William Joseph has developed the WST (Wader Safety Technology) Waders to assist anglers in a time of need with an inflatable bladder that can be filled either by the manual inflation valve or by emergency CO2 inflation. Genius idea. Check out this video that Paul Swint of WIlliam Joseph put together explaining the WST Wader features and demonstrating how they work.
For the remainder of the month T.F.M. and William Joseph would like you to recount your on the water scares and what you've done to be a safer angler? Please email your stories and experiences.
At the end of the month Paul Swint and I will pick a winner with the most stirring and true story. The winner will receive a pair of WST Waders as their prize which retail for $399.00.
Whether you participate in this contest or not, please be careful when fly fishing. To many anglers are lost each year because they pushed the limits of what was the safe thing to do while on the water.
7 comments:
Those are definitely interesting and a great idea, but I'd love to see a video of them in use too.
Looks like a great pair of waders! And I can tell you from personal experience that wading smart is the best way to avoid taking a swim.
GFP - Great idea! I would volunteer my services to test them out, and you can take the video!!
Brian, we'll need 2 pairs of these waders to get the right footage! Let's do it!
(or, check out TFM on Facebook for the video. Just our luck to miss out!)
GFP/bfly...how about submit a story for a chance to win these cool waders! I'm waiting...
You are doing a great job with the blog. Please keep up the good work.
I've never dumped in waders but have a nasty picture in my mind of what could happen in a hydraulic with a pair full of water and pupa. It ain't pretty. No sir.
I went in pretty good one afternoon in Rock Creek MT, but it was not an event; only a reminder to avoid that last step.
A few stumbles and whacked shins are parr-for-course.
You all be careful out there, now.
I have seen a couple of times I wish I had of had a pair of these waders. Slick rock and deep poles don't mix well. I have had my waders full up on me three times in the past and just bearly gotten each of those times. The last time I went in it was a very deep section of water around 15 foot deep. I was wading around the edge and the rocks where so slick that I lost my footing and down I went. Before I knew it I was being pulled under and nothing to grap a hold of. I went to the bottom and luckly I was near the bottom of the run. The water got shallow very quick and I was able to get to my feet and out of the river. Lost my fly rod,cellphone, and everything I had was soaked. I haven't been back to that section of water and don't want to. The Lord was with me that day...
When several of your fishing friends refer to you as Capt. Nemo, you know you have a problem. There are many stories of me taking a quick cool down dunk but there are two that I recall vividly. One a couple of years ago going down in swift current and as I scrambled to get my feet in front I watched the stump of a big snag getting very close. It had all types of uglies sticking out and I was sure I was going to get hurt. Luck was with me and I passed it by. But it was scary.
The second is much more in my heart. A little over 40 years ago my Grandfather relented and bought me a pair of Red Ball rubber waders. Not just hip boots but real waders for real men. As I wandered out into the river to knee depth he emphatically stated "you had have them, now get your ass here". I took two or three steps and went well over my head. i recall the waders filling and me being "swept" down river. I say "swept" because my Grandfather was walking beside me cussing me out the entire time. "Now what are you going to do" he would cackle. I was fast approaching a near death experience, of that I was sure. Never mind that my Grandfather was walking next to me cussing me out. Well, he coached me, in his rough way, kicking out of those behemoths, catching them with my feet, and getting to the shore. After he had told me to wring my socks and jeans out I was promptly told to get dressed and get my ass back in the river. There was fishing to be done and by damb I was wasting HIS time. I truly was blessed to spend so much time with my Grandfather and will cherish those memories.
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