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Thread: Wading safety and tactics video

  1. #11
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Yuba City Ca.
    Posts
    54

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    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

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Garden Valley
    Posts
    1,076

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    Quote Originally Posted by Loomis 1 View Post
    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
    Last edited by JasonB; 04-08-2013 at 09:06 PM.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Yuba City Ca.
    Posts
    54

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    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!

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