Wading and the MENISCUS

"rw" wrote in message
...

Bunch of good advice snipped

I've started using a wading staff in tough
currents and it's working well, albeit a PITA when I'm fishing and not
wading.

Good luck with the knee, JR.

I second the wading staff! I have found myself wading a lot more
confidently, and safely, since I began using one regularly. The other thing
I have discovered is that they can be a big help when rock hopping too.
Using it to triangulate support as I hop from one dry rock to another
midstream or on the shore really cuts down on missteps due to wobbly rocks
(or legs). Funny thing though, the 3/4" dia Folstaf I have is nearly
impossible to take apart, but the cheap Chinese knockoff (Outback) I bought
my wife works perfectly. (And no, I didn't get her the cheapie cause I'm a
skinflint, I got her the Folstaf, but she couldn't get it apart. We later
bumped into a fellow selling the Chinese knockoff at a flyfishing show, and
he persuaded us to buy based on the fact that it was easy to breakdown.) The
major difference between the two is that the Folstaf has a better quality
shock-cord, and the Outback's female sockets are slightly flared at the top,
which seems to prevent the relatively sharp corner of the aluminum tube from
biting into the male tube.

And hope that knee is back in working order soon.

Jim Ray

rw wrote:
JR wrote:
.... I'd waded myself into a bit of a spot, in
heavy water, rib-cage high, with my right (downstream) foot wedged between
two rocks--done more or less on purpose as an "anchor" of sorts against
the current.

Bad idea. Very bad. You could have not merely hurt your knee -- you
could have drowned if you'd fallen over. I avoid any chance of wedging
my foot while wading, as best I can. Sometimes it happens by accident,
and then I sort of freak out. I've started using a wading staff in tough
currents and it's working well, albeit a PITA when I'm fishing and not
wading.

Yeah, you're right. "More or less on purpose" meant I'd been wading
along and found my foot had sort of slipped down the side of a rock into
the crevice. The smart thing to do then would be to get it out at once,
then fish. What *I* did was to say, well, it's not really wedged, as in
WEDGED wedged, you know, as in stuck... see I can move it... no problem.
Then I fished my cast out. And after the minute or two that took, with
shifts in weight from one foot to the other and the thrust of the current,
by the time I DID want to move it, by gosh by golly by gum it WAS
wedged. As I said, something folks might want to keep in mind.

You're also right about the wading staff. I've only used one once, and it
was indeed a PITA, but if I want to keep fishing big moving water a staff
is surely in my future. You ever read James Babb's "My Rod and My
Staff"? Skates a tad close to the edge of the maudlin, maybe, but still
one of his better efforts I think.

JR

"rw" wrote in message
...

Bunch of good advice snipped

I've started using a wading staff in tough
currents and it's working well, albeit a PITA when I'm fishing and not
wading.

Good luck with the knee, JR.

I second the wading staff! I have found myself wading a lot more
confidently, and safely, since I began using one regularly. The other thing
I have discovered is that they can be a big help when rock hopping too.
Using it to triangulate support as I hop from one dry rock to another
midstream or on the shore really cuts down on missteps due to wobbly rocks
(or legs). Funny thing though, the 3/4" dia Folstaf I have is nearly
impossible to take apart, but the cheap Chinese knockoff (Outback) I bought
my wife works perfectly. (And no, I didn't get her the cheapie cause I'm a
skinflint, I got her the Folstaf, but she couldn't get it apart. We later
bumped into a fellow selling the Chinese knockoff at a flyfishing show, and
he persuaded us to buy based on the fact that it was easy to breakdown.) The
major difference between the two is that the Folstaf has a better quality
shock-cord, and the Outback's female sockets are slightly flared at the top,
which seems to prevent the relatively sharp corner of the aluminum tube from
biting into the male tube.

And hope that knee is back in working order soon.

Jim Ray

JR wrote:

Anyhow, looking back, I'm fairly sure I tore the MENISCUS while wading the
North Santiam River on my home leave, swinging flies for steelhead. The
N. Santiam is not a huge river, but like many PNW steelhead waters it's
strong and has a bottom strewn with big rocks (softball to beach ball
size, and some much bigger). I'd waded myself into a bit of a spot, in
heavy water, rib-cage high, with my right (downstream) foot wedged between
two rocks--done more or less on purpose as an "anchor" of sorts against
the current.

Bad idea. Very bad. You could have not merely hurt your knee -- you
could have drowned if you'd fallen over. I avoid any chance of wedging
my foot while wading, as best I can. Sometimes it happens by accident,
and then I sort of freak out. I've started using a wading staff in tough
currents and it's working well, albeit a PITA when I'm fishing and not
wading.

Good luck with the knee, JR.

--
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