A few months back I took a ride to PA to attend a fishing show. The draw for me was a presentation by Captain Deiter School, of Big D River Guide Service. He's a very experienced Captain and has fished the river for years. If you go over the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge in April and May you'll no doubt see him anchored up with rods out fishing for shad.
Deiter talked about the river, the fish and his custom made boat. He also stressed safety when being on the "Big D". Well yesterday I found out he had n accident on the river while fishing a shad tournament. I don't know exactly what happened but the boat capsized, he went in the water, had to be rescued and was taken to the hospital, thankfully he was discharged. His boat remains in the river at the wing dam. The shot below shows his boat just below the falls.
They say bad shit happens, to anyone, at anytime, no matter how right you do things. I was still guiding up on the Upper Delaware when Wayne Aldridge's drift flipped on the East Branch sending him and his sports into the river. I happen to be out on the water working the area with Captain Jason Dapra when he came in the path of a container ship in the channel and experienced engine trouble. Paul Dixon has his boat flip in Turtle Cove in Montauk. Tom O'Loughlin from Shore Catch had a fatal boat accident out in front of Long Branch. These things happen to the best of them. And to a lesser degree, I sunk my truck, in a second, while taking my boat out of the water at the Atlantic Highlands boat ramp.
As I begin to fish the mid-Delaware I must take caution as to what happened yesterday. The Delaware claims many lives each year. Again, thank God Deiter is okay and let this be a warning and learning experience for me and anyone else out there. A fish is not worth your life. Wear your life jacket, have a save-your-ass sharp knife on board, and respect the river always, she is a nasty bitch sometimes.