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RedBeard

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Posts posted by RedBeard

    Salt water wading footwear

    in Ask the Pros

    Posted

    1 hour ago, jgib01 said:

    How do the Orvis ones fit for width?  I have a pretty wide foot, to the point of having difficulty finding regular shoes at times.  4E runners are my go to these days.

    Pataguccis are out for sure for me, but maybe the Simms.   Who in Cowtown carries these?  Might be able to make it up there before our trip at Easter, and I would like to try something on before I buy.

    I picked up a pair at troutfitters

    • Like 1

    Winter Fishing Article: Yesterday was almost the last day of my life

    in General Chat - Fishing Related

    Posted

    Read this if you plan on winter fishing, even if you're the most confident wader.

     

    https://www.hatchmag.com/articles/yesterday-was-almost-last-day-my-life/7714521

     

    Editor's note: This story, originally from 2014, should serve as a reminder of the dangers that all rivers pose, especially in extreme conditions. Be safe out there.


    I have a cautionary tale I’d like to share. Forgive me for not painting a more eloquent picture, but everything is still a bit too real, and raw, to gussy it up with pretty writing.

    Yesterday was January 2, 2014. It was also very nearly the last day of my life.

    I drove down to the Missouri River on New Years Day — Wednesday, the 1st — hoping to take advantage of the 40 degree weather and test a bunch of fly fishing gear. I spent most of the afternoon on the river, and despite the cold water temps — it was in the 33 to 34 degree range — I had solid fishing and the opportunity to check out a number of new rods, reels, waders, jackets, packs, etc.

    For those of you who don’t know the Missouri, it’s a big, wide, open river near the tiny Montana towns of Wolf Creek and Craig. It deserves respect — as does any big river — but it’s not the kind of water that typically gets people in trouble. Yesterday was a little different.

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    There’s a good-sized island I like to fish upstream from the Wolf Creek Bridge. At low water levels — and the river is low right now — I can wade out to the island and then hit the productive water all around. Yesterday I waded out to the island and walked downstream to the very bottom end. There was another angler fishing the slot where I’d usually start, so I went down below him, making sure to leave him plenty of room. I started casting a G Loomis 10’ 7-weight with a sink tip line and a new streamer pattern I’ve been playing around with.

    There was a fair amount of ice in the lee of the island, sitting in shallow, protected water and anchored to the shore. I can’t tell you exactly how big that hunk of ice was — maybe 50’ by 50’, the size of a big house — but I waded around it and fished my way down the submerged bar that extends below the island.

    The fishing was actually pretty good. I landed three nice rainbows, lost another, and missed at least four or five other strikes. I was casting down and across to both sides, and swinging the streamer across the current almost as if I was fishing for steelhead. There was faster, deeper water to my left, and slower, deeper water to my right, and I was a little over waist deep — about as far downstream as it was safe for me to go — when something hit me from behind right in the small of my back.

    I turned around, and I saw that the entire ice sheet on the bottom of the island had broken free and was drifting slowly downstream, blown by the wind. I glanced left, glanced right, and realized that I was pretty well dead-centered, with nowhere to go and deep water all around. I tried to hold the ice back, but I couldn’t. Then I tried to climb on to the ice sheet, but it broke underneath me. That was when the reality really hit home — I was screwed. I’d have to swim 100 yards or so in my waders and fishing gear, or I was going to drown.

    It’s all still a little surreal, to be honest. I was bobbing downstream, ice water slowly slipping in past my wading belt and filling my waders, trying to swim and realizing that I was getting colder by the second — and that it’s damn hard to swim in waders and a heavy, wet jacket. I kept thinking about my son Kian, and about how if I didn’t make it to shore, he was going to grow up without a father. I went under once or twice, but I came back up and kept going. I felt myself slipping away, and I fought to keep pushing, to keep going, knowing that there weren’t any second chances waiting around the bend.

    I was maybe 6 or 7 yards from shore when I hit the wall. I just couldn’t go any further. I sank — and ended up on a little underwater lip that extended out into the deep slot. I pushed myself toward the bank, and then just sat there with my head just out of the water until I caught my breath. I tried to stand, but couldn’t, so I crawled toward the shore and finally shoved myself upright. I staggered a couple steps, but I couldn’t go any further. My waders, pack and jacket were full of water, and I was so cold and tired that I couldn’t do anything but lie down on the shoreline rocks and gasp for air.

    The gentleman who was fishing above me saved my life. He came down and got me up on my feet. He told me that I had to move; and that I was likely to become hypothermic if I didn’t get warm soon. My cognitive functions were already shutting down, but that particular line struck me as sort of funny. I didn’t say anything, at least not that I’m aware of, but I thought to myself that I was well past “might become hypothermic.” Truth to tell, I was about as hypothermic as I’d ever care to be.

    In any case, I grabbed his shoulders and we went up the steep bank as best as we could; him pulling and cajoling, me with my heart racing and gasping for air. We stopped every few steps so I could catch my breath, but I just didn’t have it in me — about two thirds of the way up the hill, my legs gave out.

    I undid my wading belt, but we couldn’t get the 50 pounds of ice water out of my waders. After a second or two, we decided to pull off the waders and boots. I couldn’t help. My fingers didn’t work, and I was completely out of gas. The other angler took over and, after a little semi-incoherent coaching on my part — I have the impression that he’d never used the BOA lacing system before — he pulled off my wading boots and waders. Then he told me to wait and he ran to get his car.

    I got up a minute or two later, struggled up to the top of the hill, crawled through a barbed wire fence, and made it into the car that was just pulling up.

    He gave me a ride to my truck, which was maybe a half mile away, and made sure I was able to strip off my clothes and get the truck going. I climbed inside, cranked the heat, and sat there naked for about an hour and a half while I slowly warmed back up. I have vague recollections of a handful of other anglers checking on me — I suspect that I’m now known as “the naked guy sitting in his truck at the fishing access site” — and all I can say is that I’m truly grateful to everyone who stopped and offered to help. Their concern means more to me than they’ll ever know.

    So why am I sharing this particular story today, roughly 28 hours after I went for my swim? For two reasons:

    First, I want to offer a very public “Thank You!” to the angler who helped me out when I was in my moment of need. I never caught his name, but I’m seriously in his debt.

    Second, if you ever find yourself fishing a river where there’s ice around, please, please, please be extra careful. I should have left myself a safe place to exit if a problem floated down from above me. I didn’t. Don’t make that same mistake. Just because there’s no snow on the bank, or ice floating by on a regular basis, doesn’t mean that you're safe, or that something crazy can’t happen.

    • Like 1

    Salt water wading footwear

    in Ask the Pros

    Posted

    I've been pretty intensely researching this stuff so I'll throw in my $0.02

    Booties: best for sand, grass, sporadic coral flats. Do not use on coral reefs or shell bed flats (sole is too thin and will wear out in one trip). Great for the "permit at 100ft, throw your booties on and jump out" shots.
    Patagonia booties - v nice boots, but fit narrower, tighter up top and lets less gets in, sole thinner than simms
    Simms booties - wider, best fit for my foot, thick sole but ankle is more loose than the patagonias which would allow material to get in. would wear socks inside these if I had them

    Shoes: Only for coral or sharp bottom wading. not recommended for boat to flats transitions. OK for all day sand flat wading but get heavy.

    Given all of this.. I had low top water shoes from previous trips and I bought MEC neoprene sock booties and wore that combo in Belize/Mex. Worked fantastic and didn't allow any sand in the high top neoprenes. It was a good temporary fix, but I'll need better footwear for the next trip
     

    • Thanks 1

    Swinging Setup

    in Spey Casters Lounge

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Kodak101 said:

    Good to know! I'll start out swinging some standard wet flies and soft hackles to get the casting down and keep the dungeons on my single-handed rods. How do you find your 7wt handles trout on the bow RedBeard?

    Good! I have a moderate action 7wt and the bow river trout put a great bend in the rod! As good as a small steelhead does!

    • Thanks 1

    Swinging Setup

    in Spey Casters Lounge

    Posted

    Just a heads up from another rookie, I went down your path about a year ago settling on a 13' 7wt spey to ease throwing big dungeons on the bow. I am certainly not a great double hand caster but immediately hated throwing a heavy streamer with my spey rod. I stopped using dungeons on my spey rod because it was so clunky and frankly pretty difficult to throw for a beginner in the two hand world. This was with a 540 grain head & 10' of T-8. Plus I was pretty put off by how those big hooked dungeons can mess up a little fish.. 

    I now prefer unweighted or lightly weighted flies and vary my depths by changing sink tips. Caught some monster fish this way too.

    SeanD on here even started tying unweighted dungeons for his spey rod and he loves it.

    Just wanted to caution you that while these big skagit heads were made to turn over gigantic, heavy intruders, it's no prettier than single hand chuck and ducking and you very easily could still get a hook in the back of the head on a windy day if you set your anchor on the wrong side of your body or flub a cast

    • Thanks 1
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