you need to head over to rayburn or t-bend to try some big water, put in at twin dykes on a day w 15-20 mph n winds[:-], even if you lock your trolling motor down, w/wo a strap you can still lose or break it, in bad water boat handling becomes a major factor in how wet you get, how rough the ride is, and how much junk you tear up. i have been in 17 foot boats with people that knew how to handle a boat and i have been in 20+ footers with people that didn't[:@], pay attention to what the other boaters (the smarter ones)are doing, take your time, and be smart, BTW i have beached my boat more than once on a big body of water like rayburn and let the storm pass, once during a tornado[:-], the main objective is to be able to fish or hunt another day

mez you fish gibbons creek any?????, winter time there can be a blast