Accidents are inevitable! And your safety comes first.
While thinking about taking a boat or kayak and begin a fishing trip, you need to think about your well-being as well.
You might get injured under any circumstances. For example, your boat might be hit by another fishing boat that is coming up from a rare sight or a huge-hidden sharp rock under the water can damage your canoe, etc.
If any of what is mentioned above happens, you need to make sure that your team is safe and sound.
So, having fishing life jackets is important. And while you can use your swimming skills, there’s the risk of losing your consciousness or getting a severe injury that hinders your ability to swim.
In such cases, A PFD (personal flotation device) fishing life jacket can guarantee your safety. They will certainly help you float over the water.
8 Things to Consider While Buying a Fishing Life Jacket
There are some things you need to consider when you decide to buy a fishing life jacket to guarantee your safety. Here is a list of some of the most important things you need to give a thought to in a fishing life jacket:
1. Lifesaving Feature
Firstly, you need to make sure that the life jacket’s design has the capability to keep your head above the water and make you continue breathing, in case you are too weak to swim or severely injured.
2. Authorized and Approved
Always make sure that the jacket you are buying is authorized and approved by The Coast Guard authority of the U.S. You can check the manufacturing details on the tag attached to the body of the jacket
3. Safety and Size
There are many anglers who love to take their kids with them on a fishing trip to teach them the sport at a young age. Each kid should have a PFD jacket with an appropriate size because the adult-sized ones will not provide safety for a kid.
Additionally, adults should get a suitable size for themselves too to make sure that they are comfortable wearing the jacket for a long time. So, size matters. Too big or too small cannot provide you safety.
4. Rips and Leakage
Of course, you are buying a fishing life jacket to ensure your safety. So, make sure that the jacket you are buying does not have a rip or a leak because if it does, that means that there is a possibility of water-logging.
5. Design and Look
The more a fishing life jacket looks smart, the better because it will encourage you to wear it throughout the whole trip. You can find a variety of designs with many amazing colors. In the past, there were only two colors that you could find: red and blue. However, now you can find many others and choose your favorite.
6. Special Design Features
The essential feature that needs to be present in a life jacket is to keep you afloat at the moment of necessity. During a fishing trip, the angler can go through many imbalances that lead to falling into the water. So, some of the life jackets are designed to have special collars in the jacket to keep the angler’s head above the water.
7. Life Jacket Structure
Always bear in mind that choosing a manual life jacket is much better than the automatic one. It is easier to maintain what has fewer components. Additionally, you need to check the shell and the inflation bladder. Always keep in mind while buying a life jacket that can be torn or penetrated by any sharp equipment.
8. Buoyancy Rate
This is the feature that helps keep your head above the water surface in high waves. Always make sure that you choose the jacket that can provide you with a buoyancy rate of 35 pounds (15.87 Kg). If you are a professional angler who is knowledgeable about the bay areas and flats, you should get a jacket with 22-26 pounds (9-11 kilograms).