Falling....in the rivers......

[rockymountain_brown]

Hey everyone. Lately I have been very prone to falling in rivers, from the Madison to the Yellowstone, I have fallen in most rivers i have fished. Probably because I dont fish with waders and try to get to the most prime spots in the middle of the river. What is some of the worst falls you guys and gals have taken?
RMB:D

[Jay Allyn]

Last February I was fishing the Puyallup for some winter steelhead. It was very cold out with frost on the ground and ice in the eyes of my rod. I caught a climps of a steely moving up a run. Stealthly I move into position, the water got deep so I stepped onto a large rock to gain a couple of inches, when it happend. The rock was slick and so down I went into the 35 degree water. I was able to get out, but not before my wadders filled with the icy water. After the mile walk back to the car, ice had formed on the out side of my wadders in little patches. That was a very cold, long, morning.

[BOBLAWLESS]

Before I turned bad, I was fishing the Campbell River in B.C. I fell not once, not twice, but three times trying to exit from that first good hole above the bridge. I'm not getting in that river ever again. There are no rocks on the bottom, just stone basketballs. You can't step on them and your foot will get stuck if you try to step in between them.
And, don't forget the very special slime that exists there, the green, oily stuff, sort of like green butter on a green basketball.
And the Thompson River! Don't ever get in that one! Same scenario as the Campbell, but now we are going to add in the hallacious amount of water that hurls itself through that river. Fall in and they'll probably find your body floating off Hawaii some day.
Bob, the Knee Deep Only Man:beer1

[Jerry Daschofsky]

I've had two bad falls.

First was when I was dating my now exwife. Was fishing the Satsop for chums. River had recut itself, and the main walkway to the river up near carter creek had went from 2' deep to about 6' deep. Took one step, two step, WHOOOOOOOOOOSH. I was up to top of my head in water. I was only wearing hip boots too. LOL. Was damned cold as it was. Went out, caught a few chums, and went home.

Next was about 2 years ago. Was fishing the canyon just below Willoughby on the Hoh. GF and her Dad were in the boat fishing. I got out and walked up on the ledges in the canyon there fishing. I was working the drift when I had a hit. Set the hook and "Fish on!!" Only one problem. The pressure of me holding the rod up on the fish made my felt soles slip (come to find out I was standing on mossy rocks). LOL. I went in, and INSTANTLY went a good 2' underwater (and my feet STILL weren't touching). Bobbed back up and swam to shore. Fish snapped off, but rod came back with me. LOL. Was a LONG cold drift back to Oxbow from there.

[Old Man]

I've only had one bad fall that I can remember. I was fishing tha upper Sauk right after it opened one year. As old as I am I think it feels like it was about 100 years ago. Well I had some of those old rubber waders chest highs I think. The water wasn't running to fast but I went down and the waders filled up. I didn't get hurt but I got very wet. Right after that those waders became knee high boots.

Jim

[ZugBug]

Well knock on wood...I've never fallen to the point of getting wet. A friend and I were talking about this very topic on the Yakima last Friday after we saw a fellow take a couple good dunkings.

I do have a story about a buddy though. Not really so much a falling "in" story as it is a falling "down" story. We were fishing a popular river in a ski town in Colorado that happens to have a nice hole under the interstate (about 70' under). It was late February and about 20 degrees out. My pal is hitting this hole while I try another about 50 yards upstream from him. We're fishing away when I hear this roaring sound not unlike a freight train. I look up just in time to see a Department of Transportation snowplow barreling down the interstate above him throwing wet slushy snow over the rail. I shout to him, but it is too late. That snow hit him dead center and put him down like a ton of bricks. He was very lucky that he wasn't injured. And let me tell you he was one cold & sore dude on the way home.

[Scott Behn]

I think the best fall I have ever taken was in '93 or '94 I don't quite remember the year, but there I was fishing my favorite spot on the Duc just up from tumbling rapids and I was trying to decide how to approach this big hole where the steelies were stacked like chord wood. So here I am like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to figure out which one I'll fly to first. The problem was that I was so concerned with the fish that I wasn't paying any attention to the bottom that I was treading on and I slipped off one of the big rocks just under the 101 bridge and I'm swimming, more like treading water, at the edge of this hole. Now I'm 6'3" and I wasn't touching bottom, but after a few very long and cold seconds I got out of the hole and figured that all that fusterating decision making I was orginally trying to make didn't mean much now so I start to fish just below and make my way back to camp. Funny thing is that as I was fishing my way back to camp I spot a couple of steelies behind a nice size downed tree and so I wade out to the middle to a spot that I could fly a couple to 'em and at the end of my first cast I hook onto a section of flyline that I proceed to strip in by hand, eventually I bring up a rod tip, then the whole flyrod and reel. So I get out and meander my way back to camp through the bush and when I get there my partner is there drying his waders. I asked him what happen, meanwhile I keep my finding to myself, he said that he was fishing to a couple of nice size steelies below a downed tree when he fell and the current took him about 20 yards or so down river. He said that when he got to shore he walked back up to the spot that he fell and tried to find his rod, but no luck. All I could do was sit there and laugh my arse off. He asked what was the reason I was laughing and I showed him what I caught.
To bad we ended up not catching a single steelie.

Harley
:smokin

[pwoens]

yep...done that once or twice..

On the Grande Ronde last year in the middle of February, 13 degrees was the high that day, I took a swim in the drink. I had a vinyl rain coat on and it assisted in making me look like a bobber. It sealed to my waders and only allowed water in through the vent holes..armpits and upper back. So I got a little wet but was not too soaked. I was able to make everyone laugh that day so I guess something good came from it... ;)

~Patrick ><>

[headstrong1]

My first time fishing the Snohomish for pinks this fall. I just HAD to get across this side channel to get to a mean looking hole on the other side. So I see this place where I think I can wade across on submerged logs. Off I go, one step at a time untill the water is encroaching on my armpits and I'm standing on my toes, and I'm only half way across. I was holding my hip pack with my tips, flies and my lunch above my head. I get to the point where my head is all that is above the water (wearing shorts and wading boots) and I remember thinking; "Gee, I think I can swim with my rod and hip pack held above the water with one hand". WRONG- Maybe without the boots, but as I launched off the last log I could touch I felt myself sinking! I was trying to keep above water but my one-arm swimming wasn't getting it done with my boots. Somehow I made it across, but very nearly drowned, plus I got all my gear soaked, not to mention my precious lunch. Moral: Swimming like one doesn't help you catch them :beathead

[Sisu]

I never worried about falling in rivers when wearing neoprene, but that has changed with breathable waders. I wear the belt very snug and a smallish PFD if doing a long wading excursion or a float trip.

I also know of a fella here in WA that wears a 1/8 in wet suit farmer john under his breathable for safety. Personally I think this is over kill, but its his decision.

Sisu, its what America needs:hmmm

[pwoens]

That would be the most uncomfortable setup I could imagine. I would be curious to see if the neoprene would provide enough bouyancy to float the water within the breathables?? :dunno :dunno

~Patrick ><>

[troutski]

While trying to take one long leap to a well placed flat rock, I came up a few inches short. The rock (Granite) had a perfect 90 degree edge that I hit full force with the front of my shin. Bounced off it right into the water & the instant pain was so overwhelming the water felt like a bathtub (at first anyway). The gash was to the bone and bruised the hell out of everything, muscle, bone, & whatever else.

[alpinetrout]

The concept of your waders filling up and pulling you under a common misconception. Once you're in the water any water inside your waders is neutrally buoyant, so it won't cause you to sink. It's the sail effect pulling you downstream and the weight of the water when you try to get out that causes problems.

[ray helaers]

In 88 or 89 I fell in the Sky right under the High Bridge, fishing for steelhead in March. I was perched above the water on a giant boulder when my feet went out from under me and I went full length into water significantly above my head. Luckily there wasn't much current and I hauled myself onto reasonably dry land without much trouble, save the several tens of pounds of cold water filling my old canvas boot-foot waders.

I was wearing my clothes under my waders and didn't have anything to change into. I drove away in wet underwear, and had to get gas at the full-serve island on the way home.

Once in the same waders I was fishing the Humes Ranch section on the upper Elwha in early July. While I was wading pretty deep in the swift, slightly high water, I did not fall in, but the river seemed exceptionally cold, almost as though I were wearing no waders at all. When I tried to get out of the water, I realized that the waders had developed a catastrophic leak, and they had at least as much water in them as when I had fallen in the Skykomish. The 1-1/2 hour walk out took a little over 2 and wasn't very fun in sopping clothes.

About seven years ago, I didn't fall in but had to jump into the Snohomish --still in my waders-- to retrieve my boat when it slid out into the middle of the river from my trailer when the winch-rope snapped. Another March steelhead trip. I thought I would swim out to the boat, climb in, and row back to the ramp in the downtown-Snohomish frog water. But by the time I got to the boat, my waders were full of icy water and I couldn't pull myself over the gunwale. That one did get a little sketchy, but when I finally did make it back to terra firma (with the boat), at least I had learned to have dry clothes to change into.

This past summer, a big ugly wasp pushed me into the Kettle River. I was standing on a bedrock ledge, drifting a dryfly down a sweet little slot in a small side channel. I felt a little tickle on the back of my bare calf, and when I looked down I saw this horrible red and black wasp on my leg. It might have been several pounds; everything happened kind of fast. Swatting, flailing, and squealing like a little girl, I lost my footing and went ass over elbows into the pool, getting completely submerged in about 4 feet of water. The air was warm, the water pleasant, and I was dressed for wet-wading. It all wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been wearing my camera around my neck (complete with 2/3 of a roll of likely Pulitzer-quality photos of the previous day's fishing).

So the lessons are; Always have dry clothes to change into; maintain your waders and your trailer, and don't be such a scaredy-cat. :professor

[Hal Eckert]

Worst one by far was in 1983 on Michigan's Pere Marquette River on St Patricks Day. It was a cold March day in the 30s, lake effect snow and wind the river was in great shape though and full of wild steelhead. Beat the guides to the hot hole and riffle before daylight, man was it cold. The run was full of fish. Probably my best steelheading morning ever landed three and lost another 13 after some long fights lots of jumps etc.. No one else around but me. Had one nice 10-12 pounder almost beat and was leaning back on the rod (8 weight with 6 lb leader) to land him on a mud flat just above a deep log jammed pool. On the final lean back and move to bring him ashore, he did one last head shake and the leader broke.

Since I was leaning back I fell back and down kind of head first right into the Michigan black muck and water. I must of looked like the creature from the Black Lagoon all black and ugly my fly vest, hat, garments etc.. I could taste the mud.

Well at 30 degrees I started icing upd pretty quickly all over. As I recall I fished another hour and hooked one or two more and then the freezing rain started, and I iced up more. I said thats it walked a mile to the car thru the forest drove to motel changed clothes went to lanudromat washed and dryed every thing than back on to the river a couple of hours later for the evening fishing.

Boy was that cold and muddy.

Luckily I have not had any major ones since, just little slips of the arm into the wader went wading a little to deep,

In my old age I do not do as reckless wades as I did in my teens, 20s, and 30s, be careful water is deadly.

BG