I?ve waited a while to tell this story, but I think it?s worth sharing, so forgive my procrastination.

This June, my wife was due to have our sixth (6th!) child, and because of an assessment of elevated risk, the physicians insisted she deliver at UVa in Charlottesville rather than the local hospital. All went well with the delivery, but I was stuck in a hospital room almost 2 hours from home and the other 5 kids were at Grandma?s house. Hospital staff do not appreciate a stranger roaming the halls! I had been hoping for a chance to wade-fish the Rivanna that flows through Charlottesville for smallmouth during my stay. The Rivanna is one of those rivers that?s just about perfect for wading: not so small I can?t make a cast under the overhanging limbs, and not so big that I can?t wade across it without falling into a hole that?s over my head.

After a long labor Thursday afternoon and evening, Emmy Faith was born on the morning of Friday, June 27. I was a good husband and remained in the hospital all that day and overnight. The grandparents and siblings came to visit the new baby Friday. Friday night there was a forecast for chance of thunderstorms, but it never rained at the hospital. I did see some buildups in the distance around sunset.

The next morning, Saturday, was to be my chance. I got up early and arrived at the river before dawn, knowing I could only stay a few hours before returning to the hospital. The water was exceptionally clear, and I looked forward to an opportunity to catch some smallies. After about an hour, I finally caught my first one and I continued to push upstream into an area with numerous boulders sticking out of the water.

As I moved upstream, I noticed it was getting harder to see the bottom. I didn?t think much of it, but it should have been getting easier with increasing light. It was hard not to trip on rocks in the water because they were invisible. Gradually, I began to notice that it was also getting harder to find shallow water. I still didn?t think much of it, and just thought that the river must be getting deeper in this direction.

I finally found myself on an exposed bolder and did not see a way off it in water that wouldn?t challenge my chest waders. After a few minutes, the bolder was no longer above the water. I tried to call my wife to see if she could tell me whether there was a dam release, but I should have called 911. Fortunately, some passersby on the trail noticed my predicament and they called 911 for me. I had to wait well over an hour, and the water continued to rise during that time, before anyone showed up on the bank nearest me. This was because it was opposite the public park, and over a mile from the nearest road access on that side. There were tree branches and leaves floating down, but fortunately none of them knocked me over. I used one sizeable stick to steady myself in the speeding current.

When the police and fire did show up, the water was well above my waist and very muddy. A fireman threw me a rope-in-a-bucket, and it was just barely long enough for me to reach. I became a swinging wet fly, but made it to the bank without getting my gear wet that was in my backpack. I dumped the water out of my waders and then walked back to the Fire Truck. I got a ride back to my car and left the river less than an hour after I had planned to leave anyway.

Lessons I Learned:
  • When water visibility suddenly worsens, suspect rising water and move to the edge of the river. It?s better to be on the bank and in a poor casting location than to be in the middle of the river and in a poor wading situation.
  • Even storms that passed more than 12 hours ago can cause a sudden rise in river levels. A quick glance at the USGS stream gage of one of the upstream branches prior to heading to the river would have shown me that high water was on the way. Later in the day, a downstream gage showed a much greater rise, likely because several flooded forks combined just above Charlottesville.
  • Don?t be afraid to dial 911 at the first sign of emergency. A delay could force you to go for a swim.
NF Rivanna June 2014.jpg