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Posts: 167
Location: Tomahawk, WI | Alright, Ive seen a few posts about things that annoy us on the water. What is your funniest boat landing story? Or, the funniest thing you saw while fishing?
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Posts: 1039
| Dad and I sank a 14 foot Lund once while at a landing. Early May. Cold water. He thought I was holding onto the pier. I thought he was holding onto the pier. Niether one of us was. He lunged across the front of the boat to grab the pier. That pushed the back end out quickly away from the pier. I lost my balance and put my weight down on the side of the boat. The side that he was hanging over to catch the pier. Water started rushing in. I just jumped out, which kicked the back end of the boat out even farther.
As I was in the water, I looked at Dad. Who now had just his two hands hanging onto the pier, with his two toes locked against the top/side of the boat. In the middle was his belly, which was in the water. He was trying to swear, but it came out garbled because when his face was down, his mouth was in the water.
Finally he let go and belly flopped into the water. He backed the car up and I got the boat on the trailer and let it drain. Dad's back never got wet!
To top things off, a DNR agent was at the launch doing a creel survey. He saw what was going on, muttered the phrase "Oh. My. God." then started laughing a little bit before helping us.
It was quite the scene! Happily it has never been repeated! |
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | Silver lake boat landing in Kenosha county can be a zoo. Fisherman fill it to capacity then late fisherman pleasure boaters are left to wait for someone to leave. Parking ordinances prohibit parking to the marked spots. We are leaving a guy in a hurry to secure the open spot gets his boat in races off the ramp hooks his dock rope, rams his boat into the rocks and almost pulls a dock post out before the rope snaps like a rifle shot. I ran off the dock like it was on fire. |
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Posts: 880
Location: New Berlin,Wisconsin,53151 | My dad and I were at the dock in a 10ft john boat when our german shepard jumped off the pier and into the boat. The weight of the dog and my dad on the side of it sunk us almost immediately, floating tackle and cushions and a dog swimming to shore. It wasn't a pretty site.
Netman |
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Posts: 1023
| I saw a guy put a brand new nitro aluminum bass boat onto the concrete launch when he took a speeding run at the trailer and missed it. I politely offered some advice after he freed the boat up but he told me to go f myself and then did the exact same technique but miraculously succeeded. It gave new meaning to power loading:) |
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| Saw a guy on pewaukee launching his boat, trailer had rollers on it and he slammed on the breaks because his ol lady told him to stop and boat rolled off and smashed the lower unit on the concrete launch |
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Posts: 750
Location: Minneapolis, MN | Came into the launch at Bald Eagle Saturday afternoon and I watched two people have to hop out of the boat they had just launched and swim it back to shore because it wouldn't start and they had kicked off without starting to try and hurry things up.
Also, not funny but kind of ironic the number of times I've watched people power load their boat right next to the sign that says no power loading…. I can't believe how afraid people are of getting their feet wet. |
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Posts: 91
Location: Central Wisconsin | Saw a guy have trouble landing the boat one night.
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Posts: 634
Location: Bloomington, MN | The guys in the Crestliner w/ the Suzi, may have other issues. My boat is currently "Kittywompus" on a rollertrailer (not as hideous as theirs), and I was in the water to assist. I need "Dead on Guide Rails", which I've asked the boat dearler to give me. I guess I'm the only one to experience slanted ramps and crosswinds. I have not been able to load with the big outboard in quite a while, small HP lakes or just electric. |
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Location: SE Wisconsin | Waiting to launch on a busy Saturday on Pine Lake, had couple guys ahead of me try to load their boat. They couldn't get it on straight. So they pulled it out and put it back in 3 times before they could get it lined up right. Once they had it right they pulled it out and as soon as the trailer cleared the water the boat came flying off the trailer, with the lower unit on the ramp and the boat pointing up in the air. The one time they load right they forget to put the safety chain on and clicker on the winch. 4 or 5 times I've watched people forgot to raise their motor and scrap it on the ramp. One guy dug in so much he was stuck, couldn't back up or raise the motor. Another guy left a groove all the way up the ramp. |
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Posts: 462
Location: Syracuse, Indiana | Back when i was officer in Muskies, Inc., I had large MI stickers on my boat. I was launching solo on Webster, and hurrying because there was a line. After backing down, I realized I wasn't quite far enough in the water. I thought I had hooked the rope on the bow eye securely (mistake - always check twice). I jumped back in the truck, backed further to ensure the boat was floating, and to my surprise saw her floating away (no rope attached). I quickly parked and considered a swim. Luckily, one of the other boaters grabbed my boat and brought her back to the dock. He didn't laugh (too much), but did ask me about MI. I was too embarassed to tell him I was an MI officer. Boat landings are great sources of entertainment. Try watching the drunks try and load after the July 4th Wawasee fireworks. Of course, if there is a mistake to be made at a ramp, I've probably done it. |
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Posts: 153
| Pewaukee lake, a husband and wife were launching their brand new Alumacraft on a roller trailer. The husband made sure the clicker was engaged with the wife holding the rope. As the husband climbed back in the truck the wife, thinking she was being helpful disconnected the strap. As the trailer began to decend the ramp-you guessed it the brand new boat started rolling off the trailer. With shear panic on the wife's face and every once of her being trying to keep the boat on the trailer the husband recognized what was happening backed up fast enough to get the boat into water without any damage. I was surprised there was minimal yelling and a number of "I won't do that again" statements heard. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i launch solo a lot, usually at the same spot and it's ez-pz just launch then back the boat our and drive it into one of the slips. before walking to the truck to drive it out and park i give the command to the boat to "stay". once the parking was far enough out and there was enough water that the boat floated out into the bay without me. i walked down and there was quite a commotion because the boat had drifted out … i calmly looked, asked the lady and her daughter who were launching if they could give me a ride to my disobedient boat and that was it. that calmness and situation was viewed by bystanders who were having more fun with my reaction than the situation. so many make launches and landings more serious than they need to be … not like it's a river with current.
i've added tying it up to the procedure now ...
Edited by jonnysled 6/24/2014 7:45 AM
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | My favorite is the Wheeler's Point launch on the Rainy River during peak sturgeon and walleye fishing. The heavy river current is new to most people and it is the first time on the water for most. It is tough the first couple times.
After long days on the water (some boaters are obviously impaired) the loading of boats is entertainment for the guests at Wheeler's Point Resort that overlooks the ramp. Once I saw some guys at the resort holding up scorecards like a diving competition. There are plenty of people who completely miss the trailer and hit shore downstream of their trailer with the heavy current and they always have a good crowd cheering and scoring. |
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | My next favorite is also on the rainy river. After waiting for an hour for our turn to take the boat out of the river..... the guy in front of us backs off the side of the ramp, loads his boat, and proceeds to rip the axle completely off the trailer and the wheel is sitting behind the motor on the ramp. At first I couldn't believe what I was seeing and then I was angry - I had waited an hour and this had to happen right before I could take the boat out. They backed the boat back in and unloaded it and tied it up to shore to not block the ramp. They tied ratchet straps to connect the axle to the frame and went to figure out where they could repair it on a Sunday evening by Baudette. Only about 7 hours from home they said.
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I pulled in to the landing last night to see a white 2014 F150 backed into the launch with just it's roof sticking out of the water. This guy comes up from out of the water with something in his hands and hands me this 9' Predator rod with a Tranx 500PG and says "Here, hold this. I have to go back for my wife." |
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Posts: 1220
| I guess my boat looks like a musky boat so I get folks at ramp after ramp who always want to tell me how their brother (cousin, sister's husband, dad's old partner or "just this guy") was fishing here just last week and caught a 65 inch musky. I for one am getting just sick and tired of always being the guy who shows up a week too late to get the really good fish. I don't even get to see them. Thank the Lord, at least they are out there. Maybe someday? |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Junkman - 6/24/2014 9:56 AM
I guess my boat looks like a musky boat so I get folks at ramp after ramp who always want to tell me how their brother (cousin, sister's husband, dad's old partner or "just this guy") was fishing here just last week and caught a 65 inch musky. I for one am getting just sick and tired of always being the guy who shows up a week too late to get the really good fish. I don't even get to see them. Thank the Lord, at least they are out there. Maybe someday?
You probably aren't throwing a jig/yellow twister tail on a brass swivel snap that has two other old knots on it. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | Reef Hawg - 6/24/2014 9:53 AM
I pulled in to the landing last night to see a white 2014 F150 backed into the launch with just it's roof sticking out of the water. This guy comes up from out of the water with something in his hands and hands me this 9' Predator rod with a Tranx 500PG and says "Here, hold this. I have to go back for my wife."
Funny! That's a good one.
Tucker |
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Posts: 8828
| Been witness to a few. Been part of a few. Had a rope snap sending the boat off out into the lake in November. Dead batteries, more dead batteries, trying to launch with straps still on the boat, forgotten drain plugs... We had a trolling motor deploy on the highway once. If you ever need a transom saver I know where you could snag one in about 10 FOW. Worst I have seen was a bunch of kids with a Bayliner, dumping the boat on a launch in Vilas. There's a big boulder off to one side of the landing that's usually submerged about a foot under the water. It's white. You can't miss it. We were on our way out when they came down the ramp. Didn't pay much attention until we heard what sounded a lot like a car accident. "What the F was THAT?!" Then we looked back to the landing to see the Bayliner, off the landing at a 45 degree angle, square on top of the boulder. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to dump the boat right on top of it.
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Posts: 157
Location: Lincoln, NE | Last year in May a big storm came up out of nowhere and we rush back to the ramp. Well it's backed up with tons of pleasure boaters that don't know how to load a boat so we go around the corner into the area behind some bluffs and campgrounds to head clear back to the next boat ramp to at least get out of the wind and maybe tie down to the dock if we need to. As we are heading upstream (creek feeds into the reservoir here) I yell at my cousin to watch out there are tons of big firewood logs floating out in the middle of nowhere. I'm thinkin the wind couldn't have blown over a stack of firewood and gotten it this far out this quick. As we get to the ramp we see a cop on the dock and yellow crime seen tape blocking everything off. It's a reservoir, not a natural lake and the boat ramp is steep and goes down about 80 yards. These drunk kids were all standing around in a group on shore. The officer told us the truck and trailer were at the bottom of the drink. The firewood came out of the back of the truck when it sunk to the abyss. Had to get a scuba team to go down and hook up a tow truck cable. This is in the middle of the sandhills. Nearest town is 30 miles away. Nearest town with a scuba team is who knows where. Lesson learned the hard way to always put it in 4 wheel drive and always use your park break. |
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Posts: 98
| I've had my uncle fall off the dock two times on me. Once was the fishing opener in late may. He took a wrong step off the dock towards the boat and I hear a big splash. Look out with the little light we had and I saw his shoe floating on the surface. He popped up a little after and off we went with him fishing in his undies. Another time we was reaching for the boat on a busy July day at the launch. He was on his knees and reaching for the back end even though someone else had the front. It swung and in he went. Everyone at the launch was trying to figure out what happened... |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I didn't see this it was told to me by my son in law. After a couple of weeks of heavy rain his brother launched a 14 foot glass utility boat. It failed to start and he had to jump out as it was swept over about a 15 foot dam. For some reason the safety cable was missing. The boat and motor was a write off. I use this launch twice a year and am always somewhat nervous if alone as it's right beside the dam and there is no dock. |
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Location: Not far enough north! | I'm guessing this was about 15 years or so ago. Launched on the south end of Leech one day (Whipholt) and were out for a couple hours when a big north wind kicked up. We were in my cousins 16ft tracker which is a small tiller boat. I guess the waves were about three foot and we rode with them in towards the landing no problem. If you are familiar with that landing you know its wide open and just a slab on the beach. As we got towards shore the waves were no longer rollers but breaking. The plan was that when we got shallow enough my cousin would jump out into the lake and I would maneuver around so he could back the trailer in. We he jumped out we went down in between the waves and the prop got stuck in the sand and the next couple waves filled the boat. It was all we could do to get the engine out and boat pushed up on the beach. Stuff was floating everywhere, we gathered up all our things and tried to figure out how to get a beached boat up on the trailer without putting it back in the water. Took us a couple hours, a floor jack, wood blocks, and driftwood but we got it done. The kicker was there were people driving in the lot watching us struggle with the boat and no one offered a hand. Maybe it was too windy... |
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Posts: 410
Location: Wakefield, MI | Me and my dad pulled up to Harris (Vilas county) years ago, there is a guy there with a rental boat, he says he's gonna be a while so we might as well go first. We get out on the lake and hit some reeds about 50 yards away. Watch this guy for seriously 20 minutes trying to get backed up, after a while he gets out, his wife takes the wheel, and he keeps telling her the wrong way to steer. Finally he gets the tires wet (barely), gets out, pulls the pin on the tilt trailer, and drops the boat right on the motor. He pushes the boat in, parks, hops in the boat and punches it. Luckily the lake is wide open and he wasn't on Crab or something.
A few weeks ago I wanted to try out my canoe after not using it for probably 15 years. I took it out once a week before for a shakedown run. Put in at the boat landing, swat a mosquito and lose my balance, and took a flying fat man dive out of the canoe. At least it didn't turtle and I didn't dump anything. I've since got much more comfortable with it. |
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Posts: 1360
Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished | Reef Hawg - 6/24/2014 10:16 AM
Junkman - 6/24/2014 9:56 AM
I guess my boat looks like a musky boat so I get folks at ramp after ramp who always want to tell me how their brother (cousin, sister's husband, dad's old partner or "just this guy") was fishing here just last week and caught a 65 inch musky. I for one am getting just sick and tired of always being the guy who shows up a week too late to get the really good fish. I don't even get to see them. Thank the Lord, at least they are out there. Maybe someday?
You probably aren't throwing a jig/yellow twister tail on a brass swivel snap that has two other old knots on it.
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On an ultra light none the less |
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Posts: 163
Location: NoDak | this boat was out for its maiden voyage!
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Posts: 555
Location: Tennessee | When I went to purchase my jet, two guys had drove in from out of state and had purchased a brand new Triton if I remember correctly with Optimax and were going on their water test as I arrived. As I wrapped up and started to leave, they came back and had managed to nail a rock doing probably 30mph or better because they lacked sense enough to use their GPS, Sonar, or the channel markers. They had received a fair warning about hazards prior to launching, so not much compassion was given.
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| About five or six years ago, during the long drought in Wisconsin's northern highlands, went to the landing on the lake where we have a cottage as a clean water volunteer. There was a truck and trailer getting ready to launch and the volunteer we were relieving mentioned the guy was not willing to answer even basic questions like what body of water his boat had last been on. That happens but I was a little surprised because he had his name on the window of truck cap and was a guide. Normally the more serious fisherman quickly answer the questions while preparing their boat, tell us they know about invasive species and folllow the guidelines. Takes about 10 seconds. We thank them and they are on their way.
Well, anyway, mr. guide and his buddy prepare to launch his Ranger. Really wish I would have had a video camera. Between the two of them, it took five or six tries to launch (took turns driving). Among other adventures, they backed the boat off the concrete logs, scraping the trailer (water was at all time low). Then they managed to get the trailer parallel to shore. Pull out again and started over. It must have taken them at least 6 or 7 minutes just to get the boat straight into the water. My cell phone at the time had a problem with the camera function, lens was busted, but I pulled it out and pretended to take photos. Again, the guy had his name and guide service name in big letters on the side window of his truck cap. He was from Vilas county.
No wonder he had told the volunteer before us that he didn't have time to answer a few questions. He needed all the time he had to mess up that bad. When they finally launched and took off fishing, my wife just shook her head and said something along the lines of 'well I guess having a fancy Ranger doesn't mean you know how to launch a boat'. Absolutely the worst job of putting a boat in I have ever seen, and that includes pontoon owners who launch once a year. |
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Posts: 437
| I, er I mean, I know a guy, who unhooked the safety chain and winch strap from his boat before he back the trailer into the water. It was something I, HE, had done hundreds of times before and never had an issue. Unloading the boat alone, backed down the trailer when it started to bounce from the individual concrete slabs that were the basis for the ramp. The boat starts rolling off the trailer just at the water's edge. I quickly slam the truck in park (so I thought) and try to jump out. The truck was NOT in park and the open door nearly knocked me down. I jump back in firmly get it in park and turn around to see my boat floating away into the channel. Plenty of witnesses. I holler at one boat and asked for a hand which they obliged then proceeded to jump back in the truck which the back 2/3 of the suburban was now IN the water.
I put it in drive and the tires just spin. So I put in 4x4 and drive out. Open the back doors and water comes pouring out. I come to find out that the reason I was spinning was that the truck actually had hit the post on the dock lifting the back tires off the ground, as evidenced by the huge dent near the back window. |
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