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A Word of Boating Advice

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Category: Fishing

Published on Monday, 30 January 2012 00:51

Written by Cody Gass

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As you know many anglers are hardcore fisherman in the winter.  Even if there is five inches of snow on the ground, a serious tournament angler is going to head to the water.  A big problem I encounter in the winter doesn’t have to deal with fishing but more about the boat ramp being froze over.  I’ve hit my brakes too quick and would slide a little down the ramp.  My heart skips a beat for a second then the tires finally catch.  Though, I’ve never seen an accident from the situation, it’s still something to think about.

Last year though, I had an experience that I’ll never forgot.  Good friend, Kenneth Griffin and I loaded the boat and went down to Guntersville last January.  We put in at Waterfront in the mid-lake area.  Once we got there, we recognized the lake was froze over with 3 inches of ice!  We fished up till 11:00 a.m., without much success.  We then decided to spend our afternoon back on Tim’s Ford lake to catch some smallmouth.  Once we arrived back to home water, I got in the boat and Kenneth started to back me in.  Once he pulled the emergency brake, the boat slid off the trailer and landed on the bottom pad, and the skeg!  We were shocked and didn’t know what to say!

This is a problem I can see happening to many anglers.  I see too many people unlatch there boat at the top of the ramp, or halfway down.  I see this most when anglers are hurrying to get their boat in the water before a tournament.  Though it doesn’t happen much, I experienced first hand what can happen.  So please be smart and back your boat almost in the water completely before latching in the wintertime.  Especially when the boat ramp you are using is steep, or you have went fishing earlier, and your running boards freeze over!

To make a long story short, instead of calling a crane, we backed the boat 8 feet down to the water.  We got buckets and poured water on the ramp and let it freeze and back the boat down.  We figured there was already a hole in the bottom pad and later found out we were correct!

This was a lesson learned for me.  Though other anglers may get upset, I will continue to unlatch the boat almost in the water and take up more time launching.  But this was a stomach cringing experience!  I don’t want any angler to experience this and become boatless a couple of months!  Also, be sure to wear your flotation devices!  It could save your life!  God Bless and best wishes fishing!

-Cody Gass

Sorry Kenneth, but I had to post the picture! Haha!