Cold Water SAVIORS (Maybe Save Your Life)

[D.W. Verts]

Since I plan to fish more his winter than I have in years I was thinking about how I'm going to outfit my Tiny Bass Boat, and a cold-water survival kit was ALWAYS in my bass boat back in the day. It includes-

Sweat pants and a sweat shirt.
A pair of wool socks.
A spare "burrr" suit. This can be a cheap one, it's not about surviving the whole day fishing.
A stocking cap.
A towel.
And I always try to keep a spare pair of shoes of some sort in the boat in cold weather.

Those first five items will roll up into an incredibly tight package of you try, and I put them in a plastic bag. A plastic travel bag with a zipper was always my choice (it had a neon PINK zipper, too).

If you should fall in you're gonna be cold, so stripping out of those wet clothes isn't going to make a difference. A quick towel down will be a good start, then you throw on the sweats. By now you're shaking and miserable, but the worst is over. Dry your feet again, then pull those wool socks on over the sweat pants. You will instantly feel better about yourself. Then towel off your head as good as possible and get that stocking cap on. It's incredible how much heat the human body loses through the top of the head.

Re-shoe, and think about getting back onto solid ground. Hypothermia is no laughing matter and the onset can come later- it takes the body a while to regenerate its heat. A person might be tempted to get back to fishing, but what if you're numbed (and impaired?) enough that you fall in again. It could happen.

That "burrr" suit (it's what I grew up calling them, or "snowmobile suit") needs to be a one-piece full suit, not just a pair of bibs. This can be one of those cheapy ones, as long as it's nylon-shelled (for the wind blocking factor). I keep on of these in my boat at least thru June, and it goes back in the boat in October. Trust me- it can make a difference (or so I've heard).

And there you are. I'll also keep a few handwarmers in the boat- the psychological effect is the biggest thing with these.

So this is not a fish catching tip. It's a tip that can truly save your life.

Oh yeah- I ALWAYS have fire starting equipment nearby. I keep stuff in my truck always. It wouldn't hurt to think about that in a boat. Seriously.

Dale

[zippyduck]

Thank you. I will be making this up now. As a matter of fact I will make 2 one for the truck also, since I do some shore fishing in the winter.

[Oldfart9999]

Very good advice Dale!!!
Rodney

[coldfront]

Thank you. I will be making this up now. As a matter of fact I will make 2 one for the truck also, since I do some shore fishing in the winter.

zippy, when traveling in winter, i have the 'cold weather' stuff in the truck too:  blankets, water, candle, etc.  and extra clothes in case I need to 'suit up' and walk somewhere... or change a tire in a blizzard...  then too, those great waterproof/goretex hiking boots...
great tip DW.  might just save some lives... or even just make someone a lot less miserable.

[Princeton_Man]

That's a good list Dale, I always have black XL sweatpants, sweatshirt, and socks, stowed in a Lew's Dry Bag along with my BPS 100mph suit. Black because it's warmer in sunlight and XL because they're easier to get on a damp body. The snow mobile suit is a great idea! I still have one from my motorcycle days.