Mr. Roush then specifically addresses the owners of ultralight fishing vessels- "One shouldn't have to admonish anglers of the folly of venturing out on Tahoe or Pyramid in little boats. However they still do it, due to ignorance of the danger." This from a man who spent over thirty years fishing the lake, pioneering deep spoon-jigging techniques and winning local trout derbies, which had big prizes, fierce competition and monster catches back in the 1960's and 70's . He fished from a Boston Whaler, an ocean-worthy vessel, and still had stories to tell of frightening experiences on Tahoe.

And here I am in my seventeen foot Coleman canoe, blithely crossing this inland sea, risking my own life and leading readers like rats after the pie-eyed piper, into a watery grave. Another reader, Mike Hansen, "Just wanted to drop a line... In fact because of you I bought a canoe complete with trolling motor, fish finder, etc."

I started this article as a way to answer all the email on the subject, thinking that it would be a technical piece, in which I would reveal all my secrets for monitoring the weather prior to a trip, and for proper safety precautions when underway. Then I saw the headline in the Tahoe Daily Tribune-

"Act Of God Saves Two From Lake."

On January 9, two college students from Missouri were plucked near death from choppy 44 degree water in Glenbrook Bay by guide Gene St. Denis of Tahoe Trophy Trout. He had been fishing with clients off the north shore all morning, and on his way back to the Cave Rock boat ramp, decided to swing his aluminum boat in toward Glenbrook for one last trolling run. This detour proved fateful, as one of St. Denis' clients spotted what she thought was an arm sticking up out of the water, waving, some 200 yards offshore. They approached and found Adam Watson, 22, and Laura Paul, 21, clinging to each other, heads kept above the whitecaps solely by their one life-vest, worn by Watson. When hauled on board they were suffering from severe hypothermia, with Ms. Paul completely unable to speak. They were treated by ambulance at Cave Rock, then transported to Barton Memorial Hospital, where they were put under heated blankets and given warm intravenous fluid to slowly raise their core body temperatures.

Apparently, the two were paddling an 18 foot fiberglass canoe (later recovered by the Coast Guard) which capsized, then prevailing wind and waves pushed them further into the lake. They were very lucky indeed to have been spotted at all, as boat traffic at this time of year is almost nil. Thank God for a fisherman's hunch! I skimmed the story quickly at first, checking the pertinent facts to make sure that the canoeists were not anglers who had perhaps visited this website and decided to follow my example, if not my advice and precautions. Once I had assuaged my guilt over any responsibility for the mishap, I read more carefully, and the reported time of rescue jumped out at me- 1:40 p.m. How ironic. At that moment I was just a few miles north, loading my canoe back on the roof of my car after a productive fishing trip at Sand Harbor, a trip I had abruptly terminated when the wind increased. Good thing I wasn't at Cave Rock, pulling up while the fire, police and ambulance crews were responding to a canoe accident and near-drowning. They would certainly have had something to say to me on the subject.

And I have something to say to you, dear readers. Don't do it! There are numerous smaller bodies of water in our area more suitable for canoeing, and numerous boats more suitable to big water than a canoe, as well. I had prepared a list of things to do and remember for canoeists on Tahoe, but scrapped it and will now instead provide a list of don'ts, culled from my experience and applicable on any large, high altitude lake. If at least half of these concerns didn't already occur to you, you should not be allowed near a canoe in the first place.

Don't ignore the weather. Check it the night before your trip. Check it again on the internet at four a.m. Go to weather.com and check everything but the allergy report. Jet stream, local radar, regional radar, national map, location of high and low pressure fronts, local forecast, current conditions. Do this before every outing, closely comparing the stated forecast with actual conditions on the water. If wind predictions are 15 miles per hour or higher, Don't go.

Don't trust the weather no matter how closely you've watched it. At the time those college students tipped their canoe, winds had built at my location to around twenty miles per hour, with stronger gusts and whitecapped waves by the time I left the water. The forecast was for winds of 5 to 10, with a fat high pressure cell situated over Northern California. A low pressure front to the north was bringing precipitation to Oregon, though, and one tendril of atmospheric moisture unexpectedly curled south, driving snow-squalls and gusty winds onto the lake. Do not feel compelled to go out if you aren't comfortable with the conditions at hand, no matter how early you woke up and how far you've traveled to fish Tahoe. I happen to live three blocks from El Dorado Beach, and I can check the breeze and clouds simply by looking out my window. I get out so much because I live here and can choose from several different days each week, picking the one with the best conditions. Many trips are scrubbed before I even leave the house, and many more when things don't look quite right at the boat ramp. Live to fish another day.

Don't attempt a Tahoe trip at all, any time of year, if you're a beginning canoeist. I've been fishing from a canoe for twenty years and have only frequented Tahoe for the last five. Learn on smaller, warmer lakes. Take your vessel to the limit of its capabilities on a windy day, but do it in no more than five feet of seventy-degree water, right near shore, on a nice little bass pond. Anyone can maneuver a canoe effectively with only a little practice, IN CALM CONDITIONS. The difficulty increases exponentially with wind and waves, and a momentary lapse of attention or a single poorly executed maneuver can be all that is needed to swamp or tip your vessel in rough water. You can and should study draw, pry, and J-stroke diagrams in a book on canoeing, but there is no substitute for experience.

Don't exceed your limits, expecting that nothing will go awry. Can't swim? Stay home! Life jacket? Wear it! Nothing wrong with wearing a loud whistle around your neck either. Leave that small, tippy canoe or kayak at home as well. My Coleman is 17 feet long, 36 inches wide, and has a 770 pound weight capacity. What is your canoe's weight capacity? How much weight are you putting in it? How is that weight distributed? What is your power source? I recommend both an electric motor and TWO paddles, even for a solo trip. It's very easy to drop and lose a paddle in difficult conditions, and not only do you need paddles as a backup source of propulsion should your motor fail, but you may need to use paddle and motor simultaneously in strong wind. Yes, that's right, even the most powerful trolling motor may not be able to move you forward on its own against a strong enough headwind and fast moving waves. I've been there, and believe me, you don't want to. Don't forget a spare shear-pin for your motor, either- I've had to replace mine on the water after my prop hit a rock.

Don't proceed without a plan. Tahoe is daunting, with even the largest boats only able to fish a small portion in a day. Don't even think about taking a canoe off shore where you see the mackinaw guides working. This extremely deep lake has extensive shallow, sandy areas, extending outward in many areas for hundreds of yards before the drop-off to deep blue. I never go that far, nor should you. A canoeist attempted this in winter a few years ago, fishing within view of the Coast Guard station at north shore. When he tipped, they launched a boat immediately, but by the time they reached him, he had drowned. Even if you are an excellent swimmer, Tahoe's winter water temperature will render your mucles useless in under half and hour, if it doesn't shock and paralyze you instantly, making you incapable of swimming at all. Have you studied a map of the lake and planned a route, accounting for speed of travel and available battery power when calculating the distance you plan to cover? I carry up to three deep-cycle trolling batteries to fish two or three inshore spots in a morning. Combined, the batteries weigh close to 200 pounds. Are you prepared to load this much weight in a canoe? If not, you will be limited in the areas you can access from the boat ramps. Besides safety concerns, it is generally unproductive to fish Tahoe randomly, without careful study of the lake's terrain and features. Know your enemy. Don't ever let your guard down. Conditions here can change in an instant. Be alert to the appearance of the lake's surface, watching always for windlines, waves, and wake-waves from boats. Watch the wind direction and speed as well, noting any changes. Become a student of cloud formations- how high, what shape, rate and direction of travel. Tahoe is large enough to create its own weather, and it has microclimates- areas where the weather can be quite different than on other parts of the lake. Glenbrook Bay is notorious for blowing up on an east or northeast wind, but those canoeists from Missouri didn't know that. The day they found out the hard way, I chose to stay close to the entrance of Sand Harbor, which has a large, natural breakwater of boulders. When the wind whipped up large waves, I was able to quickly duck into this safer area. Any port in a storm, though, and if caught out in any boat in dangerous conditions, don't be afraid to beach or take shelter anywhere you can, even if it's miles from the boat ramp. You can worry about how to get back later. Many of the trophy lakeside homes have good breakwaters, and there actually is a safe harbor law, allowing the landing of a boat on private property in an emergency. Do you know the Coast Guard and California boating laws? You should.

Are you scared yet? I sure hope so. These guidelines are meant not only to keep canoes off the lake, but to serve as fair warning for anyone, on any boat venturing on Lake Tahoe. I will continue to take the calculated risk, and to write articles about my exploits, but urge readers to think twice before they try and imitate me. Read my stories like you would watch that controversial show on MTV called "Jackass", where the guy does all the stupid painful stunts no right-thinking person would ever attempt. I'm the jackass, so you don't have to be.

"The seas on Tahoe can be huge. Even a 17 foot Boston Whaler, such as mine, can be tossed around like a cork- anything smaller can get you into serious difficulties." -John Rousch

Until next time, remember, never stand in a canoe!
Mark Wiza
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