What do you do when your boat dies on Erie? Fish, of course.

The walleye run was on, and after a great week of fishing I decided to head out for some evening action with a friend. The weather couldn’t have been better—Lake Erie was a sheet of glass, perfect for running full throttle.

Then it happened. A sharp smell of burning wires from the dash, a puff of smoke, and the engine died. No power. Not even the VHF worked—only the trim tab had juice. For a moment, my mind went to the worst-case scenario: drifting helplessly toward Niagara Falls. Okay, not quite that dramatic—there was no wind, and the boat just sat where it stalled—but it felt like a nightmare.

I grabbed my tools and started tearing into the dash. The culprit? The cigarette lighter. Four wires tied in—two to the Side Shift stern drive and two to the battery. The battery cables had melted, screws had rusted out, and the wires crossed and fried. I isolated the mess and then went fuse by fuse, replacing each one, hoping to bring the ignition back to life. Nothing.

The manual said the main switch was near the engine. For an hour I searched, sweating and swearing, but I couldn’t find it. My friend, cool as ever, just said, “Don’t get yourself hyped,” and pulled out jigging rods. While I stressed, he fished.

Eventually, I called Eagan Marine Services. With maps on my phone, I gave them our coordinates, and three hours later help was on the way. In the meantime, what do you do on a boat adrift on Erie? You fish. We landed seven walleyes and lost five more. The sunset was gorgeous, twilight even better, and with food and drinks on board, we made the best of it.

When C-Tow arrived, we were in excellent hands. Back at the dock, the captain found the elusive “Mercator switch”—hidden under a covering where I never would have looked. Once the wiring was isolated and the switch reset, the boat roared back to life.

My greatest fear—being stranded—was overcome with the right technology, the right people, and a reminder that even in breakdowns, there’s room for good fishing and a good story.