Swimming with waders experiment. READ THIS!!

"Bob Patton" rwpmailatcharterdotnet wrote in message
...

I don't know what would have happened if I had drifted into a tree in the
water - I don't think I would have been able to climb up onto the tree
trunk, and if I went under it I'd be tangled up in the branches.

I used to have a downloaded video clip that showed a wader swept downstream
and rapidly approaching a sweeper in the water. The instruction pointed out
that you have one, and only one chance. The wader (now swimmer) was in the
appropriate downriver position, and used his leg muscles to literally walk
to branches of the sweeper. As his feet hit the branch, he flexed his legs
and used his back to kind of surf against the current, for a moment. This
allowed him to clear the end of the branch and continue downstream.

Darned if I can find the video clip to see where it was found. I can't find
it on google either.

"bugcaster" wrote in message
...
//snip// I used to have a downloaded video clip that showed a wader swept
downstream
and rapidly approaching a sweeper in the water. The instruction pointed
out that you have one, and only one chance. The wader (now swimmer) was
in the appropriate downriver position, and used his leg muscles to
literally walk to branches of the sweeper. As his feet hit the branch, he
flexed his legs and used his back to kind of surf against the current, for
a moment. This allowed him to clear the end of the branch and continue
downstream.

Darned if I can find the video clip to see where it was found. I can't
find it on google either.

Scary stuff. More and more, I think it's not a good idea to fish alone, but
solitude is one of the things I like about fly fishing.
Bob

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 16:42:03 -0600, "Bob Patton"
rwpmailatcharterdotnet wrote:


"bugcaster" wrote in message
...
//snip// I used to have a downloaded video clip that showed a wader swept
downstream
and rapidly approaching a sweeper in the water. The instruction pointed
out that you have one, and only one chance. The wader (now swimmer) was
in the appropriate downriver position, and used his leg muscles to
literally walk to branches of the sweeper. As his feet hit the branch, he
flexed his legs and used his back to kind of surf against the current, for
a moment. This allowed him to clear the end of the branch and continue
downstream.

Darned if I can find the video clip to see where it was found. I can't
find it on google either.

Scary stuff. More and more, I think it's not a good idea to fish alone, but
solitude is one of the things I like about fly fishing.
Bob


Solitude + wisdom = no problems.

Spoken by the guy who waded into a fast run today, without using his
staff.

Peter

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Peter Charles wrote in
:

Solitude + wisdom = no problems.

Spoken by the guy who waded into a fast run today, without using his
staff.

For the first time my time fly fishing, I got myself in some serious
trouble wading. Not that I was in any danger, but I panicked and
stopped thinking clearly, which was the real danger.

I was fishing the very lower Battenkill close to the Hudson for the
first time. I saw a nice fish working just off the opposite bank, but
my bank had deep, fast water up against it. I walked up my side, wading
out now and then to test my ability to get across. When I found a spot,
I made it out to ankle deep water in the middle of the river -- the
deepest part getting out was about 6 inches below the top of the
waders.

I got the fish I was targetting and I lingered out there as the white
fly hatch got going. As it was getting darker and no rise got going, I
thought I would head back. Though I thought I made a good mental note
of where I crossed, in the fading light I could not recongnize it for
the life of me. At one point I was a mere 5 feet from the bank, but a
huge boulder in front of me spooked me. It was then I started to get
nervous.

I backed out to the shallow water in the middle. I decided to make for
an island on the other side. Once again the water started to get deep
and then I panicked thinking I am now stuck out here. Back to the
middle again. It was getting very dark now.

I tried walking downstream and up, but as anyone in this position could
testify to, it's like looking for a needle in the hay trying to find a
way out in unfamiliar water.

Evenutally I paused, took a few deep breaths and realized that if worst
came to worse, the 5 feet gap in my first attempt is barely even a swim
and could easily get out that way.

To cut a long story short, I tried the opposite bank again and with a
clearer head and bit more confidence, I made it to the island. I had
to trek a few hundred yards to cross a muddy back water. From there I
climed up the other side and walked the road back to my car.

Lesson learned? Keep a clear head. At dusk leave 10 mins before you
think you should. Don't be a wading hero in unfamiliar water.

"GaryM" wrote in message
. 3.44...
Peter Charles wrote in
:
//snip//
Lesson learned? Keep a clear head. At dusk leave 10 mins before you
think you should. Don't be a wading hero in unfamiliar water.

Good lesson. I've been in similar situations and believe that the best thing
to do when you feel "nerves" coming on is just to sit down on a rock and
rest for a few minutes. I keep some granola bars and a brik-pak or two of
juice drinks in my vest, and they come in handy in those situations.
Bob

"GaryM" wrote in message
. 3.44...
Peter Charles wrote in
:
//snip//
Lesson learned? Keep a clear head. At dusk leave 10 mins before you
think you should. Don't be a wading hero in unfamiliar water.

Good lesson. I've been in similar situations and believe that the best thing
to do when you feel "nerves" coming on is just to sit down on a rock and
rest for a few minutes. I keep some granola bars and a brik-pak or two of
juice drinks in my vest, and they come in handy in those situations.
Bob

"bugcaster" wrote in message
...

"Bob Patton" rwpmailatcharterdotnet wrote in message
...

I don't know what would have happened if I had drifted into a tree in the
water - I don't think I would have been able to climb up onto the tree
trunk, and if I went under it I'd be tangled up in the branches.

I used to have a downloaded video clip that showed a wader swept
downstream and rapidly approaching a sweeper in the water. The
instruction pointed out that you have one, and only one chance. The wader
(now swimmer) was in the appropriate downriver position, and used his leg
muscles to literally walk to branches of the sweeper. As his feet hit the
branch, he flexed his legs and used his back to kind of surf against the
current, for a moment. This allowed him to clear the end of the branch
and continue downstream.

Darned if I can find the video clip to see where it was found. I can't
find it on google either.
Well I found four ram files on the desktop, and it does an OK job of filming
wading in fast water, and the eventual drift downstream. It came from a
video magazine that is no longer made, but has some archives still on a
server. It is The Western Flyfisher IBC. It was called Wading Safety -
Dealing with Log Jams. I cannot find the video online, but the magazines
are good and all the recipes can still be downloaded in ram format.
http://www.westernflyfisher.com/ and click on the archives.

If someone wants the file, it is about 3 meg, so I could send it once to
those with a fast modem.

"bugcaster" wrote in message
...
//snip// I used to have a downloaded video clip that showed a wader swept
downstream
and rapidly approaching a sweeper in the water. The instruction pointed
out that you have one, and only one chance. The wader (now swimmer) was
in the appropriate downriver position, and used his leg muscles to
literally walk to branches of the sweeper. As his feet hit the branch, he
flexed his legs and used his back to kind of surf against the current, for
a moment. This allowed him to clear the end of the branch and continue
downstream.

Darned if I can find the video clip to see where it was found. I can't
find it on google either.

Scary stuff. More and more, I think it's not a good idea to fish alone, but
solitude is one of the things I like about fly fishing.
Bob

"bugcaster" wrote in message
...
//snip// I used to have a downloaded video clip that showed a wader swept
downstream
and rapidly approaching a sweeper in the water. The instruction pointed
out that you have one, and only one chance. The wader (now swimmer) was
in the appropriate downriver position, and used his leg muscles to
literally walk to branches of the sweeper. As his feet hit the branch, he
flexed his legs and used his back to kind of surf against the current, for
a moment. This allowed him to clear the end of the branch and continue
downstream.

Darned if I can find the video clip to see where it was found. I can't
find it on google either.

Scary stuff. More and more, I think it's not a good idea to fish alone, but
solitude is one of the things I like about fly fishing.
Bob