In my post in the "Catfishing" section on the TFF Calaveras tournament, I mentioned that as I was driving to the lake to meet my brother (Jimbo), I heard a newsflash on the radio that they had recovered a body from the lake. The newspaper article the next day indicated that a man had been wading about 40 feet from shore when he apparently stepped in a hole, went under, and never resurfaced. That lake has had way more than its share of drownings. What is so puzzling to me is that the newspaper will usually state that the person wasn't wearing a life vest, fell overboard, and NEVER CAME UP. Then they'd find the body days or weeks later. Am I right or wrong on this? When a person without a life vest falls into the water (even a non-swimmer), doesn't that person come up flailing, and then sink if no help is available? Apparently, not on that lake. Fall in there and you're gone. Maybe I'm paranoid, but you'll never catch me on that lake not wearing my life vest, even if I'm anchored and fishing. Even then, I pray that I don't fall overboard. Who knows what lies beneath?????

There was an incident earlier this year on I believe it was lake Lewisville where an elderly gentleman was also wading out and casting then walking back to the bank and putting the rod into the rod holder. This is a common tacktic used by bank fishermen. The person was wearing waders I believe and if you step off a dropoff with waders it can mean you have little chance of reaching the surface if you can't escape them. I don't know where that drowning happened or the details whether he was wearing waders or not but I do know there is an area close to the dam along that shore where it drops of dramatically and a short distance from the bank. That is the only area I can think of where that could have happened.

Yea I remember that about the old guy and the waders. A good set of waders can hold alot of water after a stiff drop off. If you aren't prepared for it and you don't have any air in your lungs when you go under it could get bad real quick

I hate to disappoint you guys, but the waders filling with water story is a myth. It's been around forever, and like a good snake story, most people just keep repeating it. Here's proof:

http://www.sexyloops.com/articles/killerwader.shtml

Kelly

maybe a big catfish ate em.

We used to have several drownings out here on Clyde Lake several years back. Swimmers would leave the swimming area and unexpectedly find the drop-off at which point they would be caught in an undertow. At least that is what was finally said about the drownings anyway. The undertow was strong enough to pull a tired swimmer down and drown them.

I have heard of this happening elsewhere, but am not certain for myself that it is really what happened in Clyde Lake.

Or the creature from Boggy creek got him...

Isn't it amazing how unscientific some of our wives tales really are? And that they can be easily believed at the surface level.

I usually wear chest waders when I fish and I've "stepped off the edge" a couple of times and even with a rod/reel in my hands I had absolutely no problem swimming back to the shallows. I will admit that initially I might have panicked a little (or a lot) but once I realized what was happening I was able to slide the suspenders off and get the waders off. Once off I turned them around and held them by the boots and pulled them back with me.

When I was a Water Safety Instructor we decided to test the "myth" by volunteering one of our younger members to put on a pair of waders and jump into the deep end of the pool. The results were not dramatic unless you count the cussing and crabbing of the young member. However, when we repeated the test in the South Padre surf it was bit trickier but still managed to survive.

the older fella (70+) at Lewisville was found in less then 2 feet of water,,, now thought to have been a heart attack

I'm with Progator, it's probably undertow. Some lakes can have a pretty nasty undertow, especially if they are part of a river system. The colorado part of LBJ/Marble falls has a really bad undertow in it.

As you know, there are saltwater redfish stocked in Calaveras. Just maybe there are a few sharks lerking out there too. Come to think of it, I did see a big fin one time. Hummmmm!
Roger

Hey Kelly that is really good to know Do you ever watch Mythbusters on the discovery channel ?

All the time! That's an excellent show.

KD

It's probably because that water out there at Calaveras is so thick it's like jumping into a pool of grease. I still cann't believe people actually swim in there. Their choice. Not me. Seriously, I think they need to do something to clean that lake up. I wouldn't eat a fish out of there, even if I was on Fear Factor.

Don't quote me, but I think I had heard the guy was drinking. Dangerous combination, if you ask me. Off the subject, anyone ever catch any largemouth bass at Calaveras? What area do this babies hang out at? I would love to chunk lures in there general direction. I'm not an expert, but if Calaveras has a largemouth bass population, I would assume that it would be plentiful due to the lack of heavy pressure for the species. Any clues, hints, suggestions or ideas would be most welcomed. Thanks. Steven