Largest inland water waves seen/experienced !!!

[swedishpimple]

I have been on LOW with some very large swells, the swells were big enough to have their own little "breakers" ontop, we were way overloaded and underpowered, but we made it.

Last year I had some friends that lost 2 boats late in October in the Basil Channel. They claimed to be in 10' waves. I have no reason not to believe them, West of the Basil is a whole lotta open water. The ice and snow late in October is what really did them in, but that is a whole other topic.

[Carp-fisher]

There are some great stories on this post, but wave height is very easy to overestimate. I've been in true 8 to 10 foot waves deep sea fishing several times. I have a very difficult time believing there are any waves like that on any inland lakes in Minnesota (except Superior). I think the "10 footers" on this thread are more like 3 to 4 footers.

[Kingfisher]

I am surprised there aren't more Lake of The Woods stories. We were on the south shore fishing in a 27' Sportcraft when a high NW wind came up, I don't like to be called for exaggerating when saying that the waves were 10' high, but if you have ever seen a 27' Sportcraft with a canopy you know its quite high. When we were at the bottom of the waves we could not see over the top of the waves. We took the waves at an angle and rolled over them very slowly with no problem, just took us a long time to get back to Warroad.

[Milkdud]

Last summer downrigging out of the Sportsman in 30' charter boat we had a rough day. Wind picked up out of the North East and the guide did everything he could to get back from Long Point safely. Waves were easily 10 feet. The guide would gun the boat up the wave only to have the back wave crash inches from the back of the boat. When we were down in the trough it seemed like we were 20 feet down with water everywhere. It was the scariest (Contact Us Please) thing I have ever experienced. When we finally got back to the sportsman there were other guides waiting for our boat to return and many said they have never seen waves that big before on LOW! I have total respect for the lake now!

[Milkdud]

By the way I just read Carp-Fishers post and I have seen 3-4 foot waves on a 250 acre lake! I suppose everyone on this post has a depth perception problem except you huh?

[Senior]

About thirty years ago I was on Rainey Lake with the family in one of those big houseboats you can rent. We were headed back to the resort on the 4th of July after waiting about 6 hours for some bad weather to pass, it went east of us and I figured it was safe to head out onto the main lake. After about 30 mins of cruising I happened to look off to the north and all I could see was a wall of water coming at us! Rain and waves, I turned the boat into the oncoming wind and wall of water just before it hit. I had no place to go for shelter and had to ride it out on open water. The waves were breaking over the bow and smashing into the cabin portion of the boat, I thought they were going to break out the glass doors! If I gave the boat to much power the bow would plow into the oncoming waves, but I couldn't let the waves push us back, because the shore was all rock and wasn't that far away. I didn't have time to measure the size of the waves, but the motor on that 40ft. houseboat was coming out of the water and I've never been that scared on a lake before or since that day. Two people lost thier lives that day on Rainey Lake. Three days later we were on Mille Lacs when the wind brought some 4 footers and they were a piece of cake in comparison.

[Hemlock]

Another one for LOW...I was onlyt 16 years old driving from work (Sioux Narrows) to our cabin on an island. These were only 3-4 footers, but I was in a 16' Lund/20 hp Evinrude. The closest I've come to swamping a boat was this day. I made the mistake of slowing down, while at the bottom of the swell. Looked back for some reason, and gunned it. Had I not, I would've had the wave break right over the motor. Keep an eye out what's behind you as well as picking a path of least resistance ahead of you.

[ScottL]

I have been in 2 large wave situations. 2nd place local shallow lake 70 MPH straight line winds in a 16.5 ft Aluminum V hull. I bent the prop shaft on my 50HP outboard when it bottomed out in 5 feet of water and swamped boat when we speared 2 waves. It had to do with wave frequency (very close together)wave height 3-4ft. 1st place LOTW summer of 2005. Fishing out of a 27' Sportcraft out of one of the resorts on the River. Had to run from Garden Island back thru the gap with 30+ MPH NW winds. Charter captain more or less surfed us all the way back in. I will GUARANTEE anyone on here that from trough to crest they were all of 10ft if not 15ft.We would fall off the crest into the trough and were completely surrounded by water. The following wave would break and hit the downrigger booms that were folded straight back. Pucker factor real high.

[Hookmaster]

Lake Osakis in the late 70s. Fishing on a summer day. Launched just north of Linwood Point and went to the north end of the lake. We fished there for a few hours and couldn't tell that the wind was getting worse. When we rounded the point, the wind was coming right up the lake. We were in a 12 foot boat with a 9.5 hp. The boat would disappear in the troughs and float like a bobber over the crests. I was looking back at my buddy and the back end would almost go under each time we climbed a wave. He was bailing the best he could. He grew up on a lake and if it wasn't for his driving skills we would have dumped. We didn't have life jackets, only boat cushions. The most scared I've been in a boat.

[Big Julie]

I was just finishing my tour with the navy in the mid 70's and was assigned to the sailing center at Great Lakes Naval Center where my 'job' was renting out sailboats. We had about an 18' Boston Whaler with I think a 70 Johnson we called 'the crash boat' that we used mostly to service the sail boats.

The base had a pretty good size harbor with a breakwater around it. Just north of it was the beach.

The wind was out of the east around 40 or so one day and we heard an ambulance come behind us heading that way. We looked out and saw people on the breakwater. A friend and I jumped into the boat and headed over there inside the breakwater.

When we got there, the people said that there were people in the water drowning and that we should go help them.

We looked at each other and basicly agreed to go.

When we got to the opening of the breakwater, the waves had to have been 12'+.

We went over to the beach and found one sailor, but we couldn't find 7 or 8 others.

What we were later told was that someone was swimming and got into trouble with the undertow and a lifegaurd went after him. More and more people kept going in to help others and the undertow was just too much for them. I knew two of them.

The next day we went back out with the divers for the bodies.

We didn't think much about anything other than helping, but it was one heck of a rough ride.

Boston Whalers are a great boat.

[fishnfool59]

40 yrs ago on Turtle River lake just outside Bemidji. My grandparents owned a resort there. The dock boy and his trusty assistant...me, had a blast on a windy day(3-5ft waves)in the little 12 ft alum with the good ole trusty 3.5 evinrude riding the waves out front of the resort!!! Oh to have it all back again!!!! Learned alot from from those dock boys!! Great thread by the way!!!!!

[canobeans]

I was out on leech one day when they were easily 10ft. It is very possible and your co-worker is probably tellin the truth and is extremely intelligent. Dont ever underestimate a bass fisherman.

[Black_Bay]

Here are some real large waves. http://tv-antenna.com/heavy-seas/

[Questor]

One important point about waves is that size isn't everything, it's frequency. In other words, the distance between crests. In freshwater lakes, the crests can be so close together that the waves will batter the boat and may even swamp it. I have seen many a 12 foot boat swamped in 200 acre lakes on windy days when the waves could not have been more than about a foot. Jon boats seem particularly susceptible to this. 14 footers seem to be a big improvement in seaworthiness under those conditions. I have also seen the low, heavy bass boats having trouble in similar conditions. Part of this is that the operators should realize that the bow should be into the wind on windy days.

Also, most of us using small aluminum boats here in Minnesota are using boats that are not seaworthy (i.e., safe) on water much rougher than a dead calm.

[DTro]

I'm pretty sure this video was shot on Minnetonka. Biggest waves I've ever seen:

[widetrack]

I've fished Lake of the Woods most all my life, I'll share a few that come to mind over the years.

A couple of them are during a local fishing tournament held each year on LOW. The first one was not a huge wind deal, but big enough to get your attention. We were fishing most of the day on Starren shoals by Garden island. We were backtrolling my Ranger into swells big enough that about every 4th wave would come straight over the back, had the bilge pump just running steady... We were catching fish hand over fist, people around us looked at us like we were some sort of lunatics just let of our cages. So at days end we had a nice catch in the livewell, and decide to head back to Warroad for the weigh in (about 28 miles) into a sloppy SE cross chop... Well about a 1/3 of the way home I hear a BIG crack from the back end... I look back to see my 175Hp motor taking the transom off the back of my boat.

So there we are 20 miles from home in some pretty big swells with my 175 hanging on by the steering cables and my transom gone. Water is filling the boat... well you can imagine about how fast... I let out a Mayday as quick as I could... and boy did we luck out... My buddies heard my call just a couple of miles out in front of us... seconds later my radio is under water along with everything else.

My partner and I were hanging on for dear life as the waves came right through the boat. He was hanging onto the casting seat in the bow, and I was hanging onto the wheel. I remember my partner being white as a ghost... I remember telling him not to worry that the boat won't sink, just make sure to hang on to something... I remember the comeback too... "If you are so f-n sure the boat won't sink, give me your life jacket too!" Not much else was said... we both held tight, and waited... The boat didn't sink but if you weren't hanging onto something tight the waves would have taken you right from the boat... Well my buddies ended up saving us... my partner caught a ride home with them, and I stayed with the wreck eventually getting a Guide launch to tow the remains of my Ranger home... That long tow home was the longest ride of my life... so there I am sitting in my wreck with my catch of the day literally swimming around in the boat with me... lots of emotions... scared, mad, wet, cold, frustrated about a good tournament finish blown, but most of all thankful my partner and I lived to tell about it... surreal.

Well that took longer then I thought...

If you want to hear some bigger tales, let me know... I have a myriad of others, including a 90+mph straight line wind adventure.

7 lives and counting...

[fiskyknut]

Ahhh yes, tales from the triangle! I remember a couple of pretty darn nice boat rides on this pond over the years myself WT. Fortunatly none involved the boats transom falling off! I do so enjoy that story though. I wonder.....Did Arnesons get any pics of that ride back?

[widetrack]

No pictures were taken out on the pond... Only of the wreck back on shore... The pictures are still burned perfectly in my memory though.

[fiskyknut]

Did you have your life preserver on that day! That boat was a speedy one, nice of them to build you a new one too!

Strieff's sheet rain tourney a couple years back was a pretty fun ride back to shore, fairly good sized waves coming from 2 or 3 directions at once always makes it more challenging!

[widetrack]

Fisky: I edited the post about the life jackets...

PS: yes I have another story about the year you are talking about... another time!...

[MuskieSlayer]

Quote:

---

I'm pretty sure this video was shot on Minnetonka. Biggest waves I've ever seen:

---

[fiskyknut]

I just love the rush you get when the big waves come together from 2 directions just right and pop you upward like a cork!

Then there's always the big hole in the lake behind the next wave to look out for.

I don't even want to remember some of my rather unwise calls on the pond. 16 foot kick boat last year, went from calm to 40-45 N-easterly in 15 minutes tops. Fishin way good so I stayed a tad too long. Only out near GR so it was'nt too bad getting back to Arnesons but I don't like a big and breaking following sea in a puny boat! Another short kick boat trip last year. I did'nt check gas supply, ran out but the wind and waves were perfect and I could adjust our deaddrift with the tiller motor and we drifted right into the rock harbor mouth!

Then there was the time coming back from the angle 4-5 years ago. Big SW wind.....First attempt came into little Traverse and she was pushing like 5-6 foot there. No way am I heading for Warroad accross big Traverse as it'd be way worse. Back to my aunts place at Pine creek. Friend who was with cried and cried about him losing his job at the big P iffin we did'nt make it back that day. Off we go again against my better judgement. Words cannot describe the steep and deep on the Big Traverse. Full on attention/concentration in order to drive that 22 foot boat. No chance of making Warroad in a headsea like that. Made it to Zbay 4 hours later and I was shakin from the excitement. Did'nt see another boat the entire crossing! The guy worried about his job busted up his elbow when he crashed on the cockpit sole. The engine in that boat blew a week later, we'd have been done had it blown that day in that weather. This was my second worst expierience ever on the LOTW. PTSD will not allow me to elaborate on the worst!

fiskyknut

[Muskycrazy]

Fishing Halibut on the Bering Sea we got hit by a wave like that . It was a long time ago but I think we used to call them Green Water . Hit the boat from the starboard side , we had 3 feet of standing water on the deck because it couldn't run out the scuppers fast enough . There is that point of time where the boat kind of languishes between floating and sinking that you just stand motionless waiting to see what happens . Its one of those moments that goes on forever , the last minute at the time clock , the two minute warning when your team is only ahead by 1 point . That kind of eternal minute . Hit so hard it knocked my chew out of my mouth . But I was only 26 and lovin' it !

[analyzer]

I've been on sag in a canoe many times in 4 footers, was also on brule during the 4th of july blow down (but fortunately was at a portage when it hit), but honestly have not been more scared than two years ago in stillwater.

Every year for the 4th of July, hundreds of boats parade up to the stillwater bridge to witness the fireworks. I bought a new 1850 crestliner the year before, so decided to spend the 4th on the river, and we joined the parade. I anticipated an ugly mess after the show was over, so I stayed toward the south end of the traffic jam so I could exit quickly when it was over.

OMG, picture 400 boats of various sizes going balls-out down the river after the show. Like the indy 500.

You know how when you take your kids tubing, you can go around in circles and develop some 6 footers... it was just like that. With the entire river blanketed in boats, the wakes crashing into each other were higher than my windshield. I have never been so frightened.

I was well aware, that even if we took on water, my crestliner would not sink. Too much foam pumped into the crevices. The problem is, with hundreds of boats going full out, if you swamp (and it's dark), you're going to get run over, and there's no way to swim for it either.

We found a nice 40 ft yacht to sit behind in their prop wash and road it down river till we could find a calm bay to slip into. But I will never subject my family to that peril again.

........

I find it interesting how many people were "slaying" the fish immediately prior to their harrowing adventure...but I suppose that's why they were still out there in a bad situation.