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Dec 30th, 2023
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 Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11603883
05/15/16 02:53 PM
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,712
Douglas J
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,712 |
I work for a large urban fire department and part of our jurisdiction is a very busy lake adjacent to the city for which I work. My station is responsible for response on this lake and we operate a fire-rescue boat on this lake.
We get a lot of calls where someone "thinks" somebody needs help, most of the time when we respond it's not much of anything. But every time we respond with a crew that is good at what they do and with suitable equipment. Then there are the calls that the fact someone did call actually was the deciding factor in helping someone in distress or even possibly saving a life.
I am not familiar with the lake you were on or if they even have a rescue boat on the lake. In hindsight calling 911 if you did not feel you could safely try and render aid would have been a good idea. If you ever are in the situation again some useful info would be location, type of vessel, number of people, and if you have GPS drop a waypoint as close as possible to where you saw the vessel. On all calls on the way to the marina we will try and make contact with the caller via telephone to get additional info. If you drop a waypoint, you can give us the info and that can be very useful to us finding someone especially after dark.
![[Linked Image]](https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/pics/userpics/2024/11/full-72311-248284-f6b1190b_bbab_49d4_a1b2_6e9a1ce426f7.jpeg) #MFGA
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11603888
05/15/16 02:59 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 304
John P085
Angler
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Angler
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 304 |
People tend to under estimate how bad Fayette can get because it's such a small lake.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11603889
05/15/16 03:00 PM
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Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 8,904
Jpurdue
OP
TFF Celebrity
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OP
TFF Celebrity
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 8,904 |
I called B. Dill, the one who wound up taking them to shore after the storm. He said, they said they made it safely out of the trees where we saw them and wound up getting swamped out in open water trying to make the run back to the ramp. They ran the boat swamped onto the wind blown side of a point making a bad situation worse for themselves. To be clear we did not even try to hazard a run back to the ramp. We got on the leeward side of a point and snuggled as far up into the trees as we could for an hour and a half waiting out the wind and lightening.
"Bragging may not bring happiness, but no man having caught a large fish goes home through an alley." -A.L. www.LunkerLore.com![[Linked Image]](https://i.imgur.com/ckGplwut.png)
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11603894
05/15/16 03:04 PM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 739
TallBaldCypress
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 739 |
Just be clear, those dudes did move to another area and that was where they took on water. They hunkered down against the most windblown bank on the lake. They were in waste deep water and just a few feet from land. In fact, they were able to take everything out of dry storage and put it on the shore. I asked them why they thought is was a good idea do take cover where they did and they said they couldn't see and just headed for the closest shoreline.
So they did move after you saw them, they just made a late and bad decision. They weren't in need when you left them bud. I guess you could have went over there and said "hey dood, you should probably take cover." But you'd have to assume they don't know what they're doing to do that.
Last edited by B. Dill; 05/15/16 03:06 PM.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604008
05/15/16 04:51 PM
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 3,562
Thad Rains
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 3,562 |
The laws stipulate that you must render aid. Besides, if it had been you there, would you have wanted someone to offer you aid? Do like the GOOD BOOK says, treat others as you would like to be treated. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.
Thad Rains
Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.
Thad Rains
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604018
05/15/16 04:59 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,559
Jarrett Latta
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 10,559 |
Hindsight is always 20/20. Sounds like you did what most people would do. Predicting their actions an hour later is near impossible. It's easy to say, you should have helped them before they needed help.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604019
05/15/16 05:03 PM
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,367
Stompy
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,367 |
I've helped and been helped. I keep a rope in the boat just in case either way. You probably should have helped but not being there and knowing what the conditions were like, hard to make a call.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604034
05/15/16 05:22 PM
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,545
timwins31
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,545 |
If I was by myself I would have tried to help, if I had other people to worry about in my boat, I'd have gone to the ramp.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604035
05/15/16 05:24 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 24,970
lconn4
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 24,970 |
I was out fishing Fayette last night. An incredible thunderstorm blew up on us. I can't say it was completely out of the blue, but we definitely stayed a little longer that we should have because the fish were biting. As the line moved through, the wind went from 2-5mph to 40 mph+ in a matter of seconds. As soon as it kicked up we pulled the trolling motor and fired up the big motor to head for cover. The lake went from flat to 2-3 footers in span of maybe a minute or two. (no lightening at this point) As we were exiting taking waves over our own bow we saw a boat that had been blown into the trees and I knew they had about 1 minute to fire up their big motor or they were going to take a pounding. The guys seemed to be struggling to figure out what to do. I debated whether to try and help, but in an 18.5 foot boat, I was worried about our safety. I put the hammer down and headed to safety. Found out later the boat got swamped. B. Dill from the forum picked them up and took them to safety after the storm. I honestly didn't think they were in that much trouble at the time, but I feel bad for not trying to help. What do you guys think? I can tell you one thing, I learned a valuable lesson about flirting with thunderstorms. You are good in my book by having the guts to make the post. Makes us all more aware of what we will do in the future.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604043
05/15/16 05:28 PM
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,115
Ted Martin
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,115 |
i question your judgement for deciding to solicit arm-chair opinions on here, lol.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604052
05/15/16 05:42 PM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 160
Nic Jones
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 160 |
Hind sights is always 20/20. I'm not going to say you did right or wrong. But if you were concerned for your safety I can understand the decision you made. As a firefighter though I was trained to risk a lot to save a life and I know not everybody should attempt a rescue as it could make them part of the problem. That being said there is some good discussion going on here and I can appreciate the time to reflect on the situation.
Im glad glad the outcome for these guys was good.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604061
05/15/16 05:49 PM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 4,212
David Burton
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 4,212 |
If you are not comfortable in the situation, stopping and attempting to aid could make a bad situation Worse!!! Do not attempt to help if you're worried about your ability (or your boat's) to weather the storm! The best you could've done is asked and called someone for them. But as you said, they weren't frantic, or requesting it at that point. You did fine!!!
David Burton
2015 Skeeter FX 21 +Ultrex +Helix 12 (x3) +Mega360 +MegaLive
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604071
05/15/16 06:03 PM
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 215
snake oil
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 215 |
Sounds like you did the right thing.....Probably would have lost both boats and made it harder for the eventual rescue...
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Thad Rains]
#11604172
05/15/16 07:29 PM
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 4,363
Bobby Milam
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 4,363 |
The laws stipulate that you must render aid. Besides, if it had been you there, would you have wanted someone to offer you aid? Do like the GOOD BOOK says, treat others as you would like to be treated. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.
Thad Rains Only way he had to stop and render aid is if he caused an accident but even then, dialing 911 is all the aid he is required to do. When in doubt dial 911 and let professionals handle it.
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Re: Do you try to help or not?
[Re: Jpurdue]
#11604256
05/15/16 08:50 PM
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 3,562
Thad Rains
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 3,562 |
Bobby,
Thanks for pointing that out. I was raised with a higher standard that the ONLY reason I wouldn't help if it posed a danger to me or my crew. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.
Thad Rains
Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.
Thad Rains
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