Pro Tips with Captain Mark Lamb

They say preparation is the key to success. It can also be the key to survival offshore! Most every boat on the water has several thru hull fittings to accommodate high speed pickups for baitwells, saltwater washdown pumps, underwater lights and more. What would you do if one of those fittings broke offshore? Captain Mark Lamb of team Doing it All/Hardway shared a very clever and simple idea with us.

“Like most tournament crews, we are obsessed about bait, said Lamb. With several livewells on board, we carry a ton of water on the boat during most trips. More baitwells means more thru hull fittings and valves that can fail when you least expect it. To be ready for that oh sh*t moment we carry a $.99 Nerf football in the ditch bag of all three of our boats. It can be easily compressed inside a hole and expand to fill the void and reduce the volume of water entering the hull until you can get the boat back to safety. It’s also easy to cut the material if you need to modify it in any way to get you out of a jam quick. Sometimes the best ideas are the simple ones. They say, baitfishing is controlled sinking, but let’s be honest….nobody ever wants to be in that boat!”