# Roughest Waters of Our Local Lakes?



## tbone2374

Yeah, our forum is a little slow, soooo, of all the local lakes such as Conroe, LL, Rayburn, Toledo Bend and that scum filled Lake Houston, what is the roughest lake you have ever been in ?? My opinion is a toss-up between Conroe and Rayburn. My oldest son and I were on Rayburn about 3 yrs. ago and 
I swear there were 2 to 3 foot rollers coming across, as we were loading the boat. On the other hand, Conroe, with all the bulkhead, can get so rough, so fast, especially if you're in the deeper water! Just a conversation starter1angelsm


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## Profish00

LL can get wild


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## Reel Time

In the 70's on Lake Livingston, a game warden told us to get back to the marina as a bad storm was approaching. We did not quite make it in time and the waves were coming over the bow. We beached our boat in a "protected" cove and waited for the storm to pass. Livingston can get mean!
RT


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## steb4680

I have witnessed the waves at Rayburn and I guarantee they get to 2' to 3' with whitecaps.


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## Meadowlark

Ok, Tbone, I'll bite...

I hear a lot of complaints about Conroe because of the high boat traffic making the water constantly choppy...also stories about Rayburn...but my personal experience of roughest local lake waters was on Livingston last year under a strong, building NW wind with big rollers moving down the lake. 

I had fished the lake in the morning successfully and although rough it was still tolerable and decided to go back late afternoon for the evening bite. I was fishing on the south side of PI which is protected from that wind direction and unaware of how much the wind velocity had picked up while I was out fishing. I moved over to the SW corner of PI and the rollers coming there were downright scary (this from one who has fished the open Gulf for many years in small boats). Those rollers were so bad that turning around was extremely dangerous and had to be timed exactly right.

There's a reason PI is showing the effects of erosion and pounding waves....a NW wind howling down the lake is the roughest freshwater I've been in and care to ever be in again.


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## bayourat

Wave height.... Rayburn.




Pure roughness..... Conroe


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## tbone2374

Meadowlark said:


> Ok, Tbone, I'll bite...
> 
> I hear a lot of complaints about Conroe because of the high boat traffic making the water constantly choppy...also stories about Rayburn...but my personal experience of roughest local lake waters was on Livingston last year under a strong, building NW wind with big rollers moving down the lake.
> 
> I had fished the lake in the morning successfully and although rough it was still tolerable and decided to go back late afternoon for the evening bite. I was fishing on the south side of PI which is protected from that wind direction and unaware of how much the wind velocity had picked up while I was out fishing. I moved over to the SW corner of PI and the rollers coming there were downright scary (this from one who has fished the open Gulf for many years in small boats). Those rollers were so bad that turning around was extremely dangerous and had to be timed exactly right.
> 
> There's a reason PI is showing the effects of erosion and pounding waves....a NW wind howling down the lake is the roughest freshwater I've been in and care to ever be in again.


 Appreciate the bite, there, MDLRK. I just don't go out on LL when the wind is up, and until recently, my big boat wasn't running, so if it's more than 10 to 15, I don't go. My experience is, the deeper the water, the bigger the waves... except for Conroe. Conroe IS the exception! Conroe can get so very rough, even in the more shallow waters! JMO:work:


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## wwind3

After fishing the million dollar mcdonalds on rayburn a couple yrs ago---hands down---Sunday on Rayburn with a 30+ knot west wind unabated from the 147 bridge to the Umphrey Pavilion..

Prob a dozen boats sunk at the weigh-in.

I made the run from Umphrey across to Powell Park in my 20 ft pontoon--I would have prayed for 3 footers that day.

It was like the bull at Gilleys on 10 speed. Saw some fullgrown Tritons with 250's crying like a baby that day--pretty scary.

Pontoon did great when I was able to run parallel with the swells. Leaving the weigh-in and headin into those swells--couple barrels over the front and a couple dents in the front fence.

2nd--Livingston in early 70's--tourny at the marina at 190 bridge. Springtime norther--took a barrel water over the front of my 16ft Ranger--had to beach it on the west side till it blew over. Waves breaking over the 190 roadbed that day---looked like hurricane hitting Galveston. Winds clocked at over 70 in Austin.

Pure stupid rough--Conroe after the fireworks display at Walden and trying to get back to the condos near Mcdonald at night with a 1000 of my closest drunk friends in hot pursuit.


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## tbone2374

wwind3 said:


> After fishing the million dollar mcdonalds on rayburn a couple yrs ago---hands down---Sunday on Rayburn with a 30+ knot west wind unabated from the 147 bridge to the Umphrey Pavilion..
> 
> Prob a dozen boats sunk at the weigh-in.
> 
> I made the run from Umphrey across to Powell Park in my 20 ft pontoon--I would have prayed for 3 footers that day.
> 
> It was like the bull at Gilleys on 10 speed. Saw some fullgrown Tritons with 250's crying like a baby that day--pretty scary.
> 
> Pontoon did great when I was able to run parallel with the swells. Leaving the weigh-in and headin into those swells--couple barrels over the front and a couple dents in the front fence.
> 
> 2nd--Livingston in early 70's--tourny at the marina at 190 bridge. Springtime norther--took a barrel water over the front of my 16ft Ranger--had to beach it on the west side till it blew over. Waves breaking over the 190 roadbed that day---looked like hurricane hitting Galveston. Winds clocked at over 70 in Austin.
> 
> Pure stupid rough--Conroe after the fireworks display at Walden and trying to get back to the condos near Mcdonald at night with a 1000 of my closest drunk friends in hot pursuit.


 Yeah, you just jogged some memories.... We went out for the fireworks fiasco, one time... OMG what a bunch of drunks and no navigating idiots!!! Never AGAIN!


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## CmackR56

Day in and day out, Livingston has beat me silly too many time to count. Conroe is an aggravation due to all the bulkheads and the waves returning from them but it never has the wave height of Livingston. Rayburn has bigger swells than Livingston but the spacing on them seems to be more to my liking in a 20' bass boat. Far and away the roughest lake I have ever fished is Falcon. I crossed it one afternoon this past February with 40 mph NE winds blowing and my boat would disappear between the swells, was so danged rough it knocked the cowling off my V-6 Merc. Never seen anything like it before and don't want to again. That was the 1st time in 40+ years of fishing that I have ever been spooked by the sheer size of the rollers!


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## tbone2374

CmackR56 said:


> Day in and day out, Livingston has beat me silly too many time to count. Conroe is an aggravation due to all the bulkheads and the waves returning from them but it never has the wave height of Livingston. Rayburn has bigger swells than Livingston but the spacing on them seems to be more to my liking in a 20' bass boat. Far and away the roughest lake I have ever fished is Falcon. I crossed it one afternoon this past February with 40 mph NE winds blowing and my boat would disappear between the swells, was so danged rough it knocked the cowling off my V-6 Merc. Never seen anything like it before and don't want to again. That was the 1st time in 40+ years of fishing that I have ever been spooked by the sheer size of the rollers!


 Wow, if you've heard the news about the jet flea skier, being shot, right in front of his wife...don't think there will be a lot of fishin' done on Falcon! I think us 2 coolers need to go down with our AK-47s and AR-15s ... sounds like a fun outing... ******** vs punks, NO CONTEST Texas wins again!!!


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## FISHROADIE

Lake Conroe can get pretty rough, because of all the bulkheads, the waves bounce of them and go back out into the lake. A friend and I were on Conroe one time and we were way up a creek bass fishing, the wind came up but we did not notice there were 35 mp hour gust because we were way up the creek, it was white capping in the creek. We started back to dam site boat launch, and rounded the corner of the creek out into the main lake there were 2ft to 4ft swells. My front seat almost hit the bridge as we went under it a swell hit us as we went under it, I had to trim the motor all the way down and just plow into the waves. We got to a cove that was all bulkheads and the waves hit us from 2 sides, we had 6 waves crash over the bow in our laps, and they were coming over the side. I had the bilge pump on the whole rid and we had 8 inches of water in the bottom. It was a scary ride if I had it to do over I would have stayed in the creek, and called some one to come and get me, at the boat launch that was in the creek. Lake livingston is even more unforgiving, but Conroe can get rough to. Safe boating to you all.


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## tbone2374

I used to have an old Glastron, think it was a 15.5 Trihull. We were on Conroe, and one of those quick "little"storms rolled in. We took a lot of water over the bow! The wife still remembers a ride from way up on the north end, to Stowaway Marina. I think I scared the bajeebers, out of her because ever time she goes out on the water and it gets the slightest bit rough, I have to hear the story, Again!


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## Ridin_Skinny

Growing up on Lake Conroe, I vote roughest hands down


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## scwine

I have to agree w/ others on Lake Livingston. We had a house on there(Indian Hill Peninsula) growing up and seen it get pretty dang rough a number of times.


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## bueyescowboy

number 2 lake livingston ..may 1982 i believe. Freak strom blow into livingston. 7 people drown I believe. And where was I ....skiing. ebbtibe dynatrack with 175 evinrude. Made a bee line to a protected cove....any cove was going to do...to find out it was the right cove I needed to be in. Then watched the tents blow away. Loaded the boat about 3 hrs later with waves still crashing over the boat.
number 1 little lake houston....skiing late one afternoon watching a strom cloud approach. Made a bee line for deussen park boat ramp but didn't make it. The strom was crashing peoples boat into their trailer at they tried to load. Just getting someone on the dock was bad....as they jumped I gunned it in reverse. Good ole evinrude kicked in with waves crashing over the back of the boat. needless to say loading the boat was out of the question...which wasn't my main concern at the time. I was more worried about my ***. then the thought hit me....can't drown where you can stand and the boat can't sink on bottom. Off to the left is a swim area that is shallow. Parked the boat in 2 ft of water as the park police watch. Can't drown in 2 ft of water......at least I could breath.
finally load boat on the sail boat ramp.
good lessions here....can't drown where you can stand...and can't sink a boat on bottom.
I can't even remember all the stroms on conroe....we use to just sit them out and go skiing after it passed.
have to tell about the boat wreck on conroe that i had.....keep ya in suspense.


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## 9121SS

Most of my time has been on Conroe and it gets real bad real fast.
The worst I've ever been in was three years ago with one of my SILs on Gibbins Creek Res. A fast moving cold front moved in on us before we new what happend we were in 3 to 4 footers. The waves were rolling towards the ramp. I got real lucky that day. Told SIL when he felt me hit the trailer to go like hail. Hit the trailer first shot and hammered on it to keep it on the trailer while he pulled me out. Took two over the stern before we cleared the water.
That was the first time I have ever been worried about loading the boat.


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## Danny O

I've been on Rayburn and Toledo Bend during rough weather, Conroe w/ boat traffic and firework nuts, but the times I felt totally vulnerable were on Livingston! The main lake is so vast that those afternoon storms can really cause havoc. I've pushed my luck on that "just one more fish" enough times to no better!


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## Jeff G

I've been in rough water in Conroe and lake Houston but lake Livingston has been the scariest for me. It can get bad so fast. Both times when it was bad , the waves were coming from the west to the east bank so it was impossible for me to put my boat on the trailer by myself when I launched at the 190 road bed free ramp .,I had to go tie up and wait it out in the storm for several hours until it calmed down a little .


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## Sunbeam

There are some basic formula for calculating max wave height and swell period verses water depth and wind speed.
To be simple it is easiest to say that mother nature will only allow a wave height of 1/3 the water depth. The wind builds waves in a non linear rate. Say a 10 mph wind makes a one foot wave. A 15 mph makes a two foot wave, 20 mph makes a four foot wave and so on.
During Hurricane Rita as the eye passed east of Livingston, the north wind in the NW quadrant was measured at 102 mph at the dam. 
It blew straight in to the dam. The water depth was and average of sixty feet. The waves hitting the rip rap were twenty feet high. As the wave hit the slope they ran up the dam levee and some (most) when over the road. As the water ran down the back side it eroded the grass covered soil.
Jeff Blankenship and Bob Hall both said they were sure the dam was going to fail in about three places west of the gates. They dumped water at about 85000 cfs for over 14 hours.
As we all know the lake was lowered four feet in less than 24 hours.
To me that storm and the waves it generated makes Livingston the all time "rough Water" state champ.
But I would nominate Lake Meridith at Fritch Texas in the Pan Handle as the most dangerous lake to fish on in the spring.
It is in a long canyon on the South Canadian River. Very high canyon walls and side canyons. It runs basically NW to SE. It is a very deep lake built in a wind tunnel.
Five to six foot waves with short period ( time between peaks) are common every time a Texas norther blows down off the Rockies. If you are fishing up a side canyon you will often find that you can not get back on to the main lake. And in most cases the walls are too high to climb out. I have spent lots of hours waiting for the wind to drop enough to get back to the only ramp near the dam.
As for a scary lake I would nominate Guerrero in Mexico. It is like Livingston in size but much deeper. Plenty of 120 ft to 150 ft water. A 20 mph wind will build wave were you absolutely can not operate a bass boat. Fortunately it is not windy except in the spring but when the wind does blow that lake is a killer. 
Also I have seen some rough water on the Songkhla Lake, Bang Lang Reservoir, Bueng Boraphat and Phayao Lakes in Thailand but that is a whole different story..... lets go fishing and I'll tell you the stories.


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## tbone2374

That's a pretty sound argument for Lake Livingston... I guess the worst lake for waves, is the one you are on when they hit ya !


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## rocket34

Sunbeam that is really interesting information. I knew that Rita produced some waves but it never ocurred to me that they could be 20ft and break over the dam. I thought the damage done was to the riprap on the lake side. WOW. 

It may have been because I was a kid at the time but the most frightened I have been was on Possom Kingdom. I was with my Dad in a his14ft wooden speed boat circa 1955. We had put in at a marina that was in one of the protected coves. When we pulled past the cliffs of the cove into the main lake the wind was howling. We were in a real mess, taking on water, beaten by the waves, too small of a boat. I remeber my Mom berating him for years for putting us in that situation.

I didn't learn anything because July 4th 2 years ago I took the family by boat to see the fireworks in Onalaska. When we pulled into the river channel after the fireworks, we were confronted with some serious waves. Probably could have made it back to Indian Hills in the 21ft Larson but my wife was so upset that the only prudent thing to do was to go back to the marina and call someone to come get us. Several others joined me and some beat on across the lake. TPW officers told us while we were waiting that a boat had swamped but no one drowned.


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## Sunbeam

Yes I remember that night. It was scary for a lot of folks. Being a very dark night and most folks without proper knowledge of the lakes dangers was a prescription for disaster. You are right. It was just luck that no one died.


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## Whitebassfisher

bueyescowboy said:


> then the thought hit me....can't drown where you can stand and the boat can't sink on bottom. Off to the left is a swim area that is shallow. Parked the boat in 2 ft of water as the park police watch. Can't drown in 2 ft of water......at least I could breath.


My worst has definitely been Livingston, but that is where I go. I think to protect your boat and your life that what BEC says above is smart. I have an anchor that WILL hold, especially in shallow water. Trying to put a boat on a trailer in rough water can destroy it. Anchor in shallow water where you can stand if necessary and ride it out. Of course the bilge pump may be needed. I feel Beacon Bay to be the best on LL, because it it so protected from waves at the ramp. You could have huge rollers on the lake from basically any direction, and the water at Beacon Bay ramps will allow you to use it.


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## shadslinger

When I was about 10 or 11 my father and I fished just about 3 times a week on the average. Once during the week and both week end days. Lake Benbrook was one of our regulars, and one morning we launched on the West side and went around to some flooded timber and started catching LMBs, a lot of them. We were having a big ole time, when we saw the front line it was a matter of run to the nearest cove and ride it out.
About 45minuets before dark my dad said we should try to make a run for it before dark. 
We headed out into the lake and the storm was still very bad, as we made our way out the cove the 14' john boat would almost flip over with me riding in the seat just in front of dad at the tiller handle.
He looked at me, and said to tighten the life jacket I was wearing, and that I had to go the bow and hold on to a rope there or we were going to flip over.
It was the most scared I have ever been on the water, all I could see was sky, then water for an hour and a half as the boat would ride up one side and down the other of the huge waves before we made it to the marina cove.
Ever since then, as soon as it gets rough, I go in. 
So I don't have many stories after that one about being out in the rough stuff.
Lake Livingston can roll up on you like no other lake I have been on and I give it the ultimate respect in it's ability to take a life. 
It is why I bought the Mighty Red-Fin after I gave up fishing below the dam. It has a deep vee in the bow and when I trim the motor down it will slice through regular wash board and chop and not let you feel it.
I have been caught fishing on the South side of the island and had to make a hard ride to Beacon's after rounding the end and finding it has rolled up big more than once.
Bonefish and I made the scariest run across the lake I have ever made one day last year after putting out some crappie structures we had to run from Kickapoo to West of the big bridge in gusts to 30'mph from the Northwest with 4' waves rolling over his 26' pontoon boat, that was wild!


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## bueyescowboy

hey I went behind livingston dam right after rita hit in a diesel...there was dps everywhere and I figured they thought the dam was in bad shape....think i even seen the waves crashing over the dam...figured it wasn't going to be long before they closed the dam...and wasn't happy with the thought of getting washed away....

and where does Sun get all this info. calculate wind speed minus rotation of earth plus gavity pull and there you go.....gotta love that info.....


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## fishy

On Livingston several times night fishing storms have blown through and we had waves breaking over the bow and had one wave that i thought was gonna sink the boat when a tornado was near. Scary.


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## Barbarian

Been fishing Sam Rayburn a long time and it can build some huge waves. IMO, what can make it so dangerous is that it offers so many major and minor coves to fish. You can be 'off' the lake fishing and so far back in coves that you lose eye contact of the main lake for long periods of time. I learned the hard way (mostly before internet) to watch the tree tops when fishing Rayburn. Also, people tend to make long boat runs at Rayburn so you could easily get caught 10-20+ miles from the boat ramp. On the flip side, with so many coves a boater can always find somewhere protected and wait it out. 
Twice on Rayburn, I have asked my passenger seat partner what he wanted to do. He was like "What do you mean, what I want to do? I said we have 2 choices "1. keep going to the ramp and hope we make it back in one piece. or 2. Find a small protected cove and spend the night. Both times they chose to keep going. We made it each time, but one of them I broke everything in the boat it felt like including me.


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## 2littletime

I have to vote Falcon. 3 years ago the wind kicked up and we started taking waves over the bow of my 17ft boat, then the bilge pump quit. Water over the top of the batteries and back seat. We managed to get in a cove and go in circles while I bailed like crazy. Used up all our fuel trying to keep from sinking, lake 25ft low so we're bouncing off trees and stumps in the dark and can't find the ramp. Finally found the ramp at midnight after idling along the shore forever, 40 miles to the hotel, blew out a brand new tire. I still refer to it as an adventure, my wife won't even talk to me about it.
Traded for a Boston Whaler the next week.


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## surfspeck

Amistad can get plenty hairy during a good northern


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## Worm Drowner

Some of the worst waves I have ever seen on a lake were on Lake Erie in Ohio. I have sat in my truck by the breakwall near Cleveland and watched 18' (!) waves crash against the shore. I thought I have seen rough water off Galveston before a hurricane, but this was something else. Not only were the waves big, but they came so fast, it was like watching a washing machine running full tilt.

That said, Conroe has beat the snot out of me more than a few times.


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## rocket34

Tbone this has been a great string of posts. I have really enjoyed reading everyones stories. Thanks for starting it.


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## tbone2374

I've enjoyed as well! Everyone has a different frightening experience, that is logged in their memories, forever. Many times, wives, friends, or kiddos, tend to make the moment even more profound. How many times, have we heard, "Hey Dad, remember that time we were out on Livingston, and that storm came up .... Every lake has its moments, and at any given time can be dangerous, if one is unprepared!


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## Sunbeam

The moral to all of these stories is simple. WEAR YOU LIFE JACKET AT ALL TIMES!
Never saw a drowning victim in a PFD.


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## tbone2374

Yes, Sunbeam, and you can usually count on one hand, the people on the lake with a PFD on. If you will notice, as I have, every single time a pro Bass Fisherman starts his engine, he has his flotation device on! Some people think it to be uncool, or you hear, "I'm a good swimmer" Many of those will drown by being knocked unconcious, when they least expect it. No one ever plans on hitting something, on or in the water!


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## Cody C

We were stupid last year and drove across Conroe to Stowaway marina during our tournament. It was BAD! I had never been on a lake when it was that bad. They were probably only 2 footers, but when they were coming from EVERY SINGLE direction, it gets pretty hairy out there. It was March 21 when we had that big front come through blowing 40 +


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## Miles2Fish

I have been caught on Lake Conroe when a stoem blows in from the north and sends that wind straight down the lake the waves easily get 3-4' high by the time they are hitting bulkhead on the south or west end!


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## Blackgar

You guys havent seen rough water till ya been on Amistad or Falcon with a strong north wind blowing


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## BillLovesFishin

Meadowlark said:


> Ok, Tbone, I'll bite...
> 
> I hear a lot of complaints about Conroe because of the high boat traffic making the water constantly choppy...also stories about Rayburn...but my personal experience of roughest local lake waters was on Livingston last year under a strong, building NW wind with big rollers moving down the lake.
> 
> I had fished the lake in the morning successfully and although rough it was still tolerable and decided to go back late afternoon for the evening bite. *I was fishing on the south side of PI which is protected from that wind direction and unaware of how much the wind velocity had picked up while I was out fishing. I moved over to the SW corner of PI and the rollers coming there were downright scary (this from one who has fished the open Gulf for many years in small boats). Those rollers were so bad that turning around was extremely dangerous and had to be timed exactly right.*
> 
> There's a reason PI is showing the effects of erosion and pounding waves....a NW wind howling down the lake is the roughest freshwater I've been in and care to ever be in again.


 Exact same thing happened to me several years ago on a beautiful spring morning.

Toledo Bend: I was on Toledo Bend by myself when a front came through. I saw the front line approaching so I decided to head back to the marina but it was too late. When I finally made it back, I could see my wife standing at the marina looking for me.


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## tbone2374

Hey Bill, I just bet you listened to it ALL the way home!!


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## BillLovesFishin

I got an ear full. I'm sure it would have been worse if she would have been in the boat. She's my ex now.


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## jasonp

I've been on many lakes around the state including Livingston and Conroe. None of them hold a candle to Amistad on a bad day. Amistad will scare even the most seasoned fishermen when it gets rough. I've pulled up in coves on Amistad on semi rough days to wait out the beatings.


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## bowfishrp

I have bowfished all the lakes in SE Texas and have been on Cornhole and Livingston when it was rough and they were no fun. HOWEVER, the BAA World Bowfishing Championship in 1994 was BAD! We took off with at least a 25MPH wind and we had to cross the main lake to get to our spot before dark and is was real bad! There were three boats that broke their fans off that day! Funny thing was by midnight it was flat calm but it was at least 5fters when we were trying to cross the lake.

I think cornhole is bad because it is mostly runs SE to NE which is the way the wind blows most all summer in SE Texas.


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