Life Jacket

[J Francho]

Any tournament I’ve been in, it’s immediate DQ for not aiding a boater in need. 

[A-Jay]

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Sort of on the topic of lifejackets and how important it is to have them and wear them.

 

Last week I took my wife and her mom fishing and wind picked up pretty quickly. Watched a group on a SUP and canoe struggling and then the canoe took a dump 75 yards from shore in white caps over deep water. The people in it had life jackets on and there was a tournament boat fishing within easy shouting distance, I saw them look and go back to fishing, assumed they were doing okay as they were trying to swim the canoe to the shore. My wife and MIL had jumped in to swim for a minute and got back in and I couldn't just take off without checking on them. Motored by and asked if they needed help but it was pretty obvious without asking that they did. The canoe was half full of water and both guys were clearly exhausted from struggling with the canoe. I tied it off to the boat and they held on while I used the TM to slowly pull it to shore. The tourny guys were nice enough to stop and tell me where it was shallow enough to beach it (huge eye roll), then got right back to fishing. I ended up falling while helping them right the canoe because neither of them had the strength to do much to help while they were still trying to catch their breath.

 

First thing, I'm glad they were wearing their life jackets. We witnessed a pair in a tandem kayak paddling across the white caps 30 minutes later going from one bank to the other on the widest point of this 7,000 acre lake, no lifejackets. The Game Warden was driving by and saw them also from on top of the dam, he watched them for a long time probably fearing he'd see what I was also afraid was going to happen. This was warm water and they could have abandoned the canoe and probably been okay, but they weren't dragging that water filled canoe against the waves and one guy was pretty heavyset, a heart attack could have been a real concern for him if he'd continued to struggle.

 

Secondly, if you're in tournament, I don't care how much money is on the line, someone's life is worth more. They were right there to help, but couldn't be bothered to stop for 5 minutes and risk losing out on that one bite to win the couple hundred bucks at stake.

 

Never a doubt as to your actions @Bluebasser86

However, I would most definitely had something to say to the "man" who owed/operated that other rig.

None of it can be repeated here.

Unfathomable level of selfish.

A-Jay

 

 

[Teal]

28 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Any tournament I’ve been in, it’s immediate DQ for not aiding a boater in need. 

Amen.  I've heard it talked about in many meetings. The old TDwould tell us all the time that fishing isn't that important compared to the needs of others. 

 

  We had a guy a long time ago see another competitor get out of his boat, assist a kayaker that had went overboard, he flipped the kayak over, got the kid back in it, and helped him collect whast.gear they could find.... well the guy who saw the competitor give aid, made a grievance at the weigh in that the man exited his boat and should be disqualified...... Whoo hoo the old men in the club gave that guy an earful.   He was but hurt that the man give g aid placed in the top.3 and was just looking to cause trouble... MAde me mad.    

 

in another note, the kayaker in the story was a teen wearing a pfd

[MN Fisher]

57 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Any tournament I’ve been in, it’s immediate DQ for not aiding a boater in need. 

I'd go one step further and blacklist them from any future tournaments - even a crappie tournament.

[Log Catcher]

15 hours ago, RoLo said:

 

Reminds me of a day on Lake Toho several years ago.

Two wardens in a tiller rowboat came to rest beside our craft (Never a fun sandwich).

Neither my wife nor I were donning our float vest, however, our craft was not under power.

I showed them my kapok vest, but my wife held up a cartridge inflatable. 

One of the wardens wanted to cite my wife for not wearing her vest, while the other warden did not.

After brief infighting on the FWC boat, we were in fact pardoned. In any case, your point is well taken.

 

Roger

 

 

 

We were not under power at the time I referred to. We were fishing when the brought there boat up by ours. I had my life jacket laying on the deck beside me since I don't wear it when fishing unless it is cold out or the water is cold. 

 

Anyway the other fellow pulled out the inflatable and that is when he found out he had to be wearing it. He kept digging around in the storage compartments and finally found a standard life jacket. If he hadn't found it I'm sure he would have been cited. 

 

He only had life jackets because they were required. He never wore one.

[Shimano_1]

I'm an avid tournament fisherman...love it...but have towed other boats back to the dock a few times during a tournament.  Things like this give the sport and especially tournament guys a bad name and are just hard for any decent human being to understand.  Believe id have had to let those guys know how I felt about it. Good job on helping them out things can go south in a hurry when people get tired in the water!

[gim]

I constantly see people in kayaks and on stand up paddle boards without PFDs. Saw it yesterday multiple times in only a few hours again.  I have often thought about saying something to these individuals but always worry that I’m going to get the “F off” or “mind your own business” response so I refrain. I don’t know if people know they’re required but simply refuse to use them...or they just don’t know any better. There may be a compartment to store one in some of the kayaks but I know there isn’t on a paddle board. I even saw a rowing team go past yesterday too and none of them had PFDs on. It’s just rampant on the waters I fish.

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I don’t know if people know they’re required but simply refuse to use them...or they just don’t know any better. There may be a compartment to store one in some of the kayaks but I know there isn’t on a paddle board.

Ya, unfortunately unless you're under 10 years old, you're not required to wear a PFD in Minnesota. Every boat needs one at least 'at hand' for all persons aboard - this includes SUPs.

"A readily accessible and wearable life jacket

is required for each person onboard a

boat, this includes canoes, kayaks, stand-up

paddleboards, paddleboats and waterfowl

boats."

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/boatwater/boatingguide.pdf#page=17

[gim]

6 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Ya, unfortunately unless you're under 10 years old, you're not required to wear a PFD in Minnesota. Every boat needs one at least 'at hand' for all persons aboard - this includes SUPs.

"A readily accessible and wearable life jacket

is required for each person onboard a

boat, this includes canoes, kayaks, stand-up

paddleboards, paddleboats and waterfowl

boats."

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/boatwater/boatingguide.pdf#page=17

I’ve stated this more than once on this forum but I can’t quite figure out why someone in a kayak wouldn’t just simply always just wear theirs. I assume if they aren’t wearing it, they don’t even have one.

[MN Fisher]

14 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I’ve stated this more than once on this forum but I can’t quite figure out why someone in a kayak wouldn’t just simply always just wear theirs. I assume if they aren’t wearing it, they don’t even have one.

I'm with you, man. My PFD is on from the time I step into my canoe until I step out of it the end of the trip. If the one you have isn't comfortable enough to wear the entire time you're on the water...GET A DIFFERENT ONE.

[DogBone_384]

On 6/19/2020 at 1:36 PM, Eddie101 said:

Do I really need those fancy looking $200 life jackets or will a generic looking jacket - see below - that cost $15 be good enough to do the job?

I wear one of these every time I'm on my kayak: https://www.nrs.com/product/40009.04/nrs-chinook-fishing-pfd.  It's got a high back for kayak seats.  I use it for the extra pockets as much as its main function.  

 

You can get by with a cheap one, but comfort is as important as being safe.  

 

Search through this forum.  You'll find a lot of posts about drowning victims that weren't wearing their PFDs. 

 

It's really up to you.

[RoLo]

 

19 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Last week I took my wife and her mom fishing and wind picked up pretty quickly. Watched a group on a SUP and canoe struggling and then the canoe took a dump 75 yards from shore in white caps over deep water. The people in it had life jackets on and there was a tournament boat fishing within easy shouting distance, I saw them look and go back to fishing, assumed they were doing okay as they were trying to swim the canoe to the shore. My wife and MIL had jumped in to swim for a minute and got back in and I couldn't just take off without checking on them. Motored by and asked if they needed help but it was pretty obvious without asking that they did. The canoe was half full of water and both guys were clearly exhausted from struggling with the canoe. I tied it off to the boat and they held on while I used the TM to slowly pull it to shore. The tourny guys were nice enough to stop and tell me where it was shallow enough to beach it (huge eye roll), then got right back to fishing. I ended up falling while helping them right the canoe because neither of them had the strength to do much to help while they were still trying to catch their breath.

 

Quite a story Blue, and I tip my hat.

You had pressing obligations of your own, yet you rose to the occasion

 

Roger

[moguy1973]

I only wear inflatables when I'm fishing out of my boat.  As said, it's almost if I'm not wearing one and I forget I have it on sometimes.  I do have two standard ski vests in my boat under the seats if I need them.  Sometimes when it's hot it's nice to jump in the lake and cool off I throw one of those on.  Can't do that with an inflatable  

 

When I'm on my kayak though I have a high back foam filled kayak vest.  Wouldn't want to take a spill out of my kayak and not have a back up if I was to be wearing an inflatable.

[Bluebasser86]

13 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 

Never a doubt as to your actions @Bluebasser86

However, I would most definitely had something to say to the "man" who owed/operated that other rig.

None of it can be repeated here.

Unfathomable level of selfish.

A-Jay

 

 

Wasn't that the urge wasn't there, but with the way things are right now I'm not trying to do anything to start any conflict that could result with my face on the news. Just couldn't understand how you could sit there and ignore someone else in serious need like that.

 

10 hours ago, Shimano_1 said:

I'm an avid tournament fisherman...love it...but have towed other boats back to the dock a few times during a tournament.  Things like this give the sport and especially tournament guys a bad name and are just hard for any decent human being to understand.  Believe id have had to let those guys know how I felt about it. Good job on helping them out things can go south in a hurry when people get tired in the water!

A buddy and I spent 3 hours towing a broke down boater on LOZ while fishing the Big Bass Bash a few years ago. It was about an 8 mile tow, but that's not a lake to be broke down on and the tow fee would have been insane. Not going to lie, it sucked losing all that time, but I'd want someone else to do the same for me.

 

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

I’ve stated this more than once on this forum but I can’t quite figure out why someone in a kayak wouldn’t just simply always just wear theirs. I assume if they aren’t wearing it, they don’t even have one.

Even if you do have them in the kayak but not on, flip a kayak, add some wind, those PFDs float away fast and if you're injured at all from the flip or the waves are very big, swimming one down could be a pretty tall task.

[Hammer 4]

Blue lives Matter..Good on ya Blue..

 

I hope this isn't to political..

[Bankc]

A lot of PFD's these days come with a whistle attached.  I think that's important too.  It's a good way to call for help if you fall over and need assistance.  It travels far and doesn't require as much energy as yelling.  Plus, it's unmistakable.  If you don't have a whistle with you, you should probably consider getting one.  

 

 

[GreenPig]

On 6/20/2020 at 10:04 AM, Teal said:

I CRINGED a few years back paying 259.00 for a new Mustang Survival.  They are expensive.  I think onyx sells them cheaper.  But, I cant skimp on safety.  

Me too. 38 lbs of of buoyancy will be nice if I involuntarily go swimming. 

[Goldstar225]

I look at life vests like I looked at helmets when I rode motorcycles, how much is your life worth.  We spend thousands or tens of thousands on the boat, rods, reels, and lures.  All that does is give us pleasure.  A quality life jacket can insure we make it another day for our families and is a small percentage of the cost of everything else.

 

When I fish by myself I wear my mustang HIT from the time I get into the boat until I get back on land.  When fishing with another person I wear a vest style life jacket any time the boat is above idle speed and a throwable PFD is on the deck (not in the locker). 

[MN Fisher]

13 minutes ago, Goldstar225 said:

and a throwable PFD is on the deck

I may be solo in the canoe, wearing my PFD vest all the time - but I have a throwable behind my seat...just in cases.

[J Francho]

Anyone notice it’s never, “the body was found floating in such and such cove,” when there is a drowning?  It’s always a dive team, which I imagine involved quite a bit of logistics and personnel. Sounds expensive, and maybe dangerous. My friend is a forensic archeologist. You know what they call bodies that have been submerged for some time? Gooey. Wear the vest. At the very worst, your family will be able to have an open casket, and no one else was put at risk. At the very best, you’ll learn to get comfortable with it on. 

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

Anyone notice it’s never, “the body was found floating in such and such cove,” when there is a drowning?  It’s always a dive team, which I imagine involved quite a bit of logistics and personnel. Sounds expensive, and maybe dangerous. My friend is a forensic archeologist. You know what they call bodies that have been submerged for some time? Gooey. Wear the vest. At the very worst, your family will be able to have an open casket, and no one else was put at risk. At the very best, you’ll learn to get comfortable with it on. 

When the term 'drowning victim' is part of one's job description, you see things.

Bad things.

Sadly, and I do mean sadly, I recovered several drowning victims.

From ages 5 to 85. 

That often meant first searching for hours and even days, in any & all weather conditions, day & night.

Then if /when located, recovering the victim from where ever they lay and placing the lifeless human body,

in various stages of decomposition, into a big black body bag.

Horrid.

Never were these unfortunate souls wearing a life jacket, ever.

Expiring from exposure is different than drowning and it too is deadly.

 A Life jacket does not prevent that.

But having one on if & when we go in the drink, will increase our chances of survival considerably.

Please wear one, especially when you're alone. 

A-Jay

 

[BrianMDTX]

Life jackets and boaters remind me of full body harnesses and tree stand hunters. Buy a $1,400.00 bow, $700.00 worth of sights, quivers, arrow rests, arrows, broadheads, etc., $$ to $$$$ on inner and outerwear, boots, tree stands, blinds, $$$$ on lease fees or ATV's...and wear a cheap safety belt or nothing at all.

 

"It's uncomfortable!"

"It's noisy!"

"It gets in the way of a shot!"

 

Trust me. You ain't thinking any of that 10' into a 25' fall. Or while in a wheelchair for the remainder of your life. And your significant other isn't going to say "well, at least they weren't uncomfortable" while staring at your headstone.

[Teal]

47 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

Life jackets and boaters remind me of full body harnesses and tree stand hunters. Buy a $1,400.00 bow, $700.00 worth of sights, quivers, arrow rests, arrows, broadheads, etc., $$ to $$$$ on inner and outerwear, boots, tree stands, blinds, $$$$ on lease fees or ATV's...and wear a cheap safety belt or nothing at all.

 

"It's uncomfortable!"

"It's noisy!"

"It gets in the way of a shot!"

 

Trust me. You ain't thinking any of that 10' into a 25' fall. Or while in a wheelchair for the remainder of your life. And your significant other isn't going to say "well, at least they weren't uncomfortable" while staring at your headstone.

AMEN

[TnRiver46]

On 6/21/2020 at 2:19 PM, gimruis said:

I constantly see people in kayaks and on stand up paddle boards without PFDs. Saw it yesterday multiple times in only a few hours again.  I have often thought about saying something to these individuals but always worry that I’m going to get the “F off” or “mind your own business” response so I refrain. I don’t know if people know they’re required but simply refuse to use them...or they just don’t know any better. There may be a compartment to store one in some of the kayaks but I know there isn’t on a paddle board. I even saw a rowing team go past yesterday too and none of them had PFDs on. It’s just rampant on the waters I fish.

The rowing team practices daily near my house and I’ve never seen a life jacket on any of them including the coaches in the power boats.

 

 

i have to disagree with the “what is your life worth, you have to spend $250” opinion. Foam floats and is cheap, also less likely to fail. It seems to me if your life is important, use one that doesn’t require inflating 
 

maybe it’s because I work in attics, crawl spaces, and on roofs in boots and pants all day but wearing a foam jacket in a boat is not uncomfortable to me 

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

The rowing team practices daily near my house and I’ve never seen a life jacket on any of them including the coaches in the power boats 

I dunno about TN - but in MN, long as the chase boat has PFDs in the boat, they're legal. Don't have to be wearing them.

"Subd. 4.Rowing team members; personal flotation devices.

Notwithstanding subdivision 1, a member of a rowing team that is sanctioned by an academic or nonprofit entity is not required to wear or possess, and no local ordinance or rule may require a member of a rowing team to wear or possess, a personal flotation device in a racing shell if a chase boat carrying the devices prescribed under subdivision 1 accompanies the racing shell."

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/86B.501