Gary has probably been driving high powered bass rigs longer than some of you guys have been alive. This just goes to show you that it can happen to anyone....at anytime.

http://www.flwoutdoors.com/article.cfm?id=148095

Wow, thats terrible. It could have been much worse tho.

Holy crap. That was a close one. I'm gonna have to shoot him an email.

Here is a little update on him from a local forum.

"Just spoke with Gary's wife K**** and he is still in the hospital. Gary has a compound fracture of his back with a great deal of bruising and tissue damage. He will NOT need surgery but it will take some time for recovery.

Gary is still in alot of pain and pretty sedated. He is bruised pretty bad on his arm.

He is aware of all the well wishes from across the country and appreciates it.

He keeps telling me "d**n dude I was just figuring out how to catch them pretty good down there too" "

Just thought i'd share.  Glad he is alright.

Gary is definately a quality guy and competitor. I hope he has a speedy recovery and can get back on the water soon.

Thank God he had on a PFD and had the kill switch attached....  

Gary is definately a quality guy and competitor.  I hope he has a speedy recovery and can get back on the water soon.

And a quality rod designer!

Flechero stated:

Thank God he had on a PFD and had the kill switch attached....

Absolutely.  This is definitely a lesson learned for me.  I rarely wear my PFD in the summer.  

Very Scary! I'll keep Gary in my prayers for speedy recovery.

How fast he was going?   :-?

Quote from Gary himself:

Thanks for the concern. I got to come home a few hours ago. I am still going to out of fishing condition for a while. PLEASE wear your lifejackets and kill switches. The kill switch saved my life, no doubt about it. I was NOT wearing a life jacket. I know better,but with 35 plus years of boat driving and never having anything happen, I got lax. I was pitched hard against the port side before I went out of the boat. I do not remember hitting the boat but I broke the handles off three reels. I do remember hitting the water. I was under the water trying to fight my way to the top. I had no use of my left arm, and could hardly move. BUT, I got lucky as the boat stopped on top of me. I was a hundred yards off shore in the San Joaquin. I hit the bottom of my boat before I surfaced. Getting in the boat was a *****. I used the outboard to climb in and then I could not hardly move. A boat drove within 40 yards of me and would not stop. I would like to know who this was. It looked to have a Pepsi sticker on the side. I am not 100% sure it was Pepsi, but I think it was. Steve H. stopped to help. THANK YOU STEVE. When I was in the water I figured that I was done. What are the chances of the boat stopping on top of me? I was running around 70 MPH when I bow hooked and got ejected. I have always been lax about wearing a jacket. Thankfully I was wearing my kill switch, It saved my life. At this time I will not have to have surgery, but may have to later on. PLEASE wear your safty equipment. It may save your life. Again, thanks to all.

Gary D.

Thanks for the update!  I am glad to hear he is doing better and hopefully will be back on the water soon.

Just got this e-mail from Gary:

I am "barely" moving around.  I spent 5 days in the hospital, I have many breaks and more bruises. I am on the mend "slowly" and I'm bored to death.

I  am only doing a few messages a day, sitting at the computer kills me.  I would like to talk in a week or so.  I'm pretty drugged up and don't remember much right now.  Thanks for the kind words.

So he's healing, but it's going to be awhile before he's 100%.

I ALWAYS wear my PFD, and won't run the boat until everyone has theirs on as well.  I'm the same with seatbelts in the car.

Use 'em folks.  They save lives!

Hope he get's well soon!

CJ

I have become lax about wearing my PFD even though the kill switch is attached to it. Think I will get back in the habit of wearing it after reading the story. Everyone else should read and take heed.

My buddy Long was telling me about this accident yesterday.  Gary's one of THE MOST experienced bass boat drivers out there, period.  If something like this can happen to him, it can happen to any one of us.  I'd hate to hear that one of our BR members gets into a boating accident and was not wearing a pfd.  

Speedy recovery to Gary, and heads up to the rest of us!

70mph and cruiser wakes don't mix.  I think his "I had gotten lax" statement is right in-so-far as his boat driving and no pfd on.   A wake that size doesn't exactly sneak up on you.  Glad he's alright though.  With todays inflatable PFD's there's no reason not to be wearing one anytime the big motor is running above idle speed.  

Judging from the accident description, it must have been a pretty violent snap around.  I hooked a wave once and only wound up on the passenger side of the boat, I wasn't going anywhere near WOT though.  

Best wishes on a speedy recovery Gary.