So you just got Pulled overboard - Now What?

[B Cartlidge]

I can't claim to be a memeber. But I am the chairman of the 30 knot club. that was not very fun. the name on the stern gets very small as the boat is moving away at 30 knots.

Priceless

[Squidnation]

Not very fun??? The way you were laughing by the time I got back to you sounded like you were having a ball!!!

Hey, I was alive. At that very moment "alive" is a good thing. a cause for laughter

[broadminded]

Keep a releaser on the bucket harness when in the chair.. and when strapped in to a stand up harness we always have a release knife on the strap. I know this thread is about what to do once your pulled over, but, I do think that when strapped in to the chair, it is a good idea to have a saftey leash to the reel just in case of a tip wrap or some other accident. It is not as practical to have a saftey leash when stand up fishing for the fear of tripping on the leash, but we have done it before.

[pitch bait]

When ever we use to fish over nighters I use to make everyone put one of the light sticks in there pocket. You never know when somthing could happen and It will be alot easyer to find them if they can reach in there pocket and snap the light stick in the dark. They can be seen for a long distance. I always have a release knife with me when ever Im wiring fish. I would hope if I ever get pulled over that I will still have it when I hit the water and can cut myself free. Good thread Bill.

[algdog]

when ever I have a person on the boat with a harness on he or she is always tethered to the boat, via a clip to the bottom of the reel seat, and if there long enough another clip to the harness

I already have my ropes attached to the reels when trolling anyway so they are always on

if something happens just pull them back in

no way imo an out of wind angler will be able to reach for , secure , and then cut a line or harness off while screeching thru the water at full speed. maybe so, but I would rather be 10 ft from the boat with a 3/8" braided line attached to my butt. or better yet two of them

[canyongear]

This thread made me think of all the times...

Well anyways, this should be a rule which we generally followed up north in the canyons..

Fighting Belt your on your own..

Bucket, Kidney or Shoulder Harness, any belt with reel lugs snaps you have a shadow partner, his/her job is to make sure you stay in the boat till the lug snaps are released..

Always had a supply of these release knifes on board..it was your choice to pick it up, attach it to yourself, put in your pocket whatever..

wasn't overbearing, but made sense and the angler sure felt a bit at ease knowing someone had his back..

Another thought is a centerline, at the transom, rod safety line that is used for the big fish, that way the angler can easily and freely move left or right across the transom without getting tangled up in a safety line. So it's length would be 1/2 thereabouts the width of the transom..obviously that has some issues too by restricting movement backwards along the gunnel.

I agree with algdog, an exhausted angler on a big fish is in serious trouble with a harness, belt or butt harness being pulled down with the water pressure complicating a tricky maneuver of trying to get "unhitched" or just cutting the mainline..don't even want to think about it, actually.

[The Codfather]

I solo alot, about half the time I go out. Falling over is a real possibility, and a big danger, considering that while I dont fish very far offshore, there are few boats around. Maybe I see one, rarely two in a whole day. Thats why I wear my belt and harness at all times, they provide a little bit of flotation, plus a great place to keep a waterproof vhf and pliers.

Also, all my rods are on leashes. Strong leashes. If I go over with a biggun, so does the rod, cause Im attached to it in the harness. But not very far, the leash is only 6'. Ill get wet, but I wont be dragged under.

Ive fallen off sailboats far more often then powerboats. Last time was a 'frostbite' race, in 24' boats, January, and it was a howling 35kts of wind and sleet in the chesapeake. I was #3 on a 3 man boat, and while running downwind we actually got these fat, heavy little pig boats to plane. Going down wind at 8kts in a boat thats often refered to as a 3kt shit box, we suddenly gybed, I was sitting on the cabintop, the boom swept across the deck, caught me in the chest, and threw me on my back across the ice deck, and as I passed under the lifeline I managed to hook my feet into it so everything above my knees got dunked. I was back in the boat probably a half second after that.

I was doing a race, and it was on the last leg downwind to a close finish. We had our competitors 10' to stbd and we were just a nose ahead. We gybbed to sneak in the finish line, and when the spinnaker pole was set on the windward side, it was hoisted, along with the bowman. He fell into the water, but managed to hold onto the sheet. Cause it was wrapped around his neck. 5' from the finish line, the skipper looks down at him being dragged along by the stern and says, 'nows not the time to be goofing off! We finish the race, then you come aboard!'. Sure enough, as soon as we heard the whistle, the bowman was fetched, but he was given a tow for a good 10 seconds.

[scotishfisherman]

I only have two friends that I would consider able to render a real world commentary on this subject one is no longer with us and the other went overboard to help and may never get over what he saw. Serious topic and one of the reasons attaching an unskilled angler to a reel is a recipe for death.

[SERprise]

If it happened to me I would just swim down while pulling the line toward me then proceed to kick the fish in the face and bring him up for dinner. YOU HAVE TO DOMINATE THE FISH!!!