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It's an early spring day...there's been some rain in the past few days.
As a matter of fact...it's raining a little right now.
I can feel the current ripping along between my legs as I stand hip deep in a riffle in the Neosho River here in Se Kansas...drifting the 1-2" soft shelled crawfish I seined earlier in the day with the help of my 7 year old daughter at a rural intersection culvert.
The fishing has been great! I have 8 really NICE sized Channel cats on my 15' rope stringer I have tied around my waist.
I'm thinking I'll be culling a few off my stringer...as each successive channel I catch seems to get bigger and bigger.
A few mintes pass...then half an hour...then an hour....still nailing 10 lb average channel cats every few minutes.
The current is beginning to get noticably stronger...but Hey...the fish are biting...and besides...I do know how to swim if need be I tell myself.
Little by little the water level inches upward...almost unnoticable at first...but now there's no denying....
It's time to head for the shore.
Standing flat footed on the slick riverbed has become impossible...and I find myself losing my tenous foothold...and sliding downstream uncontrollably as I near the deeper water.
Normally this section is only chest deep...but now all of a sudden...it's over my head...and to make things worse...I find that I cannot for the life of me get out of the river channel due to the surging current.
Panic begins to set in as I attempt to stay afloat with a hefty stringer of cats around my waist pulls me down...as does my expensive rod/reel combo I hold in my right hand.
The current is like a tractor attached to my ankles as the cold water tightens my neck muscles...contracting my head back...as my whitened fingertips grip my fishing rod...which i've forgotten about while I attempt to keep my head above the water.
I am nearly paralyzed as the cold water wrenches my neck back...forcing my mouth open as I inhale a mouthfull of gnarly riverwater down the hatch.
I go under...my feet touching down on the 8-10' deep riverbed.
I lurch upward with my feet...my head coming above the surface as I take a long gasp of air...mixed with more riverwater.
I realize that I need to be paddling towards the shore...but
the cold water has nearly paralyzed me as I attempt to paddle one handed thata way.
And to make things worse...those damn devil cats have wrapped the stringer around my feet.
I go back under...once again hitting the bottom...and kicking myself back above the water level to get a gasp of MUCH needed air.
But this time...the current gets the best of me...the river sucks me back under.
Not a violent downward pull...but more like a bear hug by the heavyweight state champ wrestler that pulls me away from the sky...which fades from metallic grey...to lead grey...to brown...as I go back under and get another mouthfull of nasty a$$ river water.
I kick back up for the third time...the thought of three strikes and your're out flashes through my incoherent mind...and I freak out...kicking back up again off the bottom...hitting the surface gasping deeply for another breath.
I repeat this scene 3 more times...kicking myself back up when my feet hit the bottom...buying precious time with every new breath I can manage to obtain.
Fortunately for me...my next experience is still in this world...as my cousin and fishing partner grabs me by my shirt collar...and pulls me towards the shallower water.
I have already forgotten about my rod that I clutch in my hand...as I struggle to regain my footing...the stringer still loosely wrapped around both my feet.
He takes the rod from my hand...and swims both of us over to where I could now touch bottom.
He helps me untangle myself...as I wade wearily over to the rivers edge...still gripping his arm.
I crawl on my hands and knees in the foot deep eddy...and get myself up onto the mud bank.
I collapse into the mud...gasping for air...still not in control of the panic I experienced only seconds previous.
As I lie there...I puke up the rancid river water I had inhaled...and find myself drifting off to sleep on the riverbank as my cousin walks back to the truck to come and get me.
I slept for 30 minutes in the mud...as my cousin stood there fishing and watching over me.
The preceding was a true story. I damn near bought the farm and met my maker that spring day back in 1993.
While it was nothing I did that equaled my survival that particular day...I later learned how to avoid such a situation.
1. Stay heads up about the rising water level...even if it's rising only inches an hour...it all adds up.
2. Be aware from previous the onset of an emergency situation that if trouble arises...drop the high dollar rod you're packing...it's NOT worth your life.
3. Wear a side sheathed knife in order to cut yourself free if need be from that stringer or any other other items you're tangled in...such as an anchor cord or discarded fishing line in the water. Once again...even the biggest stringer is not worth your life.
4. Stay cool and try not to panic...your most valuable weapon in this circumstance is your mind.
5. NEVER wear rubber boots or waders in water where you very well might take a dunk. You might as well have cinder blocks attached to your feet.
6. If you get in over your head...ASSUME THE POSITION...float on your back...feet pointed downstream to avoid any collisions with hard objects that might knock you un-conscious.
7. Time your breathing...take gasps of air at the bottom of a wave trough...rather than the peak...when you are fixing to get pulled back under.
8. Scout for an out...avoid obstacles you could get tangled in...log jams, strainer grates, ect. and actively search for calmer water...such as an eddy or inside river bend.
9. Go with the flow. As the current carries you...paddle with your hands and kick with your feet as you aim towards slower water at the edge. When you get closer...roll onto your stomach and swim upstream at a 45 degree angle...which will take you towards the shore.
In hindsight...I blew it...had that been 20' of water rather than the 10' where I could still kick up to the surface...I panicked...and probably wouldn't be alive today. (Even tho I am a strong swimmer)
Wade fishing is a blast...and I still do it to this day...but ONLY with a brand new outlook on water and current.
The river will teach you RESPECT...but without a calm, cool, and collective response...you may not survive the lesson. :wink:
As a matter of fact...it's raining a little right now.
I can feel the current ripping along between my legs as I stand hip deep in a riffle in the Neosho River here in Se Kansas...drifting the 1-2" soft shelled crawfish I seined earlier in the day with the help of my 7 year old daughter at a rural intersection culvert.
The fishing has been great! I have 8 really NICE sized Channel cats on my 15' rope stringer I have tied around my waist.
I'm thinking I'll be culling a few off my stringer...as each successive channel I catch seems to get bigger and bigger.
A few mintes pass...then half an hour...then an hour....still nailing 10 lb average channel cats every few minutes.
The current is beginning to get noticably stronger...but Hey...the fish are biting...and besides...I do know how to swim if need be I tell myself.
Little by little the water level inches upward...almost unnoticable at first...but now there's no denying....
It's time to head for the shore.
Standing flat footed on the slick riverbed has become impossible...and I find myself losing my tenous foothold...and sliding downstream uncontrollably as I near the deeper water.
Normally this section is only chest deep...but now all of a sudden...it's over my head...and to make things worse...I find that I cannot for the life of me get out of the river channel due to the surging current.
Panic begins to set in as I attempt to stay afloat with a hefty stringer of cats around my waist pulls me down...as does my expensive rod/reel combo I hold in my right hand.
The current is like a tractor attached to my ankles as the cold water tightens my neck muscles...contracting my head back...as my whitened fingertips grip my fishing rod...which i've forgotten about while I attempt to keep my head above the water.
I am nearly paralyzed as the cold water wrenches my neck back...forcing my mouth open as I inhale a mouthfull of gnarly riverwater down the hatch.
I go under...my feet touching down on the 8-10' deep riverbed.
I lurch upward with my feet...my head coming above the surface as I take a long gasp of air...mixed with more riverwater.
I realize that I need to be paddling towards the shore...but
the cold water has nearly paralyzed me as I attempt to paddle one handed thata way.
And to make things worse...those damn devil cats have wrapped the stringer around my feet.
I go back under...once again hitting the bottom...and kicking myself back above the water level to get a gasp of MUCH needed air.
But this time...the current gets the best of me...the river sucks me back under.
Not a violent downward pull...but more like a bear hug by the heavyweight state champ wrestler that pulls me away from the sky...which fades from metallic grey...to lead grey...to brown...as I go back under and get another mouthfull of nasty a$$ river water.
I kick back up for the third time...the thought of three strikes and your're out flashes through my incoherent mind...and I freak out...kicking back up again off the bottom...hitting the surface gasping deeply for another breath.
I repeat this scene 3 more times...kicking myself back up when my feet hit the bottom...buying precious time with every new breath I can manage to obtain.
Fortunately for me...my next experience is still in this world...as my cousin and fishing partner grabs me by my shirt collar...and pulls me towards the shallower water.
I have already forgotten about my rod that I clutch in my hand...as I struggle to regain my footing...the stringer still loosely wrapped around both my feet.
He takes the rod from my hand...and swims both of us over to where I could now touch bottom.
He helps me untangle myself...as I wade wearily over to the rivers edge...still gripping his arm.
I crawl on my hands and knees in the foot deep eddy...and get myself up onto the mud bank.
I collapse into the mud...gasping for air...still not in control of the panic I experienced only seconds previous.
As I lie there...I puke up the rancid river water I had inhaled...and find myself drifting off to sleep on the riverbank as my cousin walks back to the truck to come and get me.
I slept for 30 minutes in the mud...as my cousin stood there fishing and watching over me.
The preceding was a true story. I damn near bought the farm and met my maker that spring day back in 1993.
While it was nothing I did that equaled my survival that particular day...I later learned how to avoid such a situation.
1. Stay heads up about the rising water level...even if it's rising only inches an hour...it all adds up.
2. Be aware from previous the onset of an emergency situation that if trouble arises...drop the high dollar rod you're packing...it's NOT worth your life.
3. Wear a side sheathed knife in order to cut yourself free if need be from that stringer or any other other items you're tangled in...such as an anchor cord or discarded fishing line in the water. Once again...even the biggest stringer is not worth your life.
4. Stay cool and try not to panic...your most valuable weapon in this circumstance is your mind.
5. NEVER wear rubber boots or waders in water where you very well might take a dunk. You might as well have cinder blocks attached to your feet.
6. If you get in over your head...ASSUME THE POSITION...float on your back...feet pointed downstream to avoid any collisions with hard objects that might knock you un-conscious.
7. Time your breathing...take gasps of air at the bottom of a wave trough...rather than the peak...when you are fixing to get pulled back under.
8. Scout for an out...avoid obstacles you could get tangled in...log jams, strainer grates, ect. and actively search for calmer water...such as an eddy or inside river bend.
9. Go with the flow. As the current carries you...paddle with your hands and kick with your feet as you aim towards slower water at the edge. When you get closer...roll onto your stomach and swim upstream at a 45 degree angle...which will take you towards the shore.
In hindsight...I blew it...had that been 20' of water rather than the 10' where I could still kick up to the surface...I panicked...and probably wouldn't be alive today. (Even tho I am a strong swimmer)
Wade fishing is a blast...and I still do it to this day...but ONLY with a brand new outlook on water and current.
The river will teach you RESPECT...but without a calm, cool, and collective response...you may not survive the lesson. :wink: