We Survived........

[Chubminnow]

I know the area well...I am curious too as to what caused the boat to sink...Glad to hear there were no fatalities!

[kevin529]

I have fished this area several times and we would drag a small mushroom anchor to help slow us down. Never has it even come close to hanging on something.

The problem this time was the water was higher and more swift than I have ever fished. Even with the anchor down, we were moving very fast. With the swift current, when the anchor grabbed something and pulled the boat down and water came over the transom. It all happened so fast that there was no time to cut the rope. My son jumped to the other side of the boat, trying to balance the weight. In real time it took less than 5 seconds for the boat to sink. I think what saved us was that we didn't try to save or stay with the boat.

The boat is a 14' V-bottom. I also think that this contributed to the boat filling up. When we grabbed, it rolled over like it was a barrel.

Please tell everyone, no matter what you have to do to fish an area, don't tie off to anything, don't drag an anchor, and don't try to rest against a tree or log. The current will roll and fill the boat without any chance of recovery.