A 65-year-old man from Sweetwater, Tennessee, named Steven Hayes, drowned on Friday while fishing from a small boat on Watts Bar Lake, becoming the first boating-related fatality of the year in the state.

According to wildlife officials, Hayes was fishing from the rear of the boat when his companion heard a splash and saw him struggling in the water around 1 p.m.

The other angler tried throwing flotation devices to Hayes and maneuvering the boat toward shallower water, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

First responders found Hayes unconscious in approximately 8 feet of water, performed life-saving measures, and transported him to Rhea Medical Center in Dayton, where he was pronounced dead. He was not wearing a life jacket at the time, and the water temperature was 48 degrees.