This week’s Alabama Saltwater Fishing Report takes a different turn. Host Butch Thierry and co-host Joe Baya step away from the usual bite-by-bite breakdown to focus on something more important than catching fish: getting home safely. The episode opens with a heartfelt message from Capt. Tanner Dees following a recent Dauphin Island boating tragedy that impacted the local guide community, then shifts into a detailed conversation with Capt. Larry Higgins of K-Wiggler Lures, who shares the story of a serious boating collision he survived in Texas. The message throughout the episode is clear: safety gear only helps if you use it properly, and complacency on the water can turn deadly in seconds.
Conditions Recap
While this episode is not built around a traditional inshore or offshore fishing report, the on-the-water context still matters. Larry’s accident happened during low-light winter conditions on December 11 in a bayou with no fog and relatively good visibility. Even so, limited light, tight space, and closing distance left almost no time to react when another boat veered his way. That alone is a strong reminder for Alabama anglers running early, late, or in winter conditions: even when visibility feels “good enough,” unexpected danger can develop fast.
Capt. Tanner Dees also framed the week with a sober reminder for local anglers fishing around Dauphin Island and Alabama’s coastal waters. His message was not about where the fish are biting, but about respecting the water, checking your gear, monitoring conditions, and making smart decisions about whether to go, where to run, and when to stay protected.
A Safety-First Episode After a Hard Week on the Alabama Coast
Capt. Tanner Dees opens the show by explaining that this week’s report is different. Instead of the usual conversation about fishing patterns and productive areas, he addresses a recent boat accident near Dauphin Island involving a client and friend known to several local guides. Tanner’s message is direct and heartfelt: fishing is fun, but it is never worth failing to come home. He urges listeners to wear life jackets, use a kill switch, carry extra communication devices, and think carefully about the conditions before leaving the dock.
That message sets the tone for the rest of the episode. Rather than treating safety as an afterthought, the show treats it as part of being a serious angler. The point is not to scare people off the water, but to remind them that experience alone does not protect anyone from bad outcomes.
Capt. Larry Higgins’ Boating Collision
Butch and Joe are joined by Capt. Larry Higgins of K-Wiggler Lures, who fishes the Texas coast around West Galveston Bay, the tri-bay area, Matagorda, Port Mansfield, and the Lower Laguna. Larry explains that he was heading out early to go wade fishing when he stopped briefly to fish from the boat, something he rarely does. In low-light conditions, he saw another boat approaching and assumed the operator would hold course. Instead, that boat kept veering toward him.
As Larry moved closer to shore to avoid the traffic, the gap kept closing until he realized a collision was unavoidable. In a split-second attempt to offset the impact, he punched the throttle, turned the wheel, and went airborne into shallow water. He later learned he had fractured his right hip in three places and needed surgery the next morning.
One detail stands out: he landed in shallow water near the shoreline. With one leg essentially useless after the impact, deeper water could have made the situation much worse in a hurry.
The Biggest Lesson: You Can Be Wearing a Kill Switch Wrong
The most valuable takeaway from Larry’s story is not just that anglers should wear a kill switch. It is that they need to wear it correctly. Larry had been using a bungee-style kill-switch lanyard looped around his wrist in a way he thought was safe enough. After the crash, he realized his hand had slipped through the loop and the lanyard did not truly stay attached to him.
He got lucky. The lanyard caught just enough to shut the engine down. Had it not, the boat could have kept running at speed and created an even more dangerous situation after he was thrown overboard. That is the kind of near miss that makes the lesson stick: meeting the bare minimum requirement is not the same thing as being truly prepared.
This section of the episode includes some of the most important gear talk in the whole show. Larry strongly recommends using a properly secured kill-switch lanyard, and he mentions custom paracord versions with adjustable sliders that tighten more securely than worn-out bungee loops. He also stresses testing your kill switch periodically so you know it actually works when you need it.
Safer Kill Switch Setups and Practical Habits
Larry, Butch, and Joe spend a good bit of time talking through better ways to attach a kill switch. One option mentioned is securing it lower on the body so if you are ejected, the lanyard is far more likely to come with you. Another is clipping directly to a life vest instead of trusting a belt loop or a loose wrist loop. Larry also shares a warning passed along by a game warden: in at least one fatal incident, a belt loop failed before the kill switch pulled free.
The broader lesson is to think through the actual force of a worst-case scenario, not just what feels convenient while idling between spots. It is the same reason the group advises anglers to slow down or stop completely if they need to move around the boat, fix tackle, or grab gear. Short runs and quick adjustments are often where complacency creeps in.
Three Things That Can Turn a Life-Threatening Situation Into a Survivable One
One of the strongest themes in this episode is that the difference between a bad day and a fatal one often comes down to a few simple pieces of gear actually being on your body and ready to use. Larry’s story reinforces three of them: a functioning kill switch, a life jacket being worn instead of stored away, and a communication device on your person.
In Larry’s case, his phone was inaccessible, but his Apple Watch allowed him to call for help. That mattered. The conversation also includes a useful reminder that safety gear does no good if it is buried under a console or stored where nobody can get to it quickly. Larry mentions that he had an air horn on the boat, but in hindsight, it was not stored where it would have helped him in the moment.
Joe and Butch also mention inflatable life jackets and fanny-pack-style PFDs as realistic options for anglers who may not wear a bulkier vest all day. They also bring up simple emergency items like plug materials for through-hull failures, including inflatable balls or other objects that can help stop water intrusion long enough to get control of the situation.
On-Water Awareness Still Matters Even When You’re Not Running Hard
Another important point from Larry’s story is that safe boaters can still be put in danger by someone else’s mistake. He was not running hard. He was not racing through rough water. He was moving in a controlled way in a bayou when another operator’s actions created a collision scenario in seconds. That matters for anglers who assume danger only exists at high speed or in open water.
The discussion also circles back to low-light boating, navigation lights, and the importance of not assuming the other boat will do what it should. Time on the water always adds exposure, and the more days you run, the more important it becomes to reduce risk wherever you can.
Gear and Product Mentions From This Episode
Although this was a safety-heavy episode, there were still a few notable gear and product mentions woven into the conversation. K-Wiggler Lures came up through Larry’s background and company, and he noted that the brand is widely used for trout, flounder, and redfish applications. The hosts also referenced wearable inflatable life jackets, kill-switch lanyard setups, Apple Watch crash and calling features, air horns, and emergency plug-style items for through-hull issues.
There was also a reminder from the episode open about AFTCO gear, especially hooded sun protection shirts with a built-in face buff, tied to the current listener promo. For anglers preparing for spring and summer, that was one of the few traditional tackle-and-apparel mentions in an otherwise safety-focused show.
