FishinMagician Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I'm new to the world of being a "Bass Boat" owner. I was wondering if the fleece lined "Vest" style was more popular than the Sospender or Mustang style among the average bass fisherman. I live in the southwest so it will be getting hot here pretty soon. However, I don't want to look like a bigger dork than I already am by wearing something that is completely out of whack!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ouachitabassangler Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Whatever you wear needs to be USCG approved. I wear the Sospenders during summer and sweated everywhere outside them. They are not hot to wear, being a little insulated, completely out of the way, no friction with arms. My vest type are in storage. Check the activator mechanism occasionally and have a spare arming kit on hand in a Zip bag. I had one go off mid lake in a blinding rain with no way of navigating other than watch the GPS screen. Your first experience with that is a heart-stopper. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly_Hooker Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I wear the vest style. The upper part of mine is mesh, which makes it only slightly more tolerable in hot weather. As soon as the wallet can afford, I'll be switching to the suspender type. Hillbilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ouachitabassangler Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I really would like to see the sospender type required equipment. I wear mine all day no matter the weather. They are that comfortable and easy to forget. Everytine you reach across a vest type you are reminded it's there. I don't know how many times I've stopped the truck to get out and remove the thing after taking off from the ramp. If you zip a vest type up you get no air circulation, but left open the ends get in the way. The main thing I like about the new style is it gets worn. I very rarely see a fisherman fishing with a PFD on. When are you most likely to fall in the water? Sitting down holding onto a steering wheel, or walking around the boat trying to get a bass aboard? Most guys will say they always wear it boating around, but yank it off the moment they stand up. Want to know how most drowned anglers are found? In the act of fishing, not boating. Let me tell ya'll a story that convinced me about wearing it while fishing. My shift got a call from the lock & dam operator, a bassboat had drifted up to the dam with nobody in it. A PFD was in the seat when we got there, open tacklebox on the deck, a part eaten sandwich on the console, bass in the livewell. A short search found the man face down in the river, moderate current, held under a tree by a catfish limb line. The way he was caught and held made it impossible to turn around against the current or make his way to the tree. He just hung there facing downstream, and went under, the current pushing him down, with no PFD. We can only speculate that he was drifting under trees along the bank casting upstream like all of us did there. His backside didn't see the hook coming. It caught on his backside belt, and the fellow walked off the deck before able to cut the line. Knife was on the lower deck, out of reach. Of course it's possible the hook caught him while floating in the water, but I can't make that happen in my mind. Anyway, the Texan left a beautiful family alone to carry on somehow. Would the PFD have kept him above water? We don't know, but it might have helped. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter_bit Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 I have a Mustang and it is the best thing i have gotten in a long time it is worth the cost to me i forrget i have it on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.