Kids and life jackets in the boat.

I didn’t want to keep taking the 14lb bass off topic. Fouzman posted a link from TPWD that said “kids under 13 must wear lifejackets on boats less than 26’ in length while UNDERWAY”. Is UNDERWAY defind in the TPWD manual clearly anywheres? My daughter burns up and won’t go on the boat. From what I understand and have heard of tickets being given, no matter what, even when anchored kids must wear lifejackets. Hoping to get the real answer on this.

Required when underway. TPWD defines underway as anytime not anchored, beached, or tied to dock.

Like said above floating around and TM is underway as well.

Tied off to trees would be considered anchored, right? I know it’s a stupid question, but I recall a thread here a year or 2 ago where a guy got a ticket when he son took off a lifejacket to take a leak/wizz.

I had a game warden tell me my kids needed to wear ot at all time or I would get a ticket. SO he did. I would let him go swim off the back of the boat for about 5 minutes then back to fishing.

The law is crystal clear.
Under 13 must wear at all times unless anchored, docked, or tied off.
If you get a ticket under those circumstances....well, you're part of the problem.

Laws stipulate when and wear they are required. As a parent, it should not be a decision based on legality. A parent should just have them wearing them whenever NEAR OR ON the water. Period. A $20 life jacket or a $10,000 funeral and a life of misery and missed memories? Easy decision.

Agreed, I don’t understand why this would even be an issue. My daughter is not allowed on the dock without her life jacket on and it NEVER comes off in the boat. I’ve pulled a lifeless child from a pool before and I promise you that’s not something you ever want to experience.

Yeah not so much, being in 4’ of water can be hard to drown in when your kid is almost 5’ tall. Yeah, deeper water makes sense. How many kids do you have? It’s not a cost issue, it’s a kid won’t go to the lake and fish because they get too hot when sitting still while fishing. (Tied to a tree)

No, the law is not defined crystal clearly. Ever read the laws on the navigation led lights?

Is tied to a tree defined as anchored, I can still float in a semi circle when tied up.

I have two. And a full grown adult can drown in 2" water. I watched a guy drowning on Mockingbird Lane in Dallas one night. Pouring rain...he was riding a 10sp bike and the water was over the curb. He hit the curb, fell, hit his head on the curb, and proceeded to drown. I saved his life. It was freakish and scary.

....and yeah.....a life jacket wouldn't have helped. But, why tempt fate with kids and lakes, creeks, swimming pools, etc.

....as I've stated earlier in another thread.....your decision to lead your children is yours. I have no say so. I'm only stating personal opinions and facts. Choices. It's all it is. They all have consequences. Some great, some not so great.

How old is your kid? You can get jackets that had mesh venting . Much cooler. My daughter is about to turn 14. When anchored I allow her to take it off. If she swims she has to wear one

Come on now, your kids wore life jackets in the pool?

10 years old. We did buy the most ventilated one that we could find, actually own 3 of them for her due to trying to find the coolest one possible. She solved the problem herself though, because she just won’t go when it’s hot.

I have 5 kids... CAges 15 ( twins) to 4. They all wear life jackets at the lake when on the boat. My son can swim real good. He wears it on the boat. NOw that he is 15 he can wear it when the big motor is going. If you don't think a 5 foot tall person can drown on 4 inches of water then you need to go to the ER during the summer. My wife is a nurse and have many things like this. Now is it likely to happen. Probably not but why chance it. Being a minister I have been to way to many funerals. I am not taking a chance....

Google Cabelas Cool youth mesh life vest. This is the only vest I could get Riley to wear in the hot months

For a while mine did. When they became better swimmers, they didn't. But they were always supervised by a dedicated observer that was sober.

I never have worn a life jacket, unless required by law or a tourney. I'm stupid. But.....it's my decision. I made my choices. My kids are my responsibility, so I make them as safe as I know how to make them and I have money, family, and insurance for when one of my decisions causes me to check out early so they can get along without me.

We can find dangers in anything that we do as humans. I would have to think the odds of drowning while tied up have to be astronomically tiny. I think they’d have to rank up there with being hit by a lightning strike, but I don’t know since I don’t work in that line of work. Maybe kids drowning while fishing happens more than I think.

I’m gonna be honest, I was ignorant of the “underway” definition for some time.

I didn’t make my kids wear a pfd when the big motor was off, unless other conditions dictated it was necessary. They were never in any danger. They are both extremely strong swimmers. There is that 1 in a million chance they could fall out and bump their head, but there are far greater risks we face each day such as getting in the truck to drive to the lake.

We rarely wore life jackets as kids. We were paddling around in unstable pirogues and Jon boats. We were always turning over and falling out. I’ve yet to hear of a single death of a strong swimmer falling out of a stationary boat and drowning, unless hypothermia was an issue, or they were alone. Neither will be an issue.

But I guess there is always that “chance”, probably just as much of a chance of getting hit in the head by a meteorite. So I should probably start making my kids wear helmets anytime they are outside. Never know when it is gonna happen.

My son is 12 years old, 5’9” and a very strong swimmer. But now he won’t go fishing because he has to wear a pfd now after I kill the motor. It sucks, because I know for a fact my kid is in no danger when his PFD was off.

One thing I always wondered why age 13 you don't to wear it while underway....I guess maybe because you can drive a boat at 13?

I know this is contradictory.....but I agree.

In another thread, I kinda went off about life jackets. I was raised by parents that just didn't know better. They tried, and for that I thank them, but according to lawyers, I should have died 500,000 times.

I know that parenting is a balance of protection while leading, and not over protecting and over leading.

Lawyers, in my opinion, have pretty much ruined the world. Haha.

I don't fish up north. Have very little experience north of belton. But from reading the forum you would believe huge wakes are killing full grown men left and right. That being said, heaven forbid someone point out a kid not wearing a life jacket. It becomes an instant debate about telling a man how to raise his kids. Is this what the world has become, we can't even discuss and debate water safety on a fishing forum without everyone turning on each other?

Yep, even worse when it’s a simple question and guys want to light you up.


Lol Steez, we used to crawl up in the back window compartment of my parents thunderbird. I don’t know how we survived without all the laws. Seems to me that the most dangerous thing in the world currently is....technology. Texting and driving has to be one of the biggest killers these days; but guys want to call me stupid for asking if my daughter has to wear her pfd while tied up to a tree.

Merl Haggard...."are the good days really over for good?"

Seem as though they are.

Those cars (thunderbirds) back then were built like tanks.... I don't how we survived eating all the [censored] we ate, riding in back of pickups and staying out all night during the summer.

Lawyers would flip today. My mom, when I was about 6 yrs old, used to send me to the store on my minibike to BUY HER MARLBOROS! Haha. Neverind the fact I had to ride it in the culvert down highway 121 to get there.

This confirms it....... we can officially argue about anything on the TFF

I did not think anyone was arguing. We are discussing things.

That’s what I thought.

You shut your mouth, we are NOT arguing!!!!

I kind of feel sorry for my daughter sometimes, she doesn’t get to do any of the crazy reckless life threatening things we used to do.

Grout, I know you do not like me but I agree. That was stupid.

It isn't arguing until the name-calling starts

The word "anchored" has a different meaning today than it did when the laws were written.

Today, there are power poles/talons and electronic anchoring in deep water

In the boy scouts, you are taught to put on a PFD before boarding any water bound vessel, while on dry land (even before you walk on a dock). You don't take the PFD off until you are then off the vessel and on dry land (not the dock, but dry land). I don't care if it's 110 degrees outside, this is what I still do to this day.

thank you very much for the tip on the Cabelas Cool youth mesh life vest! I've looked all over and my kid burns up in the bulky one he has and it was the thinnest one we could find for his weight!

Guess we can't talk about stuff without something saying we are arguing.. GUess my wife and I argue all the time then.

My dad taught me to swim.

Underway is defined as not anchored, Moored, or on a trailer..

. I had the lake patrol at cypress springs give me a warning as we were anchored and son had his jacket off due to the sweltering heat. Lake patrol said he must wear it at all times, I told them I thought the rules said differently. The lake patrol very sternly told me “no! At all times on the water!”

I texted the game warden on Sandlin and he basically told me what I thought was correct.
Only required to wear pfd while underway. Underway as defined above..

I thought about writing the FCWD lake patrol and tell them they need to study the laws instead of making up new ones... figured it’d cause me lots of grief on the water by means of harassment... so I didn’t.

The grey area involves the use of electronic anchoring nowadays. Spotlock is an electronic anchor, just as the offshore ships use GPS anchoring systems

Like Ronnie said you might also get different answers from different law enforcement.

Lake Patrol @ cypress is a joke. Barney Fife would be an upgrade..........

Maybe a look at high back PFD's. I have one for when I'm on my kayak, I don't find it to be unbearably hot.

Then spend the money to get them an inflatable vest. It's not like falling into a pool, there are tree stumps, rocks, boat edges, bridge pillars and everything else you could hit your head on while falling in a boat. A inflatable vest is not too hot, and worth your life, especially your child's.

Yeah I thought this would be a good compromise and be within the law, but as someone pointed out to me on other thread auoinflates are only approved for those aged 16 and above.

Wow still going people have nothing else to do in there lives!

My daughter is grown and on her on so I dont have a dog in this hunt but after reading 3 pages, I have to wonder when did kids start dictating what they will and won’t do? When I was growing up the parents told us this is what we are doing and this is what you will do. End of story.

Same here.

When a kid makes your trip a pita then you alter your plans, in case you haven’t noticed....you can’t beat the [censored] out of them anymore like my parents did. And forcing a kid to have a heat stroke doesn’t sound like being too responsible either. So, until she’s old enough to be left alone, I guess she will get to dictate what I can and can’t do.


“Well, let them jump into the lake”.... yeah my kids not jumping into a lake that has alligators in it.

The wardens will ticket this one too. Took a friend and his 13 year old son fishing and since I don't fish often with kids that young I didn't even think about it until the warden came up. He was only a few days shy of being 14 so he let us off with a warning but as the boat owner it is on me to know the laws and if he had written the ticket I would not have argued one bit. I should have known better and had a lapse of judgment that I would have taken responsibility for.

Yep, I told my son if he wants to come fishing he has to wear it all day.

He decided to not fish.

Im not going to force my kid to fish.

That's what I told my kids also. My son started when he was 4 and is 15 now and is eatin up with fishing. My girls not so much.

What Bobby said!