2nd trip at the Vine=tragedy 3-20-11

[JAG107]

Well, I decided to hit the lake for my 2nd trip, and fish it until the weather got too bad. Short line at 5:30, got right in and launched in the dark. Had a nice 1.3lb crappie on the troll by 6:45, and things were looking up. The trout were not hitting the surface lures, so I went leadcore and nailed a nice 2.5lb bow on a dodger/pinched crawler while I was still letting out line. Sweet! Then, it started getting windy. Got another nice big crappie about 10:00 on the way towards trout island, then made another drift/troll towards the dam for nothing. On my way back up towards the docks is when the bad things happened real fast. First, by 3.5hp motor ran out of gas, (only the 2nd time I've used it, wasn't used to the fuel consumption rate) had to switch to the trolling motor. At full speed, I was getting blown backwards by the wind, losing ground towards the dam by catfish cove, out in mid lake. Got spun around, tried to correct the bow by throwing the motor the opposite way only to have it come off the transom and flail about wildly, having to turn it off and re-attach it. During this 30 seconds or so, I was blown parallel to the waves, which were getting very big from the gusts of wind. Within 10 seconds, I was hit by 3 good waves which flooded the boat, and it sank like a rock. I was in total shock--I went from good fishing day to complete disaster in seconds. Luckily my life vest floated up to me, and I had no choice but to try and swim to the west shore, but was mainly just hanging on and letting the wind push me, just trying to keep my head above water. I was wearing 2 heavy jackets, and it was pulling me down. I watched as my 12' tin can boat, gas motor, trolling motor, 3 commercial batteries, net, all my tackle boxes, 4 rods/reels, anchor, $100 worth of X Rap lures, new $250 fish finder, stringer of my catches and everything else all sink to the bottom in a flash.
The swim to shore took probably 20-30 minutes. I pulled myself out of the water and gasped for air. I took off my jackets, which felt as if they weighed 50 lbs each. I pulled my phone out, and miraculously it WORKED! I called my wife, the speaker barely working, and got her to look up the lake on the internet, call them, and got the lake patrol out to me in about 10 minutes. When they picked me up, I was about 3/4 of the way to the dam from the docks, freezing cold. To my surprise, they had found 3 of my 6 tackle box trays and my cooler, from my "debris trail". Major props to the lake manager and staff, I don't know how I would have made it back if they hadn't come to get me. They said they'd look out for my boat to see if it'd pop up, but I highly doubt that, friggin thing was weighed down big time.
I'll be back. I'll get another boat and I'll be back for sure.
Thanks for reading.

[E.A.R.G.]

DUUUUUUUUUDEEEEEEEEEEE


good thing ur alive bro!!! count the blessings!

danggg

but thats some resilience! yea bro! get a new boat and show that lake whos boss!

[Hometown]

wow at least you are ok all I dont know how much boating experencie you have .But to all novice boaters keep your bow into the swell

[Sublime-Steve]

Someone needs to put together a fund raiser for you... i feel bad for u bro.. that's some shity *** **** and u lost ur fish to.. GLAD UR ALIVE be safe man

[Poxy Boggards]

Damn, that's a crazy story! Glad your alright!

[troutdog]

WoW that is about as scary as it gets, talk about a reason to be thankful for being able to write a report. Sorry to hear about all the casualties, but glad you are okay...all the rest can and will be eventually replaced.


TD

[radray]

Glad to hear you are safe. That's the most important thing. Gears can be replaced, but your life on the other hand is a different matter. Good to see you did not lose your fishing spirit. Fish On my friend.

[BrandonFish]

Thats just SCARY!! Im glad you are Ok. But damn! they didnt give you any free days to come back?

[dixoncider]

That sucks....!...That being said..usually when things go wrong on the water it is a bunch of small things that happen all together, rather quickly, that make for one big problem...
1."Then, it started getting windy" 2."made another drift/troll towards the dam" 3. "3.5hp motor ran out of gas" 4."Trolling motor come off the transom" 5."pulled my phone out, and miraculously it WORKED! I called my wife"
I would say that this is a pretty good lesson for everyone..If the order of these events was slighly different then the out come would have been a non issue...First have the lake's number on your phone..I know for a fact the JAG107 will never have this happen to him again.....

[Bobber Boy]

Dang!!!!! That HAD to have been really scary! Glad you're alright bro!

[Kelster]

Like others have said, I am glad you made it to the shore safely. Just a reminder to all of us that all bodies of water are dangerous in bad weather. All that stuff can be replaced, you can't.

[TaperSteve]

Suprised no one saw what happened or saw you in the water or anything. Lake must have been empty. That sux for sure! I got an extra trolling motor and marine battery you can barrow indef. LMK if your interested....

TS

[Señor.Chilax]

WOW! That has to be the craziest fishing story I've ever heard. Thank god you're ok.

[bruce watson]

You said that you have a new fish finder on your boat. Did you happen to notice how deep the water was just before you sank. If it is in less than 60 feet, it may be possible to salvage your hull with an underwater camera and a hook. I don't know if the lake would allow a diver.

[Marky]

When things go wrong on the water it's usually more than one event, in your case both motors going out and when things start to happen they happen FAST! Glad you made it out of that mess, it could of been way worse...

[billy b]

My condolences and best wishes. Glad you made it ... but still it is a significant loss, too.

FWIW ... I'll chip in

[oomicha3loo]

Damn...lucky you got out of that mess okay. Hopefully they can salvage the boat or at least something. good luck.

[zzzfish]

Hey Jag,

I'm glad you're alive! Irvine is a great lake and when you're ready to go back, I would like to pay for your gate ticket. You can PM me any time and let me know when you would like to go and I'll make sure you're taking care of.

Fish on!

Jake/zzzfish

[Boltfan#1]

Man that is just plain NUTS!! Amazing that your cell phone still worked, and im glad that you are still around to post that story. Keep your head up on the lost gear... you will get it back all in due time.

[Hitts0n]

Great story! Play by play detail! I felt like I was there,or watching it on TV! You made it out,thats all that matters! Like everyone else said,all that can be replaced! Well....the Lake shouldnt have let anyone on the water in first place.:Angry:I bet they wont do it again.If you would have died,it would have been all kinds of drama for the next 5 years.The Lakes over here by my house were all closed to boats.Well,at least thats what I heard.True or false man,lesson learned.Check the weather reports before hitting the waters event if it says 80 degrees all week.Its good to know,you can see that lake once again ! Hope to meet u soon at Irvine! Check us out on the 23rd of next month!

[5150fishn]

Wow! What a story to be able to tell. Glad you made it out Ok. Sorry about the loss of gear and boat. What a complete bummer. When the wind kicks up at the Vine it can be brutal. I fish from a kayak and have had several what am I doing out here moments but not like yours! Hope to see you on the water soon.

[Hitts0n]

You know what...imma say whats really on my mind......
Irvine Lake was wrong for not stopping people from lauching their boats
during a massive spring storm,of the year! But they can block off the road to trout Island and the flats to prevent cars
from being stuck in the mud,but I guess its ok for boats being stuck at the bottom of the Dam....smmfh

[dixoncider]

Was it windy when he launched?

[TaperSteve]

Ohh come on now Hitts you're being alittle too harsh. We all know that the wind at the Vine can pick up rather quickly and conditions can deteriorate pretty rapidly. I've been out there on several occasions where they wouldnt let us launch due to weather conditions. Im not putting the blame on anyone here but you gotta be ready for anything to happen. If you're out in ruff conditions you gotta have you're anchors ready to deploy just incase your engine cuts out and you def gotta have paddles. Also any lake I use my boat I always make sure I have their phone # saved in my phone. The main thing here is the dude's OK!

TS

[Marley]

That's totally nuts. I'm glad they're watching for the boat to float instead of watching for you to float. The boat I was in took a couple of waves over the side in last year's Masters derby but we were lucky and just got drenched.
Thank God you're safe!

[CL SmooV]

the best thing about this report is the fact that YOU wrote it. and not a newspaper indicating you drowned.

happy you made it to shore safe. as for your stuff, sucks that you lost it all, but now you a damn good reason to go tackle shoping.

[exfactor]

A 3.5 isn't exactly a powerful engine for when the wind blows. Easy for stuff to go wrong there. And if this ever happens again (not wishing it) Drop the hook in! Would have had a different ending if you had.

[2quikmotorwerks]

man that is some crazy ish bro glad you made it out alive, material items can always be replaced lives cant, if i were you and that woulda happend to me the minute i made it to shore i woulda been on my knees thanking the lord for my life and thats real talk.

[oldmaninsea]

You've got to be kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just think, most of us get upset about takin' the old stinky "skunk" ... sure puts things into perspective!
Thank God it turned out well for you personally/physically! That good ol' personal flotation device floated up to you, whew!!
Sorry 'bout all the stuff you lost, but that can all be replaced! Really sorry to hear about your experience, I'm sure you'll recover ... Just have faith!

Tom
over and out

[Bebop]

Pm me and I will give you a rod and real. sorry about your loss.
Bob

[JAG107]

This response from everybody has been overwhelming, just letting it all sink in and been thinking everything over and over all week what I should have done, etc...
I've had some stormy windy days at Skinner this year, all on just the troll motor, and yeah it took me a while to fight it in to the dock, I was still able to make it in fine.
To answer a few of your comments, no it was not windy at 6am when I launched. It didn't really pick up until well into the morning, and still wasn't so bad that I couldn't control the boat until the bad gusts came through. I certainly can't blame the lake for anything, I did hear the gate guy warning the truck on the other side of the shack that the road to TI were probably not going to be ok all day, so beware, etc. The warning was for rain though, and slick roads. Since this is only my second visit, I really had no expectation of the winds getting so bad, even comparing them to some considerable sierra storms I've weathered in this boat the past 2 years. This would have been my third summer in the boat, and my boating experience pretty much stops there. I really got way too excited about nailing the fish instead of thinking about my own safety and what could happen, I mean honestly how often do you hear stories like this? I read fishing boards all the time, I don't think I can remember the last "sunk boat" story in a lake, if ever in the past 3 years.
Also, I remember being in 65-70 feet of water according to the fish finder when it happened. It could have blown a bot closer to the west shore though, and settled at 50 feet or so, who knows. I lost sight of the boat real fast. So many mistakes to remember, everybody: Anchor rope only 50' long and not attached to the boat, no weight on the bow, all the batteries and heavy stuff in the rear 1/3 of the boat. well underpowered, even though the transom was flimsy and probably couldn't handle more than a 5hp motor. Not having anything to bail out water with. Not fishing with a buddy. Like you guys said, not knowing the lake's number (which wouldn't have mattered if the phone was dead anyway). I had paddles but what good are those gonna do if a trolling motor is useless in a gust?
I appreciate the offers of help from everybody, it's unbelievable. I'm gonna go to Fred Hall on Saturday, then gear up at Bass Pro on Sunday. I'd be cool if I could hitch a boat ride with some one some time before the season's over...
I'll be searching the ads for good 14 footers for sale, maybe I'll find a good deal sometime. Until then, I'll be boning up on my shore fishing.
Thanks again for all your comments!

[toomanyskunks]

I actually witnessed something a lot like this! I was fishing at Lake Piramid with my wife, daughter, and boat on a FREZZING cold day in late December at around 12 when the wind started (my fam was already in the car) i saw three heavy-set men pile on to a little 10feet aluminum boat. If the three of them with two coolers and around three tackle boxes werent a match for the tiny boat i dont know what was. i guess they forgot to pull up the anchor or the driver didnt know it was still in the water or mabye both but the boat took a lot of water in the front and the driver paniked and went full speed with the anchor still in the water. that when i noticed they didnt have lifevests ( at least thats what i think happened because i couldnt understand what they were saying ) at that moment i knew i couldnt help them with my small ladderless boat. so thats when i ran to the sheriff building and i told him that sombody was drowning on the lake. he didnt belive me at first and even asked if they were swimming because he couldnt see either them or their boat. after he finally got his boat in gear and called for backup and peramedics it had been around 3 minites. from where i was you could tell they were in bad shape. after he got to them with his large boat even he had a hard time getting them all in so it proved i wouldnt have been able to put them on my boat. luckily they were ok 30 minutes later when the ambulence got there. only one was put in the ambulence the others were fine but they all looked like they had hypothermia. that something they will always remember even myself. by the way there was ice on the side of the lake.

[TaperSteve]

I fish the Vine almost ever Saturday. You're def more then welcome to hit the troll with me anytime! LMK if or when you'd be intersted....

TS

[Hitts0n]

Well at least you learned from it! Fish on mates!

[oomicha3loo]

You're welcome on the skippy anytime. If anything I might go out on Monday for some quick halibut fishing

[exfactor]

Got a 15 1/2 foot Glastron tri hull with a 50 on it if your interested. Old boat, but very sea worthy. And 200 feet of anchor rope.

[Rooster]

I believe things happen for a reason and this post truely might save my or someone elses life by reading it.
Thanks for posting this up.
Hope 2 cya out there soon!

[Fish Dog]

Glad you're okay man. Scary stuff. When I was about 14 we sunk a boat outside the breakwater at Long Beach so I know how you feel.

As for the boat, check Craigslist.com. I've seen a few in there lately for decent prices.

And, a couple of people have already mentioned it, but in a case like that your anchor is your friend. Be sure the end of the rope is tied to the boat before you start out. Even if you don't have enough rope to reach the bottom the drag from the anchor and the rope will keep your bow into the wind. I'd be sure you have at least 100 foot of anchor rope for the new boat though.

[CALFISHER4EVR]

That brings back some old memories with my 14' at Silverwood lake. Glad to here you are good. Just want to say to all the tubers who don't where any life vest. If you go into the lake and your waders fill up like a bag of water. There is a very good chance that you are going DOWN!!!!!! It doesn't look cool I guess, But it is better than the alternative which is Davey's Locker..

[Bob The Big Boy]

dude thats nuts glad your ok man .....as far a looking for a boat this one ready to run , ready for weather

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/members-boats-sale/313954-sea-nymph-18-cc-aluminum-bayrunner-killer.html

[snslarison]

Man that is scary. I just got a new life vest from BPS. I'll be wearing that baby for sure when Im out on my tube.

[Hitts0n]

dude thats nuts glad your ok man .....as far a looking for a boat this one ready to run , ready for weather

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/members-boats-sale/313954-sea-nymph-18-cc-aluminum-bayrunner-killer.html

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :Popcorn:

[Perris Bluegill Chaser]

Ohh come on now Hitts you're being alittle too harsh. We all know that the wind at the Vine can pick up rather quickly and conditions can deteriorate pretty rapidly. I've been out there on several occasions where they wouldnt let us launch due to weather conditions. Im not putting the blame on anyone here but you gotta be ready for anything to happen. If you're out in ruff conditions you gotta have you're anchors ready to deploy just incase your engine cuts out and you def gotta have paddles. Also any lake I use my boat I always make sure I have their phone # saved in my phone. The main thing here is the dude's OK!

TS
life jacket,air-horns,float cushion....oars should always be on your boat,,,,,

[hooks]

WOW, I'm shocked!
I didn't read all these replies but, where was everyone? This was on a Sunday and no one seen this happening?:Shocked::EyePop:
Glad to hear you are okay. It can pretty hairy out there when the wind comes up.
If you're in a small craft out there (and I've seen lots of folks in smaller boats then this on the vine) please be careful.
tight lines

[Trout Doctor]

... just letting it all sink in ...

*snerk*

(I'm so sorry!)

Crazy story man, glad you're ok. I'm definitely going to be keeping a closer eye on my PFD than I normally do in the future.

[JAG107]

[QUOTE=hooks;532324]WOW, I'm shocked!
I didn't read all these replies but, where was everyone? This was on a Sunday and no one seen this happening?:Shocked::EyePop:


That's just it, when it started getting bad there was really nobody around for what seemed like miles. One rental anchored on the west shore a 1/4 mile or so upwind of me, the bass guys all gone already. Only saw 2 other trailers in the lot, only 1 bass boat ahead of me in line. I was only 4 cars back in line at 5:30, compared to WAY back 2 sundays ago, which had at least 100 boats on the lake from my rough count at 11 or so.

[muskyman]

Man that sucks dude, but like the other guy said, you got to post this instead of the Orange County Register. How big of a bilge pump did you have in your boat ? The reason I ask is 90% of all boats have that P.O.S. 500gph bilge, which is ok if you wanna die, but if you wanna live, upgrade it. Out here we loose fisherman in nice boats all summer long. Most of the time, the bilge fails or is insufficient. I have a 18ft crestliner and I upgraded to a 1500 gph bilge. I hope some of you read this and do so as well. Its a cheap investment to stay alive.

[HBAR]

Glad to hear your still around, this happened to me and my dad when I was around 5 years old. Dad had a really unstable Montgomery wards alum boat, even the slightest move like reaching for a soda the thing would wobble really bad. Hence what I did when dad was picking up the anchor, when we flipped over in the boat I didnt' have on my pfd, 2 of my uncles were fishing really close by one of them dropped everything stripped down to his skivveys jumped in the water and went after me, somehow I managed to cling onto the edge of the boat when he threw the pfd on me.
I remember seeing my dads tackle boxe as big as it was and opened floating but dad was no where to be seen. Uncle made me let go of the boat I can only guess he got it up against the rocks, oh sorry all we were at Castaic lagoon. He flipped the boat back over threw me inside of it and proceeded to gather up all the gear he could while also looking for my dad.
Turns out dad went down I think he said he hit the bottom (left spillway all the way towards the back), he had on a flannel shirt said the hooks from the rods had caught his sleeves was able to pull his knife out cut the lines grab all the rods and come back up. Of course I was scared since I didnt' see my dad and being that I was 5 well? Then all of a sudden I hear a huge gasp for air and my uncle races over to him to help him to shore.
I was really scared of what he was going to do to me since I caused us to flip over, little did I know how mad he was at his other brother who just sat there in his boat watching the whole thing (my dad is the oldest of the boys, the brother that jumped in was the youngest the other one was number #3 of 4).
I didn't want to go fishing for well over a few year(s) dad sold the boat eventually got another one which I was hesitant to get into but when I saw this one was really stable I had no problems.
I obviously have no problems now just look at my float boat in the picture, but when I get near that area where this happend when I'm out there fishing I get a little anxious.

[GdHkSet1]

Man that sucks dude, but like the other guy said, you got to post this instead of the Orange County Register. How big of a bilge pump did you have in your boat ? The reason I ask is 90% of all boats have that P.O.S. 500gph bilge, which is ok if you wanna die, but if you wanna live, upgrade it. Out here we loose fisherman in nice boats all summer long. Most of the time, the bilge fails or is insufficient. I have a 18ft crestliner and I upgraded to a 1500 gph bilge. I hope some of you read this and do so as well. Its a cheap investment to stay alive.

Jag-Glad you made it to shore...

Muskyman- excellent recommendation, I'm on it.

[keepemlo]

Wow.....it's hard to prepare for the unknown...so many scenerios ,a chain of weird events can occur at anytime...I'm all for a fund raiser..

[JAG107]

Man that sucks dude, but like the other guy said, you got to post this instead of the Orange County Register. How big of a bilge pump did you have in your boat ? The reason I ask is 90% of all boats have that P.O.S. 500gph bilge, which is ok if you wanna die, but if you wanna live, upgrade it. Out here we loose fisherman in nice boats all summer long. Most of the time, the bilge fails or is insufficient. I have a 18ft crestliner and I upgraded to a 1500 gph bilge. I hope some of you read this and do so as well. Its a cheap investment to stay alive.

My "bilge pump" was a cut off beer can to scoop out water when I got splashed a little. It would pool up right at my side on the port side of the stern. Maybe would take on 1/2 gallon a day on a more-rough-than-normal day. This day's amount of water was far beyond what I've ever taken on. Great idea for upgrading!

[exfactor]

My now girlfriend used to go up to cachuma with her then old man and troll for trout in an aluminum kind of rental boat. She and Tom were trolling halfway to the dam from E point, when a bass boat came roaring around the point with his bow coming up from accelerating. He didn't see them, and slammed into their boat, but mostly into tom's chest. Nancy broke her pelvis, and somehow clung to the side of the boat. Tom came up a month later. She was real hesitant to return up there with me, but I made sure she was aware that I was safe on a boat. Were still together 18 years later, but she reminds me of this often. The bass guy had some insurance, and she was in the hospital for 2 months. The world is a funny place sometimes.

[Hometown]

Wow i been to cachuma many times and the weather can get bad in a hurry around 2:00 pm or so. So why are they considering kayaks i dont know?
my now girlfriend used to go up to cachuma with her then old man and troll for trout in an aluminum kind of rental boat. She and tom were trolling halfway to the dam from e point, when a bass boat came roaring around the point with his bow coming up from accelerating. He didn't see them, and slammed into their boat, but mostly into tom's chest. Nancy broke her pelvis, and somehow clung to the side of the boat. Tom came up a month later. She was real hesitant to return up there with me, but i made sure she was aware that i was safe on a boat. Were still together 18 years later, but she reminds me of this often. The bass guy had some insurance, and she was in the hospital for 2 months. The world is a funny place sometimes.

[dixoncider]

The bilge pump does not do much good when you get swamped.

[oomicha3loo]

The bilge pump does not do much good when you get swamped.
Idk about that, my buddy 23' sea ray took a hit from a hidden rock at backside catalina and luckily we installed 3 new pumps the week before because we made it to two harbor and got some help

[diamondbear]

dixoncider, What do you think a bilge pump does , PULLS WATER OUT WHEN NEEDED TO ! When you get swamped it pulls water out faster than whats COMKNG IN , Hopefully .

[dixoncider]

Not in this case..he went sideways and filled with water (SWAMPED), then sank..once he was full he was done..unless he had like a 3" pump it would not have mattered...A little skiff like his could hold several hundred gallons of water so even with a 2000 pump it would not have kept up..That being said..Bilge pump is a must..but it will not get you out of every problem... remember it only works if your getting water out faster than its coming in.. by the way when you swamp it happens in like a few seconds..Here is something all you small boater should check out also "positive buoyancy" put some foam in your rig..It will keep you afloat even in a swamping condition and may let you get the water pumped out...and hitting a rock and putting a hole in the bottom is not swamping due to sea conditions...that all I have to say..glad he was ok...

[fongster]

Sorry to hear of your disaster. Glad you're ok. Your boat didn't have foam floatation under its seats? What kind of boat was it?

Here's a lifesaving tip--everyone, WEAR your PDFs. They can't help you if they aren't on. What if you hit your head or get a severe muscle cramp that prevents you from reaching your loose one? (not bagging on anyone, just don't want to read about someone from here dying). Also, keep your cell phone in a plastic zip bag.

[diamondbear]

DIXON. He went sideways and STARTED TO FILL WITH WATER [ not swamped ] THATS THE WAY A BILGE PUMP WORKS ,

[dixoncider]

Quote="During this 30 seconds or so, I was blown parallel to the waves, which were getting very big from the gusts of wind. Within 10 seconds, I was hit by 3 good waves which flooded the boat, and it sank like a rock. " What part of this does not make since to you? bilge pump would not have kept him floating...Even if he had a 2000 gallon per hour pump that was working perfectly it will only move 250 gallons in 7.5 minutes.. so if is sunk in a minute the pump would have moved what 33 gallons? and that is in a perfect world..I am not bashing the bilge pump..dont get me wrong..just that in THIS case it MAY not have mattered..a little more prudent seamanship would have been the call..and by the way..It is not my first day on the water..OK..

[bman90278]

That sucks....!...That being said..usually when things go wrong on the water it is a bunch of small things that happen all together, rather quickly, that make for one big problem...
1."Then, it started getting windy" 2."made another drift/troll towards the dam" 3. "3.5hp motor ran out of gas" 4."Trolling motor come off the transom" 5."pulled my phone out, and miraculously it WORKED! I called my wife"
I would say that this is a pretty good lesson for everyone..If the order of these events was slighly different then the out come would have been a non issue...First have the lake's number on your phone..I know for a fact the JAG107 will never have this happen to him again.....



Couldn't agree more!!!!

Thank God you are ok and put this behind you as a valuable lesson! Hopefully u can be back out soon.

brian

[diamondbear]

dix. I dont want to get into a pissing contest with you as I can tell by now that your a shore angler with little or no boat exp. for sure . YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT A BOAT BILGE CAN DO . What size bilge is in your boat ? What lks. do you fish in your boat ?? I dont mean to affend you you but its a good thing you fish from a lounge chair from shore .// db

[dixoncider]

If you only knew the truth...I guess you are missing my point.
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=29218
This was last weekend, oddly enough I did not see you out diamondbear?

[oomicha3loo]

Quote="During this 30 seconds or so, I was blown parallel to the waves, which were getting very big from the gusts of wind. Within 10 seconds, I was hit by 3 good waves which flooded the boat, and it sank like a rock. " What part of this does not make since to you? bilge pump would not have kept him floating...Even if he had a 2000 gallon per hour pump that was working perfectly it will only move 250 gallons in 7.5 minutes.. so if is sunk in a minute the pump would have moved what 33 gallons? and that is in a perfect world..I am not bashing the bilge pump..dont get me wrong..just that in THIS case it MAY not have mattered..a little more prudent seamanship would have been the call..and by the way..It is not my first day on the water..OK..
I don't know about small aluminium boats, but i had 3 boats (2 deep v and 1 bass) but both deep v's had areas where it would allocated the bilge pump(s) to work it magics. In the case of my skipjack, i just recently installed 2 1500 GPH pump in the back and 1 2000 GPH in the front and always install 1 manual switch and one float switch (with a manual switch override) and for extra precaution a float switch alarm.

[bassnet]

If you only knew the truth...I guess you are missing my point.
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=29218
This was last weekend, oddly enough I did not see you out diamondbear?

How did we get from Lake Irvine to the Bering Sea? Good thing nobody is fishing Lake Isabella or the river...

[oomicha3loo]

How did we get from Lake Irvine to the Bering Sea? Good thing nobody is fishing Lake Isabella or the river...

That isn't the bearing sea, thats just my gf on her period xD

[dixoncider]

dix. I dont want to get into a pissing contest with you as I can tell by now that your a shore angler with little or no boat exp. for sure . YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT A BOAT BILGE CAN DO . What size bilge is in your boat ? What lks. do you fish in your boat ?? I dont mean to affend you you but its a good thing you fish from a lounge chair from shore .// db

Maybe you should rethink this whole comment?

[oomicha3loo]

Maybe you should rethink this whole comment?

Not to be nosy but what boat do you ahve dixon?

[viking172]

Wow man thats nuts, glad you made it. If nothing else you have a new little structure spot to fish that no one else knows about. Sunken boats attaract fish, ive got a few good ones off a sunken boat out in perris,.

[dixoncider]

Not that it matters but...Here is my assessment of what happened here. 1st lack of prudent seamanship, IE-one more drift,out of fuel, lack of a proper anchor or drift sock. 2. vessel had no positive buoyancy in it.IE- foam under the seat or around the cap rail....because of this when he got side ways in the weather the boat swamped, meaning the the water came over the cap rail filling the boat up quickly...they it became just a piece of metal not a boat and sank...bilge pumps would not have helped in THIS case...

[JAG107]

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=29246
Here's the boat the day I bought it. Since then, I carpeted the floor and seats. Picture all the weight in the back ie 3 commercial batteries right along the transom, only thing up by the bow was the tackle bag and cooler. I agree with Dixon, I really should have gone in before the last drift but you know how it is, pick up another couple before it starts raining, etc...

[TZ1]

I was out the day before on saturday and it got windy with rain. I watched the lake patrol boat struggle to get around the lake at it was trying to warn boaters to be careful, the only boats I saw out there still was myself and one pontoon boat. As far as bilge pumps go, a sportboat captain once joked to me that "nothing bails out a sinking boat faster than three scared men with five gallon buckets".

[BIGRED KILLA]

Thats a burn but good thing you are a ok!! It sank like a rock cause of all the wieght in the back from the commercial batteries maybe next time just take one good one and use the gas engine. I have a 14 Gregor Welded hulls foam filled bench seats no trailer 300 let me know if your intrested.