Emergency Plan???

[Just Jiggin]

Mrs JJ and I had a close call at Truman yesterday and after reflecting on all the what ifs - we realized we do not have any type of plan in place for emergency situations . We fish various different lakes and different areas on most of those lakes, so on any given weekend, the only person who "knows" for sure we are fishing is the neighbor across the street who goes over and lets our dog out to potty and they probably wouldn't miss us until late in the night if we didn't make it home - also they aren't lake knowledgeable and wouldn't know where we are.

Yesterday, our oldest son knew we were fishing, but he isn't familiar with the lakes and probably wouldn't have remembered the name of the area we told him we were going to . We had our cell phone with us , but sometimes there is no signal out on the water . I know on the tv shows they can find people by where the last signal came from their phone, but that seems a bit far fetched and how long would that really take.

We were interested in knowing what plans if any you guys have in place.

[Speck]

I not only carry a cell phone but I also bought an emergency radio from Bass Pro. It has weather channels with emergency alert and coast guard frequencies. I've never had to use it but I do listen to barge traffic on the Mississippi River. Some guys I know used theirs last year when their motor shot craps on them about 10 miles from the ramp. The fire department was able to locate them and tow them back.

[KCMO CRAPPIESLAYER]

well i don't have really much a solution if i'm down at truman by myself...i do keep my cell phone alway's specially if i'm by myself. i alway's stay close to the ramp but i know that's not alway's gonna be beneficial. if i'm fishing locally there are usually several people that know where to find me. and i'm 33 but if i'm by myself my mommy always always make's sure that i call when i'm done. if i'm fishing a bigger lake with more than just a partner which is usually the case we alway's have two way radio's. it's kind of just a situation when your fishing by yourself be extra careful. same go's with hunting, i do a lot of deer hunting by myself once again people know were i'm at but realistically there not gonna be able to find me that's why when i hunt by myself i alway's try and hunt my buddie's private land and he can alway's find me...but that's still not a solution.

what was the close call you and the mrs's had. also did you guy's catch some fish? detail's man detail's:D glad everything worked out. the closest calls ive had when fishing by myself was i got stuck far back in a cove at truman. huge storm and wind and lightning snuck up on me i beached the boat cuz i was'nt even able to get out of the cove and waited it out. as far as get'n thrown out of the boat or something like that i just try to be extra extra careful and my boat only go's about 15 mph:o i carry a first aid kit and some rashion's as well. one other time i got high centered on a log and it took me 1 1/2 to break loose and there was no one around at all the entire time. got lucky there. i'd like to here some solution's as well. i know one is try to fish with somebody at all time's. that's all i got. well time to go hit the water and try my luck. me and baller kissed and made up:D

[FROSTY]

JJs... Glad you'll are OK and made it back safe!!! I usually go with someone and let family know where or what lake,but don't have much of a plan other than cell phone for emergency.Something to THINK about. Maybe can pick-up some good ideas from this. Thanks

[Just Jiggin]

Nothing too extreme - the boat quit on the way back to the marina - not sure what happened - probably nothing major but with 30 mph wind in our face, the trolling motor didn't last long - had to tie up to a tree and wait and hope for a boat to pass by where we could flag them down. Problem is - this time of year, there aren't very many people out fishing - we only saw 3 or 4 other boats all day. Was seriously thinking about beaching the boat and start walking to find help.

[Jigging15]

I have called 911 with my phone with no service after seeing a bad wreck. I have patchy service on the lake but always take my cell with me knowing I could call with or with out service in an emergancy. I have lots of people on Truman I could call to bring a boat for rescue. But I have not thought about this situation until you have brought it up when I travel to other lakes. There are enough of us on different lakes maybe we should start a buddy system when fishing lakes we are not usually on. I know a few people on here have my number and would gladly help anyone in an emergancy situation. Maybe we should let more people know when we are going and have some extra phone #s just in case.

[Just Jiggin]

phone numbers would be great - we even considered calling Richard Bowling, the guide at the Bucksaw Marina, we knew he was in St Louis at a boat show but thought he might know someone we could call - luckily a boat came to our rescue and we didn't have to beach it or take any other drastic measure . I know when we are out on any lake - any time we have seen a boat that looks like it might be in distress (we were waving a white towel - the air horn had already given up and the horn on the boat didn't work since the batteries were so low from trolling) we always stop to see if they need help.:D

[Jigging15]

A tow rope may be a good addition to the boat also. I may look into an emergency radio like Speck had mentioned.