Okeechobbee tragedy/Life jacket

[jdlong49]

I'm sure by now everyone is aware of the boating accident during the FLW Costa Series event on Okeechobbee last Thursday resulting in a co-angler still missing. At this point you have to assume the worst. It has made me think alot more about safety as I start gearing up for the upcoming season and I'm thinking about getting away from the A/M Inflatable PFD and going to a full vest. I have no idea what type of PFD the missing angler was wearing. It just made me think about how last year I had my CO2 cartridge fall out while I was pulling it out of the compartment and at the time I laughed and put it back in. But after this incident, I can't help but think of how easy it could be for it to come out or fail to discharge if you are ejected from a boat at speed. I hit a stump on Barnett in September at close to 70mph. That same event I talked with a guy at the ramp who hit a stump the day before and he and his son ended up in the water. When I marshaled for the Elite Series on Barnett in April we contacted a stump at WOT and got the boat sideways for a bit before getting it corrected. The lakes around here are full of plenty of hidden danger.

Lets be honest, my initial reason for going to the inflatable in the first place was because they look cooler than a big bulky vest. But I'm creeping up on 40 anyway so my days of being cool are behind me anyway. Regardless of what type of PFD you choose, make sure you wear it so we don't have any more tragedies. One is already too many. Be safe this year, guys.

[J D]

Swapped back to the traditional life jacket after my fancy mustang failed to deploy when I got dunked while kayak fishing for snook in Tampa. Luckily the water was only 3’ deep and I could stand up.
The auto jackets aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

[Macsimus]

I wear an auto-inflate because I wear it all day long including while I fish. This is especially important to me during the cold water months of spring and fall. How many of you that use a traditional life jacket, wear it while you fish? I would guess not many. Wanna guess what happens when you fall into 45-60 degree water with no life jacket and a bunch of layers of clothes on including heavy boots? I saw it happen in a marina (read calm water) and it took two grown men to haul the guy back into the boat. To me the only thing safer than wearing an auto-inflate all day, would be to swap to a traditional while running the big motor and then swap back to the auto-inflate while fishing.

[Kittycat2012]

I wear a traditional 100 mph Mustang vest anytime my boat is on plane. I fish a lot by myself during cold weather and have considered getting a Mustsng auto inflate just for fishing NOT RUNNING but I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth it. Too many stories of them not working. IMO you'd have to be crazy at this point for this to be your primary as many stories of non inflate I've read about

[J D]

I wear an auto-inflate because I wear it all day long including while I fish. This is especially important to me during the cold water months of spring and fall. How many of you that use a traditional life jacket, wear it while you fish? I would guess not many. Wanna guess what happens when you fall into 45-60 degree water with no life jacket and a bunch of layers of clothes on including heavy boots? I saw it happen in a marina (read calm water) and it took two grown men to haul the guy back into the boat. To me the only thing safer than wearing an auto-inflate all day, would be to swap to a traditional while running the big motor and then swap back to the auto-inflate while fishing.

Good point and it is something I have recently started doing... old style vest while running then swap over to a more comfortable one for fishing in cold weather and tail races, although I have been using a manual inflate... only cause I lost faith in the autos and they are cheaper.

[moodyjeremy]

I changed back when John cox had his accident at smith lake. Neither his nor his marshals jackets inflated. cox said when he came to he was laying on the bottom in 8 ft of water. He was lucky because I have t seen a lot of water in that depth range there. My wife goes with me a lot and I started thinking of her. This is why I went back to the vest type. I pray that they find him soon and hopefully still alive.

[Z520C]

I was out of town on vacation a few years ago when 2 guys were killed in an accident on pickwick in yellow creek, on the way home I stopped in at bass pro and purchased 2 tradional vest. I also wore the inflatable type but I retained them for times when you have to have them on while your fishing like below the dams around here.

[jdlong49]

Good points, fishing offshore on Barnett, Pickwick, and Guntersville can be pretty dicey when the lake is rough. I've almost gone swimming 2 or 3 times and it would take no time for the boat to drift too far by the time you gathered your bearings. I usually wear my inflatable in those situations while I fish so I will keep it around for that and just use the traditional for on plane.

[Pickwicked Basser]

I also wear the mustang 100mph jacket. In the event of a crash the extra padding will help protect from punctures and broken ribs. I’m really starting to consider a couple manual inflates for cold weather fishing.