The coangler that had the ruptured spleen, broke ribs and punctured lung is my best friend and we traveled together for this event and many, many others throughout the years. I talked (actually went to the hospital) with him the day it happened and the cancelled day. He is still sore and cant take a deep breath (broke ribs) but is otherwise in good shape and should get released Monday. I won't go into details about the wreck but it was a big wakeup call for me to keep your head on swivel even if you're the coangler. It was raining pretty hard and my friend was bundled up with his hood and had his head down, just like any of us that have been the passenger have done. He didn't see it coming and woke up in the water. He had a vest style PFD. I think Im going to get rid of my inflatables and go back to the vest. This could of been WAAAAAAAAY worse and lucky no one was killed or maimed for the rest of their life.

I am glad your buddy will recover and live to fish again another day.

Every time I get ready to run down the lake, I always tap my partner on the shoulder and tell him to keep his eyes open for boats coming at us. I stress to him Not to ASSUME I see everything happening around me. I know it's hard to see when it is raining but both anglers need to be alert at all times when running down the lake.

I am glad your buddy will recover and live to fish again another day.

Every time I get ready to run down the lake, I always tap my partner on the shoulder and tell him to keep his eyes open for boats coming at us. I stress to him Not to ASSUME I see everything happening around me. I know it's hard to see when it is raining but both anglers need to be alert at all times when running down the lake.