Dangerous (stupid) Wading Recollection

[foxtrapper1972]

Wondering if anyone has been in a tricky/dangerous situation while wading.

I was wading Penns and tried to cross at an area with heavy current and deep water. Was on tip toes with water almost to top of my waders and felt I was ready to start floating. I made it but barely. Foolish move just to get to feeding fish that I don't remember even catching.

 

[SteveG]

This past summer while fishing a little blue line alone in the mountains. I thought a rock looked dry and rushed to walk across it, and it was more slippery than ice. If I didn't somehow manage to keep my balance on one foot, I'd have easily broken some rips with how I was falling. It certainly put things into perspective, and I'm always careful now, regardless of how the terrain looks. Odd that my scariest wading moment occurred where the water was only a few inches deep.

 

[JackM]

So many for me, it's hard to pick my most dangerous close call, so I'll pick two. Mind you, these are in my younger more enthusiastic days.

Wading carefully I thought just on the upstream edge of a rather large boulder in the yough, trying to dap the fly into the current so it could dance around another large rock just beyond my reach, I took an extra step and put my right foot down into the ripping current seam unseen from the surface. As the current tried to pull the rest of my body away from the safety of the upstream protection of the boulder, I wrapped my left arm around the boulder and managed to catch a crag. Somehow in that two or three seconds of terror, I summoned the strength to pull myself back to safety. My bicep, shoulder and half my pectorals were sore for a week.

Late for returning from my fishing trip, I scurried down the stream just a foot or so from shore. The water I was scooting through was about 6 inches deep. As I threw my left foot out for the next stride, I noticed its target landing area was a flat silty-scum-covered rock. Not sooner than my weight shifted to the left foot, I immediately was looking at the sky. I did not hit my head, because my reflexes took action beyond my conscious control, and did so very heroically, and I gave myself a significant whiplash which lasted several days at least.

 

[Chaz]

In Maine while fishing Grand Lake Stream for for Salmon, the flow was a very fishable 600 CFS when I started fishing, I saw leaves and other debris floating downstream, after a couple of hours fishing. I took a look around and found that the level of flow had increased, the next 1/2 hour was a struggle to get to where I could safely wade to a point that I could cross over and get out of the river. I was a hairy 1/2 hour.
The only thing that kept me from floating downriver a long distance was a wading staff.

 

[poopdeck]

I was wet wading in maybe 8 inches of very familiar water and slipped on a slimy rock. It was like ice. Fell ripped my knee open that made the stream look like a shark attack. Cut the bottom of my shirt off to wrap around leg as I hobbled for over an hour in a belly shirt back to my truck. Next time ill just use the whole shirt to avoid the belly shirt. Because of this fall I purchased wading boots and always use a wading stick even during times of low flow

 

[laszlo]

While fishing under a bridge in high and muddy water. I stepped off the ledge and became completely submerged while my hat floated down stream. Talk about a wake up call.

 

[LeTortAngler2]

The Yough comes to mind when looking back at times on the water thinking "nope, ain't gonna make it.. SoB.."(especially around Ramcat) I rarely use a staff and when I need one I find one on
the bank. Never really have problems on any of the Limestoners.

 

[phiendWMD]

The first, and only time, I fished the the brodhead the water was high and off color. Along the bank was almost ok. As I got closer to the middle the water was deeper and faster. Instead of being smart I kept pushing my luck more and more until I eventually was swept under in water almost over the top of my waders. It pushed me downstream into a deeper hole that was above my head. My feet hit the bottom and I pushed off to resurface 2 or 3 times until the current carried me into shallower water where I could regain my footing and keep the current from pushing me more. The water wasn't extremely cold but it was cold enough to sort of shock me. It all happened so fast I didn't really have time to think it out. I just reacted. I decided instantly it wasn't worth dieing for and started to try to get out. Before I could reach the bank the same thing happened again only not quite as bad. My waders were full of water up to my waist.

I'm not sure how close I really came to drowning that day but it was close enough to make me rethink the chances I take, especially when I am alone. Releasing a few trout just isn't worth filling my lungs with water for.

 

[djs12354]

Crossing the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY in the dark, using a flashlight to see.

 

[salvelinus]

Like foxtrapper, I did the tiptoes thing in heavy current on the Gallatin back in 1979. I was young and foolish. Never again. Another time at Penn's I was wading out of the stream and there was a big flat rock like a picnic table. It was close to shore so I figured I would just jump up on it and onto the shore. Even with felts it was slippery as hell and I took a header and cut my hand pretty bad. Stopped the bleeding and kept on fishing. At least no tackle was harmed in the making of these anecdotes.

 

[PhilC]

Salmon river, no studs = stupid...I survived the first few trips but had my sketchiest moments during that time.
Worst was getting stuck in between boulders in DSR...waters up to my waist and kept slipping off rocks trying to get out. It was a helpless call for mommy moment and luckily Beeber was there to save me.

 

[SBecker]

Tip toes bounce on the Lehigh and a flash flood upstream of Harman's. Scariest thing about Harman's was having my wife and kids watch as I tried to cross back over to safe ground.

 

[steveo]

Took a header this fall on a cold day and my waders filled with cold water. Worst part was that I was fishing alone and only my wife knew where I was. She didn't expect me back until dark. I was only in about 4 feet of water but the cold really hit me. I was wearing a wading belt and I'm sure that helped but I still was soaked and very cold. Makes you realize how quickly things can turn ugly.

 

[chubmaster]

Salmon River with fast moving/deep water. My two buddies talked me into criss-crossing our arms and "buddy" walking through the semi-fast current. We made it halfway, with me being in the middle of the mass of stupidity. I stopped like a deer heading to a shooting lane when the top of my waders began to approach the top of the current. It took me about a minute to talk them into backtracking. I will never attempt that maneuver again no matter how many non-masculine names I am called. My sarcastic question/reply to them was "why not have 3 people drown instead of just one?".

 

[KeithS]

Springtime wading, getting stuck in muck on the bank, trying to exit the stream. Every time I moved I got deeper in it. No one around, of course. I managed pull myself out, but it was a looong 5 minutes or so.

 

[boychick]

I attempted to use a fallen tree like a bridge to cross a deep section of the river in 34 degree weather. The tree was slippery and I fell like Joe Pecsi in home alone, feet up in the air and looking skyward before I knew what happened. I landed in the river and was in over my waders. I quickly grabbed the tree and pulled myself out. I should have gotten soaked and been fighting hypothermia. Amazingly I stayed dry. I still don't know how. I got really lucky.

 

[NickR]

^^^
angels

 

[dryflyguy]

I was fishing cool spring creek after a heavy rain. And as I stepped down along a muddy bank to enter "the rock" pool, I slipped and fell hard on my right shoulder.
It ached for several months afterward.
I ended up seeing an orthopedist, receiving shoulder surgery, and almost a year of physical therapy.
All from fishing on a small, easy to wade stream. You just never know I guess

 

[somersetian]

Just yesterday I slipped on a big flat rock while fishing laurel hill creek. I went down with little pain but I guess I could have hit my head or something.

 

[albatross]

My worst wading incident occurred while deer hunting. It was a bitter cold 2 degrees when we headed out in the dark for the day. We had to ford a small brookie stream to get to our hunting area. We chose a section where the stream was very shallow and flowing over bedrock. I needed to put one footstep in the stream and my hunting boots were waterproof enough that I wasn't concerned. What I didn't realize was that the bedrock was conducting the cold temperature under the flowing water and there was actually ice formed on the bottom beneath the unfrozen surface. I went down like a ton of bricks. My gun instantly froze solid to the point where I was unable to unload it. Fortunately the warm car was nearby to get me back to camp quickly.