Boats And Tailwaters Don't Always Mix

[WebFreeman]

Saw this on the News-Leader this morning. I almost got swamped below Powersite once when my anchor hung.

Eldon pair pitched into water as dam water releases

© 2007, Springfield News-Leader

A boat with two people on board capsized after it got too close to Bagnell Dam when the water was released.

Eldon residents Kathy Byassee, 41, and Robert Salmons, 43, were catfish fishing 1,500 feet from Bagnell Dam on Wednesday morning in Lake Ozark. The bell sounded signally water from the dam was about to be released and they tried to get their anchor up, but could not get it in time, according to the Missouri Water Patrol.

The water rushed over the side of the boat and flipped it.

Byassee suffered neck pain.

Neither were wearing a life jacket.

[Gavin]

Scary story....anchors can get you in a lot of trouble if your not careful...pays to wear your pfd and keep a knife handy.

[Phil Lilley]

1. Always have a knife handy if anchored in a dangerous spot.

2. Lifejackets? They didn't have them in the boat apparently. They had time to grab them at least I'd think.

[Kayser]

Anchored 1500 ft from a hydro-electric dam is not a good idea, ever. Even anchoring in the main current of any larger river is dangerous. The risk of the water rising on tailwaters, or of debris in larger rivers (Meramec, Kaskaskia, Mississippi) is too great to safely anchor anywhere other than an eddy or a slough on a larger river.

And not having the lifejackets accessible is just asking for trouble in a high risk area like that.

Rob

[strangercreek]

I guess I'm glad my wife won't let me have a boat, I like to wade fish anyway

[loo10]

No knife available...

No lifejackets...

Anchored below a dam.

My Grandpa had a name for that...

Dumb A**es.

[rainbow]

You can't fix stupid.

[Daddy Carp]

WONDER HOW LONG NOW BEFORE THE TAILWTERS ARE OFF LIMITS TO ALL? IT'S DUMB A$$ES LIKE THIS THAT FUEL THE LIBERALS, PETA AND ACTIVIST FIRES. JUST WATCH, THEY'LL TRY TO : "DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN AND THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC". YA RIGHT!!! THIS IS JUST ANOTHER CLEANING OF THE GENE POOL AND REDUCTION OF IDIOTS THROUGH ATTRITION !!!! D.C.

[Bill Anderson]

In my 30+ years in the news media and in law enforcement, I guess I covered close to a hundred drownings. One thing I can say from personal observation is that I never saw a dead body come in wearing a life jacket, but I saw dozens and dozens of dead fishermen, boaters, swimmers, waders, duck hunters, without one. I even had a next door neighbor that fell out of his boat while it was tied to a tree and he was bream fishing...he fell out, and drowned. He did not even know how to swim, but still did not have a PFD on. The absolute stupidity of people never ceases to amaze me. I have even gotten to the point that I wear an inflatable Stearns around my waist when I wade tailwaters, and NEVER get in a boat, canoe or kayak without a PFD on...not along side me, ON me. Call me paranoid if you want to, but I know from personal experiece that PFDs save lives. I can personally attest to about a hundred people that I know for certain would not have died had they had one on.