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Wading Safely

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safely wading
28K views 50 replies 28 participants last post by  zimno1 
#1 ·
Don't wade in the surf just because you have waders on. Fish in the area will most likely be spooked by your appearing as they hear very well and can pick you up within a long distance. First cast in the direction of the oncoming surf and let the fly or jig ride in the longshore current (more on this later). When wading, have respect for other anglers (not easy as some have no respect for you) as your presence can effect the fishing as it can disturb the surroundings by stirring up bottom/rocky areas are a crunching sound reverberating in water spooking fish and just plain inconsiderate overall. You should shuffle your feet and feel the floor of the area you are wading in as to keep from stepping in soft mud/drop-offs/tires/pilings/etc. Especially at night when you can;t see in water below you. Remember, if you hit a soft spot and lean your weight into your step you can't readily back off once you are committed. And this leads me to your wading belt. Probably the most important item you have. a strobe/.flare/all these items for added safety go out the window when you are in over your head and panic to stay afloat (will touch on this in a minute) You have a wading belt but it is around your waist correct? Well it should be higher around your chest area to let the least amount of water into them as possible should you go down, as you are in most cases always up to your chest in water at one point or another for any given outing (which is a bad idea but we are invincible remember?) phew! run on sentence! A belt up on your chest is goofy looking yes" but bear in mind when you venture out on your own you need every advantage for safety at your disposal. Many a life has been lost to vanity and ignorance. Can you say KORKERS? what>? no safety footwear? better get some!
Know the limits to fast water and turbulent surf. Once you are above the knees in water you run the risk of getting jammed up. You become more buoyant and have considerably less traction here. Keep your body sideways to the current or surf, you don't want the force of waves hitting you directly face forward and especially facing the beach with your back to the surf. There is a point where you will know your limits so adhere to your instincts and not at the prospect of an "oh so close body of fish". Lean into current or surf a bit as if you lose your balance the surf or current will push you upright instead of OFF YOUR FEET but this is a balance issue which will vary with each set of circumstance and individual height/weight/ and coordination factor. leaning forward into anything is just as bad if you are not in a good position to begin with.
as the day wears on you think you are ready for anything when truth be told your anything but. You could be more fatigued and are most suceptable(?) to accident or injury or both. Fighting current and surf all day can take it;s toll (especially on us older folks) yea, i am gettin there. Plan your routes to avoid obstacles that are here in this thread and be safe. Any areas that have less strenuous wading and footing can still be hazardous.
Practice swimming with your waders on in a pool (with a friend). If you ever get turned on your keester you will know that you are prepared for a self rescue. If you fall in or swept off your feet, turn on your back and make like a drift boat - your feet become the bow - your head the stern - your arms the oars. backstroke into the current and stroke towards shoreline in a straight line and wait till your close enough to try and stand. Get out of the cold water as soon as possible. It won't take long for hypothermia to set in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermia
Remember, don;t lose or (almost lose) your life for your tackle!!! If your rod/reel should be separated from you in the event of a fall don't be foolish and try and retrieve it if it means a dunking as you could wind up a statistic. Be safe out there this season folks and a phenomenal season to you all, Zim
 
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#34 ·
not specifically a rip it was eluding to in that situation. but, if you were in a rip you'd be in a world of chit with waders on. see, most of us won't be caught dead fishing where there is a chance of being caught in a rip like that. you'll see guys fishing jetties with wader pants and not booted waders as they won't fill and suck you out and under. crazy as it sounds, your best fishing will be where the rip is and there's no shortage of knuckleheads who THINK they know how to fish it. great observation as it wasn't specific to a condition.
 
#35 ·
The wet suit craze has hit almost every one. The benefits are they float you. Make sure you pick the right thickness 3,5, or 7 millimeters. The thicker the warmer. By november I use 7. Better to be warmer than risk hypothermia.
waders & a dry top are great but they're not for me in big water or rips. I love waders in calm to moderate surf. If i don't feel safe i go for my wetsuit. A pfd was also mentioned, Mustang Survival makes great stuff. it has a whistle sown in to it. i will wear an inflatable PFD over a wetsuit in certain situations. In situations where being swept away is a concern I'll keep force fins slung over my shoulder with a rope.
Korkers are a must, but so is a sharp knife with a lanyard. A back up knife is also a great idea because 2 is one & 1 is none in a tight spot.
At night a strobe light is essential or at least a pair of glow sticks.
princton tec makes an eco flare & under water kinetics has a dependable head light.
never fish tired or above your comfort level.
Best Wishes & Be Safe!
 
#36 ·
if i'm liable to get washed out then i'd just say F#@* it..and skish with frank and melnyk..(or not) left a spot this week after yanking out some goon from the water. if i had the wit about me i'd have taken pics of his facial expression. you won't find me in charitable moods that often and since i'm not getting any younger?? i'd opt to let someone else lend a hand. there is no shortage of fun people out there making things interesting that's for sure..



 
#37 ·
zim, HE's ALIVE. Good to see ya on here man, haven't seen much from ya in the last couple months. How ya hittin 'em down your way, is your fall run over yet? We hit them pretty good up here in September and then things just fell off after the inclement weather and yada yada yada.
 
#39 ·
Hi, I'm a new guy here, but, I'd like to add my thoughts to this post. A good manual deploying flotation device might be a good idea. Unless there's something I didn't think of that makes it a no no... They are fairly
comfortable to wear...I'm sure you can tell I mostly fish from a boat, I do sometimes play in the surf. Great Post on surf safety!!!
 
#40 ·
Most Dangerous place on LI

Lots of people want fish the most treacherous spot on Long Island.
they go out at low tide & don't expect the tide to rush in so fast.
Others tempt fate & go out during the ebb not realizing that all of the water in that part of the sound is rushing through their legs! It can reach almost 5 mph during full & new moons.
Many people get rescued here.
Yet many come & tempt fate!
Fly rodders with waders & chest packs, men without korkers.
When you arrive there.... expect everything to go wrong because it will.
if your not in a wetsuit & don't have fins or the ability to swim for your life for 60 minutes in the heaviest current on L.I.
FORGET IT!
no fish is worth your life.
 

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#42 ·
Sad News from Newport

A rich life is suddenly swept away
Gary Mathias, noted chef at Newport restaurant, dies doing what he loved: Fishing
By DONITA NAYLOR JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Gary Mathias, a chef at Newport's Brick Alley Pub, loved to fish, and some mornings he would fry up his catch, maybe "a big, huge striped bass," and everyone in the kitchen "would have at it …," said Matthew Plumb, son of the pub's founders.
"We'd eat them right here, before we opened," Plumb said. The fish was, "like, an hour old."
Plumb spoke Wednesday afternoon as he and the restaurant staff coped with the news that Mathias, 48, of Ports-mouth, died Wednesday morning doing what he loved.
At around 4 a.m., Middletown police got a 911 call about a fisherman who had been swept off the rocks at Sachuest Point. Middletown police Sgt. Mark Minnella tried to swim out with a lifeline, the department's news release said, but rough surf prevented him from reaching Mathias.
A Middletown Fire Department boat reached the floating but unresponsive man and brought him to the Third Beach boat ramp, where Newport Rescue per- sonnel started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was taken to Newport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Ralph and Pat Plumb founded the Newport pub in 1980, and Mathias started in 1989, when Matthew Plumb was still a child.
"He taught me a lot," said Plumb, now in his 30s. "When I was learning all the different areas of the restaurant, I spent a lot of time following him around, listening to him. Now, it's more like an exchange of ideas."
Plumb described Mathias as a health-conscious, physically fit man who, in the winter, would go to the gym before 6 a.m.
"If it wasn't something like this," Plumb said, "he's the kind of guy who would live to about 95."
"There hasn't been a dry eye," said Kim Napolitano, the pub's waitstaff manager and a guidance counselor at Durfee High School in Fall River. "It's a very big emotional loss for us."
She said her Facebook page "has been flooded with messages" from people around the country who worked with Mathias at some point in their careers. And purveyors have been calling with condolences.
"We've got a big family down here," said Plumb, "Once you're part of the family, whether you've been in six months or 25 years, it's the same."
"Everybody did a good job of pulling together today and helping each other out," he said.
Mathias supervised a kitchen staff of about 25, did most of the food ordering and quality control, and collaborated with the elder Plumb on what the restaurant served, Napolitano said. He helped create almost every item on the menu.
Mathias was one of three chefs featured on this week's cover of the Newport Mercury, for a story on New-port Restaurant Week, which begins Friday. He died before he could see the free weekly all over town. It came out Wednesday morning.
He was included in the "Taste of Newport" cookbook, published in 2008, with the recipe for Brick Alley Crabcakes, and in 2006, the 50th anniversary issue of Bon Appetit magazine reprinted his recipe for Brick Alley's Clams Portuguese as one of only 25 recipes that defined their decades.
In 2006, the Journal featured Mathias in Chef's Secret and printed the clam recipe and one for Portuguese Cod, both of which call for chourico, a sausage from Mathias' Portuguese heritage.
Mathias grew up on a farm in Portsmouth, went to the University of Rhode Island and earned his master's degree in English, Plumb said.
If he wasn't working or spending time with his daughter, 16, or his girlfriend, Plumb said, he would be fishing, and the rocks off Sachuest Point Wildlife Refuge "was one of his favorite spots."
"He was doing something he really loved," Napolitano said. "It was his passion." dnaylor@providencejournal.com
 
#43 ·
Thanks for posting that here, Adam. I hadn't seen that particular article yet. My thoughts and prayers go out to Mathias and his family. :icon_sad: I fished those rocks quite often this season, and it can definitely get hairy down there. Be safe everyone.
 
#44 ·
all i know is if one person reads this stuff and is made aware and responsible then i'd be happy. but when your dealing with mother nature? your at the mercy of the laws of average and the laws of nature. again i have to pass on condolences and although i'm an advocate for safety and self preservation.... i have trembled at near catastrophic instances where i was all knowing of the consequences. a prize plug lost on an errant cast was in reaching distance of my rod. i ventured all too close to the edge of the deepest part of the ridge and with water up to my chest and current trying to pull me sideways? my rod tip locked onto one of the trebbles. i retrieved my prize plug and backed to the rocks shaking like a leaf... i called a good friend to explain what happened only to realize how close i came to disaster for a freaking plug... i mean..... a plug??? i was alone and felt the need to throw caution to the wind. so it's my belief that although we know all too well of the dangers we subject ourselves to on any given day? we are human and can very well change our minds and make the most trivial of the most unpredictable..... what i'm really trying to say is.. although we know danger lurks? we have this bulletproof little man on our shoulder saying "gee zim, seems pretty simple to me - or - a real man would just climb out on that jetty and take the punishing surf like a man..... you know,, stuff like that... it's the moment we are faced with a smart/intelligent and clear sober thought of the situation that takes precidence over our inate and ingrained manly man intelect that causes us to make decisions that can sometimes neer avert disaster. hope i have made another contribution to this thread.. (or not)



 
#47 ·
Holiday Miracle in Jersey!

A letter that was shared from a Blessed surf caster in NJ from this weekend:

My name is Todd Maiorano and I am able to write this note today beacause of the efforts of many of the members of the Berkeley Striper Club this past weekend. I was fishing off a bar in IBSP and quickly found where the end of the bar was. I was washed off by a wave and the current and was unable to make it back. As I began to drift further out to sea, fear set in as I witnessed the surfcasters on the beach getting further away. With the effects of the cold water and the weight of my wet clothes and waders that were beginning to fill, I honestly feel I only had a few more minutes left in me to fight. Unable to swim back, I can't tell you the thoughts that were going through my mind, but can say they are not ones you ever want to know or feel.

I was saved by many anglers on the beach that day and I am told they were all members of your club. Because of them, my three young children will have a daddy to watch over them and I will be able to grow old with my lovely wife. I was given a second chance....and am very thankful.

There are no words I can say that can express my gratitude towards these individuals. Please share my note with them and wish them well.

Fellow Surfcaster,
Todd Maiorano
 
#48 ·
As fishermen/surfcasters I'm sure a lot of us can relate to stories like these, God knows I can. I'm glad you were brought to safety and will be able to hug your kids agin, there is nothing more important in life than that my friend. Be safe out there, no fish is worth your life!!!!
 
#49 ·
As a newbie to surf fishing I have to say that this info (thanks Zim and others) is indispensable and the various accounts of experiences help to make it real.

One other bit I'll add for all us newbies is that if there are others fishing in the area and you think there is a position on the jetty or beach that would be a perfect spot to fish from, ask yourself "Why is no one else fishing from that position?"

I have a very healthy fear of drowning, but I once stepped off the eat side jetty at Moriches Inlet onto the inlet side. I did step down carefully and within two steps I realized that this was not "normal sand". I had not put my weight down fully and was stlll able to tell that this was going to suck me down.

I don't believe I was in any particular danger because I was really cautious and chose to back out immeiately. But I thought to myself as I climbed back over the jetty to the beach "Ahh, so that's why no one is fishing over there."
 
#51 ·
As if it weren't dangerous enough out there? I was fishing the other night. Caught three schoolies 30-35"" then a really nice clean healthy fish that begged me to take her home. I stressed this fish as it was a long fight to ensure i'd land it. As i was suspect this fish would not survive? I let it go and 15 or 20 min. Later it was on it's side. I really felt like chit trying to cast and try and snag it to then perhaps take it home butttttt...mother nature had her own idea about that. As the fish was going out with the tide the water was laid down and like a sheet of glass. I could see the dead beeotch along the channel edge another 20 min more gone by. When a large wake of water pushed the bass. Then two side to side motions of a wake. Then another push of water and the bass was gone and the water went back to being a sheet of glass. No seal that's for sure. So once again i am all by myself at three in the morning and really spooked. My night was done.. but the vision will ALWAYS be on my mind at that location thats for sure. Moral of the story? Don't kill fish. And don't get killed.



 
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