Spring fishing

[wakina]

Love this thread as someone who is dreaming of making a trip over in the spring for the first time!! I have a good paper map, and a chip in my hummingbird just for this trip. With a 17' aluminum (Lund Fisherman)… I guess I need to go back and look more at the maps and such. Do some of these reefs get that shallow? I hadn't realized that. I assume your advice aligns with part of Matt's post on not being out there at night without experience.

I can say with some certainty that there will be at least one and possibly 2 spots that could give you some serious headaches. The first one that I am going to refer to is the most dangerous one and that is Crib Reef, there is a shallow spot on that reef that will do damage to your lower unit if you happen to get over it and possibly to your hull if it is 3ft or more waves. If the Buoys are in place the marker for the reef is several hundred feet I believe SE from the danger spot. This is due to the fact that the buoy tender that places these marker buoys require more water depth to safely get any closer.

The second one is located on Niagara Reef but that spot can be navigated safely if the water levels are normal to higher and not to low. The depth on that spot is roughly about 3 ft but that is calculated from the mean water levels and can fluctuate with how high or low the lake water levels or with a stiff W or SW wind that blows the water to the east that spot will be closer to the surface. That condition can last for several hours once the wind stops blowing as it takes awhile for the water to traverse back to the west end seeking its own level. Both of these spots are within the Reef Complex which is within the Camp Perry Firing Range Danger zones. Crib Reef is some what centered in the firing range and Niagara Reef is located on the east side of the firing range with some of the reef outside the firing range and the majority inside the east boundary of the firing range.

Check your map/chart for the location of these 2 spots so you are familiar with the areas that you would encounter the danger spots.

With a 17 ft boat and outboard you very well MAY be able to navigate over the shallows at Crib Reef without incidence. If something was to happen you only have a precious few minutes to get rescued before succumbing to hypothermia in the frigid water conditions, even with a life vest on and that is probably one of the
reasons Matt posted what he did.