Video: Precautions for Anglers

Rob

So, fishermen, anglers—they’re boaters, too. They have the same laws, you know, pertinent to them. They have to be cautious, just like anybody. Right?

Officer Inman

Right. Couple things that I try to convey to anglers is they should always file a float plan. Let someone know where they’re going, how long they’re going to be there, which direction they’re going to go from where they put their boat in. That gives us the ability to, if a family member calls and says we haven’t seen so-and-so in a while, we have a lot smaller search area to go find them, and that speeds that up a lot. Something else, I always try to tell them not to wear real heavy clothing in the winter, like canvas clothing and leather boots. That can hamper your swimming abilities if you were to fall in the water. And no one expects to fall in the water, but it happens in cold water, it happens in warm water. But always plan for the worst to happen, and just be ready for it. An incident that I worked: a gentleman was fishing by himself, fell overboard, subsequently drowned, and it took us a week to locate him. If he would have been wearing a life vest, it possibly would have saved his life. And at the very minimum, we would have been able to get closure for his family a lot faster.

Rob

So moral of the story—wear a life jacket. And also think about the kind of clothing that you’re wearing while you’re out fishing.

Officer Inman

That’s what I tell every angler.

Rob

Yeah. Thank you.