I've fallen out of my boat three times in the last 40 years. Twice while trying to stand on the back of the boat and take a wizz and once when I ran into the front bass seat and was knocked off balance and fell out of the boat.

Now I take my wallet and cell phone and put them into a water proof box stored under the driver seat. And I always wear my life jacket while in the boat. I only take it off after I get out of the boat and back into the truck bed of my pickup truck.

Stay safe guys. That water is really cold. Another thing to remember is that the wind can blow your boat away from you after you fall out of the water. It's hard to swim with shoes on and a life jacket on. So you have to catch the boat before it blows away. That's why I don't like fishing on windy days.

Quote Originally Posted by kygorski View Post
I wore[and will] wear a PFD up to the time I get into my truck to pull the boat out. A lot of us that used to fish the great lakes went to USCG seminars, and it was stressed that no matter how well you swim, the PFD will save your life, the boarding ladder is a great asset also. A good friend of mine lost his life on Lake Michigan, water temp low 60s, when they found his boat the PFDs were still safe and dry in a storage compartment. The most important thing I got out of it was this. Carry a pee bucket, USCG rescue people said over a third of drowning victims had their flys open.That object is still in the boat I just sold.