Snakehead Whisperer

Wear one, please. Going through my fishing photos from the past, I am not wearing a life jacket of any sort in any of them; even my avatar pic. I too was in denial, and I too lack imagination for potentially bad outcomes of dangerous behavior. But I never looked at fishing or boating as dangerous in the past, as I've enjoyed doing these things for my entire life without any calamity. This was a real eye opener. I have to really rethink my habits in general. I drive pretty cool when I have guests aboard my boat, but the guy who was with me during the accident is a close friend and fishing buddy for many years, so we push it to the limits when we fish together. My wife and I are close with his entire family. I can't imagine what I would've felt like if something had happened to him the other day. I would probably blame myself. Thanks. I am honored to be a Mainer (even though I've never been there. Planning to do a trip up that way sooner than later, however.)

Thank you all for taking the time to read this thread. Looking back on all of this I'm still in disbelief. Sharing my story has helped me too, as it was starting to feel like a total loss. The gear can be replaced, but our lives can not. There are some stretches of the Potomac where a PFD is mandatory for waders. I know many folks who won't wade without one. I was underway when this happened. I'm just thankful that I was conscious when I hit the water. I wear my PFD when I am fishing too, but will be exploring different options as it gets hot here in the Summer. I'm an above average swimmer, but there was no way that I could have made shore from where I was. It was hard enough to get back to the boat. I used to carry them merely to comply with the law too. But like it says on the jacket "Wear it, don't stow it."

One thing is for sure, I will never think that a life jacket looks silly ever again in my life. Thanks. The boat is a 1448 welded flat bottom jon w/ a 25hp Merc 2 stroke. The wake was probably about 4' high and came out of nowhere.

Thanks to all who've posted. I'm glad that this thread is being read. I'm glad that you're going to wear one. It's not worth risking it, especially out there in that kind of cold. I admit that I've thought to myself before that 50 degree water can't be that cold, but nothing could have prepared me for what it actually feels like. If the air temp had been in the 30's today, it probably would've been much worse for us. I'm pretty good under pressure, but I was freaking out for a moment there. Please stick to it, and wear the PFD. The Harbor Police told me that the area around the 14th St. bridge is hands down the area where they do the most reconnaissance of capsized vessels, and often bodies unfortunately. Take care out there. This post really struck a nerve. We can't take our lives for granted, as any thing can happen at any time. Wearing my life jacket today gave me a fighting chance in an otherwise bleak situation. Thanks for the kind and thoughtful words.

Thank you. I certainly learned my lesson. The boat is like a go-cart. It's a 1448 flat bottom welded jon boat w/ a 25hp Merc. It'll do 30+mph with ease, which is too fast when it's choppy out there and the water is cold. Probably too fast period in a vessel of that size. I thought I could handle it today but then things got really real, really fast. The boat will be fine, as I keep it pretty stripped down. Thankfully I pulled off the bow mount trolling motor recently, as that would've been expensive if it got messed up. As for the motor, I just got back from checking it out. Washed the sand out of it, pulled the plugs and squirted some oil in there, and then gave it a few tugs. It seems to be moving freely inside, which is good because I have heard horror stories of motors throwing a rod when they get submerged while running. Tomorrow I'll squirt some oil in the carb, hook it up to the muffs and hopefully run it for a good long while. Lost my cowling too :'(

Just telling it like it is I hope that everyone is already wearing their PFD's; but if not, maybe someone will read this and at least think about it. I really hope the guy in NC made it back on dry land safely. The death toll on the Potomac River is staggering every year, and sometimes even shore anglers get swept up by this powerful river. I really can't stress it enough that safety on the water should be the first concern. My PFD is a 100% of the time thing for me too. But there was a time in my life when I thought that I didn't need it. All I could think about after everything that happened today was how thankful I am that I wised up, and how stupid I was before. The situation today was completely beyond my control, and it can happen to anybody. I see people out on the water without PFD's quite a bit too, and it's scary. Like I said earlier I am a good swimmer, but that didn't help all that much today. From now on I will never see this issue the same again, and I will not let anybody on my boat who isn't wearing a PFD ever again. I'm also going to go easy on the throttle until it warms up again. I'm exhausted after all that's happened, but now that I'm warmed up it's time to go out and try to salvage my motor. It's an old 2 stroke so hopefully it will be ok; but it was running when it went under, so who knows.

Thanks Dwight. I sure did thank her. My life flashed before my eyes today, and I'm just glad that I got to see her again at the end of the day. I have a family who needs me, and I them. We'll definitely be back out there before too long. Thanks. If it weren't for those peoples selfless actions today I wouldn't be posting this.

Thanks. It was really scary. Glad you made it onto land safely. I lost the following... 4 St. Croix Premier rods, 2 Abu reels, 1 Shimano and 1 BPS PQ. Several tackle boxes (I drilled holes in them to let water out, but that also lets water in.) Didn't lose too much else, but the rods were out and not secured all that well. My outboard was also submerged for over an hour.

This is so true. I am just thankful that this happened after I manned up and not before, as I'd be a goner.

Thanks man.

Hello fellow BR members. Perhaps this post is in the wrong section of the forum, but I feel as if this topic is extremely important and that it will get more exposure here on the General Bass Fishing section. Mods please move this if need be. Let me preface this by saying that I used to be one of those guys who rarely ever wore my PFD. They're bulky and constricting, granted. I made it just fine for years like that. I fish throughout the winter here in the Washington DC area where water temps will dip into the 30's and air temps can get even colder. Hypothermia can strike anytime when the combined air and water temperatures are below 120F. My better half made me promise that this year I would wear a PFD every minute that I am on the water, and man am I glad that she did. So... earlier today a good friend and I were out fishing the Potomac River here in DC and having a decent day. I was wearing my PFD (as promised) and we were catching decent fish near the Kennedy Center wall. On our way back to the launch we were moving at a brisk pace beneath the 14th St. bridge, which is actually 5 bridges. We were greeted by a massive barge wake and the barge was between the next set of abutments, so we didn't see it until it was too late. I was ejected from the boat into the 50 degree river, and the air temps were in the low 50's. Once in the water I went into slight shock. I grew up swimming, but this was totally different. My boat capsized, and I was probably 30' from it. At first I panicked a bit, which left me feeling exhausted after about 10 seconds (literally.) Then I remembered to be calm and conserve energy and heat. I kept my body in the HELP position and made my way slowly to a floating cooler, which was much closer to me than the hull. Once I had a hold of the cooler I slowly paddled back to the boat while holding the cooler for extra buoyancy. Thankfully my friend landed much closer to the boat and was able to pull himself onto the hull quickly. I made it shortly afterword. Once we were safely on the hull was when it dawned on me that we would not survive if we were out there for too long. Calling for help was not an option as our electronics were all submerged and the closest phone was floating 100' from the boat in a dry box. Thankfully a boater happened by us within the first 5 minutes, and helped us aboard his boat. His name was Steve, he really saved us today. He then called the Harbor Police to assist. The DC Harbor Police, DCFD and Steve saved us today; but had it not been for the PFD's they probably wouldn't have found us alive. The Harbor Police also managed to save my boat, tow it to the launch and help me to load it onto the trailer. Thanks guys! This subject is a little bit humiliating and embarrassing to talk about, but it is the least that I can do to share my story with you all. Ladies and gentlemen of Bass Resource, make no mistake about it... my PFD saved my life today. Please remember to always wear your PFD's. If you don't have a comfortable one to fish in, then bite the bullet and buy one that you will actually wear all the time. It could very well save your life one day. Mine was worth every penny I paid for it. And please remember to travel at a safe rate of speed during the colder months, we can't afford to fall in the water when it's cold. Thanks in advance for reading this. -Andrew ps. The PFD I was wearing was a BPS XPS class III. I don't particularly care for inflatables, so I bought this one as it's light and comfortable. It also has a lot of pockets and is probably a good choice for wading.

Last year I caught several in November, and if you can remember it was quite a bit colder than this year. Most were caught in less than 2 feet of water in areas of concentrated tidal current (small inlets, etc.) I was fishing for stripers. I also caught one last year in late October in deeper water while crappie fishing. The fish was 8lbs. and I caught it on an 8' UL-XF rod spooled with 2lb. test. The fight was epic.

I agree that scent can make finicky fish hold on longer. I'm not against scent, and I do use it quite a bit. In the colder months I almost exclusively fish with scented soft plastics. I was only commenting on how Zoom plastics are top notch, with or without scent added.

I guess my point is that I wouldn't want to eat any fish that's been living for years in upper stretches of the tidal Potomac, whether it be 20 or just 5 years. I hear they're tasty though I did eat a channel cat that I caught off of Chapman SP once. It tasted ok and I lived.

Not a hard bait, but this year I have been tearing it up on the KVD Dream Shots. Really great quality lure. I make a most of my own crankbaits and topwaters, some of them have been pretty awesome. The most recent has been a walking bait design; I really love fishing these in the fall.

I'm with whitwolf, it really depends on the situation. This year I have had a lot of confidence fishing Houdini colored plastics. Others would be black, smoke, watermelon, orange and chartreuse. Keep in mind that these are mostly colors of grubs that I jig fish for smallies, or ds worms. The most versatile soft plastic color that I've ever fished for LMB would be a tie between blue w/metallic fleck and red/motor oil/brown. These colors seem to produce under a vast array of conditions.

I take a quart of water and add 1 drop of dish soap. Then usually add anywhere from a drop to a teaspoon depending on color and the amount of paint I'm spraying. Some colors will require more thinning than others (opaque white for instance.)

Probably so. I personally think that fish are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. Maybe she was saving her energy to get up in your face when you reeled her in

It's unlikely that it was raised by walleyes, being that you're in FL. So I'm stumped. But seriously, I look at bass as being like people. Some just don't have as much fight in them as others. And we can all have an off day here and there.

One thing that I've found is that most species of fish won't fight much if they can't see. For instance you catch a bass in slop and it's head is covered in salad. Was there anything covering the bass' eyes when you brought it in?

Right on. I feel the same way. This fish would have been fun on any tackle.

Kind of hard to argue with that.

I thought those were short shank. I hope you find them.

Here They're called "Barbarian Outbarb" trebles. Part no. VMC 8570BN

I usually remove the ballast and drop a cat bell/rattle in the body. The little metal ones that are on cat collars.