Rescue vests open up a world of rescue capabilities.  The Live Bait rescue is a very direct way to physically grab a victim and stay in close contact.  Unfortunately, people are very unpredictable and often panic.  Communicate in a very calm manner to settle the person down.  If the victim is too much for you to handle, back off immediately.

A pre-set Live Bait rescue is great for safely grabbing an unconscious swimmer and bringing them quickly to shore.  A rescue vest is absolutely essential for this rescue method and should never be performed without one.  The live bait rescue involves connecting a rope to a rescuer's rescue vest, leaving lots of slack, timing the water entry so you can quickly ferry to the victim, and manually grabbing them.