Bass Boat Accidents Getting To Familiar

It seems to me to me that in the last couple of years it has become a regularity to hear about bass boat crashes. Reading the bulletins online it a topic that seems to be repeating itself. Well I have a story to add to it. My in-laws were involved in a boating accident recently and I feel I should share that story.

While fishing a tournament out at one of our local lakes my mother and father in law were having a great day on the water. It played out just perfect. Pre-fishing was a success in that they located the bigger bass in late summer. Tournament day started off all to well, they had an early blast off, only person even remotely near their first spot, and they put five in the boat before 10 am. They had about 21 pounds and on this lake is good enough for a check any day of the year. So it comes time to return to weigh ins and they hook up the kill switch, put their life jackets on, and begin the 10 minute ride back. There was a lot of boat traffic on the lake, mostly skiers and jet skies. They were up one of the arms so there was no waves and no wake. To shorten this story up, a wave came out of nowhere at an angle and sent the then traveling 60 mph boat into the air. Landing at an angle they were both thrown from the boat. Mother in law had a broken arm and ribs, and my father in law was nearly knocked unconscious. She was wearing a normal life jacket and floated waiting for another boat to pass meanwhile trying to find her husband. He fought to find his way out of the jacket that had entangled his head and he didn't know up from down in the water. Also the pill in his self inflating life jacket failed to work properly.


Now they were lucky and got a ride back to the ramp, the boat was not hurt at all, they lived, they had life jackets and the kill switch was hooked up. The worst part of the day being they had the winning weight and didn't get to weigh their fish.


90 percent of people involved in accidents on the water and drowned, were not wearing life jackets.

7 out of 10 fatalities are in boats less than 21 feet in length. (most bass boats)

Wear you life jacket even when your not fishing a tournament, and have your kill switch hooked up. Ya just never know.

The Quagga Muscles are Coming!

This is an article by the L.A. Times regarding the quagga muscle. Very interesting and its on its way to northern California, to the delta, and neighboring waterways. There has to be something to treat these things. From what Ive read it sounds like its not just the west that is having a problem with them.

From the Los Angeles Times:

An invasive mussel first detected in California less than a year ago has surged across the state’s southern counties, stirring concern that its spread will inflict costly damage to public water systems and fisheries statewide.

The infamous fresh-water quagga mussel, which has wreaked havoc in the Great Lakes, multiplies so quickly and prolifically that it forms large masses that can clog water pumps, pipelines, power plant intakes and farm irrigation lines. Its rapid-fire invasion this year from Lake Mead — which straddles the border between Arizona and Nevada — southwest to San Diego is alarming water officials in a semi-arid region that heavily depends on imported water moved through a vast network of pipelines and canals. The quagga already has infested the 242-mile-long California Aqueduct, five San Diego County reservoirs and two of the three largest reservoirs in Riverside County operated by the Metropolitan Water District, which supplies Los Angeles with most of its water.

The mussel’s microscopic larvae can swiftly and invisibly move through waterways and the pest is typically found only after it has implanted itself. There is no known method to eradicate the thumbnail sized mussel, but at least one agency is attempting chlorination in the hopes of killing larvae.

Although the quagga does not make water unsafe to drink, officials are concerned that it could infiltrate the State Water Project that delivers water from Northern California to Southern California as well as expansive irrigation systems that feed the state’s agricultural industry. “All of that is subject to disruption by quagga,” said Edwin D. Grosholz, an expert on invasive mussels and Cooperative Extension specialist at UC Davis. “There’s nothing at all to limit their spread north to Northern California.”

Why are water officials so concerned?

The quagga and zebra mussels have caused an estimated $100 million a year in damages in the eastern United States and Canada, according to a May state report. Mussels can grow in densities of up to 750,000 per square meter in layers more than a foot thick, the report said.

The quagga can alter the underwater food chain, weakening fish and other aquatic species and settling on clams so densely that the clams starve. It can eat so much microscopic plant growth, or phytoplankton, that water turns clear, allowing sunlight to quicken the growth of bottom algae. That algae can cause taste and odor problems in drinking water supplies.

It can also create other problems. The FitzPatrick nuclear plant in upstate New York on Lake Ontario was forced to shut down three times this fall because of clogged filters blamed on mussel-generated algae.

Fishing Line Composition

I have to admit I didn't write this article but found i very interesting. The guy actually has some other articles that I think you should check out. It has some fun facts about the history of fishing. Ill put the link at the bottom of this post.

Braided Dacron

The fishing line of choice prior to the late 1930s was made of braided Dacron, a synthetic fiber, but this line broke easily and did not stretch much. Braided Dacron is used today mostly by anglers who fish for catfish.

Monofilament

Monofilament line, composed of nylon and introduced in 1939, was a great advance in fishing line. It is made using a complex process that produces a line from a single strand of fiber.

Stren

Stren line, a much improved type of monofilament, was introduced to the American fishing public in 1958. It is more resistant to abrasion and has superior knot strength.

Braided line

Strong heat-resistant fibers, such as Kevlar, Dyneema and Spectra, are braided together to create what can be best described as superior-strength fishing lines. This line's features, such as coloration and knot strength, have improved over time to fulfill an angler's needs.

Fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbon fishing line is made from a polymer known as polyvinylidene fluoride and is nearly invisible in the water. It will not absorb water as other lines do and stands up to abrasion and corrosion from forces such as sunlight and chemicals.

visit www.trails.com for more fun facts