Why not?

I read where recreational fishing is the most dangerous sport, even more than like cave diving!

I think if the big motor is on you should be wearing on. I know I do!!!!

A common drowning around Lake Texoma (and I am sure elsewhere) is where a lone fisherman shoves off in his small outboard...pull start.

The motor kills out and fisherman does not have on his life jacket....yet. Afterall, he is only 10 feet from shore.

He flips the lever out of gear and starts the motor........starts to take off.....it dies again.

This time he stands up for more cranking leverage, pulls the starter rope with the engine in gear.....boat surges.....fisherman falls into water....panics .....drowns....the boat is found drifting in the general area not far from the drowned fisherman.

The newer motors have a default mechanism that prohibits the motor from starting in gear but they can become bent and defective or even removed for whatever reason.

I used to have a 10 hp motor that I would sometimes forget to put it out of gear and the sudden surge would throw me cockeyed into the bottom of the boat. I always had on my life jacket, but the experience sent chills through me, even though I was not thrown into the water. I think it happened twice, just getting in a big hurry and being careless.

There is no legislating for stupidity. Thats the problem with today's society, we expect someone else to tell us what is right and what is wrong.

Hate to admit it, but I wear a PFD more than the seat belt in my truck!

I use my brain. If im driving the boat (more than trolling to a different spot) i wear mine. If im out in the middle of the lake i wear mine especially if the waves are up driving or fishing. If im fishing a cove or shoreline and im constantly close to the shoreline, then i take it off to fish cause i know i can get back in to the boat or swim to the shoreline easily. Most of my fishing is done close to shore so i dont wear mine while on the trolling motor. But when i head back to the ramp i got it on.
I dont think it should be required at all times. And it is not in the same conversation as a seat belt. Seat belts are to keep you from flying into the windsheild if you wreck your vehicle. If you wreck your boat and hit something the life jacket wont keep you in you boat, but will aide you in swimming back to your boat or keeping you above water if you are unconscious. I wouldnt mind seeing it being required by law if the boat is on plane but that would fall under the judgement of the GW and is a "iffy" situation.

The "wearing it only if you are on plane" would be kind of like enforcing the speed limit if you dont have a radar gun. Kind of subjective.

Only when the big motor is running or if it's REALLY cold, otherwise I fish without one.

The "when the big motor is running" sounds like a good compromise to me, especially if you want to make it LAW. Now what happens if my big motor is a little motor?? Maybe, "if a gas or diesel motor is running". My big motor is a 4HP.

I always wear mine.

I never wear mine. Always figured I was a very good swimmer so no need. But after doing some winter fishing, I have to figure, I would probably not make it back into the boat by myself. Then again, I have a fishing buddy with me.
I have been thinking lately about getting one of the auto inflators, but I hear stories of them going off on boats or in the truck. So what is a good auto inflator for say under $80?

I value my friends lives too much, Nasty things happen on the water. I can only control my actions and the actions of the vessel i'm piloting, I can't vouch for the other yayloo's out there on the water... In the event of a tragedy, it may not help keep me alive like a seatbelt but it sure make my corpse recovery easier... bad things happen in a hurry on the water....

Captain's Rule (Me); Put it on or get out....

99% of the time when Lake Patrol or GW gets close, they slow down, see everybody wearing their PFD, the wave & keep going.

I never use to wear a PFD because I am a good swimmer..SCUBA & skin diving, etc. Heck, a cushion is all I need. WRONG ! A couple of years ago, I was throwing my cast net, somehow got my feet tangled in the net, fell backwards right over the railing. I was in disbelief that I was now in 50 degree water, fully clothed including a coat, but no PFD. Luckily I was able to grab the boat, but there was no way that I could climb back in..even with the help of my fishing partner. He cranked up the motor, I held on & he slowly dragged me a couple of hundred feet to shore where my feet would touch bottom. I was cold, wet, but still alive. True story ! Never believed this could happen to me.
Roger

See that quite a bit in the Obituary write-ups

Famous last words...

Wouldn't be a bad idea. Tourneys enforce wearing one whenever the big motor is running, but I have always felt that you have a better chance of being knocked out of when while standing in front running the trolling motor, or standing in back taking a leak. Vests aren't the most comfortable thing to wear but neither are shoulder pads and a helmet... and you wouldn't step onto a football field without those would you?

I don't know... but it seems like once a week someone drowns in TX.