This has been our theme for years now Safety Safety Safety this is something we should all think of. Wear your life vest know your waters, and be sure to have a plan in case. I was looking online today and found some float tube fishing articles. This one was a story about going overboard.
Just part of the article
"I was anchored in about 16 feet of water at about 4 p.m.," Crooks recalled. "You sit up high on that kick boat of mine. There is no stripping apron on that model either, so the line goes down by your legs. Normally, it's not a big deal because guys use floating line. But with the sinking stuff, the line goes down and can tangle with your legs. Three or four times previously, it wrapped around my swim fin, and I reached down and untangled it."
"On this occasion, it wrapped around the buckle on the side of my fin, and I couldn't flick it off. So I lifted my left leg and reached down and bent forward to take the line off," he said.
Between the waves rocking the craft and Crooks leaning over to reach the buckle on his fins, the balance of the kick boat was tipped.
"The next thing I knew, I had just touched the fly line on my fin and as soon as I touched it, the float tube turned upside down," Crooks said. "It happened so fast you donbt even realize what happened. Just as I was going over, I heard Mark yell, 'Oh, no!' I was in the water. The water was 56 degrees. Fortunately, it wasn't in the 40s. But believe me, 56 is cold."
Crooks had a life jacket beside him on the kick boat, as required by Wyoming law. He wasn't wearing it. Now, with the kick boat upside down, he couldn't get to it.
"I was legal with the life jacket on board. Wyoming law doesn't require boaters to be wearing one, just to have one with them. I had assumed that being legal meant I was also being safe. That was a bad assumption," he said.
"I went completely under and came back up. I had my fly rod in my left hand. The kick boat was now upside down, but because it was anchored, it didn't move. I grabbed that with my right hand," he said. "Those tubes (pontoons) are big and they're hard to hang onto. When you get shocked like that, you begin to not think clearly. The change in your body's environment is so dramatic and so instantaneous."
I have seen people go into the drink, and have heard stories as well. Please everyone is careful out there and always wear you PFD.
Just part of the article
"I was anchored in about 16 feet of water at about 4 p.m.," Crooks recalled. "You sit up high on that kick boat of mine. There is no stripping apron on that model either, so the line goes down by your legs. Normally, it's not a big deal because guys use floating line. But with the sinking stuff, the line goes down and can tangle with your legs. Three or four times previously, it wrapped around my swim fin, and I reached down and untangled it."
"On this occasion, it wrapped around the buckle on the side of my fin, and I couldn't flick it off. So I lifted my left leg and reached down and bent forward to take the line off," he said.
Between the waves rocking the craft and Crooks leaning over to reach the buckle on his fins, the balance of the kick boat was tipped.
"The next thing I knew, I had just touched the fly line on my fin and as soon as I touched it, the float tube turned upside down," Crooks said. "It happened so fast you donbt even realize what happened. Just as I was going over, I heard Mark yell, 'Oh, no!' I was in the water. The water was 56 degrees. Fortunately, it wasn't in the 40s. But believe me, 56 is cold."
Crooks had a life jacket beside him on the kick boat, as required by Wyoming law. He wasn't wearing it. Now, with the kick boat upside down, he couldn't get to it.
"I was legal with the life jacket on board. Wyoming law doesn't require boaters to be wearing one, just to have one with them. I had assumed that being legal meant I was also being safe. That was a bad assumption," he said.
"I went completely under and came back up. I had my fly rod in my left hand. The kick boat was now upside down, but because it was anchored, it didn't move. I grabbed that with my right hand," he said. "Those tubes (pontoons) are big and they're hard to hang onto. When you get shocked like that, you begin to not think clearly. The change in your body's environment is so dramatic and so instantaneous."
I have seen people go into the drink, and have heard stories as well. Please everyone is careful out there and always wear you PFD.