A friend and I stood by the weigh-in stage and re-lived our days. Mine was one of disappointment, with lost fish costing me quite a few bucks. Despite weighing a giant stringer, his day was also a little unnerving.
My buddy told me the story of how his boater partner ran more than 60 miles into the open waters of Lake Erie, proceeded to fill the boat up with water due to a plugged livewell overflow, and had no operable bilge pump to drain it.
Luckily, the two made it to a nearby port despite the boat being unable to plane, and then my friend helped bail out hundreds of gallons of water using a half gallon milk jug the marina found in the trash.
“At least the lake was calm,” my buddy chimed in, as he headed off to his truck.
He had no idea.
During our brief chat, we didn’t have time for me to tell him a special story I always keep in the back of my mind. …
I noticed something didn’t look right on the boat as I passed it. And, although it was a relatively calm day, it didn’t take long to determine the problem. The boat was sinking.
As I approached the anglers near Pelee Island on Erie’s western basin, they were very happy to see me, to say the least. The rear deck of the bass boat was under water, the outboard was swamped, and the floor was filled to the seats. Both men were perched as far forward as they could go, attempting to make the two-mile track to land on the trolling motor.
Like the "pro” that guided my friend at the beginning of this story, this boater’s rig was without a working bilge pump. It had taken a few rollers over the back deck while the angler’s fished on an otherwise beautiful, rolly-polly kind of day, and almost immediately filled with water.
Funny thing how that works: The more water that's in a boat, the more water that comes in.
I informed the two anglers that I had an emergency bilge pump kit on my boat that we would use to pump theirs dry. This item, home-made for under $50, has been responsible for saving three separate bass boats on Lake Erie over the last two decades. Click here for a photo of the emergency bilge pump kit on the Millennium Promotions Facebook page.
We used the pump to rid their boat of most of the water, but the fate of the vessel was already sealed. After I pulled them into the port on the island’s north side, the boat again began to sink. As I left to resume my tournament day, both men were climbing out of knee-deep water on the front deck of the boat and up on an adjacent dock. The boat rested on the bottom of the harbor.
Well, at least the lake was calm.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed the real possibility that major bass tournaments should more carefully consider their playing fields. And, while the previous focus was one directed toward cancellations and postponement, we have to always consider overall safety as well.
From a wealth of experience in fishing some of the country’s biggest bodies of bass water, I can attest that it is nearly a miracle that a drowning death has not occurred in a major event on the Great Lakes. Just to clear the air, it has happened in smaller bass and walleye tournaments, as many of us sadly remember.
In order to move forward, assuming the big leagues will continue to utilize all available bass fisheries for their events, I think there are a few potential rule modifications that may need to be addressed. Off the top of my head, they include:
> All boats must have two (2) working bilge pumps.
It simply blows me away to hear the repeated stories offered by co-anglers of their boater partners having ZERO operational bilge pumps. I propose two pumps be mandatory, and tournament officials orchestrate a measure to check them at boat check, just like any other piece of equipment. To think many tournament trails check running lights in the name of safety, but not bilge pumps, is laughable.
> Flotation devices must be worn at all times.
In today’s day and age of super-lightweight inflatable vests, when deemed necessary by the tournament director due to possible inclement weather, anglers should be required to wear their flotation device at all times, from dock to dock. I have personally been in the water in moderately rough seas (while tied-off to my boat) and can honestly tell you that, in the case of falling overboard, unless you’re a Navy SEAL, you’re NOT going to catch your bass boat as it drifts away.
> Mandatory flotation requirements must be demanded by tournament trails.
Your bass boat includes flotation regulations set by the U.S. Coast Guard, right? Wrong. Only outboard-powered boats under 20 feet in length have stringent government flotation requirements. We’ve seen many times where manufacturers made a major push to offer products based on tournament requirements, rather than those set by a governing agency. Such was the case when, confronted by 150-horsepower caps in most events, manufacturers poured nearly all of their available resources into designing and improving those specific engine models. If the major tournament trails went in together on this, and demanded all manufacturers pass a “float when flooded” test (already performed for some boat manufacturers by the NMMA), they could literally change the market.
These are just a few ideas that I have often considered when watching anglers escape near-death experiences and never even realize it. Remember, today’s boats are bigger, but they also must support much heavier loads than those of yesteryear. In fact, factor in twin shallow water anchors and a 250-horsepower engine over a 150, and we already add over 225 pounds to the lowest point of a bass boat: The transom.
While the verdict is still out as to the expansion of tournament venues to the vast waters of the North, perhaps the decision-making bodies will consider how lucky they’ve already been. I bet my buddy has.
(Joe Balog is the often outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
