06-07-2004, 12:25 AM
[size 2]Well, let me start off this report by saying, that this was possibly the worst event I have ever fished in 35 years!
We arrived in Washington D.C., and checked into our room in Waldorf, Md, at 12:00 PM Friday, June the 4th, 2004. It was starting to rain pretty good at the time, and was windy and cold. After checking in we tried to cover the boat, in what could only be considered HEAVY downpours!
We arrived at the meeting at 4:00 PM, where 3 boaters who drove a long way were told that they couldn't fish because their co-anglers, who were guaranteed, didn't show up or even call, so they made the trip for nothing. After the meeting, and talking to our partners, we went back to the room for a few hours sleep before getting up at 3 am. It rained hard all night, and when we woke up, it was raining even harder, and the wind had picked up.
We left for Smallwood State Park, the launch area, and got in line behind 20 boats at 4:30 am, the gates opened at 5 AM. After launch time, I waited for my partner till well after light, and launch, since it took so long to get everyone in that he was sitting in line waiting to get to the ramp for more than an hour and a half. We launched late into what what looked like the Atlantic Ocean in a storm. The swells were so high, combined with the wind, and hard rain, that some boats could not even get on plane or run above an idle. One persons motor came off the back and sank into the Potomac in DC, and had to be towed in. My partners boat had so much of a hard time when we headed south that we considered coming back. Unfortunately, we didn't, and tried to make it to a creek 30 minutes south of Mattawoman. We went UNDER the water 3 times, and cracked the hull! The bilge pump couldn't even pump the water fast enough, and the smashing up and down was the most serious I had EVER BEEN IN! I put him on fish and helped him out since this was his first tournament as a boater, and we caught some bass that were short despite the weather, and 2 others that were 4 pounds, that he lost in the morning. When we limped back to Mattawoman at 1:00 PM, to spend the rest of the time there, until weigh in, we found my brother Kurt in Mattawoman, (where he wasn't supposed to be). He had 2 other spots where we were catching 15-20 pounds all during practice! We approached him, only to find out that our boat had at least $1,000.00 worth of damage, maybe more, and that he almost died, and couldn't make it to any of our spots. In the morning right after take off, our Nitro boat smashed down so hard that the foot control motor and the mount, actually ripped away from the fiberglass, and flew across the deck into his partners lap! Then several big swells came over the sides of the boat, and they were sitting in over a foot of water inside the boat! The water came up to his lap while sitting in the drivers seat, THAT DEEP! The electronics flashed pink and yellow lines across them a few times, and flashed, and never worked again. The boat continued to fill with water, and almost sank! It was lilting on one side, and getting deeper. He bailed by hand with his partner along with the bilge running, and after an hour got enough out to crawl back to the launch area, where he spent 2 hours trying to rig the trolling motor back on enough to fish nearby. He still managed to catch 3 bass that he weighed in right from around the pads near the launch that put him in 37th place. His partner even caught 2 nice ones that Kurt put him on.
All in all, it was a costly, dangerous, and miserable experience! I was huirt so badly that i am not sure I can even drive myself to the doctors Monday, I will need someone to drive me. It never stopped raining once, and got even harder on the way home. The temperature never got above 64 degrees in all of this. Several guys that had good boats, like 22 foot and above with 250's caught some decent fish as they were able to get to their spots without being killed, but unfortunately, we weren't one of them.
I am now going to try to have all the damage fixed on the boat, and then it will have to be sold, so we can buy a newer, bigger boat, as this will only happen again on water this big in the northeast.
Tight lines and good fishing Steve and Kurt vonBrandt S&K [/size] [size 1][/size] [size 1]![[Image: ip.gif]](http://4d5.net/boardimages/ip.gif)
Logged [/size][size 1]
[size 1]Steve vonBrandt/S&K Guide Service
1998, 99, and 2001 Big Bass World Champs/De Redman/BFL regional qualifiers
N.A.F.C. "Hall Of Fame"
S&K Radio & TV [url "http://www.delawarevalleyoutdoors.com/"][#ffffff]www.delawarevalleyoutdoors.com[/#ffffff][/url]
S&K videos at [url "http://www.sewebsites.com/"][#ffffff]www.sewebsites.com[/#ffffff][/url]
Wilmington, Delaware[/size] [/size]
[signature]
We arrived in Washington D.C., and checked into our room in Waldorf, Md, at 12:00 PM Friday, June the 4th, 2004. It was starting to rain pretty good at the time, and was windy and cold. After checking in we tried to cover the boat, in what could only be considered HEAVY downpours!
We arrived at the meeting at 4:00 PM, where 3 boaters who drove a long way were told that they couldn't fish because their co-anglers, who were guaranteed, didn't show up or even call, so they made the trip for nothing. After the meeting, and talking to our partners, we went back to the room for a few hours sleep before getting up at 3 am. It rained hard all night, and when we woke up, it was raining even harder, and the wind had picked up.
We left for Smallwood State Park, the launch area, and got in line behind 20 boats at 4:30 am, the gates opened at 5 AM. After launch time, I waited for my partner till well after light, and launch, since it took so long to get everyone in that he was sitting in line waiting to get to the ramp for more than an hour and a half. We launched late into what what looked like the Atlantic Ocean in a storm. The swells were so high, combined with the wind, and hard rain, that some boats could not even get on plane or run above an idle. One persons motor came off the back and sank into the Potomac in DC, and had to be towed in. My partners boat had so much of a hard time when we headed south that we considered coming back. Unfortunately, we didn't, and tried to make it to a creek 30 minutes south of Mattawoman. We went UNDER the water 3 times, and cracked the hull! The bilge pump couldn't even pump the water fast enough, and the smashing up and down was the most serious I had EVER BEEN IN! I put him on fish and helped him out since this was his first tournament as a boater, and we caught some bass that were short despite the weather, and 2 others that were 4 pounds, that he lost in the morning. When we limped back to Mattawoman at 1:00 PM, to spend the rest of the time there, until weigh in, we found my brother Kurt in Mattawoman, (where he wasn't supposed to be). He had 2 other spots where we were catching 15-20 pounds all during practice! We approached him, only to find out that our boat had at least $1,000.00 worth of damage, maybe more, and that he almost died, and couldn't make it to any of our spots. In the morning right after take off, our Nitro boat smashed down so hard that the foot control motor and the mount, actually ripped away from the fiberglass, and flew across the deck into his partners lap! Then several big swells came over the sides of the boat, and they were sitting in over a foot of water inside the boat! The water came up to his lap while sitting in the drivers seat, THAT DEEP! The electronics flashed pink and yellow lines across them a few times, and flashed, and never worked again. The boat continued to fill with water, and almost sank! It was lilting on one side, and getting deeper. He bailed by hand with his partner along with the bilge running, and after an hour got enough out to crawl back to the launch area, where he spent 2 hours trying to rig the trolling motor back on enough to fish nearby. He still managed to catch 3 bass that he weighed in right from around the pads near the launch that put him in 37th place. His partner even caught 2 nice ones that Kurt put him on.
All in all, it was a costly, dangerous, and miserable experience! I was huirt so badly that i am not sure I can even drive myself to the doctors Monday, I will need someone to drive me. It never stopped raining once, and got even harder on the way home. The temperature never got above 64 degrees in all of this. Several guys that had good boats, like 22 foot and above with 250's caught some decent fish as they were able to get to their spots without being killed, but unfortunately, we weren't one of them.
I am now going to try to have all the damage fixed on the boat, and then it will have to be sold, so we can buy a newer, bigger boat, as this will only happen again on water this big in the northeast.
Tight lines and good fishing Steve and Kurt vonBrandt S&K [/size] [size 1][/size] [size 1]
Logged [/size][size 1] [size 1]Steve vonBrandt/S&K Guide Service
1998, 99, and 2001 Big Bass World Champs/De Redman/BFL regional qualifiers
N.A.F.C. "Hall Of Fame"
S&K Radio & TV [url "http://www.delawarevalleyoutdoors.com/"][#ffffff]www.delawarevalleyoutdoors.com[/#ffffff][/url]
S&K videos at [url "http://www.sewebsites.com/"][#ffffff]www.sewebsites.com[/#ffffff][/url]
Wilmington, Delaware[/size] [/size]
[signature]