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| Have been in the lake three times in the last 5 days, putting in docks and lifts. Ice has been gone for about 10 days but water is very cold. I have a finger that was smashed in a shop accident, broken, severed tendon, lots of stitches. Normally the only time I feel it is ice fishing, but I knew where the break was each of those times because of how cold the water is. I mention this because the DNR recently released some stats on drowning victims in WI. Among adults, something like 90% were men, average age was 46. Virtually all were fishing and not wearing PFDs.
Have gotten to know a local game warden and even fished with him a few times. When I upgraded to a Gen4 Mega on the bow last season, he mentioned how he had the same guys put a big Mega unit on his work boat. Only he is not looking for fish while on duty, but rather bodies. The down/side imaging units have replaced dragging a grapple hook for finding drowning victims. Think about that this weekend. Are all of your excuses for not wearing a PFD worth having guys combing the lake with sonar, looking for your remains?
Today, I have a routine. I get my gear in the boat, start my tiller motor, then put on my self inflating PFD, hook the kill switch before moving. If fishing by myself, I don't take it off until the boat is back on the lift. Have fun, be safe and don't become crayfish food.
Edited by North of 8 5/5/2022 8:02 AM
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Posts: 1668
| Well said. With the technology today there is no reason not to wear a life jacket. I like the big vest type because they keep me warm, floating is just a side advantage.
Remember with the late ice out lots of crap will still be floating around. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I started wearing my PFD all the time due to fishing with my kids. I'd make them wear one on the boat and had no good explanation why I didn't have mine on. And, being kids, they would ask. m |
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Posts: 1183
| My dad and a lot of my fishing buddies have passed on, so I'll take a trip up north and I'm fishing by myself. And my mom's still around and at 61 I still get mothered "wear your lifejacket" And I do. If I'm fishing with other people I wear it when motoring to the next spot and take it off as I fish, If it's windy and ruff I kept it on. Here's a story from around here almost thirty years ago from both news station and local print. Three guy's I call them "Tom, Dick, and Harry" Tom and the crew went out early Christmas shopping in late Nov. and they bought a Canoe on close out, but they did not buy lifejackets. (maybe the store had none in late Nov.) November weather here in Colorado is winter but the lakes are not ice covered yet.
The guy's went to a little water ski swim beach lake (in summer) and went out after dark and after a beer run. Well they went out flipped over in the dark two drowned and the other died of hypothermia at the hospital. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I think it was last month they had to dredge some guy out of a lake near Columbus. He was wearing his PFD - according to the lone survivor -but when the boat capsized it came off because he didn't have it buckled. I'm keeping mine latched more often since I read that. m
On March 24, Stone was fishing with his brother Corey who was found unconscious but made it out of the water safely.
A 911 call released by the Delaware County Sheriff's office said the brother reported Stone was wearing a life vest but it came off when he was in the water.
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Posts: 3774
| I posted this in 2017.....
If you fish alone please wear a good life jacket from put in till take out. I had the experience of getting hooked up with a green mid-30's fish, we shared a Poe's Giant Jackpot for a few minutes. A hook entered in the back of my hand and the point was sticking out of my index finger. I cut the fish off but the lure was still hanging off my hand. On the way back to the landing I passed out while underway. I woke up hanging over the side of the boat, my head and one arm dragging in the water. Very lucky I didn't fall all the way out of the boat. In hindsight my judgement was shot starting when I became hooked and the fish was thrashing next to the boat. Putting a life jacket on was a million miles from my mind and I didn't think of it immediately afterward, either. Point is, if you get hurt you need to already be wearing the jacket |
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Posts: 3774
| Also from 2017, this really happened. I had taken the kill switch lanyard off to gather the towing gear and wasn't wearing a jacket. I sure was lucky that day, and I sure appreciate the hippie who ****ing disappeared moments after I was back in my boat. No kidding, the guy was just gone, believe what you want.........
I was trying to help a distressed boat, they were going to wash up on a rocky shore in sorta high wind. As I'm trying to set ropes the guy tries to start his motor again and it goes for a moment so he hits the gas, straight at the side of my brand new Yar Craft 209tfx. I lean over the side of my boat and try to deflect his boat and it works but the cuff of my sleeve catches on one of is front cleats and I get sucked overboard, I drop into the water between the boats. His boat is stalled again and my boat is in, get this, idle forward. Bad, bad, bad. I quickly swim to my boat, reach up and catch a side rail but there's no way I can pull myself up and back into the boat, I'm too fat and out of shape. My boat goes into a small circle with me on the inside as the other guy looks on in horror because what else can he do? My boat does increasingly tight 360's with me hanging on the inside. It's a 250 Verado on a 2k# boat and I will be just a slight bump when that motor hits me. Out of the clear blue, and in whitecaps, a bearded, hippie paddle boarder shows up, jumps in my boat, shuts the motor off. I pull myself down the boat, swim around the back of the motor and get back on via a snap-down boarding ladder. |
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Posts: 480
Location: NW WI | Someone on hear scared the **** out of me with a slipping on the launch dock story, and for the better. Since reading that I'm strapped launch to landing. Each to their own but nothing scares me more solo night fishing than slipping and busting me head open. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I looks at PFD's like seat belts: once you realize you need one it's prolly too late to put it on. m |
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Posts: 32789
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Sue has declared I shall wear a PFD at all times on the water from now on. I do what she says. |
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Posts: 1183
| Depending where you are in life there's a Mom, wife, or grandparent looking out for us. Ya I've been in the water won't retell the story, but all I'll say is the resort owner come by our cabin to check on us (we'd been really on a roll lot's of Muskies and good average size) and he saw my jeans hanging on the clothesline frozen stiff then once he found out everything was Ok we all had a good laugh. |
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