Two fatalities on or near Lewis river?

2 kayak fisherman within a month or less! Should we know what happen and learn from them? Scappoose man went down on Columbian at the mouth of Lewis and now second man further up the river. I wonder if they were part of our club or not. Zvonko

link


http://pdxfanews.blogspot.com/2013/09/missingpresumed-drowned-fisherman-on.html

Absolutely we should learn from them!  That's one of the biggest benefits of this forum.  People learning from each other's mistakes/misfortunes.

As far as I know, the 1st fatality was not a member.  I hadn't even heard of the 2nd.  By the news report, it sounds like a wading accident.

-Spot-

Roberts was not wearing a personal flotation device, although he had one onboard. The lifejacket was recovered with the kayak.

A PFD doesn't do you much good if you're not wearing it. 

Condolences to his family.

 Thanks for your input! No question that life jacket is a must, hence the name "Life". I fish on my Cuda, Columbia at the Lewis and know that current can be so fast that I can hardly make headway.
When boats set their anchors and you fish too close to them it would be easy to loose headway and get snared into their anchor lines. This may have happened to the man from Scappoose, Or. I paddled Lewis many times and can not imagine what could happen there. Zvonko

I'm curious if any of his companions are members here. Extremely saddening for his family.

Dino -HOW NWest

Another factor to consider is that the Lewis had risen 5 foot in the last 24hours...that's a lot of water.  maby not the best time to be out on it.

Another factor to consider is that the Lewis had risen 5 foot in the last 24hours...that's a lot of water.  maby not the best time to be out on it.

all the more reason to be wearing all your PPE especially a life jacket


-Rodney-

Not only:

Roberts was not wearing a personal flotation device, although he had one onboard. The life jacket was recovered with the kayak.

But this too:

At the time of his disappearance Roberts was wearing a dark wool jacket, camouflage rain pants and a brown hat.

I grew up in the water as a boy.  Lived on Lake Washington.  I've fallen into super cold water many many many times off the dock - sometimes for fun.  I know what it feels like to seeze up in cold water. Very comfy with it, actually. 

Although very few water accident situations would ever cause me to panic, I never get into my kayak without my PDF....period.