On Sunday authorities with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources recovered the body of a missing kayaker in Lake Marion. They had begun searching for the angler when another fisherman discovered a swamped kayak Saturday afternoon.
By the following morning, authorities had identified the boat’s owner and used cell phone data to help find where the kayaker may have entered the water. That evening, authorities confirmed a dive team using sonar had recovered the missing kayaker. Orangeburg County coroner Sean Fogle identified the kayaker as Henry Bryant, III, 44, of Summerville. His preliminary opinion is that Bryant died of asphyxia due to drowning.
In the kayak photos shared to Facebook, you can see Bryant’s Vibe Kayaks Sea Ghost 130 partially submerged with lots of gear still strapped down. Among the gear visible is Bryant’s life jacket strapped to the back storage area under a fishing rod. The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office confirmed with Outdoor Life that Bryant wasn’t wearing one at the time of death.
One of the worst parts about this incident, and others like them, is that there’s a possibility it might have been prevented. While fishing and boating are inherently risky, this shows the importance of wearing your life jacket no matter what vessel you’re in. In 2019, for example, the U.S. Coast Guard identified 613 boating-related deaths and over two thousand injuries. Of these cases, 86 percent of those who died from drowning were not wearing life jackets.
And with the popularity of kayak fishing on the rise, PFD use is more important than ever. Last year alone, a Maryland man drowned while kayak fishing on the Susquehanna River, an Oregon man man died after his kayak collided with a ferry, and a California fisherman died while kayaking near Pacifica. Unfortunately, the list could go on and on.
Make It a Habit
As a diehard angler and kayak fisherman myself, I’ve spent a lot of time on the water in a variety of water craft. From canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards, all the way up to my bass boat, pontoons, and even large offshore fishing boats during deep sea charters. What I’ve learned throughout the years on the water is that no matter how large and safe a boat may seem, wearing a PFD simply can’t hurt.
With smaller vessels like kayaks, however, there’s a much higher likelihood of tipping than, say, that of my bass boat. The same can be said for canoes and other small and skinny options. While fishing from a smaller rig with a shallower draft has plenty of upsides, the stability and safety side of the argument can’t be ignored. For many kayak anglers, wearing a PFD has become second nature.
But some anglers still choose not to wear one, or not to put it on until they’ve already boarded their kayak. Simply put, most of these incidents may be avoided by taking the extra precautionary step of putting on your life jacket prior to launching your kayak and keeping it on until you’re safely back on dry land.
PFDs Aren’t Just for Kayaks
Now, if you’re primarily a bass boat angler, don’t think this PSA doesn’t apply to you too. I’ve experienced plenty of hair raising close calls myself, and have plenty of close friends who have had their lives saved by their PFD’s.
Whether you get thrown out of the boat due to a bad wake, a rogue wave, or an equipment failure, it can happen when you least expect it. And yes — it really can happen to you. The scariest part is that, rather than moving slowly in a kayak, you’re moving at 60 miles per hour, making it much easier to lose consciousness in the event you do get thrown from your boat.
Take my good friend and college fishing competitor, Hunter Bland. Bland and his partner Connor Young fished for the University of Florida back in 2017. While launching at a FLW college fishing tournament on Lake Seminole, their boat experienced a steering-system failure that led to the engine cutting hard to the right, spinning the boat at high speed, and throwing Bland and Young into a heavily trafficked channel.
Thankfully, Bland and Young were following the FLW college tournament rules and were wearing their life jackets which Bland openly admits saved his life.
“Without a life jacket, I truly wouldn’t be here today,” says Bland. “Don’t just wear it for you, wear it for everybody that cares about you too.”
After that heart pounding moment, Bland took it upon himself to team up with the National Safe Boating Council as their program coordinator to spread the word about life jackets through the ‘Wear It’ campaign. He’s made it his life’s work to educate boaters about the benefits of simply wearing their life jackets.
The harsh reality of being an angler that spends a lot of time on the water is that Bland’s story isn’t a one-off.
How to Select and Wear a PFD
While there are five types of life jackets available to you, most anglers opt for a type 1 or a type 5. Type 1 PFDs are inherently the safer option since they’re designed to provide over 22-pounds of buoyancy and turn an unconscious person face-up in the water. Type 5s cover inflatable life jackets, which is what I tend to reach for. Their downfall is that some models require you to pull a handle to inflate, while more expensive options self-inflate under water pressure or moisture introduction.
For me, type 1s are uncomfortable and bulky, making it difficult to wear and fish all day. That’s ultimately why most anglers don’t end up wearing them. Instead, they stash them at their feet in the kayak or, as appears to be what happened in Bryant’s case, strap them to the boat. Similar to wearing a helmet, a life jacket only helps if you’re wearing it.
Read Next: The Best Life Jackets of 2025, Tested and Reviewed
A type 5 PFD, meanwhile, is slim, stays out of the way when I’m fishing, and allows me to keep my life jacket on throughout the day on the water. I also believe in splurging for the water-activated options rather than relying on the manual pull tabs to inflate. While the manual pull tabs are cheaper, if you get knocked out or lose consciousness before you hit the water, your un-inflated jacket won’t do you any good. As was the case of the kayak angler who drowned while fishing the Susquehanna last year, he was wearing an inflatable life jacket that wasn’t inflated when his body was recovered.
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