Safety Tip - Waders or Rubber Boots

I still can’t believe that when I was kid, I used to get into a canoe or small boat wearing a pair of hip boots or chest waders and no floatation vest! Then I’d paddle off into the swamp, shotgun in hand, to look for ducks or to get to my duck blind. If I ever ended up in the water, how in the hell would I ever swim with my boots full of water? I’d sink fast!

When my oldest daughter, Heather, was about three years old, I had the scare of my life. It still bothers me to think about it. We were up at the family camp and I ran up to get something. I was “only gone for a second,” as we all say. When I returned, Heather was fishing at the end of the dock and she had her little pink rubber boots on – and no life jacket or PDF of any kind…. I nearly shit my pants when I saw this. TOTALLY my fault!

The water at the end of the dock was around ten feet deep. Her boots would have filled so fart… she couldn’t swim very well at age three anyway, but with the boots – it would have been a done deal. Many kids drown this way every year. When I explained to her that she could have drowned, she started to cry. She never went on the dock or near the water after that without a life jacket on. She is 24 now and she is still careful.

If you’re ever in a boat, canoe or near water, don’t wear rubber boots, hip boots or chest waders that could fill up with water, especially, if you’re not wearing a PFD. The safe thing to do, is of course, wear a PFD always.

These days, when I’m duck hunting in a canoe or small boat, I wear one of those camouflage floatation vests that have just mesh or fabric on the shoulders. The floatation part is only on the chest and back area. That way, I can still mount my shotgun if a duck flies up.