On October 26, 2013, I Senior Agent was notified by Wildlife and Fisheries communication of a boat incident on the Red River in Bossier Parish.  They gave me the name and number of the subject involved in the incident.  I then contacted the subject and made arrangements to meet him at his house.  He told me over the phone that no one was injured in the incident.   I met Operator1 at his house at approximately 2:00 p.m. Operator1 stated he was operating his vessel (LA- 9703- FZ) on the Red River around 9:15 a.m.  He stated he was coming out of the Port Lake (an oxbow off the main river) and starting to head south on the river when he struck an object that brought his vessel to an abrupt stop. Operator1 said the abrupt stop caused him to be thrown into the steering console and caused water to splash into the vessel from the stern.  He stated he then saw a dredge pipe floating just below the surface of the water.  Operator1 took a video of the dredge pipe with his phone, and it is included in this report.  The dredge pipe was being operated by Blunt Brothers Construction.  Operator1 was able to idle his vessel back to Red River South Marina and put it back on the trailer.  I then inspected Operator1's vessel and found no visible damage.  I did observe that when the motor was in neutral and you turned the prop it had a rough spot in it, almost to the point of not letting the prop turn freely.  Usually when you turn the prop of a motor that is in neutral the prop will turn freely with no hindrance.  Operator1 has already repaired his vessel at a cost of $2000.  This cost includes repair to the lower unit and steering.  In my opinion, based on Operator1's account and the video he shot the day of the incident, the cause of this incident was the dredge pipe floating just below the surface of the river.  No alcohol or drugs are suspected in this incident.  Operator1 was not wearing a PFD at the time of the incident but had five type 3 PFD's on board and one type 4.
Elm Grove