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Falling in


gozzer

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Chesters post about his unplanned bath in his local stream got me thinking about similar things I've witnessed in my angling years.

I haven't actually fallen in, yet, (he said hastily touching the nearest piece of wood), a few near misses, but not an actual 'fall in'. I remember once fishing a favourite stretch of the R Ure, and one foot slipping into the river. I managed to throw myself forward and grab both a bank stick and my box. I hung on with one leg in the water nearly to the top of my waders, (I wore waders because we had to walk through long dew soaked grass to get to the river), and my other leg more or less at a right angle along the bank. I hung there for what seemed an age, trying to get a foothold with my immersed foot, but not being able to find anything to get any purchase on. I then realised that the bank was undercut, and could possibly collapse at any time. My shouts for help to my mates went unheeded as I tried to pull myself back onto the bank.  Fortunately, it was many years ago, and I was younger, stronger, and considerably lighter, than today, and slowly managed to pull myself in a position where I could roll onto the bank. As I laid there shaking slightly, and feeling exhausted, I remembered the undercut bank beneath me, and gingerly moved myself and my tackle out of harms way. I came back later that day to lay-on next to the undercut, which was about 10ft deep, (fishing from a safe distance upstream), and caught some decent perch. I caught well from it on each visit that season, but the next season, following the winter floods, I found the whole lot had collapsed into the river. 

 A session on the R Wharfe at Boston Spa, saw my mate have an amusing, if nearly fatal 'fall in'. We were fishing a swim that could be tackled in two ways. There was a slack behind a bush, that I was fishing from the bank, and as it was fairly shallow above the bush, (knee deep), my mate waded out , and trotted down the edge of the slack. We had shared the same swims so often, and knew each other so well, that we rarely had trouble, and often had our floats inches apart trotting down a swim. We were both catching steadily, when I heard a shout, a splash, and saw his float being jerked back upstream. I stood up and couldn't see him over the top of the bush, so walked round to have a look. As I rounded the bush I saw something like a scene from Arthurian legends. There was an arm sticking out of the water, holding a rod and reel aloft! I dashed into the water and grabbed the arm and pulled my mate up, and dragged him to the shallower water. He had been stupid enough to wade out without using a stick to test the river bed, thinking that because we both had fished the swim many times before, he 'knew' it well enough. The gravel bed had been moved by the current, and there was a sudden drop off he hadn't seen, and slid down, causing him to fall length ways into over three foot of water. When we'd got him on the bank, lit a fire, hung most of his clothes over a tree branch, let him dry himself on a collection of groundbait cloths/towels, and dressed him in bits of spare clothing we had, including maggot bags for socks, and a large waterproof mac', he grinned and said 'at least I kept my new reel dry'.

John.

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Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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2 hours ago, gozzer said:

Chesters post about his unplanned bath in his local stream got me thinking about similar things I've witnessed in my angling years.

I haven't actually fallen in, yet, (he said hastily touching the nearest piece of wood), a few near misses, but not an actual 'fall in'. I remember once fishing a favourite stretch of the R Ure, and one foot slipping into the river. I managed to throw myself forward and grab both a bank stick and my box. I hung on with one leg in the water nearly to the top of my waders, (I wore waders because we had to walk through long dew soaked grass to get to the river), and my other leg more or less at a right angle along the bank. I hung there for what seemed an age, trying to get a foothold with my immersed foot, but not being able to find anything to get any purchase on. I then realised that the bank was undercut, and could possibly collapse at any time. My shouts for help to my mates went unheeded as I tried to pull myself back onto the bank.  Fortunately, it was many years ago, and I was younger, stronger, and considerably lighter, than today, and slowly managed to pull myself in a position where I could roll onto the bank. As I laid there shaking slightly, and feeling exhausted, I remembered the undercut bank beneath me, and gingerly moved myself and my tackle out of harms way. I came back later that day to lay-on next to the undercut, which was about 10ft deep, (fishing from a safe distance upstream), and caught some decent perch. I caught well from it on each visit that season, but the next season, following the winter floods, I found the whole lot had collapsed into the river. 

 A session on the R Wharfe at Boston Spa, saw my mate have an amusing, if nearly fatal 'fall in'. We were fishing a swim that could be tackled in two ways. There was a slack behind a bush, that I was fishing from the bank, and as it was fairly shallow above the bush, (knee deep), my mate waded out , and trotted down the edge of the slack. We had shared the same swims so often, and knew each other so well, that we rarely had trouble, and often had our floats inches apart trotting down a swim. We were both catching steadily, when I heard a shout, a splash, and saw his float being jerked back upstream. I stood up and couldn't see him over the top of the bush, so walked round to have a look. As I rounded the bush I saw something like a scene from Arthurian legends. There was an arm sticking out of the water, holding a rod and reel aloft! I dashed into the water and grabbed the arm and pulled my mate up, and dragged him to the shallower water. He had been stupid enough to wade out without using a stick to test the river bed, thinking that because we both had fished the swim many times before, he 'knew' it well enough. The gravel bed had been moved by the current, and there was a sudden drop off he hadn't seen, and slid down, causing him to fall length ways into over three foot of water. When we'd got him on the bank, lit a fire, hung most of his clothes over a tree branch, let him dry himself on a collection of groundbait cloths/towels, and dressed him in bits of spare clothing we had, including maggot bags for socks, and a large waterproof mac', he grinned and said 'at least I kept my new reel dry'.

John.

Its not my first bath the most dangerous was wearing waders and after slipping off the bank at the military canal i realised as the waders were full of water i couldnt climb out.strenght didnt help even undoing the staps didnt in the end i had to float at 90 degrees to the bank and lift one leg out of the water and drain the water then hook that foot on the bank and do the same with the other !not easy as both legs came out the water your head went down so you had to hang on for dear life!

Another time i stupidly tried to walk across a frozen lake (ice was thick enough to jump on) about 3 quarters of the way across i guess the pond was warmer i suddenly went through i litterally had to break through 20ft of ice to get to the bank to get out and it was a long cold walk after wringing out my clothes  ,i dont know how i made it home it was a few  miles from beachborough pond in folkestone to hawkinge and all up hill! Ofcourse i had ignored my parents telling me the lake would be frozen but as my moniker says i dont believe anyone lol

Water and me have a strange attraction i have fell in that canal on two  more occasions ,the medway once and both frenshams

My mrs though did the  most spectacular dunk ,she leant forward to push her bankstick into the bottom of the pond and it obviously wasnt tighted enough (one of those 2ft ones with an inner bit 18" long that was tightened with a crew)it went down and she followed into the water i laughed a chap in the next swim watching laughed she mumbled! Good on her though she dried her  bits and carried on fishing luckily it was a  ery hot day unlike mine!

 

When i was a bailff i was doing my rounds and i asked an angler for his permit his seat was obviously to close to the the edge of the swim and as he stood up he turned round to open his bag on the back of it and he fell forward (towards me on the bank behind him)the chair folded up and acted as a slide one end propped up on the box behind it and the other resting on the telegraph pole wd used to make the front of the swims and he slid into the water i grabbed his hand and pulled him out but he was a old guy so i helped him pack up and carried his stuff to the car at least he could warm up driving home

Next time i shouted across and asked if he had his swimsuite on and that carried on for a couple of years until he stopped coming (generally to frail to come or dead most were retired blokes fishing for tench)

Edited by chesters1
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I was once fishing a river in the depths of winter where the ground was frozen.  I had gone across to fish a stream that flowed into the river, that was high due to the tide backing up the water. 

The top layer of the ground had defrosted and I slipped. Falling down the banking, hitting the water and sliding all the way up to my nipples into icy water!

The awkward part was trying to climb back out up the slippy banking, rod and reel in hand.

Believe it or not, somehow my rod and reel weren't wet apart from the bottom third of the cork.  I, however, was shivering like a nervous fruit jelly. Once back at the car i stripped off and drove off naked and drove home bolloc'o. :)

Another time, I was stood in the middle of a large river in the process of playing a barbel.  I stepped back and sunk like a stone. I must have resembled the Statue of Liberty as I although submerged I kept my rod held up.

I reckon that hole was so deep that when my feet hit the bottom there was several inches of water over my head.  I was only submerged for a brief moment, as the instant my feet found bottom I pushed myself back up.  I swallowed a mouthful of water, but I also l also managed to keep the barbel on my line:).  Luckily for me, that it was high summer and the water felt like hot bathwater. 

Back on the bank I landed the fish, released it, before once more stripping off and laying out my clothes on the bank to dry.  I can clearly remember lying down on the bank and lifting up my legs allowing all the water to drain from my waders. 

I tried wading out in my stocking feet but the stones hurt my feet so I had to put my squelchy waders back on.  I recieved several odd looks from people who saw me fishing dressed in just waders and underkecks and then, even more when, I started checking peoples membership cards, lol.

Edited by Tigger
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I once slid in on my backside down a steep, greasy river bank & only filled my wellies. (With just river water I hasten to add!!)

The rest of me stayed out of the water & dry. Does that count as falling In ??

I hope so, I'd hate to feel like the odd one out!! :nerd:

Edited by Martin56

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/13/2020 at 3:50 AM, Phone said:

All,

I would be curious if there is an angler with at least 200 - 300 sessions that has NEVER fallen in

Phone

I'm with Phone on this. If you haven't fallen in yet, you're not trying hard enough! :lol:

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On 1/28/2020 at 9:05 PM, Elton said:

I'm with Phone on this. If you haven't fallen in yet, you're not trying hard enough! :lol:

Well I've never had a complete dunking,  the closest I've had was a canal bank giving way and me sliding in roughly to mid-thigh before I managed to scramble back out!  I do usually also keep a spare t shirt and trackie bottoms in the boot of the car "just in case"

 

Mat

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Mat

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  • 3 months later...

I've gone in/under many times but two stand out as scary.

The first was while lure fishing on the Severn when the section of bank that I was standing on gave way and slumped, dumping me into about 4 feet of water. For a fraction of a second, I thought I was quite clever for stepping forward and landing on my feet in the water and then the section of bank that was all knitted together with grass started rolling onto the back of my calves. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to kick my feet out and sit back or I could very easily have got pinned under the water.

The other was playing a mahseer from the bank in India that decided to go upstream. The options were loose the fish or wade around the tree to my immediate right. The choice being made a bit more spicy by the fact that I was fishing a pool known to contain a 4m crocodile. It was a very big fish, so I stepped into the water, felt the gravel underfoot and started making my way around the tree. I was nearly there when I found the hole and disappeared over my head. I popped up and swam the rest of the way - I  did land the fish though.

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Species caught in 2020: Barbel. European Eel. Bleak. Perch. Pike.

Species caught in 2019: Pike. Bream. Tench. Chub. Common Carp. European Eel. Barbel. Bleak. Dace.

Species caught in 2018: Perch. Bream. Rainbow Trout. Brown Trout. Chub. Roach. Carp. European Eel.

Species caught in 2017: Siamese carp. Striped catfish. Rohu. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Black Minnow Shark. Perch. Chub. Brown Trout. Pike. Bream. Roach. Rudd. Bleak. Common Carp.

Species caught in 2016: Siamese carp. Jullien's golden carp. Striped catfish. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Alligator gar. Rohu. Black Minnow Shark. Roach, Bream, Perch, Ballan Wrasse. Rudd. Common Carp. Pike. Zander. Chub. Bleak.

Species caught in 2015: Brown Trout. Roach. Bream. Terrapin. Eel. Barbel. Pike. Chub.

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  • 4 months later...

I have never actually fallen in, but have got wet on numerous occasions .  By far the commonest was wading an inch or more deeper than my waderr length.  A bit of a laugh in thigh waders, less so in waist waders, and getting a bit hairy in chest waders.  Done that in many rivers and in surf.  If you ever don chest waders It is very important to invest in a good stout wading staff, both for feeling your way in a rocky river, and providing a third leg in a dodgy current or surf.  Once you get chest deep it is easy to get knocked off your feet  by a wave or a current surge.  At 86+ my wading days are well and truly over,

Have also had to swim for it as a result of a canoe  collision - a canoe shot out from a side stream and rode over our stern and Norma's leg.  (Incidentally Tigger this was in Madagascar, not the Amazon)    there is an account somewhere in the AN archives.

I have however once been washed in.  There was e deep pool into which the water ran through a culvert . Just where the culvert entered was screened by overhanging trees and bushes, so the only way to fish that spot was to approach through the culvert which was brick-lined.  This I did in pair of rubber-doled thigh waders.   Slipped on the slimy bricks, which deposited me on my gluteal adiposities (fat a### in English) blocking the culvert and promoting a build-up of water behind me. This washed me out into the pool.  I remember thinking how ridiculous the incident was, and burst out laughing as I was washed in. Got out easily enough (did you know it is perfectly possible to swim whilst holding a fishing rod ?)'

 

Edited by Vagabond
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My best "near miss" was while spinning for trout on Dowles Brook before fishing the Severn.

It had been raining and was a little muddy, so when I stepped onto the slope/path down to the brook, I slipped but somehow managed to stay upright all the way to the bottom - a ride of about 20 feet.

A mate did a similar trick on the main river one April. He didn't stay upright though. He slid down the bank feet first and deposited himself up to his neck in the river. This was a particularly skilful move as he only had a foot of water to do it in.

Species caught in 2020: Barbel. European Eel. Bleak. Perch. Pike.

Species caught in 2019: Pike. Bream. Tench. Chub. Common Carp. European Eel. Barbel. Bleak. Dace.

Species caught in 2018: Perch. Bream. Rainbow Trout. Brown Trout. Chub. Roach. Carp. European Eel.

Species caught in 2017: Siamese carp. Striped catfish. Rohu. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Black Minnow Shark. Perch. Chub. Brown Trout. Pike. Bream. Roach. Rudd. Bleak. Common Carp.

Species caught in 2016: Siamese carp. Jullien's golden carp. Striped catfish. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Alligator gar. Rohu. Black Minnow Shark. Roach, Bream, Perch, Ballan Wrasse. Rudd. Common Carp. Pike. Zander. Chub. Bleak.

Species caught in 2015: Brown Trout. Roach. Bream. Terrapin. Eel. Barbel. Pike. Chub.

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