Entanglement! Water Hazards!
I just want to go FISHING!
Do you carry a knife on the river? When you are wading? When you are floating? Is it easily accessible?
Rope and other debris can pose a hazard to floating and wading anglers and river enthusiasts wherever you go on the water. These pictures were taken after high water receded this summer.
As anglers wading safety is something we often don’t think about until a bad situation stares us down. Every year folks drown in rivers who didn’t plan on drowning. Not me! It’s shallow! I know the river! It doesn’t move that fast! I can swim!
These were my excuses, when I thought about making an excuse, until a gentleman walked through the front door of the fly shop several years ago and told me a story. We have all heard plenty of fish stories but this one was different. His friend had drowned in the Youghiogheny River in western Pennsylvania the previous Spring. They had fished together since childhood, nearly 60 years. The exact details aren’t known because George was fishing alone that day. What is known: George was found partially submerged in moving water less than four feet deep with no vest, no rod, his waders still on and with one of his legs badly twisted in a yellow nylon rope. Since that day I have carried a knife on my vest/ pouch/ boat/ kayak/ canoe in an easily accessible place. My knife is typically used for far less mundane things like spreading Peanut Butter and Jelly on my bread for lunch. I have however on several occasions used my knife to cut the anchor rope when my anchor became lodged in rocks on the bottom in swift current.
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