Stupid, stupid, stupid - In my haste to launch the boat and get some jugs out while the wind was cooperating I neglected to put my PFD in the boat (or wear it as I always do). Park police snagged me when I got back to the launch.
Penalty:
Fine = $225
Have to sell my Abu's and stuff to pay it...
Unhappy wife...

Commit the crime, do the time....

Feel free to beat me up, it might even make me feel better...

Stupid, stupid, stupid - In your haste to launch the boat and get some jugs out while the wind was cooperating you neglected to put your PFD in the boat (or wear it as you always do). Park police snagged you when I got back to the launch.
Penalty:
Fine = $225
Have to sell your Abu's and stuff to pay it...
Unhappy wife.. They are ever happy?
Looks like you said it all. Concider you scrotum tacked to the wall!

Three weeks ago I got all the way to the boat ramp and turned around had to go home because I discovered I had forgotten mine. I didn't know what the fine was before reading your post, but I'm glad now I didn't risk it. I thought (briefly) about it.

i always keep mine in the boat!

Got to the store and pick up a $5 orange lifejacket. Throw it in any storage compartment. Cheap enough that you don't have to worry about it milldewing and you will always be legal

I will try to help you, I was on Ray Bob fishing a couple of months ago, and catching some nice fish too, my son called and him and his girlfriend was comming up to spend some time with me that day, they didn't come up to fish though, and wanted to go to Oklahoma to our cabin up there, he was going to meet me at the free ramp, where I was they would have charged him $10.00 to come in, so I loaded up the boat and met them over at the free ramp, this is where it gets interesting, when I got there, he wanted to see the new fishfinder and the sidescan in action, well, I had only 2 lifejackets, and his girlfriend was going too, I know what I should have done, but we unloaded the boat and went for a 30 minute ride in the boat, when we came back there were Game Wardens and Sherrif's Dept there with 3 boats, but we pulled up there and my son went to get the truck, backed it in the water and we loaded it on the trailor, then he pulled up just enough to get out of the water and hook up the front strap, well he pulled up and one of the wardens came over and hooked the strap up and tightened the wench on the front, I thanked him and we pulled on up to the top of the ramp got everything ready and left!!!

I was sweating bullets, but we made it, I hope to never do that again!!!

I'm TELLIN!!!

Sorry about your luck and at Christmas. I know that hurts.

Last year on eagle mountain I had a life jacket fall in the water witch later became a big ice cube. While when got checked by the game warden a hour later he wrote me a $200 dollar ticket because he said I would not beable to wear it if needed. I ended up going to the wise county court office and talked to them and they dismissed it luckily. I guess sometimes there not in the best of moods.

Thanks kody

Ask them for forbearance at the JP's office. Questions are free and with the holidays being here they may have pity on you.

Wear it in the winter time. It might just save your life. I always wear my pfd in winter because it helps keep me warm. Plus You never know when something will happen. I have 5 in my boat. One of the cheap orange ones. I figured it is just good insurance to always have extras. Sorry about you having to sell off your fishing gear.

Years ago at Alan Henry, I was idling around waiting for the wife to back the trailer down. Had my 13yo son in the back of the boat. The GW pulls up and asks how old is my son. I reply, 13. He asks where his life jacket is and I turn around and he is not wearing it. His excuse was that he got to hot and took it off. $75 fine back then. That is also the same summer he started mowing the lawn to pay for his being "too hot".

Been there, done this..

Sorry about your mistake - I'm surprized no one has asked yet - what are you selling?:)

hahaha............u shouldve sold boat and kept the rod n reels.....cuz u could still fish and cant get such tickets on the bank

We'll thanks guys for your stories and advice. I mailed the money order in today and the wife says I'm not selling anything. Not going to argue about that. So things are at least a feeling a little better. I don't think I'm going to mention fishing for a least another week or so. But you guys know, tis the season... Now to scrape up a little cash to get something nice for my sweetie of 30 years.
Thanks, and D.C.M. was the hahahahahahaha really necessary? lol

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Forgot to say..... "youngcat" was with me in the boat, so I guess we were both stupid huh? I'll tell him you said that. BTW he snagged a 33 pounder from the bank.

That "hahahahaha" was dripping jealousy at the fact that you have a boat....Lol.

Totally neccessary........see the bank IS better anyhoo- 33 lb'r

Most likely....lets see a pic of the boat and we'll see.......

Wait a Minute......Snagging is illegal in Texas.......yall may need another ticket......

Sorry to hear Dave. Sometimes we are reminded of important things in a financial sort of way.

I have a creed of always having my lifejacket on & zipped as we leave Running Branch (when there was water there back during the summer).

Only two cases come to mind. One night, I & my Mom were headed out. It got a little choppy. We had just cleared the No Wake Zone & I glanced down & realized I had forgotten my lifejacket since it was not on. Mom had hers on, but did not notice mine was not. So I headed back in. Even though the fear of the ticket was there, I doubt anyone else was heading out because it was choppy. It was that I knew I really needed the jacket on while it was rough.

The Catfish & Crappie Fishermen/women and some of the land/houseowners that know me from heading out the RB Fork to just around the other side of the bottom of the lake, say that I am heading out as others are coming in due to rough waters.

Anyway, I make it a point to ALWAYS wear my lifejacket. You never know if an accident not only takes you out of the boat, but knocks you out. Unconsciously, I have yet to see anybody put their lifejacket on when they are in that state. So best to do that while conscious.

Take for instance this T-Day Trip. High winds have kept us from scouting the lake, now 10 feet low, as well as set lines out the weekend before T-Day to have everything ready. Instead of using the 14 footer (flat botom), I opted for my sister's 12' Porta-Bote <www.porta-bote.com> & 3.5 HP Johnson. All ramps are closed. From the RB Marina area, the nearest water is about a mile or further out. Out in the middle out from Laguna Jack's for those who might know where that is. I dropped in at ramp by BRA office & yard at bottom of lake near dam. My sister also bought the clip on big wheels for toting it easily. However, after 5 more Quarter mile trips down taking motor, gear, and bait, I was beat.

Partially sick with the crud this last month & still as I write this, was not a plus for the trip. So I was weak from both of those angles. Set out 4 jugs, then topped the gas tank off, then another 5 jugs. Plus I only got about 4 or so hours of sleep due to arriving late at RB & setting up a new tent. So my alertness & reflexes were somewhat slow & dull.

BUT, I had my lifejacket on, and zipped up over a sleeveless vest. First off, in a Porta-Bote, it is very flexible & you have to be careful when moving about. Even the gear can move around. And it seems it is even more flexible with just one person. Yes, I was alone out there during about lunch time on T-Day while some of you were at home or at relatives having a T-Day meal.

And it was time to head to the No Wake Zone to check it out & see where to put at least one trotline out. Not sure what actually happened, because in the next split second, I was standing & about to go to the rear to fire up the motor. Did I stand up straight & stiff? If so, that was a big no-no. Did a small wave mess up the balance unexpected? Unsure. But whatever happened, the gear shifted from the other side to mine. Unable to compensate, I was weaving & slowly succumbing to take the side exit via backwards. Kersplash!!! As my head bobbed up, I was startled, surprised & in shock that it had caught me off guard so qwik. My feet were still in the boat. As I pulled them out (knowing there was no way to get back in like that), I remember thinking something akin to, Surely this can't be happening.

My mind ran about 1000 thoughts all at once. I run what I call "scenarios", similar to Einstein's "Thought Experiments". I scoped out my situation, weather, trajectories, assessment, options, and such. Luckily I had my Lifejacket zipped up & on. The water was very cool, but not enough for hypothermia. With the vest on & Lifejacket, my core body would be fine. As to legs, I opted to leave socks & tennis shoes on, as well as my sunglasses. However, I threw my floating cap into the boat, as well as my floating Zero hood (hood liner) that had been in my vest left hand pocket. My watch was on, but I chose to not look at the time (then or later), as while it can be good for certain things, it can also aid in frustration, fear, and panic. Those are 3 things you do not need. As to my legs, the water was pretty cool, it was possible they may cramp up from time to time, so here & there, I wood paddle my feet. Most of the jugs were hitting bottom with the weight, so that assisted in knowing my approximate starting point & angle as I headed to shore. Next items assessed were that I had two seat cushions which can aid as flotation devices to assist me. They do warn that lifejackets can fail, from several different angles. I had a 1/4" rope tied to front of boat. If need be, I could tie myself up a bit to be stable if need be. I had either one or two cell phones in the orange gear bucket with a lid on. Wallet was in there too.

Also, I have always stressed to others if you fall off the bank or out of the boat, be it river or lake, you have two friends-enemies. They are current or wind. They can work both ways, so you must learn to use them, not work against them. I have had friends drown as they failed in understanding this simple matter. In my case, it was wind, about 9 to 12 MPH. It was coming out of the East or SouthEast, which basically meant it would slowly take me West to NorthWest. I looked to calculate my best trajectory, NOT the shortest distance to shore. If everything worked OK, I would beach within the last 2 boathouses before the end of that peninsula. If there was a variation & I missed it, then my "swim" would be tacking on another 60 to 70% of my total drift for the initial trajectory. If the initial misses, you always shoot for the next one, never fretting about missing it.

I also realized that several factors made the chances of anybody seeing me from shore, as it was Thanksgiving (during the mid-day feasting time). Many probably were not even at the lake. Especially due to the water level being so low. In fact, even if someone was there along that shoreline, all of the boats were up in the sky some 10'+, so how could I expect them to get out to me. Taking all of this in, I accepted that help from that angle was super slim, basically just impossible.

All of these thoughts & many more filled those first few seconds after falling out. Of course the next step was try & get back in the boat. I could avoid all of that, if I could just get back in. However, I was alone, so nobody to angle their weight diagonally from myself. I tried twice on the side I fell out (starboard/on the right). But it was too flexible, and as I was attempting, I could see I would tip it enough to fill the boat with water, or roll it over. Currently, the boat was upright & fine. My sister bought the boat new in early 2002 for $1000, plus added a few accessories more. This past year, it now sells for $2000 (it's value has doubled). So I was not about to lose her boat or let it get away, as my situation did not seem life-threatening, just very frustrating. Plus I had a lot of my gear inside the boat, along with my sister's motor. I tried the other side (Portside/to the left), but same problem. I pulled all the gear towards that side & went back to the side I fell out of. All the gear shifted once again. I tried the front, as well as the back by the motor. It seemded I would either fill it or roll it, so I gave up getting in. They say it is best to stay with your boat in case of an accident, floating, regular or flipped. I had also thought about cranking the motor & trying to run it from the outside to get to shore qwikker.

I finally decided to hang my left arm over where I fell out, and side stroke with my right arm. I had also realized best to be on the side downwind so as not to eat possible waves. From time to time I shifted arms. All I can say, is that after awhile it seemed I was not getting closer to trajectory or shoreline. It seemed very tiring & frustrating. I had finally said a little silent prayer. Basically, I'm not asking for a miracle, but a little assistance would be very helpful.

I recall looking back at the jugs & finally seeing I had made some progress, but not sure it was really a success (so far). Being weak from all of the other things I first mentioned, I was weak & tired & getting exhausted. Then I heard a voice. "Are you OK? Do you need help?". I turned, took the sunglasses off looking to see how & where. There was one man (Jim) along with other people. Weakly, I yelled out something as near to this, "So far. Yes, it would be nice, as I'm exhausted."

I had also thought if I or others called 911, it would take an hour or so to get a boat launched. For instance, the Lake Rangers & Game Wardens are using a tractor to launch. I heard voices as I continued on. Then I realized a guy (Karl) was swimming out to me. My first reaction was worry for him as he was risking his life to come out for me.

To cut it short for the moment (tonight), I must admit, I met a family of heroes, so I think we all had a wonderful Thanksgiving (food aside). Who says prayers aren't answered? Interestingly (-grin-), Jim for some reason alterred his routine. And for some reason walked back down to near the water & realized I was in trouble. This was about 5 minutes after my prayer for assistance. Oh, I was hoping to get some exercise this T-Day trip. You know what they, careful what you ask for, you might just get it.

Dave, I am sorry you got fined, but just think of a mishap like mine without your Lifejacket. Hope it helps to realize that $200 reminder might save your life one day.

Wishin' You Well!!!

Man I tried to quote Lynn and my 'puter shutdown!!!

One doesn't quote Catfish Lynn. One simple thanks him for all the wisdom.

I went fishing with a budy of mine in his boat. Warden stopped us and checked the usual. He gave us a ticket because one of the PFD's had a tear in it.