Pay attention on the tacking method and keep the nose up!

Know the weather before you go.Launching at the right ramp depending on the wind is a must.4ooo rpm's is a good speed to handle rollers.If the rollers are 4 footers or more try to run the troughs if you can.Get behind any land breaks if possible.A hot foot and controlling the trim is a must.

Nacho...Falcon sucks in even a light wind because even when it's full, it's a shallow lake. Back when I was working, we were tied up to marker 3 one night when it was windy. We were in something like a 17' Ranger (that was our undercover boat). We were getting lifted almost to the light on top of the marker, it was an easy 5' up. It took forever to get back to the State Park boat ramp.

Had a similar incident once when we were trolling the face of the dam in a 12' jon boat. Wind came up, waves came up and we split for the government boat dock. I had bruises big time on my rear end for over a week afterwards.

Fog is bad on Falcon too, it can come in early in the evenings sometimes. When it does it is very slow going along the shoreline. This was before gps.

I love my bay boat!!! Doesn't top out like your bass rigs... but it is much more comfortable in the rough stuff!

I've always figured if the sustained wind speed is higher than your boat length it's gonna be a long day.

Yeah, this is what I'm talkin about.
My boat will only go 35mph tops, but i have yet to see freshwater rough enough to keep me from fishing. Now dont get me wrong, it is not as fun with the 35-40mph winds we had this spring on Whitney and Waco, but i can still go fish. I stayed pretty dry and only once did i get any pucker factor, and that was all my fault. I beached the boat on lake waco on the gravel bar by the dam, and had a 20mph south wind. well a couple bigger rollers came in over the transom and the boat got some water in it. well after the first two, the boat kept getting lower in the water and lower so they came in easier. I pulled the plugs (3 of them) turned on bilge, and started moving as fast as i could riding the waves. We were LOW in the water, but its not as really bad situation if everyone keeps their heads and starts working to get the boat outta the bad situation.
The 45 deg thing is really good, and you and your partner get to take turns getting wet. I tie everything down, and go where i gotta go. I personally dont worry about a rough ride unless i got someone with medical condition with me.

My uncle had a 12' flat bottom that someone made into "stick steer" but put all the controls on the front of the boat, i think for checking trotlines. Anyways, he took it out on a bigger lake in 15mph winds and he said that was the scariest ride of his life. Too much weight on the front of the boat let some water come over the bow, my other uncle was bailing water out with the top of a tackle box.
I would take my 17' bass tracker out in some crazy stuff too, but i had to be loaded really light to keep waves out. the 450lb capasity was just enuff for me and my fishing buddy and that was it. No ice chests, 4 rods, 2 tackle bags, and limited "[censored]" we still swamped that boat alot but never got really dangerous just inconvienant

FH I know what you mean about too much weight up front. I used to keep my trolling motor battery up in the very front. Even when the waves weren't an issue the boat was plowing alot. Moved it to the middle and it helps. Weight distribution is very important in a small boat. I even usually only fill the 6 gallon tank with 3 gallons because the extra weight makes it lean over to one side more than I like. I really can't knock my boat too much, for what it is it still gets me on the water, just have to be cautious.

O yea, The washthroughs help too!