My Worst Decision Ever

[reevesr1]

Went fishing this morning with my son. We were in a back channel below Calgary. I was wading wet, but my son insisted on wearing my waders. We decided to cross the channel, and the max depth was like thigh high on me. It was tough, but doable for a 6 foot 2 inch 195 lb man. Not so doable for a 5 5 125 lb 14 yr old, without wading belt in his fathers breathables. As he was swept down the river and I was swimming after him, we both kept our cool and I got him back to shore pretty quickly. He was slightly shook, but made a comment on how we ruined the run and went down river in search of the next run, after pulling off the waders. I got to sit in contemplation of how stupid I am and how I could have killed my son. No wading belt? Are yoiu kidding? It was in my vest and I had not maed him put it on. Please everyone, try to exhibit more common sense than I did. I've learned my lesson as it literally scared me to tears. That is one big mean river we live next to. Treat it with respect.

[Taco]

NFS... http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=670

[Lawrence]

Scary man, I'm glad that everything turned out. Lesson learned

[dryfly]

Glad it turned out okay. Scary stuff.

[Weedy1]

Whoa, your heart must still be at 200 bpm. Good to hear everything was ok.

[toolman]

Rick...bad, bad, bad, bad...

Now, write a hundred lines that say,

 

"I will use caution when wading in rivers"

 

And do it in a post here at FFC.

[maxwell]

really happy u 2 are alright dude, shes a beast and will eat anything driftboats too...

[reevesr1]

Rick...bad, bad, bad, bad...

Now, write a hundred lines that say,

 

"I will use caution when wading in rivers"

 

And do it in a post here at FFC.

 

I will use caution when wading in rivers

 

I will not let me "familiarity" with non-flowing water influence my decision making in flowing water

I will remember that my first responsibility is as a father, not a fishing partner.

 

And the worst part was, super simple place to cross 100 yds down river.

[admin]

Scary, but glad to hear you and your boy kept cool. Accidents happen, and not panicing probably made a difference.

[ham]

Its good to hear you managed to catch him and pull back over. Its scary but lessons like that are sometimes needed before you really realize a mistake your making or already made.

[sjfries]

Rick, we are both really glad to hear that Ben is ok.

 

Shows what a true fisherman he is, after he was swept down the river he comments that the two of you ruined the run. Although Jackie probably does not share the same sentiment.

 

Steven.

[reevesr1]

Rick, we are both really glad to hear that Ben is ok.

 

Shows what a true fisherman he is, after he was swept down the river he comments that the two of you ruined the run. Although Jackie probably does not share the same sentiment.

 

Steven.

 

Hey Steven,

You are certainly correct on the Jackie angle. I wasn't even going to tell her, but since I lost my regular glasses in the swim, I figured I had to come clean.

 

Thanks for the comments! Shoot me a PM if you are ever available to get out.

[lonefisher]

So are you still allowed to take him fishing? That sounds like a really scary moment man, Glad to hear you both managed to make it back to shore safely....... I once put a fishing buddy in a tight spot like that I just looked and powered accross and the current was almost to much for me and and it picked him up and he ended up grabbing an overhanging tree right at the top of a deep fast run...... I never even noticed until I was on the bank and turned around to see he wasn't there. I was a little freaked until I saw him trying to climb out...... Your right though Rick we all need to think about everyone with us and everyone needs to recognize their own limits. Tell your son not to follow you if he see you doing something he can't handle.

[reevesr1]

So are you still allowed to take him fishing?

 

Wife is ok with it. She didn't even lecture me after hearing me tell the story and berate myself. Mother-in-law is in town. She wants a tether!

[rhuseby]

Nothing scarier than almost losing your kid. I'm really glad everything turned out well. My daughter is starting to fish with me and it's hard to always remember that she can't wade a lot of places I can. One thing to remember is that if you want to cross in a dubious place, use the linked arms technique, with the strongest person on the upstream side. They break the current and provide an anchorage for the weaker one.

[LynnF]

Wow Rick....glad everything turned out OK in the end, but even gladder that you've learned a valuable lesson from this. See...we're never too old to learn!

[Pipestoneflyguy]

Scary ! glad it worked out safely - glad you posted the occurance too, a great reminder for everyone here to stay diligent with safety measures.

[SanJuanWorm]

Glad everyone is ok. You guys did the right thing by not panicking.

[cdock]

Scary dude. Glad you and your son are alright. I just recently fell in a river for the first time ever. I felt a bit panicked. I had my belt on but man that water still gets in. I couldn't have imagined what would have happened if I didn't have it on. And guys, this was a small stream that looked very deceiving. It looked easy to cross and all it took was one small extra step I shouldn't have taken. It all happened within about 10 seconds but that's all it takes. Take the extra precaution no matter what stream or river. Think of it as your seatbelt. I've been wearing one since I've been 16 and I've never been in an accident but I still wear one because the day will come I will be in an accident and it may very well save my life. No different with your waders and belts guys. Happy and SAFE fishing to all.

[Brownstone]

Glad to hear no one was hurt..she's taught me a few valuable lessons over the years..way to keep your cool...

[pigl]

rickr,

 

I'm very glad that your son is alright. I think it says alot that he wanted to get right back into fishing and was worried about wrecking the run. I think you have a potential fly fishing addict on your hands.

 

My dad used to fish the Bow when I was a kid also. He would take me lake fishing and fishing on very small streams when I was younger, but at the time said he would never take me on to the Bow until I was older and stronger. By the time I got to your son's age, I had become one of those snotty teenagers that didn't appreciate fishing (or much to do with parents or my childhood activities) all that much, so I never did make it on to the Bow until I was in university and fishing on my own. It's only been within the past couple of years now (I'm 37 now) that my dad and I fish the Bow together and we have great times together now doing it.

 

I'm glad to hear that he's still ready to go out there and that your wife understands and supports your father/son fishing activities. There is nothing better for bringing dads and their kids together than fishing. After this, I would expect the two of you will be the safest fishermen on the river and have greatly reduced your chances of it ever happening again. Glad to hear the two of you are ok.

[reevesr1]

rickr,

 

I'm very glad that your son is alright. I think it says alot that he wanted to get right back into fishing and was worried about wrecking the run. I think you have a potential fly fishing addict on your hands.

 

My dad used to fish the Bow when I was a kid also. He would take me lake fishing and fishing on very small streams when I was younger, but at the time said he would never take me on to the Bow until I was older and stronger. By the time I got to your son's age, I had become one of those snotty teenagers that didn't appreciate fishing (or much to do with parents or my childhood activities) all that much, so I never did make it on to the Bow until I was in university and fishing on my own. It's only been within the past couple of years now (I'm 37 now) that my dad and I fish the Bow together and we have great times together now doing it.

 

I'm glad to hear that he's still ready to go out there and that your wife understands and supports your father/son fishing activities. There is nothing better for bringing dads and their kids together than fishing. After this, I would expect the two of you will be the safest fishermen on the river and have greatly reduced your chances of it ever happening again. Glad to hear the two of you are ok.

 

Pigl,

Not to change the subject, but fish with your dad as much as you can. I think you know that already. No telling how many times I fished with mine, but hundreds for sure, and now that I can't I miss it terribly.

 

Had a couple of close calls with him over the years. I always remembered how calm he stayed when things were going to crap. Now I know what it must have felt like to him! I told Ben after our event Saturday that since we both still had our rods, we were never really all that worried (or maybe not worried enough). Once my father and I got in over our heads, literally, in a big tide rip. We both thought it was funny at first, then realized it was a bit more serious than we thought as we were being swept down the beach. I didn't think it was that big a deal still, until he started to struggle a bit and chucked his rod (he was 55, I was 23) and when I saw that I knew things were really serious. So I chucked mine and swam over to help. We got out of trouble (he had tossed the rod to take his jeans off so he could swim better) and after we got home, we went to the local sporting goods shop (Academy for all you Southern boys) where he bought me a new rod and reel. Never said a word about it, but I knew what it meant.

[pigl]

Pigl,

Not to change the subject, but fish with your dad as much as you can. I think you know that already. No telling how many times I fished with mine, but hundreds for sure, and now that I can't I miss it terribly.

 

Had a couple of close calls with him over the years. I always remembered how calm he stayed when things were going to crap. Now I know what it must have felt like to him! I told Ben after our event Saturday that since we both still had our rods, we were never really all that worried (or maybe not worried enough). Once my father and I got in over our heads, literally, in a big tide rip. We both thought it was funny at first, then realized it was a bit more serious than we thought as we were being swept down the beach. I didn't think it was that big a deal still, until he started to struggle a bit and chucked his rod (he was 55, I was 23) and when I saw that I knew things were really serious. So I chucked mine and swam over to help. We got out of trouble (he had tossed the rod to take his jeans off so he could swim better) and after we got home, we went to the local sporting goods shop (Academy for all you Southern boys) where he bought me a new rod and reel. Never said a word about it, but I knew what it meant.

 

rickr,

 

It sounds like your fishing experiences with your Dad were very special. The unspoken replacement of your rod and reel is a very touching story. You should consider writing a few stories about your Dad into a short story or two - they sound like the kinds of experiences that are worth preserving in writing (I'm sure there are a few good stories about the "Don't leave fish to find fish" signature that you use).

 

I am taking my three little sons to fish with my Dad in BC this weekend for the first time. We'll see if we can't get 3 generations of flyfishing addicts established!

 

Again, glad to hear that you and Ben are ok and I'm sure you will now be the safest waders on the river.

[kungfool]

Tough lesson learned buddy. I'm glad to hear your son is ok. Don't beat yourself up about this too badly. I'm sure your a great father and accidents happen to the best of us.

 

I also want to thank you for making this post. By coming here and admitting to something that I'm sure most would be too embarrassed to do just to warn the rest of us shows a lot of character. I have been considering taking my older son who is 9 to the bow this year. Who knows, your post may have saved his life too since just reading yours shook me up.

[reevesr1]

Pigl,

Thanks. Actually more stories than you could imagine! Maybe I will write some of them up. It's pretty cathartic (I probably spelled that wrong) for me.

 

Funny story about the "never leave fish to find fish". He did say that, quite a bit actually. But to him, it applied to everyone but himself. He was absolutely the worst for leaving when the fishing slowed even a little bit. He was the ultimate quick strike fisherman. Get in, get out, next. But had no problem chastising me or my brother if we did the same! Sort of a do as I say not as I do thing with him!