FLW missing anglers

https://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2018-01-04--official-statement-on-missing-anglers

Prayers for the missing co-angler and his family.

The link isn't going to a story for me. What happened

I saw where the boat and the boater we're found. co still missing.
FLW cancelled competition for today

Prayers for all involved.

Horrible news. I hope they find the guy alive.

Prayers sent up.

Yep this is quite sad. Finding the boater alive and in the boat with the COLD weather they had down there yesterday is Great news!! But also not so good for the Co since they don't have any idea where he could be. I hope they've pulled the chip from the graph and can see where the trail went awry and start looking there. 34* down there this morning.

So tragic. Pray for his recovery and support for his family.

https://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2018-01-04-search-continues-day-two-canceled

That is terrible news.

Prayers for the coangler. I pray he has found a matted clump of grass to hold onto. Bad situation, that place is a ocean and jungle all in one lake.

Awful. Hard to figure what happened. Maybe they hit something, the co is thrown out but the driver stays in the boat but is unconscious?

Prayers

Tragic. I hope that Co got to shore somewhere and is found this am.

How did they not find the boat and person until 10 pm?

I think it was really rough and they drifted. Probably had no idea where to look first. One reason my partner and I keep our phone and wallet in a small dry box. At least you may be able to get to it in an emergency if everything else gets wet

Hopefully they find him alive and soon.

Prayers Sent

Okeechobee was my home water for 20 years. As a general rule, most anywhere you run a boat is nowhere near anything that can be considered "shore" or land/high ground.

A boat on the open lake can drift a long way, and there was no certain starting location I gather. There isn't a "rim ditch" to get back to the north end if you fish down south - you're going to have to run a lot of it on the open lake.

Didn't a bad boat wreck happen in a Costa last year too?

Yes, Grand Lake. All survived but some had some bad injuries

Low was 38, max wind gust was 24 mph. 30 mile boat trip in a straight line from scott driver to south bay. lake is high right now. the grass islands, trails, holes, and "routes" can be confusing on an easy day even when you know where to go. hard to say why it took so long. plus a boat that is not running will drift forever in that lake. first time i went it was a crazy feeling not seeing land in any direction. hope they find the co and that both of them recover.

Prayers sent, that they find him soon.

Chilling video of the wrecked boat
https://www.facebook.com/gabriel.t.arrington/videos/10204206909330257/


Prayers to all involved

It's a little bigger than Roberts

Sad deal for sure. Praying they find the guy alive.

Has a "wreck" been confirmed, or do we just have video of the SWAMPED boat adrift? (There's a big difference.)

Concerning some of the other inquiries about the time required to locate a boat on Lake Okeechobee, you have to have been on the lake to get a true impression of its' size. (It was my home water for 20 years.) The lake is so large that the horizon is "water meeting sky" when you're facing or running the open lake. When running from South Bay to the Kissimmee River at the North end, it's possible to be completely out of the sight of land for a good bit of the trip!

Im aware. I just read (not confirmed) that the boat was swamped at 7:30. Thats 14 hours and a pretty long time regardless of lake size. Hope they find the co alive.

Lifting up prayers to the fisherman involved...

Just joking. They know now that they got into trouble at 7:30. But they didn't know they were missing until weigh in. The search started then.

FLW has now cancelled the remainder of the event, effective at 12:40 PM ET, today. Standings will be determined by angler's Day 1 finish. Very sad for everyone involved.

Read where the Coast Guard called off their search....doesn't sound good

http://www.westernbass.com/forum/video-update-from-wptv-news-flw-missing-angler-t112383.html

News update from an hour ago.

Trolling motor looks all torn up. Wonder if he speered a wave at speed?

Story as I understand it from the BBC thread... the lake was rough and the passenger got ejected. When the driver turned to pick him up he swamped the boat. I haven't read anything else as to whether the boater and co ever even were able to regain contact.

I hate to hear of this. Prayers for all involved and their family and friends.

prayers for all. the CC called off their search when the Florida Fish and Game started is what I read, not sure if that is true or not.

Lots of talk on other threads about whether FLW should have cancelled due to high winds or not. Glad to see that is not the point of the discussion on here and that everyone is just hoping for the best.

Prayers for everyone involved.

Tight line, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Thoughts and prayers, can't help but think there is still hope due to the life vest requirement.

Problem is, some parts of Okeechobee have no or sporadic phone service.

This breaks my heart! Thoughts and prayers go out to both family and friends. I have 4 people on my Pro and Field Staff fishing that tournament and they are still there searching.

geez hate to read this. Prayers up for all involved.

Prayers for all involved!

Praying right now and will continue to pray.

Unfortunately you'd be thinking wrong. Hypothermia is lethal a lot faster than many comprehend, and a serious threat even in 60-70 degree water (where unconsciousness can occur in 2-7 hours). Rough seas such as seen in the video will typically drown even a person in a PFD once the exhaustion/hypothermia set in. It's worse at night too (because you can't see the waves). Loss of consciousness in those conditions is realistically the end of the fight. Many reports dealing with missing boaters use a gentle approach as a gesture of kindness. The window for success is slim, after which it's really a recovery effort.

The soft reporting and hopes time and again that a boater will be found safe (after an unrealistic period of time) unfortunately end up being a disservice for delivering the stark reality as a warning to others who are complacent when on the water. For those of you who fish in cooler weather, consider that if the water is 50-60 degrees, you may have no more than 2 hours until unconsciousness once you're in it. That isn't much. Planning and safety are so important - even for cool weather, not just when we view the weather as "cold".

Crazy the boater was out there for 13+ hours and made it but he also had the boat

It happens a lot more than we hear about. About 15 years ago we took up a collection before a BFL tournament on T-Bend for a couple of guys that died while practicing for the tournament. One guy managed to get off a call to his dad, but it was almost dark and they couldn't find them. Both guys were found floating the next day.
My brother in laws dad died around this time of the year as well in a cold water related incident. He was running trot lines in a cove and somehow fell in. He managed to make it to the bank and collapsed, someone saw it and called 911 but he was gone before they could get him to the hospital.
Prayers to the survivor and the deceased.

The discussion I presented was about BEING IN THE WATER. Chances are obviously better if you are in a boat- even if it's swamped and adrift. This is one of the reasons why survival experts recommend staying with the boat. (I realize the ejected boater didn't make the choice to leave.) Being in a boat sure beats bobbing in the water getting your head submerged every time another wave comes....

It's odd that the driver was able to stay with the boat, if indeed that's what happened, and the co was not able. It's also strange that the video I saw of the boat against the rocks showed the boat completely full of water. Wonder why the auto bilge wasn't functional . But, I guess it could have been a destroyed hull and a dead battery. Can't tell by the pictures and video.

Sad .....very sad.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2006733719615818&id=100008376289379

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1934917773203885&id=100000570434695

Very well written and unfortunately the truth.

I had three friends who swamped their boat on Lake Erie in 43 degree water. After 1.5 hours 1 of them had lost consciousness. Coast guard plucked them all out around the two hour mark and doctors told them they were all with 1/2 hour of death. Cold water is no joke. Very sad deal here.

Any update on the co angler?

nothing yet

Generally, it takes from 10-20min for muscles to lose coordination and to lose consciousness in 41 degree water. Your friends were some awfully tough hombres.

Praying for a miracle now with the FLW Co-angler. Sad deal all the way around....

That is the truth! One of our fellow TFF'ers and a friend of mine had to get into the water at Fork in March when the water was high-50's. He told me he began to lose motor skills in about 10 mins if memory serves me correctly.

Maybe he will come onto this thread and share his thoughts. Krawlin, you on here?

Sharing, saw this on Roland Martin Marina on Facebook...

I was in that Costa event this week and these are the details that I got from from one of the guys with us.

Its not good. The lady in room next to us visited bill (angler) at hospital. They speared a wave and Nik went out. By the time he stopped he tried to go back and get him, engine would not fire. He went to try trolling motor and another wave knocked him off boat, co angler was last seen waving at him. He had to tie his self to the troll motor cable to stay with boat. He was able to get away from boat and to land before it crashed on rocks. It was 30degrees and windy as hell, water temps were low 50's where we were. I would imagine by the time he stopped he was already a long ways from him. Then the wind pushing boat did not help when it was dead in water. I dont know all the details yet but this was from someone who actually saw him and asked right b4 we left today. Its probably the most accurate thing we have heard so far from a reliable source. I pray they find him alive. — with Irby Allen. - Bobby Wilson

He must've been getting it pretty good to end up that far from the coangler. And to lose someone from spearing a wave? I've seen guys come out due to hooking a wave but to spear and lose him is a helluva impact imo

The boat was swamped and capsized but still floating. They had something to hang onto and were half out of the water I believe. News article below:

http://wsbt.com/news/local/middlebury-pa...power-of-prayer

very sad. I hope they find the guy but it's not looking good.. Parying for the family.

It was a single console boat. If he speared a wave pretty good, the amount of water that comes over the bow is overwhelming. It’s crazy how much comes over. It could’ve easily washed him out of his seat.

More info on this tragic accident. Read Koby Krieger's and JT Kenney's comments at the bottom.

http://www.bassfan.com/news_article/9104/search-continues-for-co-angler-at-okeechobee#.WlFgIRNSzOQ

This from a guy that was there.

Its not good. The lady in room next to us visited bill (angler) at hospital. They speared a wave and Nik went out. By the time he stopped he tried to go back and get him, engine would not fire. He went to try trolling motor and another wave knocked him off boat, co angler was last seen waving at him. He had to tie his self to the troll motor cable to stay with boat. He was able to get away from boat and to land before it crashed on rocks. It was 30degrees and windy as hell, water temps were low 50's where we were. I would imagine by the time he stopped he was already a long ways from him. Then the wind pushing boat did not help when it was dead in water. I dont know all the details yet but this was from someone who actually saw him and asked right b4 we left today. Its probably the most accurate thing we have heard so far from a reliable source. I pray they find him alive.

Steez,

By the time that video was made, the boat had (apparently) been swamped for 12 or more hours (so the battery was likely dead). Once you take on a lot of water (one wave can do it), your freeboard is virtually nil, and then wave after wave will begin to wash over the boat. Getting a boat moving again, into the waves so the bow rides over them, is crucial to any chance of ever getting water out of the boat. Even then, the standard bilge pumps in many boats today are unlikely to be able to do it in such extreme conditions, in my opinion.

I don't know yet if he ever got it started again, or if he ever got it moving into the waves to effect any chance of dewatering. Everyone should keep in mind that the big picture outcome of getting swamped may be determined in what steps you take IMMEDIATELY after taking the first wave into the boat...along with how well your equipment is prepared for dealing with this serious situation.

My modified setup will pump almost 3X the water compared to the boat's factory configuration. Some who run big water even put a dedicated pump (large at that) in the cockpit floor of the boat. I'm thinking of doing that also (at least 1500 GPH).

ChuChu, thanks for posting that. From the bassfan article, the accident happened at 0730, 8-10 miles outside the mouth of the Kissimmee River. Sounds like the main lake was furious and winds were high. Amazing to me that Kisiah survived 11+ hours in those conditions. Pray for the recovery of the co-angler. His family really needs that right now.

Following this has me ordering a ACR personal locator beacon. It's one of the few that don't require a service plus its waterproof and buoyant. About $250 for a added piece of mind.

I go to a number of places where you are quite a way from anything. We go out to the Breton Islands from Venice in bay boats for example. Weather can change quickly or unexpected. Equipment can fail. Accidents can happen. Even the most experienced can get in a life threatening situation.

It would be a great idea the tournament trails to made it a beacon mandatory. They go a long way. Lots can happen. No one may know something has occurred until the boat doesn't check in.

I read that as well

On another forum someone mentioned that maybe the kill switch came off upon impact with the wave and that could be why the motor died/didn’t re-start. Seemed like a very plausible situation.

That’s some interesting insight into the conditions.

We speared a wave on Tawakoni last year and I was halfway out of the boat from it. I went to the beach a lot when I was young in San Diego and never got hit that hard by water as that day. I understand how it could happen. Prayers for all involved

The kill-switch theory is an excellent one. In safety articles I've read, that oversight typically gets mentioned as to why some incidents got a lot more serious than need be - all because an engine restart failed due to a disconnected kill-switch. I've had this puzzle me after I got up with the vest on and later had trouble starting the outboard, only to realize I had pulled a dunce move. Because the plastic tabs can get broken, I carry a spare in the boat, too.

It's a VERY long way from the NW part of the lake down to Pahokee Rocks (by the Pahokee airport). I'm familiar with that lone utility pole light there as well. It's a landmark of at least 40 years I think.

In the video of the boat rolling against the rocks, is the trolling motor stowed? It looks like it. That is odd. If it is stowed, no way was it used to look for someone and then the boater fell out.

I'm probably wrong.

Maybe he tried to deploy and got knocked out before he even had a chance to deploy

The story is that the co was ejected, then the boater couldn't start the boat and then "searched for a bit with the trolling motor" and then was thrown from the swamped boat.

I don't know.

Im sure that the shock of the incedent impairs judgment and ability to think and remember clearly.

I thought the same thing too. Guess he could have grabbed the rope and fell over without ever getting it deployed.

Or he might not really remember exactly what happened after hanging in that cold water all day.

Thoughts and prayers for family and friends of Nik Kayler.

Agree same here

Can't help but think this doesn't happen in a dual console boat... might have wrapped the fella around the console but probably wouldnt have ejected him. Not to take away from the search efforts, just a thought I had today running across the lake in 30 mph winds.

Prayers for a safe recovery of Nik and for the safety of those searching.

Thought the same.

Sorry to hear this. Couple days have passed and no body found crazy. Where the video of the wreck ?

I just do NOT understand why tournament trails have launches and draw numbers and do not allow trailering at the beginning, during and after a tournament... I mean, it's so freakin' dangerous. .you've got all these dudes, testosterone flaming, just anxious and full of adrenaline behind the "wheels" of machines capable of going almost 80MPH driving across open water with the idea to get to their fishing spot before anyone else does for glory, money, etc. or fishing as long as possible then hauling across dangerous waters to get back to weigh in on time. It's such a dangerous situation.. for pros who do it all the time and ESPECIALLY for the weekend guy. I just don't get it! not to mention you are putting it up to chance for some if they get a good draw number on if they finish well or not... And even more.. when the wind is high.. the TDs say " it's too dangerous, so let's allow trailering" well.. if it's good enough when it's windy, why not all the time!! let everyone SAFELY idle to their spot, start wherever they want without all the drag racing at safe light and when done, put it on the trailer at the nearest location you're comfortable with, get back to weigh in 30 minutes or an hour after fishing time is over, easy, safe, fair.... I'd rather be alive at the end of the day! Sad sad situation, prayers for the family of the missing fisherman!

I saw the pic them about to take off. Made my stomach hurt. Sad.

I couldn't agree with you more. There are Big Bass tournaments with a larger payout than BASS events that allow trailering so why not. There are rules and test in place that have proved to be successful in preventing cheating plus many if not most BASS and FLW events have a marshal in the boat with them. Why risk his life in inclement weather. These tournaments should be more about your ability to catch fish than how fast you can get to your spot or your ability to navigate dangerous waters. NASCAR is constantly making changes to protect their competitors. BASS and FLW should do the same. Fishing should not be considered a dangerous sport and I bet Ray Scott would agree with me as would this man's family.

Agree with the trailering %100. Besides high winds, lightning and cold weather. I can tell you several times I have fished tournaments with fog delays, the anglers where told by the tournament directors if they did not feel comfortable leaving the take off spot they could wait until the fog cleared. Guess how may guys stayed back while the other boats were dissapearing into the fog......none. They might as well have said if you're too scared to fish go home and hand over your man card on the way out. I had only been on the lake a few times, but I had a gps trail from the day before to follow. I kept the boat at just enough speed to stay on plane but slow enough where I had a second or two to react if a boat or another object was in our path. I was also puckered up knowing some idiot could easily run us over from behind. Every time I heard a boat came into the cove we were fishing it felt like Russian roulette. Some of these guys were running wide open less then 50 feet from us and we couldn't even see them. One or two hit the bank so hard they got stuck or ejected. No worse feeling than getting turned around in zero visibility fog in the middle of a smaller lake. If guys wanna cheat bad enough they will cheat, no matter the conditions. Let the guys trailer!

Trailering doesn't fix it if the boater still has bad judgement and chooses to run to an area that all other pros took the safe route.

^^^^This, common practice overrules common sense = go gettum crash crew. Prayers for all involved.

I just read the lake only had 11-17 mph winds. If that’s true I’d say if you went to the sout end where it was the worst it may have not been a good decsion. And that seems to be why they didn’t make it a trailer event. I’ve been on Toledo and be in 4-6 ft waves. Was scary.

Me too, its heartbreaking.

4-6, WOW. I fish out of Port O'Conner quite a bit and never saw those kind of seas. I would imagine if it had been a trailering event the guys would have launched closest to their fishing area, just a guess.

Bingo. All the other competitors made it out and back safely. Many ran to the south end.

Just because everyone but them made it back doesn't make it safe. Everyone making it back should not be the gauge that is used to determine safety of a situation. Will trailering stop all accidents? Absolutely not but if it decreases the chances of an accident don't you at least look into it as an option on high wind and high swell days?

As a grown a$$ free American, you're able to make your own decision whether or not you want to fish in the conditions mother nature deals you on tournament day.

Too bad folks always want to put the burden on someone else rather than taking personal responsibility for their own decisions and the consequences (good or bad) that follow.

Prayers to all affected by this horrible tragedy.

Agreed

Trailering doesnt solve it. How are you going to regulate when to leave at the boat ramp? Leave boat ramp at xxxx time.... that causes a shotgun start even more dangerous. Start fishing at 6 am and can be on the water whenevever (now you got a bunch of people on the lake from midnight to 6 am sitting on holes (not safe at all).

Trailering opens up another problem... driving. And accidents happen on the road too, and may not have resolved this issue. I think we need to accept this as a tragic accident. Nothing Humans do will be perfect, I do not fault the driver in this case, as it is something we all have to deal and accept as we all dance with mother nature. Plenty of cases everyday where many of us do not win the battle against her.

I think the family should be the main focus at this point.

Rules and test as I mentioned in my earlier post. These are professional anglers not weekend warriors. Launch at 5am , lines in at 6am or whatever is appropriate for the season. There were over 2500 fishermen ( amateurs ) at the Big Bass Splash on Fork as well as the Berkley Big Bass event and not one injury much less a fatality and they had hourly weigh in's which increases more boat traffic. Maybe the accident was caused by poor decisions or maybe they just got lost, who knows, but IMO which is worth squat the accident and death MIGHT have been avoided by trailering. I suggest it would be worth a try and see how the competitors respond to it.

I’m not at all putting sponsors and money above safety and a human life, BUT by requiring fishermen to leave from a certain area, you increase traffic flow to that area, thus increasing visibility of your sponsors. Again, I’m not saying this is above safety, I’m simply saying Trailering will never be the norm because of this reason (along with some of the reasons mentioned above).

What happens when they allow trailering, a boater wakes up late, drives 9-0 to the far end of the lake to launch and crashes and burns on the way? There’s gonna be the ones that say, “had he not been able to trailer, he wouldn’t have crashed.”

Bottom line is what B. Dill said above. One has to be responsible and wise about his own actions. Remember, this was a Costa. This is supposed to be a level up as far as anglers and experience (I know, I know....little Johnny can enter it if he has the money and a boat).

No matter what excuse we come up with or who we try to blame, this is an awful situation that, I’m sure for the family, seems like it will never end.

TTT allows trailering at some events when conditions are bad - more often than another big trail in Texas and I applaud them for it. Its a fishing derby, lives and families are too precious when there are good alternatives to make it safer.

Personally I wish TTT and other trails would make their trailering rules the standard rather than the exception. TTT does this really well - here's how:

You can't hole-sit from midnight to 6am. You are allowed to launch where-ever you want, but you can't launch until [specified time] usually 45 minutes to an hour prior to first cast. You launch, go to your spot, and wait for the proper time to start fishing. Simple.

I've been to multiple trailering events they've run and they all went just fine. By dispersing the crowd to various launch ramps around the lake you don't have a large concentration at any one ramp. The ones i have been to, guys launch and leave, there's been no 'shotgun' effect, in my experience they've been very orderly, nobody is in a big hurry because they have plenty of time to launch and go safely.

Could you break the rules, sure, but you still have to pass a poly. If a cheater is in the event, the ordered launch isn't going to prevent him from cheating.

These guys are professionals and should be capable of following the rules. You still have to check in every morning and only leave the ramp when it's time. You could even designate official ramps to launch from using the same system they do now using a tourney official. There is any number of ways that it could be implemented. Regulation of start times doesn't seem like an obstacle to overcome.

Lots of comments about trailering on here. Accidents happen and looking back after you can always find a way or reason that it could have been avoided. This was an accident and accidents happen. There are many times that we launch and leave and then the weather changes and wind picks up.....running rough water is just part of tournament fishing. Making good decisions as a boater is what keeps accidents from happening. Sounds like a lot of the guys in that event probably ran the edges of the lake to get to their spots and avoid the big waves.

I have always and WILL ALWAYS be a voice in favor of trailering. Safer by far, but there is always doubters as to the credibility of trailer tournaments. Well you have draw tournaments for that very reason. If that is not sufficient then polygraph 1ST.,BB, and 2 or 3 randoms in the money.I have competed in and won in both individual and draw as well as trailer and non trailer events.90% of anti trailer guys thet I have whine the loudest are guys that are heavily sponsored or guys with deep pockets, that have all the latest greatest boats and equipment. and they cant bear the thought of some guy in a 20+yr. old boat beating their as&. And all you young guns out there ,I'm talking 20- 30 years old,when you get in your 40s-50s and your back wont let you get thru a day without constantly taking narcotics will WISH you had trailered more.It saves your back, wear and tear on equipment and an astronomical amount on gas and oil,and it is SAFER.If I'm a boater IM going to fish my fish whether I trailer or run the lake.if anybody else can run it safely I can to. If IM the co angler I'm fishing the boaters fish. But if its not safe or he cant drive EITHER IM DRIVING or HE IS LETTING ME OUT.Trust me when I say there are a lot of guys fishing tournaments and have been fishing as boaters for years that don't know how to drive in rough water. I AM NOT IMPLYING that the boater in Florida did not know what he was doing, I don't know him or his abilities.I wish him a speedy recovery and pray for his co angler and the family.

Damn, all you hard core bass fisherman are something else! This was an accident and they happen everyday. All this over analyzing the situation is ridiculous.

accidents do happen and trailering won't prevent all accidents. But it can lower the risks.

For the tour level pros - the launch is a spectacle and sponsors and such want their logos displayed while fans watch - that's a different deal altogether.

For everyone else the ordered launch from a given ramp doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Me and my Tourney pardner have been trail shopping. Trailering rules have been increasing in priority for us over the last few years ... maybe we're getting old.

Points series have a element the encourages bad decisions. You can't afford to have a bad tournament in the series if you want to qualify for the next level. I can't imagine that anyone went across the lake that morning because they wanted to. Probably felt it gained a little advantage.

The issue is that the Co-Angler doesn't get to make a decision here. He just can't get out when he realizes "oh no, no way". The co-angler is aware of risk including possible death. I am ok with you making your decisions and be responsible with the consequences. You do not need FLW dictate the decision you make. However the co-angler isn't fully in the decision making process. I would bet if you interview experienced co-anglers they could all tell you numerous times they would say "no way would I have made a decision to
Do that".

One thing that would help would be if a locator beacon was required. They are about $250. They likely would have been able to activate it when the accident occurred. That could have been a game changer.

Was the co angler found? very sad deal!

You all need to stop talking about what probably happend and what should be done differently on this page. A man has probably lost his life and there are a lot of people praying that when they look at this page they will see he was at least recovered, myself included. If you dont have any information on what is going on, please show a little respect for this man and use a different page to release your ego.

God bless Nik and his family

While you're at it, how about some prayers for the boater and his family. They're going to have to live with this the rest of their lives, too!

Very correct

Been praying since the beginning of it and was hoping they would have found him by now. this could have been or could be any of us one day and it does hit close to home.

Mandatory check in, either automated or in person would be an easy angler accountability precaution to implement at all tournament levels.

Was just thinking about this today. That guy will live with this for the rest of his life. Prayers for him too.

Prayers for all involved !

But if you get swamped at 730am and aren't due in until after 4pm and your phone is useless not sure what this solves. The search started pretty much after weigh in or shortly thereafter

I fish TTT and Bass Champs and informed my partners along with any one that may be in the boat with me to disregard inflatable lifejackets and be prepared to wear the full vest type as soon as TTT on Toledo Bend this weekend. I am taking mine out of the boat and will no longer use. I am not saying this is the problem. I don't know or will comment on the events at Okeechobee but it puts a lot of us that run team boats at risk for liability. I am fishing TTT on Toledo this weekend and have looked into the wind forecast and hope TTT takes into account not all boats are 21' there are usually smaller boats entered and you have to look out for the best interest of all. Looking at the forecast this should be no doubt a trailer event not who has the biggest or dumbest SAC Tournament. I know this is my first post but I do fish with an extremely good group, most guys from East Texas on Rayburn and Toledo and all agree this should be a trailer event at this time. I do love the National Anthem and Prayer and all the blast off camaraderie. Right now as an angling group we have to do the right thing and protect the fishermen. Prayers to the family, lets keep other tournament fisherman as safe as we can.

8 mph wind on Saturday? Maybe my forecast is different, too early to call the weather on Saturday.

Has there been any news locating the missing co-angler?

I agree ,,, my forecast says 8 mph winds. I understand the need for safety, but 8 mph winds on TB does not constitute a trailering event or putting the fear of death in any person not paying too close of attention. Instead of insisting on a full life vest as opposed to an auto-inflate,,,,,hows about SLOWING DOWN 10-20 mph ? Just because you have a 250 or 300hp motor does not mean you need to go 70-80mph. Just drive the friggin boats in a way that is safe for the weather you are fishing in. that is pretty dang simple in and of itself.......

Not yet. Been checking the news wires multiple times/day hoping Nik Kayler is found. Lots of folks searching and fairly well coordinated. Boaters have been sharing their trails and grids of search areas on a Facebook post.

I agree with you flukeman but Toledo has boat lanes that provide a problem. Weather forecast is 10-15 on what we have seen from East Texas with a North wind which would make the lake hell on east or west travel and it depends on size of boat. I run a 21' Skeeter not that worried about me but don't want a repeat of Costa series. Now don't know if you know or not Toledo is 5' low and there are tree's in the boat lanes trust me if you run from the Palo Gaucho to Carrise Creek there are 100% trees in the middle of the boat lanes I know I run this area all the time and I am sure there are people on here that will agree. These are not small trees they are boat destroying trees. 15" Diameter 1' above water you will not see with waves or wind. My question is fishing this lake all the time where are all the other issues with running it 5' low with people not familiar with it.

C'mon Big Ned and friends. Start a new thread about the TBend derby.

Good post Ted and proof that big time tournaments can use trailering to the benefits of the anglers and their safety. BASS CHAMPS has on occasion used trailering at their events when safety was an issue. You can offer all kinds of reasons and/or excuses against trailering but there are no excuses and/or reasons to put peoples lives in danger. Neither spectators, sponsors or large amounts of money are an excuse and/or reason to chance an injury or in this case a fatality. Accidents do happen but the risk of one can be lessened not only by the competitors but also by the tournament organizers and sponsors. My prayers are with the co-angler and his family but also with BASS and FLW as they deal with this tragic loss of life.

Fluke I agree 100% I run a 21' Skeeter but weather I have seen 13-15 out of the north it may have changed. North wind on Toledo is not good. I DO NOT RUN as you have said and I really don't think you think I do since I am advocating safety. But what I am saying is there are smaller boats less than 20' fishing this derby. I really hope it is only 8 mph. That would make it good for all, we have seen much higher forecast in East Texas is why I commented. I hope safe travels with all involved in TTT.

Since you're new we will let you slide. Trust me we all know about Toledo already. There is a Rayburn Toledo thread started about every 5 seconds. Start a new one if you want to preach to everyone how dangerous you think Toledo can be. This isn't the thread for it. And I'm pretty sure TTT won't wait to Saturday to make a decision since they trailer often in Toledo. I've fished every one

Jaret I apologize if I offended anyone I have read your remarks for several years and value your knowledge and opinion on everything you post or comment on. The only reason I decided to say something today is due to the fact I fish Toledo all the time. I do realize you do also and want to make everyone aware of this weekends events. I do know several FLW Pro's as well as several Elite Series Pro's and am not trying to undermine by any means what is going on in Florida what I was trying to do is focus everyone on safety with 300+ teams probably on the lake. My prayers go out to the co and the pro they will suffer for many years from these events. I by no means tried to interrupt but tried to help educate, every year there are new guys try to fish these deals and think they are invincible. I will leave it at that. I as well as you have seen stuff on the water again prayers for all.

Almost every tournament on Palestine goes out of the Villages. There is nowhere to go coming out of the chute that doesn't involve crossing a lot of open water. My partner and I ran to Highsaw Ledbetter several years ago on a calm morning and speared a huge wave after going under 155 on the way back. The wind was gusting out of the north and we were lucky to make it back in a 20 foot Javelin with a 225. We couldn't get the boat up on plane. Big water and wind are nothing to mess with.

Your post was not out of line. Anything to bring awareness to help prevent an accident from happening is appropriate as far as I’m concerned.

Prayers up for the families and victims! The Lord Jesus Christ has control!

Agree. If it saves one life then his post was worth reading. No need to start another thread, more people are watching this one to get an update.
Still praying for the missing angler and all those affected by this tragedy!

TTT is not afraid to trailer. I really like that about them. Media on the other hand seems to need hurricane force winds to trailer.

any word on missing Co Angler yet

I am in Orlando today on unrelated business but spoke to an FLW angler I ran into down here. This may have been mentioned further back in this thread, not sure. He said someone got a ping from that Bluetooth key ring locator device and they are combing that area but still haven't found him.

10 mins ago seen that someone has found a body! Hasn't been confirmed it's him yet though.

I also saw a note on FB that he had been recovered.

His body has been found. Prayers sent to family and friends.

R.I.P Nik

They confirmed it was him

Prayers for the family and for Bill, the boater. He will have to live with this for the rest of his life. Prayers for all involved.

http://www.bassfan.com/docktalk_article/18881/body-of-missing-angler-recovered#.WlZTzbynHX4

Praying for his family and the boaters'.

Sad deal, more prayers to the family.
https://scout.com/outdoors/bass-fishing/...hobee-113482002

Don't know what really happened. All I can say is that it is unsafe for the co-angler to not have something in front of them, to either protect them from being hit by oncoming water or to really hold onto in rough water. I would hope that in the future a requirement gets put in place to require the second console during the co-angler portion of these type of tournaments. Prayers out to every one involved. There are a lot lives that will be changed forever over this.

It will be interesting to see what legal action is going to come out of this.

Very sad indeed. I've not done a good job keeping up on this. He had a life jacket on correct? I wonder how he wound up submerged? Did he come out of the jacket on impact or did he take it off?

Scout.com is reporting that he has been positively identified.Prayers for his family .

Disagree. No need for legal action. Two grown men pursuing what at times can be a very dangerous sport. There was an tragic accident and a man lost his life. Another almost lost his. Could have happened to any of us. What legal action should come out of this?

RIP and God Bless everyone affected by this tragedy, particularly Nik's daughter.

http://www.bassfan.com/docktalk_article/18881/body-of-missing-angler-recovered#.WlZcqq6nGUk

Hopefully what is interesting is there isn't any legal action. Both guys made their decisions that day. They were doing what they loved to do. It turned into a tragic situation. Leave it at that. Pray for all involved. Think about what you ave done and can do in terms of doing what you like with reasonable safety. Maybe you do something a little different next time out.

Wonder if seats belts would have helped. Don't know about any legal action. I think they have addressed that when you sign up to fish with them. I'm thinking heads with both BASS and FLW are contemplating changes at this very moment. Should gets some comments about it soon.

Seat belts in a boat is ignorant. I don't want to be belted into a capsized boat

Boat that the guy was killed in didn't capsize and whether or not seat belts or ignorant is strictly your opinion. More cars and trucks capsize than boats and they have seat belts. Like to be in an upside down car that was on fire with your seat belt on ? Report said the guy was thrown from the boat, the boat was upright.

We should all be praising the fact that his body was recovered!
Not too long ago we wouldn't have had all the technology that allowed him to be found this soon.
Praying for his family and all involved.

You can add seatbelts to your boat, if your really concerned, for about $15.

I've been in a couple boats where I was almost ejected during Bassmaster events. It's a real concern. One of them was with Matt Lee. I caught him in my lap and he was banged up. He kept apologizing, but it wasn't his fault. Neither of us saw the roller until it was way too late. We actually just idled around for 30 minutes till we could figure out if we wanted to fish or not.

Part of the problem with today's world is legal action can come out of just about anything.

Family coming after FLW over Safety issues for one and the driver over possible reckless conduct for another. Every tragedy comes under legal scrutiny at some point. Two people just enjoying what they are doing won't cut it.

prayers to all affected.

Prayers sent to both families involved.

This is a large part of what is wrong with our country these days. Everyone wants to sue for something. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Legal action never even crossed my mind.

People now days just are not capable of taking personal responsibility in nothing. It's always some one else's fault

Prayers for the family, glad they recovered him finally.

I like the idea of having the 2nd console in the boat for safety, and the all important oh SH!T handle. I think the seatbelt is overkill. Maybe some tournaments can institute the rule, maybe some won't. There are a lot of single console rigs out there which would hamper participation if a rule came out.

I have been in the position of almost bouncing out of the boat on an odd wave, after that happened, I asked my partner to slow it down a bit for my safety. The Skeeter I was in only had 1 handle to my left. A console would have aided me quite a bit

I have been a boat that speared a wave and I had a 2nd console which shielded me from the wall of water. I will always have a 2nd console in the boat if fishing with another person. You just never know what may happen on any given day.

If you look in the yellow pages ( lol, who does that anymore ) you'll see there are more advertisements by lawyers than doctors. Must be where the money is. Anyone recall when the lady in CA sued McDonalds because her coffee was too hot and burned her tongue. Won too. Another lady intentionally fell in Krogers and sued. We are a litigious nation, Mexico not so much.

This thread should of stayed on course. It should of been a tribute to the deceased angler. Then his family could have read the condolences. Another thread should have been started on ways to prevent this from happening. Instead this post had people arguing, and people making assumptions. There's a place and time for everything. Prayers continued for his family.

You can’t require someone to purchase an option for their boat just because they are going to have a co angler. This was an accident. And no matter what you do or how much you try you can never eliminate accidents. This is life people. Unfortunately bad things happen. Do you really want more and more regulations? The government would love nothing more to impose more sanctions on our lives. At some point humans need to take responsibility for their own actions. This was an accident. That’s all it was. Was it a bad judgement call? Who am I to answer that. This whole debate about trailering and dual consoles and all that is crazy. At some point the only rule we need to follow is common sense.

Fouzman I agree 100% with you on this!

Instead this post had people arguing, and people making assumptions. Imagine that.

and now it has people scolding others about what they posted earlier
SMDH

Very tragic ending for all involved indeed (family and friends). Prayers to all involved. But with all the bickering about what is right or wrong on the water it has made an incredible bunch of people really take a hard look at what they do on the water and that in such a tragic event is a good thing if there is a good thing to come out of this. What is so tragic is that a man lost his life but actually opened a lot of eyes to how many anglers are approaching tournament's, safety, or just being on the water in general in a different way. This thread has had a lot of difference of opinions but the main thing that the families can look at and take away from this is believe it or not this will probably save another anglers life. That in itself is a positive outlook on such a bad situation.

Absolutely horrible what happened but very glad they found him.

His liability insurance will cover the wrongful death suit. It will not bring their loved one back but it will sure help down the road.

Sad day indeed...

Aggies

Agree

I'm 100% with Rangerkev!!!! This thread should have been about thoughts and prayers. That's all.

I’m very happy they found the body. I only wish he’d been alive. I hope his family heals

It's a sign of the times. Sickening.

Yes it is.

Been following this on the FLW and TFF since this 1st happened not the out come me or I'm sure many were hoping for. This is not the time for what if's and such this should be a time we send prayers up for the family and friend of all involved. I can not imagine how the boater feels right now but I do know he needs a our prayers to help him with this right now, I don't know if this is anything you ever get over I imagine not. And to Nik's family and friend we need to lift prayers for their healing right now, they have to be heart broken and wondering what went wrong.

Nik I didn't know you but we both enjoy the same thing's fishing and the outdoors, my brother I pray that you RIP Sir