I don’t know about you but I have frequently been horrified inrecent times by the reckless behaviour of some and the basic lack ofknowledge amongst others of the dangers we face by participating inour chosen sport.
This short piece is neither intended to be definitive, a rant, noram I having a go at any particular group of anglers.
I will deal with what I perceive to be three key safety areas.
1. Water
Water is basically dangerous. Self evident eh!
To get the statistical bit over with more people die coarsefishing than in any other participant sport. The Royal Society forthe Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) supply the necessary numbers bothfor fishing and other overlapping water related fatalities which Idon’t intend to repeat. Suffice it to say there are a number of waysof getting into trouble on the bank all of which can be avoided bythe application of common sense.
A few basic don’ts are as follows:
1. Don’t wade without a good knowledge of the bottom. Neverwade blind and on any unknown water use a wading stick. I personallyknow of a stretch of our local river that has extremely deep holesvery close to the bank. Once your waders fill with water you have amajor problem.
2. Don’t climb trees overhanging the water. It doesn’t matterhow strong a swimmer you are if you break bones on entry into theaqua! Also bear in mind that stillwaters have different levels ofcoldness and without wishing to get technical, the extreme cold waterto be found below the thermocline will rob your strength and makeyour muscles feel like living jelly!
3. Don’t dream of getting on board a boat without theprescribed and tested inflatable safety vests. In the same vein neverwear waders afloat – once they fill with water you don’t need toworry about long term planning.
You may be surprised that I have not mentioned swimmingproficiency as a pre requisite to angling safety. It certainly is agood thing but if you bear in mind the bulky clothing we wear, thewellies and waders etc you would have to be an extremely powerful andlucky swimmer to escape just as a result of this skill.
2. Disease
I don’t know about the waters you fish but up here in Cumbriathere has been an explosion of rats invading the banks of severalwaters I visit. This is completely understandable as they arehomeless after first the clearance and subsequent cleaning anddisinfection of local farms as a result of foot and mouth.
We should all be aware that rats carry a very nasty bug that isWeils disease which is potentially lethal and certainly will make youvery ill indeed for a good few months. I would certainly recommendyou visit your local supermarket/chemist and buy someantiseptic/antibacterial wipes and thoroughly cleanse your handsafter all contact with water and the ground by your swim. Wipes don’tcost the earth and may save your life.
As an aside should you feel flu’ish after a fishing trip gostraight to the doctors and explain that you may have been exposed toWeils as a result of your fishing. Not all doctors are necessarily upto speed on what is a fairly rare disease in the general public andyou may need to be assertive.
3. Alcohol
This is the area I least wanted to mention. I don’t want to appearbe prudish – most folk like a drink, me probably more than most.Please let moderation be your watchword. As covered in several forumthreads, drunkenness is very irritating and at times scary toneighbouring anglers. Excess alcohol does strange things to us whichare just not compatible to angling – in particular it fosters a senseof overconfidence together with a great belief in our own immortalitythan is generally merited. According to RoSPA there were seventyeight alcohol related drownings in 1999, although these were notspecifically related to fishing.
Precautions
Actually precautions was probably a bad choice of word as itsounds boring and a chore – I’d rather look at this topic as part ofthe normal pre angling preparations. Carry your basic “survival” kitwith you at all times and “service” it as you would do other tackleitems.
For a variety of reasons and not least because I prefer to fishisolated spots and am quite often alone I would normally carry thefollowing:
- Fully charged mobile ‘phone.
- Basic first aid kit available from any chemist for little more than a few pints of casters.
- Cleansing wipes as previously mentioned.
- When fishing a new place I would normally carry written instructions to give precise location in the event of an emergency. Try giving directions to the middle of nowhere when under severe stress.
I hope that this little piece has given you something to thinkabout and that it has been taken in the spirit intended. The lastthing on my mind is to impinge on anyone’s enjoyment of our sport butwould just like to see sensible safety matters as much second natureas our other angling skills.
