Say you are mid morning on your favorite lake, hit the key and it won't crank. Check the obvious and can't get it started. You are stuck. Who do you call? Local 911, marina, game warden?

Fire up the trolling motor and fish on. I usually know how long the battery is good for and plan my fishing and trip back to ramp accordingly. Plus I have a paddle on board.(Also have a small boat.)

Who to call:
1) Call/flag down someone you have already seen on the lake
2) a buddy with a boat
3) use Trolling Motor to get to nearest ramp or marnia where you can get some help.
4) marina
5) tow service on some lakes


Game Warden and 911 will do nothing for you unless there is an emergency. Some guys drop thier phone in the lake, so have a plan when that happens

flag someone down if you can, i have towed in several folks. but twice i was broke down, could get no one to help. have replaced that old boat, but you never know, some times things happen.

Here is what the coast guard recommends...

Take the cowling off your engine and trim it up. Next, stand on the deck of the boat and wave your oar in the air. That is the standard distressed signal for boaters.

If a boat passes you by, try and get the TX #'s off it. It is required by state law for them to stop and render aid.

I didn't know it was required so thanks for the alert. We had occasion to tow one in on Hubbard last month that ran out of gas. Small boat, windy day, 2 elderly gents, one didn't have a life jacket on. 45 minute tow. They were waving the oar frantically.

Cell phones are hit and miss on most of the lakes I fish so I got a Marine radio and I monitor it while i'm out. A hand held will get the job done but a base unit is better. Thanks for that info Michael. I didn't know it was required to stop and render aid. Guess I better go reread the regs

Keep fishing!

That is another reason an boaters education class would be helpful.. As far as rendering aid, you never no when you could be on the recieving end! I towed two different boats on Joe Pool on the same day last month. I know I did my good deed for the day!

Thanks for the advice guys.

Ditto about stopping to help. I got towed in by a couple nice old fellers & in turn, I've given a tow to someone with engine trouble (so what if he was a jetflea lol)

Karma comes around on the water. If your boat can't handle towing, see if there is anything you CAN do to assist - even lettting them use your phone to call for help.

If you're the one in trouble, do like Mike Bristow says and wave an oar or something bright colored, such as a standard orange lifejacket.

Not trying to start anything, but I read through the TPWD boating regulations and I don't see the requirement to render aid in response to a broken down boat. I see where it is required to stop/render aid for anyone involved in a boating accident though.

What got me thinking about this was tournament fishing... A tournament fisherman could hire or have a volunteer pretend to be broken down near a competitor to force them to stop/render aid. If the competitor failed to stop/render aid they would be in violation of the state's statutes/regulations and be disqualified.

I have been lucky and have only ran out of gas once and needed a tow. We were at Bob Sandlin and our tournament director stopped after i called him and towed us in. It made him late for weigh in. I have stopped and asked several folks if they needed any assistance and have been told no everytime, but i am always afraid that if i dont ask that is when they will need it.

I have been on both ends of a tow. I had to be towed in about a month ago on Lake Conroe. Thanks to those catfisherman in the El Pescador! I have never turned anyone down and I never will. It is definitely one of those "pay it forward" actions that will come in handy one day when your engine cowl is the one pulled off.

Is it just me or is the time you are being towed seem like the longest minutes ever? LOL!

Be safe,
Rayzor

Try and flag down another boater. Trolling motor will work in most cases.
Problems arise when fishing a tournament. Last tournament I fished, the motor died, turned out the kill switch went bad, started using the trolling motor, but the waves and wind were so bad that the trolling motor only kept us from drifting further from shore. Trolling motors tend to have kill switches so they don't overheat. So, sitting in the middle of Whitney, swells coming in boat, no motor or trolling motor and two guys come up to render aid, or so we think. The only thing they were worried about was whether we had any fish for the tournament. They were about to drive off without even offering to help before we had to offer them money to tow us to the ramp. (maybe 300 yards away.)