I was reading about the sad passing of a college fisherman back in March who was struck by debris while driving back to the boat ramp.  For the future safety of both my son and myself...does anyone know 'exactly' how this happened?  Was it a floating tree with branches?  What was the "debris"? No explanations are ever given. 

I’m not sure what it was. If I remember correctly it was a night tournament and dark out. Personally I wouldn’t go over idle speed in darkness. 

Hard to see underwater debris during the day or night. I've spent some time fishing/running at night. Learn to rely on your night vision. Light from your graphs or spotlights will kill your night vision. Shut everything but your NAV lights off.

I'm sure a big enough bird could even do the job if you were going fast enogh. I wouldn't want to be hit with some of the big geese I've seen whooshing by overhead even if I were standing still! 

 

I agree with 12poundbass. Driving over an idle at night is a very bad idea.

As you mentioned, no explanation was given.  If you've ever fished a channel used by barges, you know they can churn up some big stuff, but as mentioned, it doesn't take anything big to cause a problem at night. You, or your boat can easily be thrown off balance by the unexpected. GoSLOW, wear your PFD and have that kill switch lanyard connected. 

Stuff in the water is hard enough to see in murky water. Nighttime creates a whole new set of problems. 

11 hours ago, schplurg said:

I'm sure a big enough bird could even do the job if you were going fast enogh. I wouldn't want to be hit with some of the big geese I've seen whooshing by overhead even if I were standing still! 

 

I agree with 12poundbass. Driving over an idle at night is a very bad idea.

You ain't kidding, Geese can take down 747s!