Bass Club Digest

The weather forecast calls for occasional rain showers without thunderstorms or otherwise threatening weather. At sunrise you launch the boat, speed across the lake and stop at the first of more than a dozen main-lake points you’re testing as part of a milk run pattern for the impending club tournament.

By day’s end you’ve made the final stop some 15 miles from the boat ramp. The clouds roll in, the wind kicks up and the waves turn to white caps. You’ve found yourself in a predicament and are faced with a rough ride back to the boat ramp.

Encountering the above scenario is a given for bass club anglers who don’t have the option of staying home because of inclement weather. In such unavoidable situations, lure presentation plays second fiddle to boat-handling skills. A wrong turn of the steering wheel, misjudging a rogue wave or gunning the throttle at the wrong moment can be costly, dangerous or even worse.

Rough-water handling and a dry ride are major selling points of today’s high performance bass boats. But in the hands of the inexperienced, the ride can be anything but dry and smooth.

Knowing how to read waves and adjust speed and direction are key to rough water boat handling. Following are pointers from the experts on how to stay dry and make it back safely to shore.

Against the wind

Contrary to what you might think, rolling waves are easier to navigate than whitecaps with a three- or four-foot chop, according to Stan Chavis, a veteran angler on Lake Erie, one of the six Great Lakes.

“You have a smoother ride running at idle speed in six or eight foot rollers because you can run the trough between the waves,” he said.

By steering a boat directly into a roller, or “head seas” as they are known among seamen, you run the risk of running the bow into the wave and swamping the vessel. Chavis also says to keep the engine trimmed down to the transom with this maneuver.

“When you are running head-in to upwind seas there is less boat to push down into the water,” adds Chris Edmonston of BoatU.S.

“Ideally, it is best to change course and make a series of tacks, taking the wind and waves at a 45-degree angle, first broad on your bow and then broad on your quarter. This zig-zag course should leave your boat in the trough only long enough to turn. You want to minimize the time that you are in the trough and broad side to the swell to prevent broaching.

“You also don’t want to get to the top of the wave and fall off the back side burying the bow. If conditions get worse, slow down until you are making bare steerage and hold your boat at an angle of 45 degrees to the swells. The more you reduce speed, the less strain will be put on the hull,” Edmonston said.

Obviously, the zigzag pattern will not take you in a straight line to your destination, although it will get you there without pounding the boat and yourself in the head-on waves.

“Use the leeward side of a shoreline to your advantage,” added Chavis. “Using the lee shore means finding ways to use irregular shorelines, islands or points that block the wind.”

Following the waves

Traveling with wind and wave to your back is called “following seas,” which pose more danger than head seas.

“The key is keeping a pace or rhyme with the waves, so one doesn’t come over the stern,” Chavis cautioned.

“When running in following seas, if it appears that you’re surfing down them, you’re probably going too fast and may broach,” Edmonston said. “Slow down and let the seas outpace the boat.”

Experts say to constantly vary the throttle to keep the nose up. The build-up of a wave at the stern will give the effect of surfing and can adversely affect steering capabilities. Try to keep at right angles and ride the crest and back of the wave. Don’t get ahead of the wave or it may swamp you.
Across the beam

When waves are coming at you sideways, Chavis said to use the angle-maneuvering formula.

“Glide up each wave, moving from wave trough to wave trough gently at a 45-degree angle. Then slide down the other side, maintaining the same angle. Slow down so that the boat does not become airborne.”

Checklist for roughing it

Your bass boat should be equipped to handle unforeseen changes in the weather. In addition to carrying mandatory safety items subject to state or federal boating laws, you’ll want to keep the following on board when you anticipate venturing out on large bodies of water.

Booster cables: Store them neatly coiled in the bottom of a dry storage box. They could be a lifesaver should your cranking battery need a jump start.
Flares: Handheld versions have longer burn time than aerial flares. Experts recommend carrying handheld flares for near-shore use on inland reservoirs.
Cell phone: Sure, you can use it to call for help. Video playback is standard on most new phones, making a weather subscription service an option for outdoorsmen and boaters. Realtime weather radar and wind conditions are available from service providers like Accuweather and The Weather Channel.
Weather radio: Keep abreast of the weather as it happens with a NOAA weather radio. Many models are compact, waterproof and come with an alert feature that sounds when the National Weather Service issues a severe weather statement.
Extra set of clothes: An extra shirt, pants and other basics stored in a waterproof bag can be a godsend should you get drenched by rainfall or a wave.
Ladder: Some manufacturers like Triton Boats offer a ladder feature that can be a lifesaver in the event of a man overboard.
Trip Plan: Leave a note with someone trustworthy on shore with your vehicle and trailer location, where you intend to go fishing and when you plan to return to the ramp.

— Craig Lamb

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