Nightmare at Merland park(short Story)

[Cookslav]

First off let me start by saying the staff of Merlin Park were AWESOME!

The grounds keeper in Particular (whom I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t catch his name)

I’ll elaborate further later in the report….

 

Secondly this is a novel of a report…

So if you bore easily, stop now.

 

We left stinky O’l K-town at 5am in anticipation of catching some Quinte Bigguns like we had the year before, and otherwise looked forward to a great guys weekend away.

The weather forecast Friday Morning was a bit frustrating but nothing we couldn’t handle…

Some heavy winds were forecast for Friday evening, so we anticipated a short day on the water that day.

but Saturday was looking ok with light winds, and a chilly high of 1 degree was forecast for the afternoon, While Sunday looked to be a write off with heavy Wind and snow in store…

 

So we drove onwards planning to hit the water hard in the am on Friday, and then be on the water all day Saturday, and forget about Sunday.

Boy did it turn out to be an adventure to say the least…

 

We arrived at Merland Park and immediately launched the boat, into near perfect conditions…light chop, with some near calm spurts.

We set up the Planners and headed out into Picton bay only to Mark Schools of baitfish, and fish stacked in 30’ of water right out in front of Merlands, Continuing steadily all the way along the south shore up to the conservation area.

We were getting excited as we continued to mark massive schools of bait fish when Big Swedes Tattle flag went of and his planner board dragged back!!!

Unfortunately the cause of our excitement soon revealed itself as a Seagull that had Dive bombed Bigswedes malfunctioning Dr. Death which should have been diving to 20’

Unfortunately After trying to bring the gull in, it managed to snap the line…she’s toast, and Big Swede is out a couple bucks already.

 

We continued to troll the school for another hour when almost suddenly the waves grew to about 2’-3', and wind began to howl…this was at about 3pm which was considerably earlier then forecasted.

 

 

This picture does not do the conditions justice at all....

But beleive me it got alot worse about an hour later.

 

Luckily we were still in Picton bay so we crawled home to safety, and moored the boat to an inside docking slip for fear of getting swamped with ice over night….the forecast at this point was calling for wind gusts of 90km/hour, and over night lows of -9 (perfect conditions for building Ice)

 

We then retired to our room and drank away our sorrows, and planned out our strategy for Saturday…

We had to make the most of it being Friday we were forced off the water in only 2 hours, and Sunday Still appeared to be a write off.

At about 8pm the power went off, so Big Swede and I played Foosball by the light of our head lamps LOL!!! (That is by far the best way to play that game by the way…to much fun!)

 

The next morning we got up eager and ready to get the boat smelling fishy, but as soon as I saw my boat I realized that might be a problem….

The wind had changed a full 180 degrees, and had been battering my boat all night.

(again….another unforecasted weather event)

 

There was a clear 2 inches of ice coating my entire stern, and motor….in some spots the ice was an easy 4-5” thick!

 

I wish I had taken Picture before we started chiping away the ice, but to be honest I was WAY more concerend with getting the boat out of danger.

 

The Boat was riding dangerously low in the water under the weight of the ice and the Bilge pump was frozen to boot….we were in real trouble as we were continuing to take on water when the waves splashed the stern.

Bigswede and I chipped at the ice feverishly to lighten the weight, and got the boat to ride a bit higher but in the end we decided to abandon ship, and haul her out with help of the Merland park staff and their jeep.

 

We lost a few hours getting the boat out, and launching a rental for an extra incurred cost of $115…but we were finally out on the water.

We were happy to be fishing but felt a bit blind, with no fish finder….

We trolled the areas we had marked fish the day before, which we believe was still marking a lot of fish as we were in line with 6 boats working the south shore of Picton Bay.

 

We fished and we fished to no avail…we did have two bumps, but no takers.

And I should mention we froze our arses off as well!

The forecast of 1 degrees was off by 12 degrees as we never got above minus 11...

(how on earth can the forecasts be THAT wrong???)

 

On one of our last passes I spotted something a bit odd.

I noticed a boat in the middle of the bay paddling….

I knew right away this vessel was in distress.

What boggles my mind are the 4 boats that just passed these poor guys and didn‘t bother to help.

I can’t name names as I don’t know who they were but I will mention this…

Whom ever was driving the 17’ green Lund, at Merland park this past Saturday….

Shame on you!

 

They drove by them twice….

Once on their way as they trolled by them, and once again as they headed back to Merland to pack up for the day.

 

Bigswede and I were shorted on our angling time all weekend by unforseen issues, but...

We knew it was the right thing to do

So we towed them home (it’s the one thing I did all weekend that made me feel good LOL!)

 

So at the end of the day we packed it in and drank to our frustration , and decided we were going to sleep in.

Sleep is something we are in short supply of being we both have young children at home LOL!

So we slept in, only to wake up and see near perfect/calm conditions on the water….doh!!!!

 

Oh well,

What done is done….

So we packed up to leave and went to settle the bill with Kevin, and get on the road.

Well apparently we dinged up a new prop on our way out Saturday morning….

We did have a rough exit to from the dock Saturday Morning….that throttle is a bit touchy LOL!

So we paid the extra $50 and decided to chalk it up to our Crap luck.

 

We soon discovered we could not get up the hill to leave with the fresh fallen snow….so yet again we enlisted the help of the Merland Park staff to tow my frozen ice cube of a boat to the top of the hill for me.

Honestly the grounds keeper earned every penny of his wage that weekend helping us out, and I appreciated it.

 

Now the story gets funny…well, funny cause its not you!

On the way home I blew a Trailer Tire on the 401 outside of k-town, and I had no spare yet

(new boat) Tack on another $80 to the trip for a new tire…

 

So I called Becker brothers, turned the 4 ways on, and the Van off as I was low on fuel, and didn’t know how long the tow truck would be. (it turned out to only be 20 minutes)

While the tow truck was loading up my boat I decided to warm up the Van for our departure.

My battery was dead….Tack on another $60 to the trip for a new battery.

 

After the Becker brothers guy boosted me, I dropped Big Swede off, and headed home to meet the tow truck and pay my bill…Tack on another $102 to the trip for a tow

 

After I paid the driver I headed to the gas station for some much needed fuel….I didn’t make it.

So I walked about 2 miles to the station with my jerry can in hand, and begin to take the cap off my can when I hear a voice from behind me say “ we’re outta gas”…..

After about a 5 minute barrage of expletives, and me explaining to the gas attendant that the closest gas station is another 15-20 minute walk etc….

The guy agreed to let me “try” and pump $5 worth of gas….I lucked out and was able to pump enough gas to get me to another station.

 

Then as if I hadn’t had enough bad luck…

I got the van stuck at the end of my own street (plows had not come through yet)

After 10 minutes of rocking the van , and the help of a friendly neighbour pushing I finally made it home.

 

I then promptly put a helmet on and went to bed…

 

To summarize,

 

The weather was COMPLETLEY inaccurate, and caused us to loose 80% of our allocated time on the water, and half froze us to death on Saturday

We killed a seagull and lost a cherished lure

My boat was almost sank, and rendered useless by sea ice(also an unforeseen weather related event)

I ran out of gas, and got stuck in the snow

I incurred an additional $407 to the trip when I

A )Had to rent a boat

B ) dinged a Prop

C ) blew a trailer tire

D ) needed a Tow

E ) blew my battery

 

And worst of all We caught zero fish…

 

All in all it was a pretty horrible weekend, but the company was good, and At least I got a story to tell LOL!!!

 

I just keep telling myself these are only inconveniences not issues…

No one got hurt, and I guess it is kind of funny?

Heck I’d laugh if it wasn’t me…ah who am I kidding I’m laughing any way.

 

I guess the Moral of the story is, don’t every trust the weather forecast, and smile no matter what happens, because it could be worse.

 

Cheers

[misfish]

I guess the Moral of the story is, don’t ever trust the weather forecast, and smile no matter what happens, because it could be worse

 

[ccmtcanada]

LOL...sorry....abour 3/4 of the way through I just started laughing...and didn't stop until...well...I'm still laughing. Makes me feel a little better about my BOQ skunk a few weeks ago. Good on you for helping that boat in distress. Thanks for the report....it would have been so easy for you to be ticked off about it...posting this shows us that you can laugh at yourself...and rise above the unfortunate circumstances!!!

[Terry]

....well that describes many of my fishing trips......and some how it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one with bad luck

.....sorry

 

crap happens ....but what an adventure....

a story you can tell for years

[solopaddler]

Brother, anyone that can laugh at that kind of misfortune is alright in my books .

Good story!

[Gerritt]

The Merland's curse continues........

 

But glad to see SOMEONE there to assist you when you needed them... wish I could say the same.....

 

 

Things could have been alot worse! Just glad that you made it home in one piece... and as for the helmet... remind me to wear one myself if I fish with you! LOL

 

Gerritt.

Edited December 3, 2007 by Gerritt

[Grimace]

Quite the adventure for sure. Good on you for taking it so well. You need the bad trips, they make the good ones seem even better

[fishindevil]

WOW...holy crap man thats terrible bad,bad luck brother !!!! man i didnt think there was anyone else out there that had the bad luck like i do....man i feel for you,thats all really too bad,and being this time of year with all this crappy weather we have had,by the way last year at this time it was like 15 degrees out,i havnt even had decent weather to put my boat away yet either,well at least you can see the humor in it,and that you didnt snap and go postal on anyone !!!!!and at least the ice didnt sink your boat....and i know for a fact that that has happened down there before,well its too bad that you didnt catch any fish,cause then you could have at least said,that it was worth it...take care and look forward to next year ,and hope that the weather and the fishing are alot better,and by the way 2 weeks ago i just dumped my brand new lund right off the trailer ,at the ferry launch and put 4 huge scratches ,on the side and put a nice hole in the bottom of the boat,on one of the strakes that go down the middle,fortunatley its not through the hull,but almost...so see what i mean its my kinda luck that you had. ..we must be brothers..LOL..LOL..LOL cheers & take care

[bucktail]

You will be rewarded by the karma gods for helping out the dude in the boat.....goood karma dude!!!

I predict many PB's next year for you due to your good deeds!

[TJQ]

LOL.. yup sorry... I started to laugh about 1/2 way through it... definatley good karma to help those guys...

[Joey]

Wow, what a tale of woe indeed.

 

Sorry to hear about all your troubles bud. I'm gonna guess the next fishing trip definately cannot be any worse right

 

Joey

[lew]

You still had a MUCH better weekend than the guys that sat home on the couch all weekend !!

 

Also, kudos to the pair of youz for hauling the stranded fishermen back to shore. You have the satisfaction of knowing you did the right thing, while others just ignored them and didn't care that they may have been in danger.

 

Awesome report !!

[irishfield]

Like was said in another post by Headhunter. It's become a ME ME ME world and yes shame on anyone that could drive by these guys once..let alone TWICE...especially this time of year. If they indeed did show signs of distress not only were the passers by too stuck in their "ME" world...they also were in contravention of the shipping act for not helping them.

 

Good on ya, and like bucktail says... PB's for you all next year!

Edited December 4, 2007 by irishfield

[bigbuck]

Don't you worry, the fishing gods will remember what you did in towing in a broken down boat. But wow!! when it rains it sure pours!!!

Next year, you will get sick of having to reel in too many fish!

[aniceguy]

that Im sorry to say was a funny story. Glad it all worked out in the end and remember the stories you ll have over beers

[Mike the Pike]

Now Cook that was a great read and despite your misfortune you made the best of it.Despite your lack of time on the water you went and towed some people in need.Last year during a fishing tournament I stayed with a couple who could not start there boat .after half an hour they finally got it started .We were getting ready to tow them in when the old Merc came to life again.The motor was flooded they got her going and we went back to fishin the tournament.Those seagulls in the BOQ sure like to bite our lures I caught one in July what a mess and the little bugger bit me too.That was great made me laugh sounds like you got a great attitude

[lookinforwalleye]

Kudos to you for helping out a fellow angler but I think the moral of your story should be check your equipment and make sure it`s up to the task!

I figure your round trip was around 600 KM`s or so not having a spare on board is just irresponsible.

 

Sorry I`am not trying to be a idiot but somebody had to say it.

[Cookslav]

Thanks for shareing in a laugh LOL...

Not much else I can do but laugh it off right

 

Oh,

and lookin....

Thanks for kicking a guy when he's down LOL!

(kidding)

 

Your right,

I "should" have had a spare.

But to be honest the tires were in good shape.

Plus I checked those tires before I left, and again at a service station out side of Trenton.

getting a spare was on my list of items for the fall...just never got around to it.

 

That being said,

Its not really "irresponsible"....it was my own stupidity for sure, but not irresponsible.

 

I didn't put anyone else at fault, in danger, or put anyone else out.

I just incurred a $102 tow to myself.

 

If anything Its safer to have a big old Tow truck lit up like a christmas tree in behind me, then jacking and changing a tire road side in crappy weather conditions right?

Cheers.

[corvette1]

that was a bad weekend at quinte glad you made it home in one peice my worst quinte weekend blew up the evinjunk

[Headhunter]

Well, after reading that story, I have to admitt that I'm now REALLY lookin forward to my trip down to the Q on Thursday!

NOTE TO SELF.... don't go anywhere near Merlands! LOL

Sorry for your pain, but if it makes you feel any better, I believe that you have at a minimum, entertained all of us OFNers with your story!

Thanks,

HH

[kennyman]

Another beautiful day of fishing. By the way, I think we must be related LOL. Seriously, I feel for you. You must have been ready to burn the lot! Better luck next time. I guess it can't get much worse. Well,you shouldn't need a battery or the one tire. Maybe you should change the other tire and put LOTS of gas, just incase. Poor guy ......YIKES !!!

[KyleM]

Im not sure that boats ever been in the cold like that!

How is it treatin ya Cook???????

[LeXXington]

LOL, been there done that

[Big Swede]

WORST... FISHING TRIP... EVER

 

Let me put it to you this way Cookslav... if my fishing trips with you start to more often than not resemble this fiasco, I'm taking up golf. It would be a far less frustrating experience. Did I mention that I suck at golf? You know it.

 

Big thanks to the folks at Merland's for giving us another trip full of great hospitality. Loved the new Suzuki motor too! But I'm pretty sure I requested no wind or frigid temps. I'll have to check my confirmation letter just to be sure.

 

For those all of you headed up towards the BOQ in the next few days/weeks, the freeze is coming sooner than later from what we saw. The harbour was mostly covered up when we were leaving and a few still nights and frigid lows will lock down Picton Bay too.

 

As for helping out fellow anglers, cookslav and I were paying it forward when Pete Bowman and his Fishing Canada buddy saved our bacon last year when our rental called it a day as we were out at Thompson's. We'd be halfway across the Atlantic by now if they hadn't taken the time to help us out.

 

But that's how it works out there folks. We are all in it together and taking some time out from fishing could very well save someone's life. Besides, it's only a couple minutes but you are making a huge difference in how things could unfold out there. And it always comes around, for good or for bad, right?

 

Later OFC'ers! I'll be laying low, licking my wounds from a dismal 2007 campaign. But I'll be right back out there soon enough. And once my little Swede gets old enough, then you won't hear the end of my chatter!

 

Happy holidays everyone!

[SlowPoke]

Its not really "irresponsible"....it was my own stupidity for sure, but not irresponsible.

 

I didn't put anyone else at fault, in danger, or put anyone else out.

I just incurred a $102 tow to myself.

Well said.

I've had my share of bad luck but never that much in one outting!

-Brian