Praying for calm

Anglers hoping for calm after the storm today

CLEVELAND – If the Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore is looking for a few “Storm Stories” in between Florida hurricanes, he might consider poking around a Lake Erie EverStart.

He could start with the story of Butch Kartesz of Roanoke, Va., who watched Lake Erie eat his boat for lunch yesterday.

“It was actually my old boat,” Kartesz said. “My brother, Kevin, was using it for the tournament yesterday. We were fishing within sight of each other, when I noticed that he began drifting in towards a riprap break wall. He was trying to start the big motor, but it wouldn’t go – apparently the batteries were dead. When he started waving his arms at me, I knew he was in trouble.”

With 6- to 7-foot waves crashing onto the break wall, and no way to power the vessel away from it, the brothers quickly attempted to tow the boat out to deeper water with Butch’s boat, but the rope broke three times.

“Every time those big rollers would get between our boats, it would snap the rope like 4-pound-test,” Kartesz said. “Eventually his boat got pinned up against the rocks, and the waves just pummeled it into oblivion. My brother and his partner were fine, but they lost everything – rods, tackle, electronics, gear – everything.

“Man, my insurance guy is going to freak,” Kartesz added in disbelief.

Along with Kartesz’s story, there were plenty of harrowing tales going around the launch ramp this morning.

As far as Lake Erie goes, the giant beast appeared to be sleeping peacefully this morning. By 8 a.m., the sun was shining and the water beyond the break wall seemed to be at a moderate chop, far more reserved than yesterday’s rollers which were crashing over the break.

Leaving Voinovich Park this morning, a large majority of the anglers pointed their bows to the west – certainly places like Pelee Island and beyond were on their minds.

Predicted winds this afternoon are 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest. If those winds will fall off to more of the 5 mph side rather than the 10 mph side, the weigh-in lines will once again be full and plenty of Lake Erie smallmouth will pass through the scales.

The day-two weigh-in begins 2:30 p.m. at Voinovich Park in Cleveland.

Thursday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:18 a.m.

Water temperature: 76 degrees.

Air temperature: 68 degrees.

Expected high: 78 degrees.

Wind: forecasted from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph

Day’s outlook: sunny and cooler.