Kevin Wirth Saves His Non Boater

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Kevin Wirth seemed shaken. It was moments before the weigh-in on Day Two of the Bassmaster American presented by Advance Auto Parts, a tournament that would bestow a quarter-million dollars on the winner. Wirth took a smoke behind the Greensboro Coliseum. He wasn't going to weigh fish, so his first-day total of only two fish and 3 pounds would stay.

He didn't mind. He had been through a very long day.

"It makes you re-evaluate your priorities," the old Kentuckian said.

When Wirth left the launch point at 6 a.m. Friday morning, he was accompanied by a young observer named John Clift. It was still early when Wirth headed to a point near the shore, instead of turning toward open water, as he had been considering. The two arrived at an area near a dock about four miles away, near the High Rock Dam.

Wirth had made about six casts when he heard a noise from the back of the boat, a grunt, and a thud. He turned in time to see Clift's head overboard, sinking. "I'm thinking he just slipped," Wirth said. "We do sometimes."

Wirth ran to the back of the boat. It took a second for the bubbles in Clift's rain suit to buoy him. When he resurfaced, he was on his side, with his face in the water. "I could see where he was in convulsions," Wirth said.

Stiff winds were pushing Clift toward the dock, away from the boat's stern. Wirth rushed back to the front of his boat, frantic. "When I run back to that trolling motor," he said, "I have to get swung around and all the way back to him. It seemed to me, just the way the wind was, it was like a strong current sucking him under the dock."

By the time Wirth could spin his boat and charge toward the dock, Clift had drifted an arm's length under the dock and sunk a foot below the surface. Wirth thought: "He's going down." He crashed into the dock and reached for Clift's hood, and turned him on his back.

"He's purple," Wirth said. "No breath of air. He's lifeless, totally lifeless." Wirth pulled the cord on Clift's life vest to inflate it, and Clift gasped. He coughed. Some blood came up, and suddenly, Wirth had a hold of a man whose body knew it was drowning. He began to struggle.

With the wind still pushing Wirth's boat, and with Clift between the moving boat and the dock, Wirth wrestled Clift around the side, so he could use his trolling motor. He charged toward a nearby ramp, maneuvering the boat, clutching Clift. As the ramp met the bottom of his boat, Wirth, on his knees, pulled the trolling motor out. "I drug him dead up on the boat ramp," he said. Then he ran for his phone.

He tried to give rescue personnel precise directions. He talked with BASS officials, who were the first on the scene. With Clift breathing, they worked to ensure he didn't suffer hypothermia. In the 45-degree morning chill, with a 10 mph wind blowing, Wirth worked Clift out of his wet clothes and covered him with his own fleece, rain suit and dry towels. They massaged the color back into him.

Clift was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was deemed fine, BASS officials later said. Efforts by ESPNOutdoors.com to reach the 24-year-old were unsuccessful Friday night.

Wirth was done fishing. A wiry ex-Kentucky Derby jockey who himself weighs 140 pounds soaking wet, he had exhausted himself with the intensity and the struggle of handling a man he estimated at nearly 100 pounds heavier. He went for a bite to eat, then back to his hotel.

"My body was drained," he said. "My knees buckled for the next three hours."

Word of the ordeal had spread by the time anglers weighed in. One, Greg Gutierrez, weighed in his fish and praised Wirth to the crowd, and afterward, voiced deep appreciation for the poise Wirth showed.

Thanks for posting such a great story...Hopefully this will only be the last bad finish he has for the rest of the year and Kevin does a lot better for the rest of the year. Hope the young man he saved has a speedy recovery and can be along for the ride again in another fisherman's boat....

Wow, way to go Kevin. Hope the guy recovers fully. I can't imagine having to be in that situation and hope I never have to go through that.

Hhhmmm, it's an after-thought now, but I bet that guy wishes he had an automatic vest on, or was it one of those that failed to discharge. Would be interesting to know. Either way CUDOS to Kevin , for his cool head !

Great story! I've never paid that much attention to tournaments, but I think I'll keep an eye out for this Kevin Wirth guy. If ever anybody deserved some good fortune...

Great Story and good job Kevin!

Did the non boater have a seizure or did he just slip and hit his head?

I wonder why the life jacket didn't self inflate? Those new suspender type life vests are suppose to inflate when they hit the water. So it's not good that this one didn't self inflate. According to the story Kevin has to pull the cord to inflate the boys vest.

I worked as a life guard for 10 years off and on. Part time for the last 6 years. I also worked at Thunder on the Ohio as a rescue diver. So I can appreciate what Kevin said about being drained for three hours after the rescue. I use to swim a mile every day but even that didn't prepare me for a rescue at the beach. When the Adrenaline gets flowing you use a lot of energy in the rescue and after that you are drained for a few hours.

I have not been in the pool in many years and now I am about 100 lbs heavier than I was back in my life guarding days. So these days I wear a life jacket at all times while on the water. I know my capabilities and these days they are very poor.

Beside if you fall in the boat and hit your head and fall in the water you can drown if there is no one there like Kevin to pull you out. I drink plenty of fluids while in the hot sun and sometimes put up an umbrella over my seat to keep me cooler.

I think that Kevin should have received an honorary prize of something. Because I think what he did was way better than catching a boat load of fish.

If you fish alone wear a life vest at all times while near the water.

Water Safety Instructor/Lifeguard/EMT

Kevin Worth is a class act and saving another humans life is waaaay better than catching a fish. He's also from my hometown of Crestwood too, makes you proud.