Wear your life vest
- Thread starter Wayne Kohan
- Start date
Yes. Entanglement is what got my sons friend on the lower walla walla. If his buddy hadn't rescued him................ He sold all his rafts and is afraid of the water now.
Yes, my Chinook accessory clip holds a river knife.
My original U-Boat with truck tire inner tube bladders had a waist belt on the seat that fastened with velcro. My last 3 modern tubes haven't had a belt.
Thought some of you might be interested in knowing that Sportsman's Warehouse (at least the one I went to in Federal Way) is having a 50% off sale on life vests. On the same rack with a bunch of cheap life vests were about a dozen NRS Chinook PFD and other NRS models. It wasn't clear that the NRS PFDs were also on sale, so I asked an employee, who had to check and found out that the NRS PFDs were, in fact, on sale as well for 50% off. Pretty nice to get the $159.75 price tag knocked down by half! I bought one NRS Chinook PFD to replace my really old PFD which is literally falling apart. (I have no relationship with Sportsman's Warehouse and receive nothing if you happen to buy anything there).
Noticed that the pair of kayaks fishing suddenly had only one person in them and the other kayak was drifting solo. Seeing a fully clothed man in the water we cruised over. Michael was fishing from his kayak today, anchored on a ledge when he suddenly found himself in the 65 degree water. Gear drifting away and with no ability to get back in his kayak, he clung to Sarahs kayak. He was clearly cold and in shock, I deployed my ladder and told him to get in. Getting as dry as possible he shed layers, I grabbed towels and off to the ramp where his rig was we went. We got Michael and his kayak to the ramp and waited till Sarah arrived to take him home. All gear was recovered, neither of them had life jackets.
Good save!
65 degree water is warm...until you're in it.
I was one of the many dumb fisherman, not wearing a PFD, for years. I had never fallen in from a tube or boat. Had gone under once or twice while wading big rivers, but never felt like I was truly in danger.
I didn't own even a decent PFD (Bass Pro fishing vest style) until 10 years ago. And even then, it would often be on the back of my seat.
It wasn't until 3 summers ago that I finally ordered an inflatable vest (Onyx AM24).
The moment that finally hit me over the head was a warm summer night on Lake Tapps. I went to step to the right on the bow casting platform in my 14' Valco and the boat lifted from a wake boat wave. My right foot didn't get as far as planned and I almost went over the right gunwale. I realized then, at 55 years old, that my balance just wasn't what it used to be. It took this simple physical defeat of sorts to convince my stupid stubborn brain that I needed a PFD on at all times. We are just not smart when it comes to planning for the worst. Denial? Whatever it is, we're just silly when it comes to this type of stuff.
That inflatable is on me 100% of the time I'm fishing in my Commander, raft or 17' boat. Moving water or still water. Warm or cold.
The only time it comes off is if I'm changing coats or actually swimming.
Wear it!
I was one of the many dumb fisherman, not wearing a PFD, for years. I had never fallen in from a tube or boat. Had gone under once or twice while wading big rivers, but never felt like I was truly in danger.
I didn't own even a decent PFD (Bass Pro fishing vest style) until 10 years ago. And even then, it would often be on the back of my seat.
It wasn't until 3 summers ago that I finally ordered an inflatable vest (Onyx AM24).
The moment that finally hit me over the head was a warm summer night on Lake Tapps. I went to step to the right on the bow casting platform in my 14' Valco and the boat lifted from a wake boat wave. My right foot didn't get as far as planned and I almost went over the right gunwale. I realized then, at 55 years old, that my balance just wasn't what it used to be. It took this simple physical defeat of sorts to convince my stupid stubborn brain that I needed a PFD on at all times. We are just not smart when it comes to planning for the worst. Denial? Whatever it is, we're just silly when it comes to this type of stuff.
That inflatable is on me 100% of the time I'm fishing in my Commander, raft or 17' boat. Moving water or still water. Warm or cold.
The only time it comes off is if I'm changing coats or actually swimming.
Wear it!