NOTES ON SAFETY & WINTER FISHING - Eye of the guide - November 29, 2010
NOTES ON SAFETY & WINTER FISHING
Many of the rivers in Montana and many other places are open to year-round fishing. The angler who passes up the winter fishing opportunities is indeed missing out on what can be some of the finest fishing of the year.
Cold Weather Injury - Hypothermia
Cold Weather Injury - Hypothermia, can happen at any time of the year, it is the same as Warm Weather Injury, only the reverse!
I agree with your dressing in layers of clothing, when you are outdoors and on the move remember to ventilate so the moisture of your perspiration does not build up and cling to skin under all the layered clothing once you stop to rest. So when you are active, open up and ventilate to help remove the moisture that is building up under all your clothing. You can also remove clothing if you are doing very physical work, but redress when you are done with the physical work, before your body start chilling down.
When in the field or stream, i carry a bag filled with Birch Bark, it oils are very volatile, and will light a fire with just one match! I also carry a towel and a spare set of gloves and mittens, as well as a extra set of stockings and I also carry a scarf. The chocolate candy bars are a good idea, but they only work for a short period, I also carry some granola bars, that is where the energy to warm your body back up really comes from. Towel is to dry your feet and the inside of your boots before inserting your feet with the new socks back into the boots. The scarf is to protect your face and neck from the cold (back of the neck at the bottom of your skull is where your body's temperature gauge is located. I also have two large safety pins for hanging the damp glove inserts to dry inside my layered clothing, and I always carry my water container inside my clothing, cold water will not enter the bodies blood system until it reaches the bodies internal body temperature.
When in the U.S. Army as a Training Range Safety Officer, there where time that even in June, we had solders that suffered from Cold Weather Injuries, when the temperatures dropped into the low 60's during the night, after they had been involved in heavy work all day when the temperatures where twenty degrees higher. Most of those who came down with Warm or Cold Weather Injuries, where not aware of the danger, and if they did become aware, it was too late for them to help themselves.
As for the BIC Lighters (butane), they should be kept in a inside pocket, they refuse to light if they are stored in a outside pocket where the outdoor temperature is near/or below freezing.
Never go into the field alone, better to travel in pairs. In the field, you can warm your hands by placing them inside your layered clothing in your arm pits. But it take two members, to warm the others feet in the other person's arm pits or crotch!
Always leave your itinerary with someone, who knows where you went when you do not report in!
~Parnelli
Making of a survival Kit..
This is an article I wrote on the subject of Survival kits, with the start of winter on us here in SWAB, and the ferocity of that, this is great timing for the Thread..
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/articles/readerscast/2010/readerscast20100913_RaymondFairweather.php
