Sounds like you had quite the time. I have always had trouble with fast currents. I only weight around 140 so even a light current will float me away without a wading stick. (yes it has happened). Glad you made it out alive and well.
John Bennett Lifetime Products, Inc. Direct: (801) 513-9001 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [cid:[email protected]] From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Niclas Runarsson Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 2:26 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [VFB] Wading experience... I have just come home from a nice week of grayling fishing in the northern Swedish river Hårkan... with a wading experience richer. The only "wader dip" I had before this was in White River 2006. That one must have been in the America's Funniest Home Videos league. Tony can testify on that. Water that's hardly moving... barely one foot deep... with a gravel bottom flat as a pancake... stumble on virtually nothing and landing on my chest. This time the water was waist deep though and pushing quite hard. The bottom was rocky and far from wading friendly (and I had been close to fall several times during the week). It wasn't a "without wading stick" place (at least not to me, who is a careful dude). I heard the sound of a fish rising to my left and when I quickly turned my head to see where it was I felt a sligtht sign of losing balance. So I took a little step backwards... maybe 5-6"... slipped and fell backwards... and suddenly I was under the water. After fighting a couple of seconds I managed to turn around so I had my toes facing the stones and when I got a grip between the stones the stream towards my chest "helped" me to get up again. I turned to get up from the water and in the very next step I slipped again and fell face down. This time it didn't come as the same shock kind of thing as the first fall and I was able to actually THINK about how to get up, so I got back up standing without major problem. I looked down and was going to reach for my wading stick and saw that the left pocket in my chest pack was empty... just as empty as the left big vest pocket. Downstream I saw three boxes getting smaller... a big compartment/slit foam box with dry flies, a slit foam box (swing leaf) of the same size with nymphs and another slit foam box with soft hackle flies. I had packed my boxes with flies before this trip, so there were more than a couple of flies disappearing there... and instincts took over. I started to run downstream (as fast as you can, jumping on rocks with water up to your waist). The water got deeper though and when it reached just below my chest I stumbled and fell again. I had just reached the boxes, but at the same time I also reached a hole where it suddenly got much deeper. Trying to stand up again wasn't on the menu anymore and I started to swim. Swimming with the rod in one hand and 'catching' all three boxes was impossible. I knew that much. So I started to hit them one by one to get them upstream and closer to land. Then I swam a bit towards land myself until they reached me and it was time for the next "hit/swim" move again. After a couple of times repeating this I was at a depth where I could stand up again and just collecting the boxes coming towards me... and finally focus on leaving the water. The night before this I had landed my (by far) largest grayling after a long fight on a #3 rod and in fast moving water,,, but I still think this was the took the prize as the "adventure of the trip". How I actually managed to salvage all three boxes and the rod (and myself) is beyond me. I must have had Him on my side. But you can't have anything. Back in the wind shelter we sat by the fire and I had changed into some reserve clothing and my wading jacket that I didn't wore when I fell. My soaking wet fleece sweater was hanging on a nail on the wall... right above my opened backpack. The water was dripping RIGHT down in the pocket where I kept the cellphone... and that was the end of his adventure. :oP So, what have I learned from this trip? *Be careful where you put your feet in the water. (I already knew that, so it was more of a reminder.) But keep your pockets closed. Careful or not... eventually you will still fall. Having given the extra second to close the pocket after putting the box back down can turn out to be worth both the time and the effort. *When you have fallen, gotten up and are sitting there happy over still being alive and not having lost anything... it doesn't have to be over. Luck can turn quicker than you can imagine. Just because you keep stuff on land to keep it safe from the water doesn't have to mean that it's actually safe from the water. ;o) /Nick (Attached: 'drying_table.jpg') ________________________________________________________________________ This email has been proactively scanned for all known and unknown viruses. 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