Please wear your PFDs while fishing
Last Saturday a man drowned while fishing Joe Pool Lake. Not yesterday but last Saturday. I was fishing on my slip when the GP new rescue boat rushed out for the dock with their lights flashing and sirens screaming. Those two big outboads create quite a wake when run wide open in the water between the boat docks. All the anchored boats were moving a foot or more when the waves hit them. Glad I was sitting down when it happened.
Knew something was wrong as they never speed in the marina when going out on a normal patrol.
Found out yesterday what happened. I was told an older man and his wife were fishing in their boat when a wave from another boat caused him to lose his balance and fall overboard. He was not wearing his PFD and drown.
I know the cheaper PFDs can be bulky and somewhat warm in the summertime. The inflatable PFDs are neither but they are some what expensive.
But what is your life worth? Had he been wearning his PFD he would be alive today.
[Rant] Joe Pool Lake is a very dangerous lake to fish on weekends, especially if you stand on the bow to fish. There are way too many idiots on jet skis, wake boards, pleasure criusers and bass boats on week ends for it to be safe. These idiots run on plane too close to people who are fishing the lake. They generate large wakes that can cause you to lose your balance if you do not see the wake coming in time to sit down or brace yourself for the wake. The GP police patrol the lake on weekends, looking for drunks operating boats. I wish they would pay attention to all the idiots who endager fishermen with their high speed wakes as they run past them on plane. And yes, you do create dangerous wakes when you pass too close to another boat while on plane. And no, it does not do any good to come off plane 50' from a fishing boat as you generate even higher wakes as you come off plane. I have heard these b.s. execuses from way too many bass fishermen who claim it creates less wake for them to run by on plane that it does to idle by. Go off plane several hundred yards before you get to the fishing boats and idle by them. You know, the way you want boats to treat you when you are on the bow fishing.[/Rant]
