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Ralph
09-05-2011, 02:47 PM
Dave Whitlock, Jim Lavalley, and I made this video in collaboration with Simms and the Outdoor Channel some time ago. Nice to see it has made it on-line.

http://www.speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=47005

k9mark
09-05-2011, 08:35 PM
Hey Ralph, you still look that young? :D:lol:

Ralph
09-05-2011, 09:07 PM
Hey Ralph, you still look that young? :D:lol:

Oh hell ya!

royewest
09-05-2011, 10:07 PM
Thanks for posting this. I got the tape in the past year from Simms but don't have an easy way to view it -- good lessons.

Cmcculloch
09-26-2011, 06:10 PM
These wading safety videos are a great safety resource for all fly fishers (IMHO). Can they be made into a "sticky note" or something similar for all Kiene Forum readers to view and made easy to access?

aaron
09-26-2011, 11:09 PM
Stickied at the Top. Thanks Craig.

Phil Synhorst
11-20-2011, 12:07 AM
Thanks Ralph, there's a lot of good info in those clips. I mostly wet wade, but the ideas are interchangeable, I assume. The basics are the same as what I've been taught by a wise old Sage(:lol:), so hopefully the tricks for the more hazardous stuff is too.

There was a brief segment on foot entrapment, but the video ended without a solution. Is there one or more(given the situation) ways to get out of that? It's one of my biggest fears when wading, and foolishly I have never asked until now. I always have a good, somewhat small knife handy, and figured if possible I would cut my boot laces, and try to get out. But with currents, etc. that's not always possible.

Thanks, Phil

JasonB
11-20-2011, 01:36 PM
There was a brief segment on foot entrapment, but the video ended without a solution. Is there one or more(given the situation) ways to get out of that? It's one of my biggest fears when wading, and foolishly I have never asked until now. I always have a good, somewhat small knife handy, and figured if possible I would cut my boot laces, and try to get out. But with currents, etc. that's not always possible.

Thanks, Phil

Foot entrapment is a REAL danger, and an extremely difficult situation to deal with after one has occurred. I teach some swiftwater rescue classes, and foot entrapments are quite possibly the scariest potential issue to have to deal with in a rescue scenario. What we do as anglers while wading around in the streams pretty much breaks some of the cardinal rules of whitewater safety that address foot entrapment avoidance.

Two different issues for us: a heads up situation, and a heads down (underwater). In the later case, there is very little chance that the person entrapped can do anything other than hopefully be able to push their head above water or at a steep enough angle to the current to create a bit of an air pocket. I do have one friend who was able to free herself from a head down foot entrapment (with considerable force and breaking her own ankle in the process), but typically even a small amount of current can make this physically impossible. The typical rescue attempt involves two key steps: stabilize/support the victim in such a way they can breath, and then working a rope under the ankle on the downstream side and using it to pull the foot upstream at the same angle it got wedged in at (in a nutshell, obviously this is a complex process that must happen quickly, smoothly, and safely).

I think the more common issue for most anglers is a heads up situation, sometimes a big issue, sometimes not. The biggest thing I would advise in this situation is to be extremely careful to keep it a heads up situation! In other words, keeping your balance and working slowly and carefully to remove your boot from the nook that it got wedged in. A lot of struggling to free yourself of the boot, while trying to hold onto your nice flyrod (or not loose that lunker that you are trying to play) could end up making the situation a lot worse. A slip here would likely mean that your body would be pushed downstream of the trapped foot, and then you have a heads down situation. Not saying that cutting your bootlaces is a bad idea, just to proceed very carefully with whatever movements you do so as to not loose your balance.

I will say that my background in whitewater and swiftwater rescue has made me a very cautious and timid wader, I just wont take the kinds of risks that some will in search of fish.
be safe,
JB

Phil Synhorst
11-21-2011, 08:22 PM
Thanks Jason.

Ralph
12-12-2011, 10:58 AM
There was a brief segment on foot entrapment, but the video ended without a solution. Is there one or more(given the situation) ways to get out of that?
Thanks, Phil

Sorry that I didn't notice your question until now. If one foot is stuck, try to position your free foot upstream of it to break the current. If both feet are stuck, hopefully you'll have someone nearby who can wade in behind you and break the current. You are probably better off sliding a knife inside the boot along the ankle that trying to cut the laces. Paramedic shears are awesome for this (I keep a pair in my boat bag).

Loomis 1
04-08-2013, 08:43 AM
As Ralph and Jason both said, in most circumstances a foot entrapment can be a no will situation if you are by yourself. As far as air trapped in your waders, air will be pushed up to above the water surface level. If you go down from waist deep there should not be enough trapped air to make a difference. If you go directly from the shore to a swim trapped air "could" be an issue.

As far as swimming in moving water, for the most part the video was accurate. Current swift water rescue protocal teaches and trains in the following techniques:

1. If the current is stronger than you can effectively swim out of, position yourself on your back, feet downstream, hips and feet up (to avoid foot entrtapment). Slowly paddle with your arms to steer towards calmer water.

2. Unless you get out of the strong current, do not attempt to stand up unless you can 1st stop yourself by grabbing the bottom with your hands (again, to lessen chance of foot entrappment).

3. If you encounter an log "strainer" that can't be avoided, roll over to your stomach, head downstream. Attempt to crawl up and over the obsticle. I don't know of any rescue team that currently trains to go into an obsticle feet 1st and walk across it, even though Ralph did it quite well in the video.

4. Stay on your back, feet downstream (which is refered to as the swimmer's position). Stay relaxed and search for an exit. When you see an area of slower current or an eddy, roll over and swim head 1st "hard". Hopefully by now you have already donated your rod!

I spent 28 years supervising a Sheriff Rescue Team. We had training and safety equipment that fishermen do not. Thinking and remaining calm may be all you have.

Bill Siler

JasonB
04-08-2013, 08:59 PM
As Ralph and Jason both said, in most circumstances a foot entrapment can be a no will situation if you are by yourself. As far as air trapped in your waders, air will be pushed up to above the water surface level. If you go down from waist deep there should not be enough trapped air to make a difference. If you go directly from the shore to a swim trapped air "could" be an issue.

As far as swimming in moving water, for the most part the video was accurate. Current swift water rescue protocal teaches and trains in the following techniques:

1. If the current is stronger than you can effectively swim out of, position yourself on your back, feet downstream, hips and feet up (to avoid foot entrtapment). Slowly paddle with your arms to steer towards calmer water.

2. Unless you get out of the strong current, do not attempt to stand up unless you can 1st stop yourself by grabbing the bottom with your hands (again, to lessen chance of foot entrappment).

3. If you encounter an log "strainer" that can't be avoided, roll over to your stomach, head downstream. Attempt to crawl up and over the obsticle. I don't know of any rescue team that currently trains to go into an obsticle feet 1st and walk across it, even though Ralph did it quite well in the video.

4. Stay on your back, feet downstream (which is refered to as the swimmer's position). Stay relaxed and search for an exit. When you see an area of slower current or an eddy, roll over and swim head 1st "hard". Hopefully by now you have already donated your rod!

I spent 28 years supervising a Sheriff Rescue Team. We had training and safety equipment that fishermen do not. Thinking and remaining calm may be all you have.

Bill Siler

Bill, I think that you hit on some good points. One major point that I must disagree with strongly is point number one. The on your back (passive swim) position, is really only good for two main purposes: basic orientation and low exertion (good when you must take your time before swimming to a more ideal exit point), or when rescue from a boat or perhaps rope is in the very near future.

The "proactive swimmer" position, on your stomach at or near perpendicular angle to the current kicking/stroking aggressively, is much more affective in situations where one needs to move quickly to one side of the river or another. If I were forced to swim in waders that were filling with water I would be making the fastest exit from current that I possibly could.

One thing of note is that both the "passive swimmer" and "proactive swimmer" positions can be very effective at avoiding foot entrapment. For anyone who is not familiar with this threat, it's a very serious issue that is not typically possible to deal with on your own. The "passive swimmer" position is most often promoted by whitewater rafters, which works particularly well for that application; in other words, when a big rescue boat is not far ahead or behind and no major maneuvering is needed on the part of the swimmer. Great for keeping calm and not getting overly winded and sucking in water, but extremely weak and ineffective for avoiding hazards or making it across eddy lines to the safety of shore.
JB

Loomis 1
04-09-2013, 06:34 PM
Jason,

I get your point. I admit what you call the passive swimmer is a rescue technique, wearing a swift water PFD and other safety equipment. Not waders and a vest. Feet down stream allows you to fend off rocks or stumps with your feet instead of your face, working towards shore, waiting for a good exit point to roll over and swimming like hell. My post did lean on how we functioned in the rescue world, not the fishing world. Being a striper guy, most of my wading since retirement is sometimes getting my feet wet putting my boat on the trailer!