Walter & Group........
Wader problem. Ans. from John Bilotta in text in bold Italics.
Gordy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim ....
A timely topic. We had visited this in detail with these Group
messages years ago. Best to review it again. It brings to mind these
10 questions (And one terror question for good measure
):-
1.)
(Your question) You have
just fallen in with full waders on. The water is deep and the river
current swift. WHAT DO YOU DO
? get my feet
out in front of me, float feet first at an angle toward the
shoreline.
a. Do you use your rod in any way ? possibly as a staff, but
probably not What do you do with it ? get rid of
it
b. What about your
wader belt ? hopefully
it’s on and tight
already
c. Do you try to get the waders off so you can swim ? no
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.) I'm
thinking of two pieces of equipment which can help a great deal. Can you
figure what they might be ?
wading staff, floatation vest,
whistle
3.) If you are
wearing full boot waders (not, "stocking waders") will they sink and drown
you ?
no
4.) You are crossing a fast moving river. Freestone bottom, a bit slippery. Water is high enough that you feel very uneasy. As you slowly work your way across, what position to you assume with respect to the current ? a.
(Actually, walking sideways to the current, facing just a bit upstream.) G.
a. Always face into
the current and walk sideways.
b. Always
face downstream.
c. Walk sideways to
the current.
5.) There is one piece of equipment which can help a great deal in the scenario, above. What is it ? floatation vest
True ..... I was thinking of a
wading staff, however.
G.
6.) You didn't bring it. Now what do you do ? feet forward float at an angle toward the shore.
(Well..... I meant in the event you have not actually gone in the water as yet ...........Gordy)
You can use your fly rod, butt end down in lieu of a wading staff ..... G.
7.) You went in and, fortunately, floated just a short distance downstream. You grabbed the brush hanging from a cut bank. There is enough water in your waders that you can't possibly pull yourself up onto the bank. Now, how do you get out ? turn over and crawl out.
(With waders full of water, that may be impossible, depending upon the bank or shoreline..... That is when you might consider taking your knife (if you have one) and cutting the waders down low to let the water out. In some circumstances, such as in frigid water, this can be life saving ! Gordy)
8.) Return to question # 4. This time, you have gone as far as you dare. You feel that with one more step in any direction, you'll go over into the river..... so you stand still to think. You're afraid to go all the way across. Now what do you do ? pivot upstream and turn back to shore.
OK. If the bottom is smooth (sand or small pebbles and no holes or gullies, etc.) you might consider backing up one very small step or shuffle at a time while facing sideways to the current until you get into shallower water, and then pivoting on your downstream foot to turn the other way. G.
9.) You are
fishing a tidal estuary in
10.) While wading for bonefish on a flat with water up to your knees while wearing sneakers and shorts, you see two huge barracuda slowly swimming toward you. Your skiff is 200 feet away. What do you do ? stand still - don’t cast or retrieve the fly.
Problem is that the cuda's are curious and probably won't leave, even if you stand there for a long time. It's OK to cast... although, if you hook a fish, they may attack it. My solution is to put on a cuda fly and try to hook one. Great sport !.... and they'll leave if you hook one and then release it .... or even if you cast to one of them and he doesn't take it, sometimes...... G.
11.) How do you handle this, "bad dream" situation? You are wading in water up to your mid thigh. A 6 ft lemon shark is swimming right toward you. He's only 10' away and slowly coming right to you. Slap my rod down on water.
If you do that in front of the shark, it may or may not work. Slapping the rod tip down behind his head works almost every time..... because nothing terrifies a shark more than a commotion which he can hear but not see. (Could be a bigger shark about to eat him for all he knows ! ....... Happens. ) G.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Walter Simberski:-
Jim .... A timely topic. We had visited this in detail with these Group messages years ago. Best to review it again. It brings to mind these 10 questions (And one terror question for good measure ):-
1.) (Your question) You have just fallen in with full waders on. The water is deep and the river current swift. WHAT DO YOU DO ?
Number 1 - don't panic. You want to be floating face up with feet pointed down river so that they take the impact if you run into a rock or other obstacle. At this point make any adjustments to equipment if possible - reel up line, tighten belts, etc. Then think about getting to shore by paddling with hands and feet.
a. Do you use your rod in any way ? What do you do with it ? Reel up your line so you don't get tangled in it. If you have a rod holder (on your vest) you can put the rod in it so its out of the way. Another alternative is to position the rod so that the reel is in between thumb and forefinger and rod is laid along your arm running behind neck. Reel can actually be used as a hand flipper in this position to improve swimming stroke. The rod can also be used as a reaching aid so don't abandon in unless necessary. If it is necessary to abandon your rod for some reason just remember that its a small price to pay to save your life.
b. What about your wader belt ? The belt keeps water from getting into your waders. You may want to snug it up but under no conditions should it be removed while you are in the water. The belt keeps water from getting in to the waders.
c. Do you try to get the waders off so you can swim ? No.
2.) I'm thinking of two pieces of equipment which can help a great deal. Can you figure what they might be ? Wading shoes to fit your environment, e.g. felt soles and/or spikes, a wading staff. If you are talking about after falling in the water then one of those spiffy vest/life preserver combinations and something to reach out to a potential rescuer with (rod, staff).
3.) If you are wearing full boot waders (not, "stocking waders") will they sink and drown you ? No.
4.) You are crossing a fast moving river. Freestone bottom, a bit slippery. Water is high enough that you feel very uneasy. As you slowly work your way across, what position to you assume with respect to the current ?
a. Always face into the current and walk sideways. No
b. Always face downstream. No
c. Walk sideways to the current. Yes - this presents the smallest profile to the current. Also don't try to fight the current, i.e. don't try to wade upstream, work your way across and down. Also keep an eye on things that the river might be carrying towards you (tree, boat, other fisherman, etc.)
5.) There is one piece of equipment which can help a great deal in the scenario, above. What is it ? A wading staff.
6.) You didn't bring it. Now what do you do ? Use a branch or other similar item.
7.) You went in and, fortunately, floated just a short distance downstream. You grabbed the brush hanging from a cut bank. There is enough water in your waders that you can't possibly pull yourself up onto the bank. Now, how do you get out ? Depends on the environment - can you crawl out? Can you work your way to a spot where you have a better chance of getting out. You want to get to a position where you can drain most of the water out of your waders by lying on your back and lifting your legs in the air (may have to just bend your legs first to get some water out then do a full leg raise).
8.) Return to question # 4. This time, you have gone as far as you dare. You feel that with one more step in any direction, you'll go over into the river..... so you stand still to think. You're afraid to go all the way across. Now what do you do ? Go back? Turning around is a huge hazard because you are going from a narrow profile (sideways to current) to presenting a wide profile as you turn around. I turn so that I am facing upstream at the mid point of my turn because this gives me the best balance and lets me use my leg strength to its best advantage. You may have to back out until you get to a point where you can turn.
9.) You are fishing a tidal estuary in Alaska. As you wade out, the bottom gets muddy. The river current is going out, but the tide is rising. You can see the salmon, but your cast won't reach them. What do you do ? How deep are you at this point? Bear in mind that the deeper you get the closer you get to floating and the less force you exert on the bottom (i.e. traction is greatly reduced and likelihood of being swept away increases). Even if you stand still the rising tide could eventually create a hazardous situation.
10.) While wading for bonefish on a flat with water up to your knees while wearing sneakers and shorts, you see two huge barracuda slowly swimming toward you. Your skiff is 200 feet away. What do you do ? Nothing. Humans aren't part of the normal barracuda diet but if you confuse them by splashing or stirring up the bottom they could mistake you for barracuda food.
11.) How do you handle this, "bad dream" situation? You are wading in water up to your mid thigh. A 6 ft lemon shark is swimming right toward you. He's only 10' away and slowly coming right to you. Again, lemon sharks don't normally attack humans unless they are confused but they are known to use their sense of taste to identify an object. I would slowly move out of its path and hope for the best.
Gordy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A different approach from Paul Arden :-