Safety Tips

[Fish Bones]

Safety Tip

If you should fall into deep, slow water, crawl or sidestroke at a downstream angle towards the shore. In fast, boulder-stewn runs, float on your back with your legs pointed toward obstructions to cushion the blow while backstroking at an up-stream angle. If you cannot steer around a long jam, turn onto your stomach and vault on top of it to avoid being swept underneath. (Field & Stream, May, 2005)

 

[fyshstykr]

***BUMP***

With all the new people on here now maybe this thread will take off, besides with a new season upon us a refresher never hurts.

If floating a river and hitting an object sideways with the boat, "NEVER" go to the "low"(upstream) side of the boat, this can/will force the side down in the current and can potentially swamp the boat.
Instead go to the "high side"(downstream) and push the boat away from the obstacle.

 

[fyshstykr]

If you have your wife in the boat with you, never put her in the rear of the boat if you don't plan on sleeping on the couch.

 

[MTskibum]

Always wear your shades :shades:

 

[Fly2Fish]

If you have your wife in the boat with you, never put her in the rear of the boat if you don't plan on sleeping on the couch.

What if you have both your wife and girlfriend in the boat?:wink:

 

[fyshstykr]

That would be called living on the edge brotha!!

 

[Davo]

What if you have both your wife and girlfriend in the boat?:wink:

If you are referring to the SAME boat I hope you are not in the rowers seat. Unless of course you are referring to your wifes girlfriend. Even then you got GUTS!!

 

[fyshstykr]

Here's one that happened on the Henrys' Fork a few years ago.

A couple fellas were floating with a guide and decided it was time for a lunch break, they had lunch and one of the guys decided to lite up a cigar afterwords for desert, while the other two went looking for bank feeders, After he was done with it, he ground out the cigar on the stump he was sittin on, and went looking for fish up the river bank.

A little while later they noticed that the old stump was smoking and starting to flame up, luckily the guide was quick enough to grab his baling bucket from the boat and extinguish the fire before it ignited anything else.

It could have had truly tragic results, as Island Park has been lucky enough not to have any big fires in several years. Knock on wood...

So if you smoke, make sure and put it out in such a way as to not have something like this happen. And please take your butts with you.

 

[FrankB2]

Wear a PFD of some sort when boating. I managed to flip my canoe last
summer. I was trying to pick a fly off a tree branch, and the water depth
dropped to 15 feet at this spot. My wife was hit on the head by the canoe's
gunwale, and while not injured, she was dazed and confused long enough
to have gone under . Instead of getting my fly out of the tree, I managed to loose my wife's rod, reel and line. While we sat on a nearby rock
drying off, it took me nearly 45 minutes to convince her that the whole thing
was her fault !

 

[Fly2Fish]

. . . it took me nearly 45 minutes to convince her that the whole thing
was her fault !

Frank, never mind the convincing :wink: , consider yourself lucky that she fishes with you (I assume she cleans the fish). :lol2:

 

[FrankB2]

She doesn't clean fish, wash dishes (or clothes), cook or clean her own plate, set up her rod, etc. She does paddle, and makes a lot of money...LOL!
I told her that if she hadn't been laughing at the idea of saving a home-tied fly, the canoe wouldn't have become unstable:icon_twis .

Same goes for our sailboat. She doesn't help make it ready to sail (it's in a
slip, so no big deal), but she does hold the helm for hours. She doesn't help empty the head, but will help furl the sails, but it seems she's always down below when I'm ready for that . All things considered, she's a keeper :icon_cool !

 

[Frank Whiton]

Here are some safety tips for those who fish or hunt remotely. This tips are especially true in Alaska.

1. Don't rely on your guide or pilot or anyone else to save you in an emergency. Always have a match safe or flint in your pocket along with some parachute cord and a knife. The parachute cord is needed to make a spear or to splint a broken bone or to make a shelter. Don't carry these things in your vest or jacket unless you are wearing it at all times while in a boat or airplane. I always carried my emergency items in my coat besides the essential flint, parachute cord and knife in my pockets. You can never have too many matches or too much parachute cord.

2. Any time you fly in a bush plane have your coat or jacket on. If the worse happens and you crash, the plane may burst into flames and you won't have time to grab a coat or emergency supplies. A coat or jacket may make the difference in your survival if you are injured and others are not able to help you. Remember, be prepared to save yourself.

3. Check with your pilot about where the emergency equipment and food is stored in the plane. Make sure it is aboard. Find out how to turn on the EMT and where it is mounted.

4. If you are floating a wilderness make sure you have a personal emergency locater with you. The cost of these have come down quite a bit and they do save lives. Besides telling searchers where you are, it tell the authorities that you need help.

5. When camping remotely take a saw along for cutting wood. It is more efficient and much safer. Do not take an ax unless you are an expert and don't let anyone else use it. Cutting off a few toes or making a huge gash in your leg is not fun when you can't get help for several days. A small hatchet is good for kindling and survival if used safely.

6. Always take an emergency First Aid kit and make sure before the trip that it is fully stocked. Make sure you have some antibiotics along for serious injuries that may get infected.

Frank

 

[Deanona]

I'll add that you should always tell someone where you are going, and your approximate time of return.This will help in finding you more quickly, should you have a mishap.
Its also not a bad idea to learn basic survival skills(fire making,basic first aid,land navigation,ect ect), and practice them ahead of time,as they won't help if you can't actually do them for real.
Along with that, common sense will help you alot if you do encounter trouble,may even save you.Also never underestimate the situation, sure you may have fished a place tons of times, but you could still find trouble.:wink:
Ster

 

[FrankB2]

Here are some safety tips for those who fish or hunt remotely. This tips are especially true in Alaska.

1. Don't rely on your guide or pilot or anyone else to save you in an emergency.

Wise words, Frank! I know so many people sailing/boating in saltwater who's
only plan for an emergency is to call the Coast Guard. The same people tend
to venture beyond their ability and the capability of their boats, comforted
by the idea of the Coast Guard swooping in for a swift rescue. The USCG is
good, but they aren't everywhere at all times.

My sailboat has a lot of freeboard (sits high in the water), and because my
wife wouldn't be able to get me out of the water, I sail as if I were sailing alone: PFD and a safety harness. It might look like overkill on a larger
sailboat, and the gear hasn't been used in an actual emergency in over
20 years of sailing, but I'm not getting any younger either:wink: .

We do practice man overboard drills, and they're actually one of the more
exciting and challenging aspects of maunuevering a sailboat.