4 replies to this topic

[FirstChAoS]

I have been debating posting this for a couple months but was worried it would either be common knowledge or not fish related enough,

 

Usually when I am in the water I worry more about bitey critters like crayfish, leeches, and snapping turtles. But the real danger more often than not is the water itself.

 

What made me consider posting this was an incident a month or two ago where one of the Fish Nerds crew saw an ice fisherman fall through the ice up[ in Conway NH. He called for help then ran to rescue him, only to fall in himself. He pulled himself out and unable to reach the man in trouble waited for help to arrive. It arrived too late, he ended up witnessing the drowning. Hearing of this horrible incident got me thinking on the often ignored dangers of the water that go beyond ice.

 

Most major rivers and some minor ones get a few deaths each year, especially when they are swollen from rain or snow melt. Though I never really went into water that was a major problem, once I entered the Connecticut when the water was higher than usual and found myself unable to swim against the current so followed the often read advice of swimming accross it and returned to shore a bit down stream from where I entered. 

 

Along the coast signs warning of rip current are not uncommon, and in portsmouth this summer someone warned me and Mike about it.

 

So use caution when in the water, it could be dangerous.

[loopsnj64]

My story isnt too interesting, but I will post it here just because
I know exactly what you mean, I was in Duke Island State park and in a portion of the very large and powerful Raritan river... I was in a very productive section of riffle where I found a Marigined Madtom, Dace, and a monster sized Crayfish all within a couple dozen feet of each-other.... Because of how good a spot it was, I had no clue what direction I was headed.... however since I know riffles are only shallow water I did not stray from the shore... and good thing I did, looking back from the top of the bank, I saw that the riffle bordered a very threatening-looking section of rapids, one that I could have very easily wandered into absentmindedly

[Irate Mormon]

I've had a couple of close encounters myself.  Remember folks, water always wins.

[Betta132]

Second ever time I went snorkeling, I was in a calm bay-type area in Hawaii. They had markers to warn people that they were heading out of the bay (it was quite small), and I got a bit distracted by a number of huge hawkfish who were living on a pile of rocks that I didn't realize was the base of said marker. Next thing I knew, a big wave picked me up and threw me at the rocks. Hawkfish scattered. 

[Mysteryman]

A couple of guys got killed a few weeks ago in my area. They were boating in the TN River when someone opened up the floodgates on a dam. This sent them swooshing down the current and smashed them into the rocks of a shallow spot, which flipped their boat and sent them smashing against the rocks themselves. It took about two weeks to find the bodies. One of them was almost famous, being the Bass player for the rock band Velcro Pygmies.

So... water you think you know can change on you in a hurry.

I myself got swept out to sea once in the Fl Keys when the tide shifted. You'd think that sort of thing can't happen, but it did. Before I knew what happened my boat was a little speck half a mile away. My buddies decided to crawl along the bottom and fight their way back, but I just screamed until someone came by to pick me up in a zodiac.