“No to all,” he said.
“Well hell, just stand up. You are only in two feet of water!”
“I can’t! My feet are too far down stream and my waders are full of water.”
Now, you have to understand that all of this took place in less than 60 seconds, and “My Guy” is about 5’6” tall and wide, a man of dimension.
I calmly told his buddy – in the front of the boat – to get to the other side of the boat so we wouldn’t capsize. I jerked on the anchor rope to move the boat and my new portside cargo upstream about 20 feet to release the anchor so I could row all of us safely to shore. Yes, we did make it to shore without any further incident. “My Guy” thought he was headed for the Pearly Gates that day and I caught a glimpse of them myself.
So the moral of the story is make sure you and your boat guests wear Personal Flotation Devices, and keep enough duct tape in the boat to secure PFDs to all of your fishing guests no matter how much they resist. Life vests only work if you wear them.
From an old fishing guide: Limit your catch, don’t catch your limit.
Related: What is an Expedition Anyways?
* Published by JPFreek Adventure Magazine – The leader in Jeep and adventure enthusiast publications.