Collin Tweten of Iowa posted a video and photos on his Facebook page on Saturday explaining how he had lost his motor when he hit a log that was floating just under the surface while running to his next fishing spot during the BFL at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin that morning. He was travelling at a good speed when he hit a log that was obstructed by the ripples of the surface water. The boat does a half spin before coming to rest backwards.
Thankfully Tweten and his co-angler came away uninjured, but his entire outboard motor was lost to the obstruction. Tweten’s co-angler was able to take their fish to the weigh-in and kept Tweten in contention for the BFL Regional.
This is what he said on his Facebook Post:
“I wanted to share this with everyone although it really wasn’t an easy decision. I was in a hurry to try and add to my bag this morning and decided to take a channel that would cut some time off. I have ran this thing 100 times and just ran through it last Sunday. I learned the hard way that taking these short cuts comes with a risk. If you pay attention you can see there is a submerged log that barely sticks out of the water and with the wind blowing, I never saw it. I Lost the whole motor off the boat but am super thankful that my Co-angler and myself are both good. There is so many ways this could have been worse. Be careful out there and try to stay as safe as what you can control. Thanks to everyone that helped me out today. Even after having all of this happen and a short day. My Co got my fish back and kept me in the running for the regional.”
We share these pieces as reminders to all of us to wear our life jackets, kill switches and always pay as much attention as possible when the boat is under power. While this incident was unavoidable, because the log was not visible above the surface, it’s still a good reminder to always be expecting the unexpected on the water.
