Planning mid August trip with family, would like help

[B can man]

Heh... another link to OGF from fishhead...

I know a few people that take their 18ft boats out in 4's on a fairly regular basis. BUT these people each have 20+ years of experience on Lake Erie.

Let me make it clear, I would not condone anyone intentionally taking an 18ft boat out in 4ft waves if they are not well experienced on the big lake and feel completely comfortable doing so.

Wave period and steepness make a huge difference in what 4ft waves look and feel like. I was out in 4-6ft'ers in a 18ft fish-n-ski a few years back. We anchored 6 miles out when the storm rolled in. With 150ft of anchor line out, the bow rolled right up and over each wave and smoothly through the troughs. The waves were mostly 5's and 6's, but rollers.

The other problem is that 4ft'ers can easily become 6ft+ in a blink of an eye.

My opinion; ideally you will be looking for (like you said) waves of 2ft or less. If you feel like "pushing it" 1-3ft would be the top mark (and not going very far out). Now keep in mind, a LOT of times I have gone out on a 1-3's forecast and found it to be almost flat out and a few times have found it to be bigger than 1-3's.

With your size of boat and experience level, maybe consider fishing around the islands area. The islands area can offer some great fishing in the summertime if you hook up with the right people. You would then have the safety of the islands for wind/wave blocking if need be or in case of an emergency you can beach onto one. From Kelley's Island it isn't that far to the deeper water where you could potentially find some walleye during the hot months on a calm day.

Be very flexible with your plans. Have a plan of where you want to go out of and out to that day, but be willing to change once you see the lake. Change could be changing where you're going to fish or it could be cancelling the fishing day at the last minute.