior High School. He was not a fisherman (he was a year older than me). We jumped in our 12' glass boat on the pond we lived on (glass calm, warm weather, 75 yard swim to shore). My brother, as the devil possessed him, opened up one of the bait wells (full of water like it was supposed to be) and screamed, "WE ARE TAKING ON WATER, WE ARE GOING DOWN, WE ARE GOING DOWN!". The young man, that could swim just fine (we had asked), bailed out of the boat like it was on fire and started swimming for shore. We did not get wet, other than that little bit where we wet ourselves from laughing so hard. Poor guy. He did end up fishing with us a lot over the next few years.

[Williamsdad]

OFTF - saw your "dream" in the other post. You ever see Luc's "Louisiana" post, about 10 posts down? Trip was unbelievable!!!!!!!!!

[onefishtwofish]

I did and my real dream is to catch a legal or over red on the buggy whip. I am jealous. I have some friends that have done it this year too. I need to do it soon.

[LucWilliams]

Would be easy to catch oversized bulls on the fly rod over there. Could catch as many as you want with the right conditions.


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