Swam to shore yesterday from the middle of main lake Lake Lewisville. Life jacket saved our lives. One of my buddys wasn't wearing his. He bear hugged a small igloo cooler till some good folks & Lewisville Fire n Rescue pulled them out of the 59 degree water. Couldn't swim with my tennis shoes on so i kicked em off pretty quick. Everyone is ok but two from our crew road in the ambulance to Denton Hospital & were treated for hypothermia.

GUYS BE PREPARED AND USE YOUR HEADS. IT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE SOONER OR LATER!!!

How'd you end up swimming, Nate? Glad you are ok tho, buddy.

Glad to hear everyone's ok!

Wow, scary stuff. What put you in the water?

This makes a good point for having a PFD and wearing it.
When water temps are in the low 60's and below hypothermia is a big concern.
Glad it all worked out.

Folks please be careful out there. I worked on Lake Lewisville for years and most drownings were folks who could swim (they thought) not wearing PFD's.

Two thoughts come to mind here:
1. Hypothermia (as mentioned)
2. In an oh heck situation can you swim?
Better yet will you be able to swim?
(unconscious, etc.)
It doesn't make us less macho to wear one!!!

Glad your alright, Paul ok too?

[quote=Rev TCF]This makes a good point for having a PFD and wearing it.
When water temps are in the low 60's and below hypothermia is a big concern.
Glad it all worked out.

Folks please be careful out there. I worked on Lake Lewisville for years and most drownings were folks who could swim (they thought) not wearing PFD's.

Two thoughts come to mind here:
1. Hypothermia (as mentioned)
2. In an oh heck situation can you swim?
Better yet will you be able to swim?
(unconscious, etc.)
It doesn't make us less macho to wear one!!!
[/quot

Exactly why i bought one i would wear all the time

Better to spend 100 bucks on a comfortable PFD and wear it than 10 bucks on one that will get the job done but you don't put on. Ask yourself what your life is really worth...

Glad everyone is OK.

Glad everyone is ok. What happened? I have been forcing myself to always wear my PFD, and stories like this make it easier to keep it on. It's especially important in the winter when wearing waders. I also keep my waders loose and my wading boots looser, that way I can get them off in a bad situation. You have to plan for stuff like this because it IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU.

arctic armour. just saying...

Holy carp, Zombie. What the hell happened?

about every 5th wave or so maybe less than a gal of water would come over the lower transom & back corners of my buddies boat. the bilge pump was working great & was turned on twice that i can remember. i told em to leave it on but i guess the pump got turned off somehow & when the water built up we went down in about 4-6 seconds maybe less. no time to pray or curse. believe me a lot more could have gone wrong. it all worked out well in the big picture. weird because we've made some good memories in that boat. nothing special to most but it meant something to us.

much longer & at least one friend would not have survived. paramedics said "carp bait's" core temp was 88 & "wild ferret's" who had his vest was 92 i believe. so 85 is the critical point and when cardiac arrest happens as i understand it. they were already fighting the tired sleepy stage. one w/ vest actually went down with the boat. we think his big ol foot got stuck in the steering wheel he says he was swimming with one boot. he said he remembers looking up at the surface as it faded to dark. we think he hit his head on the depth finder because the bridge of his nose was bleeding when finally surfaced.

heard great things about that artic armor guys. $300.00 for the whole suit looks pretty cheap to me now! just sayin. if your gunna be out there from here till mid-late spring wear it. don't go cheap on your safety gear. the alternative could be permanent

That's nuts. Glad you guys are all alright. Thats kinda a wake up call; if it can to Zombie, it could happen to anyone.

HeY!!! this is weird you guys. for those that are familiar with the lake. we were motoring to old lake dallas from little elm bridge area. anyone wanna guess where the boat went down?

deadman's point, creepy

iphone was in my life vest pocket! if i had it in a ziplock bag, i could have dialed 911 myself! another lesson learned BE PREPARED

sounds like ya'll were very fortunate. You convinced me. What is a good comfortable pfd? I don't know if I trust the ones with the co2 cartridge. What if they don't inflate?????-p-

same thing i asked myself every time i looked at em. that's what ultimately stopped
me from buying them. may not be #1 but i know for sure my MTI Dorado works. $80-$90


not to keen on the color now though. my buddies yellow jack was very easy to spot from the bank
i could only see them because of it. carpbait had a green shirt on. same color as my life vest.
couldn't find him without the yellow next to him.

Are we talking about your jon boat? You lost your jon boat? That totally sucks, man. That was a helluva boat.




Diving project this summer?

thur be treasure thur for sure

OH, forgot to mention it was Little Elm I worked for.

From that point out toward the main lake and the cut to the old lake is (I don't have to tell you) VERY DANGEROUS!!!

the grizzy is still with us boys. we were in carp bait's boat.

Great thread im glad that everybody is ok You brought up a very good point when you mentioned color of the pfd and being visable to rescuers, Hey folks if you don't have a bright colored vest do yourselves and your loved ones a favor and consider getting a vest that can be spotted easier due to the color!!!!

Sweet. MEXTECH don't die! Sympathies to carpbait.

trudat bra! trudat! - inside humor. youd understand if you ever saw the grizzly in person.

carpbait actually cut the vinyl for the grizzly. if anyone needs some grafix he can hook a brotha up. just look him up at
google: Arlington Signs & Designs. carpbait is the owner & can mail or meet you somewhere with your stuff.

This is good wake up call for a lot of folks. I admit that I sometimes have my PDF behind my seat in the summer time when it so hot.

in the hot summer months i rarely have mine on guys. cdawg & wildferret are one of the only ones i know that always wear there life vest.

PFD is a must - even more so in cold water. No need to worry too much about hypothermia if you don't have your PFD on. Your muscles will stop working and you will drown long before hypothermia sets in. Which can make recovery difficult even with the PFD, especially if you are alone.

For me personally, I look at the following conditions:

- Cold Water
- Choppy Water
- Fishing Alone

I never do more than 2 of them at the same time. I'll fish alone in cold, calm water, and I'll fish alone in choppy (not cold) water.

I'll fish with someone else in choppy, cold water. But you won't catch me in choppy, cold water alone.

And anytime I do fish alone someone knows where I am and when to expect me back. And I ALWAYS have my PFD on.

Stay safe out there! Make sure you practice self rescue yearly, and in cold water if you can arrange to do it safely!

now you know three who do...

great post
glad it worked out

WildFerret sent this to me... thought it was excellent info and so true. Gets better and better the further into the video. Trust me, you don't have to fall through thin ice to feel this way I promise

Great video, Zombie.

Hypothermic waters r here again folks. Be prepared, have a plan and most all do t panic. It could save yours or someone elses life ;-)

Don't believe me just ask chess101 :-/

WOw zombie - scary story. Good that it came out ok for everyone. In addition to wearing the PFD, selection of color is important as already mentioned. I found this article and video - go to 10:18 if you want the summary. A high visibility green, then orange, then yellow, then red are the most visible colors on the water according to this study(s).

http://www.mustangsurvival.com/blog/2011...ater?country=25

Extend this thinking to your clothing as well and maybe you can even contrast these colors - such as a hunters orange hat or shirt with a fluorescent green PFD. This is especially important for those of us with kayaks that are hard to see - the sands, camo greens, olives, etc. If you have one of these boats, maybe consider some high visibility decals in the colors mentioned or even stripes. A flag is good but if you are upside down, its not going to do much for you.

Another consideration is clothing - wool next to your skin may help retain heat when wet better than cotton. I picked up some wool underlayers in the hunting section at academy - merino wool and not overly heavy....and they feel great - not itchy like it seems wool always was in the past. But be aware that there is no magical material once you are wet - they all will pull heat from you when wet.

For those who rely on bilge pumps, consider the use of an auto bilge pump instead of a manual - humans can fail and often do.

Man all the water I have been in here lately is still reading about 70 degrees! 59 is crazy. Glad you guys are ok that had to be a scary experience!

Respect the COLD WATER!

Its serious stuff!

NICE POST Zomb!

Wow Nate, glad you guys all made it. Scary stuff man.

I guess I didn't see that story the first time it was posted 2010.
It's always good to see the reminders come around this time of year.

you stay warmer with a pfd

I have a wetsuit since I used to fish in the Pacific Ocean. IT is one harsh environment and the wind can strand you out there unless you head in before it hits.

Then you have shore launches with waves that want to garage sale everything off your boat. A good thing to learn how to do with an empty kayak first and on a hot day.

I've been thrown out of my kayak numerous times and my wetsuit has kept me from freezing in the 51-54 degree water. Always wear a PFD and make sure it is tight. I've also seen guys slip out of theirs and panic!

I worked in LE for years. Can't tell you how many bodies we pulled out from that very area!

Well its late 2015 now. I learned to finally buy a good comfy lifevest & wear it while im on the water ;-/

A few yrs back a nice group of yak anglers gathered on big ol Lake Tawakoni. Chess101 & his buddy were the 1st to paddle out. Once they hit 25' FOW they found a few Blue Cats if i remember right. Chess101 landed a good one that day. Maybe he'll see this and post that pic! Only a few fish caught by the group. It was windy & cold. I arrived late & hadnt even pushed off yet. Before I could paddle out another yak angler & I see Chess heading back to shore. His friend has turtled out in open water & couldnt catch his yak. Chess saw thank God paddled over to him and he managed to grab Chess101's yak. I could barely see him hanging off the back while Chess was paddling his tail off to get his buddy back to shore. Boys it was cold!!! We started my truck up, turned the heat on high & grabbed towels from my truck. When they got close enough, we pulled him out of the water, stripped him down then threw him in my hot running truck. We put hand warmers between his legs & under his arms then wrapped him up in those towels.

We all waiting & watching him as he slowly regained his color back. If I remember Chess had to stop paddling at one point & tie his his friends hand to the yak cause he said he couldnt hold on any more. His yak finally landed on a distant point (drab green) which made it VERY HARD for me to see :~(

Gentlemen dont take cold or even cool water lightly or u & your family will be sorry. Cold water & high wind is a deadly combo. Please wear your vest and be prepaired. These and some dry cloth will help you get warm. take some hot chocolate, hot water or hot coffee in a thermos just incase. If u find yourself floating & shivering, DONT PANIC! Get out of the water fast & get warm at any cost. Blue lips & drowiness means u have little time to get warmed up.

Carry a sleeping bag big enough for two another person's body heat is enough to save a life, I have done it in the Army on a few occasions and it works. I also have a set of Walls cold weather work gear from my days of working on the farm this will save a life faster than the towels as it insulates much better. Buy a quilt vacuum storage bag and you can put sleeping bag or cold weather suit in the front hold of your kayak.

Thanks for the reminder Z it always helps.