A couple of years back I lost my balance re-entering the river after a break and found myself with my feet higher than my head which was in the water. I was wearing a manual inflatable type PFD and although I did not inflate it I remembered I had it on and had the water been deeper it could have saved my life. The DNR reg's in GA requires a PFD on public water, it's a good idea anywhere. Tell Santa you want an inflatable PFD, they are very comfortable. The fish cat has two bladders and two blocks of foam but there are places I wouldn't want to rely on less than everything working properly.
Having spent some time in south MS (retired MS Army National Guard) I'm curious, where do you fish down there?