Friend lucky to have survived.....

3dkicker · 11-02-11, 01:43 PM

While I was working on Sat my club got together on the river for a tournament. I was surprised that they didn't cancel due to snow/sleet/rain etc but they fished. One of the members made a run south by himself and his motor quit on him. As he tried to restart and due to wind and tide waves started crashing over the sides. He called club members for assistance and attempted to use trolling motor to get to shore. From what I understand he continued calling and finally reached one of the members. All the others had either not heard the calls or ignored their phones.

He was on the west side of the river with incoming tide (from south) and north winds. Three boats from the club went looking for him. They expected to find him along a well known set of power lines that cross the river at a power plant where his motor had quit. The couldn't find him. One member called 911 and three sets of rescue teams joined the search. He was eventually found on the opposite side of the river by one of the rescue teams.......hanging on to his trolling motor as his boat had flipped over. He'd been in the water for at least 30 minutes but his inflatable vest was on and working. Fortunately he was well dressed and and was not suffering from hyperthermia....just very cold.

He was very lucky......

bassboogieman · 11-02-11, 01:59 PM

Glad to hear he was rescued. Good thinking on the 911 call, especially in a timely manner. Saturday was not a good day, and I'm surpirsed that the weather factor was not enough to postpone the CLUB tx. No tournament, and especially a "club tx."' should be held in what would obviously be called unsafe conditions. I am assuming you mean the Potomac River and I know how bad that water can get. On a similiar note, my old club had their 2-day Classic scheduled last weekend on the Upper Chesapeake and Saturday WAS cancelled due to weather, and it was a one-day event on Sunday. Safety first above all else.

MississippiBoy · 11-02-11, 02:02 PM

Wow...man, that really makes you think. Thank God he's ok, though.

carolina-rig-01 · 11-02-11, 02:03 PM

WOW, he had someone looking over him for sure. Although cold weather can produce some good fish it also can turn deadly very quick. I am glad that a member finally answered the phone and they were smart enough to call 911 rather than think they could find him on their own. I am guilty of ignoring my phone while on the water myself and could only imagine how helpless he felt everytime he called someone and they didn't answer. It seems like every winter we read a reminder of just how serious the dangers of cold water are, luckily this one turned out better than most.

bamabassman · 11-02-11, 08:30 PM

dog-gone it smitty. oyur friend IS lucky. GOD was looking over him. i also bet from now on the other members will keep a close eye on their phones AND the weather. glad he is ok.

Bender · 11-02-11, 11:10 PM

He is lucky, and that is why I worry about fishing in cold water alone. I try to be pretty careful about watching weather reports before hitting the bigger water like Champlain and Saint Clair alone, but you never know how fast a storm can blow in. Even on the little local lakes (like tonight) I keep my vest on 100% of the time, water is 50* here now. There's not too many guys still fishing around here, but if you are be careful! That cold water is paralyzing.

Stories like this make me really think that I should shell out the $500 for a PLB.

3dkicker · 11-03-11, 06:54 PM

Hopefully he's at the club meeting next Thurs. Probably have a discussion about circumstances. I'll get more details on what happened. Will share anything that may help out others who find themselves in similar situation.

kennethdaysale · 11-03-11, 07:28 PM

Hey 3d Why was he fishing alone? I have fished countless club tx's and all of them have been boat/no boat draws. I.m sure there must/may have been an odd # of entrys during the years I just can't recall any.

Bassboss · 11-03-11, 08:17 PM

Wow, very lucky is right. Someone was definitely watching him!

Glad to hear he's ok, fishing in bad weather can definitely be dangerous

Embrey · 11-04-11, 01:41 PM

i fish em by myself all the time.

kennethdaysale · 11-04-11, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Embrey

i fish em by myself all the time.

My bad, maybe I just need to get out more.

3dkicker · 11-07-11, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennethdaysale

Hey 3d Why was he fishing alone? I have fished countless club tx's and all of them have been boat/no boat draws. I.m sure there must/may have been an odd # of entrys during the years I just can't recall any.

Some guys pair up early in the season for the events and some guys don't. We've got 60+ guys in the club so for most events someone has a back seat open.

11-02-11, 01:43 PM	#1
3dkicker BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Posts: 4,483	Friend lucky to have survived..... While I was working on Sat my club got together on the river for a tournament. I was surprised that they didn't cancel due to snow/sleet/rain etc but they fished. One of the members made a run south by himself and his motor quit on him. As he tried to restart and due to wind and tide waves started crashing over the sides. He called club members for assistance and attempted to use trolling motor to get to shore. From what I understand he continued calling and finally reached one of the members. All the others had either not heard the calls or ignored their phones. He was on the west side of the river with incoming tide (from south) and north winds. Three boats from the club went looking for him. They expected to find him along a well known set of power lines that cross the river at a power plant where his motor had quit. The couldn't find him. One member called 911 and three sets of rescue teams joined the search. He was eventually found on the opposite side of the river by one of the rescue teams.......hanging on to his trolling motor as his boat had flipped over. He'd been in the water for at least 30 minutes but his inflatable vest was on and working. Fortunately he was well dressed and and was not suffering from hyperthermia....just very cold. He was very lucky...... __________________ Smitty www.smittystubes.com

11-02-11, 02:02 PM	#3
MississippiBoy BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ridgeland MS Posts: 3,923	Wow...man, that really makes you think. Thank God he's ok, though. __________________ I smell smoke, and I hear sirens. Do you think that's a problem?

11-02-11, 02:03 PM	#4
carolina-rig-01 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Webb City, MO Posts: 6,387	WOW, he had someone looking over him for sure. Although cold weather can produce some good fish it also can turn deadly very quick. I am glad that a member finally answered the phone and they were smart enough to call 911 rather than think they could find him on their own. I am guilty of ignoring my phone while on the water myself and could only imagine how helpless he felt everytime he called someone and they didn't answer. It seems like every winter we read a reminder of just how serious the dangers of cold water are, luckily this one turned out better than most. __________________ You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.

11-02-11, 08:30 PM	#5
bamabassman BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: cedar bluff, alabama Posts: 15,292	dog-gone it smitty. oyur friend IS lucky. GOD was looking over him. i also bet from now on the other members will keep a close eye on their phones AND the weather. glad he is ok. __________________ so many lures, so little time.

11-03-11, 06:54 PM	#7
3dkicker BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Posts: 4,483	Hopefully he's at the club meeting next Thurs. Probably have a discussion about circumstances. I'll get more details on what happened. Will share anything that may help out others who find themselves in similar situation. __________________ Smitty www.smittystubes.com

11-02-11, 01:59 PM	#2
bassboogieman BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Parkesburg, Pa. Posts: 3,762	Glad to hear he was rescued. Good thinking on the 911 call, especially in a timely manner. Saturday was not a good day, and I'm surpirsed that the weather factor was not enough to postpone the CLUB tx. No tournament, and especially a "club tx."' should be held in what would obviously be called unsafe conditions. I am assuming you mean the Potomac River and I know how bad that water can get. On a similiar note, my old club had their 2-day Classic scheduled last weekend on the Upper Chesapeake and Saturday WAS cancelled due to weather, and it was a one-day event on Sunday. Safety first above all else.

11-02-11, 11:10 PM	#6
Bender BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Brighton, MI Posts: 2,414	He is lucky, and that is why I worry about fishing in cold water alone. I try to be pretty careful about watching weather reports before hitting the bigger water like Champlain and Saint Clair alone, but you never know how fast a storm can blow in. Even on the little local lakes (like tonight) I keep my vest on 100% of the time, water is 50* here now. There's not too many guys still fishing around here, but if you are be careful! That cold water is paralyzing. Stories like this make me really think that I should shell out the $500 for a PLB.

11-03-11, 07:28 PM	#8
kennethdaysale BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: rock hill, sc Posts: 2,315	Hey 3d Why was he fishing alone? I have fished countless club tx's and all of them have been boat/no boat draws. I.m sure there must/may have been an odd # of entrys during the years I just can't recall any. __________________ Sometimes you gotta risk it to get the biscuit.

11-03-11, 08:17 PM	#9
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	Wow, very lucky is right. Someone was definitely watching him! Glad to hear he's ok, fishing in bad weather can definitely be dangerous __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

11-04-11, 01:41 PM	#10
Embrey BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 505	i fish em by myself all the time.

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