Incredible moment fisherman is pulled from the ocean after he was thrown from boat and called for help from his watch

Published: 02:45, 29 July 2026 | Updated: 02:51, 29 July 2026 A Texas fisherman was miraculously rescued after being thrown from his boat into choppy waters, where he stayed afloat for three hours and called 911 from his watch.  Steven Otto was competing in a fishing tournament on Lake Tawakoni Saturday when his boat struck a tree stump, launching him into the water.  Otto was wearing a life jacket and an Apple Watch, which allowed him to call 911 from the device as rescuers took three hours to find him.  Bodycam footage shared by Texas Game Wardens showed the moment responders rescued the fisherman. The crew is seen approaching Otto, saying, 'I got you, hold on,' as he floats above the water with a neon green life vest wrapped around his neck.  Rescuers latched onto his hands and guided the fisherman to the other side of the boat, helping him safely climb aboard.  'I think I've been in this water for nearly four hours, I'm a little tired,' Otto said to the crew. Texas Game Wardens in Rains County received a call about the missing boater just before 7.15am, according to their Facebook statement. Steven Otto was competing in a fishing tournament on Lake Tawakoni Saturday when his boat struck a tree stump, launching him into the water Otto was wearing a life jacket and an Apple Watch, which allowed him to call 911 from the device as rescuers took three hours to find him stranded afloat The Tawakoni Volunteer Fire Department arrived first and found the abandoned boat, but Otto was nowhere to be seen. Texas Game Wardens were then called in to help with the search, NBC 5 DFW reported. 'You have a general idea, but given the conditions that we were in — it's a tough search,' Texas Game Warden Dewayne Noble told the outlet. The crew was met with three to four foot waves rolling across the lake as firefighters and a search helicopter scouted the area for Otto.  'We got off the shoreline about a quarter mile maybe, and Warden [Josh] Bonney was looking with his binoculars - "I think I see him,"' Noble told the outlet. Game wardens located the fisherman after three hours and pulled him to safety, with Noble crediting his life jacket for likely saving his life.  'A credit to him wearing his life jacket, wearing the engine cut-off lanyard and realistically having an iWatch on,' Noble told the outlet. 'It sounds funny his iWatch didn't have service, but he was able to make an emergency call, and that's potentially what saved his life,' he added. Bodycam footage shared by Texas Game Wardens showed the wrecked fisherman being rescued from the lake Otto escaped with a cut above his eye and muscle cramps, but was in good spirits after his rescue Otto escaped the harrowing ordeal with a minor cut above his eye and muscle cramps, but was in good spirits after his rescue. 'It just wasn't my time, I think at the end of the day, that's all i can really say,' Otto told the outlet. 'It's a miracle,  because what are the odds of having that kind of an impact - no broken ribs, no broken bones in my face, or anything. Just a couple scrapes and bruises, and living today to tell the tale,' he added.