Quick Words of Wisdom for beginers...

[EdD]

Being sprayed by a skunk isn't as bad as everybody says it is. After 5 minutes, 10 at the most, you can't smell a thing...
(It does seem to be a bit unpleasant for those around you, though.)

Ed

Ed,
You are something else! I wonder is the Skunk Union paid you off!
Doug

I wasn't paid, I was sprayed. Luckily it was at Boy Scout camp, so the smell wasn't as noticeable, especially in the mess hall...

Ed

[DShock]

Ed,
Thanks for clearing the air.
Doug

[flyfishfairwx]

Electric cattle fences suck..

I was on point during a night nav ex in Germany and crawled under a fence and had my rifle slung over my back (the Sgt said the fence was not active/live) Bull S_ _T it knocked me to the ground and almost out ....

lucky it did not set off my rounds...

I think a graphite rod conducts electricity... so be very very careful walking beside a charged fence, use along damp blade of grass, you will feel the charge slightly ....

Do not I repeat DO not touch your rod tip to the fence... saw a kid do it with a spinning rod and it fried his tip and woke him up, may not have smartened him up, his dad was not happy( you know whose rod it was)

[backwoods]

old farm dog female she went we p ee on it sparks up stream of water towards won't say what got shocked.
yipe yipe to house she went. u know what got shock she nevor wen't back at fence.

so be aware they do have shock power if u touch it u have brown burn spot were u did
there are ways to check if its on or knot,

[EdD]

Electric Fences are bad news. It is possible to get electrocuted. Back in college a bunch of us were wading a trout stream. We were leap-frogging each other. I was in the lead and came to an electric fence that cut across the creek. The farmer wasn't trying to hurt waders, just confine his cattle. In the middle of the creek, there was a pretty obvious pile of stones to stand on, getting out of the water, to go over or under the fence. I laid a couple of dry rocks on top and got a pair of dry sticks and laid them atop the dry rocks. Everybody figured it out except for a terminal freshman. He tried to go between the 2 strands and got stuck for moment. The poor guy's shirt was hiked up (he was quite rotund) and the wires hit bare skin. They left marks on his back and belly. We felt sorry for him and I know that it hurt. He griped a bit and then toughed it out and fished the rest of the day. Not bad on the toughness scale.

Ed

[modocdan]

If you haul yer rods on top of yer rig.........never.......do anything else till you have 'em SECURED.
If you don't haul yer rods on top of yer rig.........Don't put 'em up there........even for a minute.....ever.
They're never the same after they hit the road............especially after they encounter that fast - movin' chevy behind ya.................................ModocDan

[backwoods]

ed that guy must of been sore should of put someting on burns,
i saw a guy go we on fence and shock went up stream o watter he did a jig.
bet he think twice abought that.

[EdD]

ed that guy must of been sore should of put someting on burns,
i saw a guy go we on fence and shock went up stream o watter he did a jig.
bet he think twice abought that.

While we were out, we didn't have anything to put on it except for cold water. I think that he got some cream from Student Health later on.

Ed

[flybinder]

The "BEST thing", you did for his electric fence burns WAS NOT to put anything on them! (Cold water though, was fine, except for the bacteria if it was the stream water!?) Salves, and the old wives's tale of "Put butter on a burn", only serves to make the hurt last longer and give rise to an easier infection, later on. Place a VERY LOOSE, bandage, over the burn until you can reach proper medical care! (IF, that burn is that severe!)

ANY kind of ointment, and/or, salve, (or, butter!), "holds the heat, of the burn in", not allowing it to escape the effected area, prolonging the pain of the burn itself.

It's 'funny', in the "farm story way" about the electric fences but they honestly CAN cause serious injury, under the right circumstances and conditions! Electric fences are measured for effectiveness, by labeling them in "Miles of wire-they can conduct an electrical pulse through".
In other words, like on our ranch, one of our electric fences is a "21 mile rated fence", meaning it can run an electrical charge, through 21 miles of steel wire. BUT, (and here's where one can get "the thrill of their lives", if not careful around them!). but, IF... that "21 mile fence", ISN'T connected up to "21 miles of wire", it STILL puts out the same electrical force, of course, but it begins to basically "back up" all of that amperage and voltage, in the amount of wire IT DOES HAVE to distribute it's charge!

About, the same theory as over inflating an inner tube, until it explodes. All of that "21 miles of electrical juice", MAY BE contained in say... "1 mile of fence wire", thus building it's charge abut 20 times its normal amount. And, THAT'S when "pace makers shut down", "people like your friend, get burned", (a "properly installed electric fence should NOT burn, a human's skin!), and "the tips of fishing rods, get blown to pieces", and ESPECIALLY GRAPHITE ones! Graphite is every bit as good, really, at conducting electricity as carbon is.

Someone asked about "graphite fly rods, conducting electricty", I think and YES, they certainly WILL! I've seen IDIOTS, standing in the middle of a stream, waving their "personal lightening rod", around in the air, casting, when a T & L stor m is fast approaching. I guess, they're into some sort of "death wish", or, whatever because that's sure a great way to ruin one's day on the water! Also, ruins it, for his buddy, or buddies, that have to carry his charred remains, 2 miles back to the truck!

Lastly, for those "Great Beginner's Hints", that have been listed so far...................... " RULE #7,45... DO NOT EVER, assemble, play with, or, otherwise "wave around", ANY section of your favorite fly rod, (ESPECIALLY THE TIP!!)......... when in a low ceilinged motel room, when the overhead PADDLE FAN is set on "high"!! OF COURSE, this is something that I PERSONALLY have only "heard about" and would have NEVER done such a thing myself!! Well, I never would do something that stupid, TWICE, then, let's say!?! It was a VERY low ceiling and paddle fans SHOULDN'T be allowed to rotate that fast!

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

When I was in my teens a buddy and I had to cross a field to get our 12 foot aluminum boat to the pond we wanted to fish. I was leading, Jim was trailing. All of a sudden I had the bow of the boat jammed into the small of my back and had to run to keep from being shoved to the ground. I cursed Jim Loudly only to hear his frantic yell. Take another look at those cows!!! I looked over and there about 100 feet away was the biggest Hereford bull you ever saw pawing the ground and flinging clods of black dirt behind him. I almost ruined a good pair of underware. I yelled Screw this! dropped the boat and ran for my life. When the front of the boat hit the ground Jim, not having dropped his end, smashed into it hard. Luckily ( although it did not seem lucky to me at the time ) El Toro went after Me instead of Jim. Probably because I was running. I made it to a large ponderosa pine and put it between me and the really really really mad bull. I went from there into the bushes and under the fence to safety. The bull stood panting and pawing in front of the fence. I ducked down out of sight because It was so mad I didn't trust it not to charge right thru that barbed wire. After a bit I peeked out thankfully to see it walking away. Jim who had had the wind knocked out of him managed to crawl under the boat while the bull was chasing me. The bull wasn't interested in the boat and finally wandered away heading after his herd. After about a half hour when all the cows finally were out of sight. I yelled out softly as I could. Jim where are you? Thinking he was hiding in the bushes somewhere. I heard a muffeled "I'm over here, where is he, is he still here?" The sound came from under the boat" It was too easy so I couldn't resist. I yelled back keep quiet! He's right behind the boat. YOur making Him mad again.
I then snuck back to the rear of the boat, took a long piece of branch and made like I was the bull and hit the transom hard a couple of times. It was too funny and finally I had to laugh out loud. Jim was not amused. He thought his number was up. I rolled the boat off of him laughing my butt off as he cursed a blue streak about what a %##@&^ I was and how that wasn't funny. But we both knew it was really funny.

We packed the boat over to the pond and fished all day without ever seeing the bull again.
I still tease Jim about this whenever we see each other.
His kids always ask me to re-tell the story whenever we are over at his place. He hates it. hahahaha.
Ever since then when ever I'm near a herd of cows I always check to make sure they are all cows. I'll bet money Jim does the same.