Many of today's phones are power hogs...

We had two guys stranded in Galveston bay recently. Both sought help on a local fishing site. In both cases, they ran out of phone battery power...just when the helpers needed more info as to where-abouts etc.

In my boat I am lucky to have a cigarette lighter outlet. Last week, I bought a couple of doo-dads for my phone from Amazon. One thing that came along was an extra car charger. That charger is going into the boat right now.

Even if your battery was "run down" and couldn't start your engine..it still would have enough juice left to re-charge your phone.

If you do not have an outlet, a female cigarette outlet, attached with two clips to the battery, would work just fine in a pinch.

regards, Rich

Great tip to all out there on the big water. They are also getting the price down on some of the Coast Guard rescue beacons.

Great tip on any water. Never really considered being out for an extended period like that in freshwater, but I fish some "way back off up in there" big lakes. Great tip ricgh99...one that could a lifesaver. Merry Christmas to you too

My VHF radio is more reliable than my cellphone on the water ... I'd recommend that ANYONE going out have a VHF on their vessel, even if it's only got a 3' antennae

I agree on the VHF radio It should be mandatory and turned on whenever you are on the water. These things can be bought for far less money then most of us have in our fish finders and are potential life savers I use the weather radio in mine on a regular basis.

A marine VHF radio and a flare gun are my security blankets.

I don't know about your phone, but my blackberry runs out of power rapidly every time I'm out of range - it seems like the process of trying to stay connected and receive a signal when the thing's not in range rapidly depletes the battery.

TURN OFF YOUR PHONE WHEN YOU'RE WAY OUTTA THERE and save the battery for emergencies.

+1

"IF you were stranded...and your phone battery died.."

I would freak, panic, drink ocean water, get sunburned and die! Bummer!

I thought this was a requirement when fishing saltwater. I have a VHF as well as 4 flares and fog horn on my boat.

I use Navionics and the camera and other apps on my Android phone, so I put a 12V adapter in my boat, too. My older Champion didn't come with one, but it seems many of the newer boats do.

Lemme clarify - I think ANY boat should have a VHF, whether its on saltwater or freshwater. Even with just a stubby antennae, a boat on a normal lake should be able to hail help.

Hmmmmm, I don't carry a cell phone, so I guess I don't need to worry about the battery dying. I like things I don't need to worry about.

I've fished nigh on to 60 years, in all kinds of weather and all kinds of water. When I lived on the coast, loved to fish the Galveston Jetty and would go out to the 18 mile rigs without even thinking about it. I've fished most of the lakes in Texas,,,,without a radio or telephone.

I've towed several guys in in that time, and was towed in once myself after water pump failure. But it's never been a problem. Fishermen have always helped each other. I live on the local lake, and have gone out and towed several fishermen in when I could see they were in distress. Cell phone service here is about like not having one.

If I had a cell phone, which I won't, I wouldn't take it out with me. When I go fishing I don't want people bothering me on the phone. That's one of the reasons I fish. Cell phones are mostly just toys and too many people just play with them. I don't know how any one item has gotten so obnoxious in the short period of time they have been around.

You all do realize we fished for decades without them,,,,and enjoyed it too, as we didn't need to worry about the batteries.

People lived for hundreds of thousands of years without toilet paper too.....

Good info.