BigBendFishing.Net

This is a great lesson in the value of a Personal Locator Beacon. It could save your life, your wife, your son, your daughter, and your friends one day.

https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/lifeline/392901

I ordered one last week. Been putting it off for too long.

Got mine a few months ago.. now I need to quit using it like an eprib and wear it.

I have one and keep it near at hand in the pocket of my PFD.
OD

Juan wrote: ↑June 7th, 2021, 3:30 pm Got mine a few months ago.. now I need to quit using it like an eprib and wear it.

I managed to slip mine into my inflatable life vest. I wear it all the time when I fish alone. Most of the PLB's come with a short tether so you can attach it to your vest. I did that and it still tucked pretty neatly inside the vest flap. The tether seems like a must-have when you are floating around in the waves trying to use the darn thing and not watch it float away. I could also bring my vest with the PLB inside when I go out fishing with a friend on another boat.

As soon as I started taking offshore fishing serious I bought one. Looking back I should have bought one months earlier. No reason to hit the water without one.

I mounted an Auto Deploy Epirb on the side of my console and have a PLB sitting on top of the console. Gives you a real peace of mind when you look around and can’t see land or other boats.


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After watching the video and reading the article, one thing popped up for me. They left no one on board the boat while they all went spear fishing?!? Even on a nice day, you should never leave the boat unattended when going into the water. Someone on board the boat could have started the engine, cut the tether line; let the divers know to surface by banging on the dive ladder and done what was needed to keep the boat afloat.

A PLB and waterproof VFH radio are cheap

So for those of you who have researched such things - What brand / model seems to be a good buy for the money?

I run a 20 foot SeaArk and to be honest, most of the time I could walk back to shore from the creek or near-shore flat that I am fishing. I might be bug-chewed, sun burned and hungry, but for a surveyor, that's the same as any work day.

Once in a great while I run out to 20 foot of water looking for cobia, near shore grouper or larger flounder.

- Steve Stinson

Steve Stinson wrote: ↑June 22nd, 2021, 9:07 pm So for those of you who have researched such things - What brand / model seems to be a good buy for the money?
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I run a 20 foot SeaArk and to be honest, most of the time I could walk back to shore from the creek or near-shore flat that I am fishing. I

I can normally see land wherever I'm fishing but I fish solo a lot and went with the Resqlink-425 just for the peace of mind and added safety factor.
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/acr-ele ... 708d60e3be
You may not need one if you're always able to walk back to help should you need it but for me even if I reach land, I may have to walk for miles to find civilization so I like knowing I can stay where I am and someone will rescue me within minutes should I need help. IMO there's no "one fits all" device and there's a lot to consider when buying one. ie: You still have to be able to activate a PLB unless you get one that's water activated. PLBs are registered to an individual and are portable, where epirbs are registered to a vessel.