How I Learned Fly Fishing Stream Safety In 30 Seconds

In an instant, the water washed me off my casting platform on the rock and into the current. What happened next... Read on.

Having skied the rocks in the Madison River in Montana, almost stepped off a bank into 10 feet of water on the Gallatin in Yellowstone Park, and skied the rocks of the Blue River in Colorado and survived, I feel somewhat qualified to talk about fly fishing river safety.

All of the above incidents occurred because of two factors. Lack of respect for the river and non-attention to what I was doing.

My first trip to Montana in 1987, I was fly fishing the Madison River some 10 or 15 miles west of West Yellowstone. There was a maybe a class 3 rapids there with very large rocks in the rapids. One of the guys in a West Yellowstone fly shop had told me there were large rainbow around the rocks.

On arrival at the rapids, I rigged up and put on my boot foot chest waders. At that time I was using regular non-felt rubber soled waders. Even though I could get close to the water where it went downhill in the rapids, I was afraid of the force of the rapids. So I decided to fish above the rapids in some calmer but swift water as it approached the drop off into the rapids. There were plenty of rocks out in the river for fish cover.

Wading out about 10 feet, I was waist deep in a reasonably fast current. Being this deep made casting more difficult. Spotting a large rock I climbed on top for a better casting platform. What I had not noticed was every so often a large wave would wash over this rock. (Yeah the one I was standing on.)

The second time a wave hit my legs, I was off the rock and moving forward with the current. Without thinking about it, I tucked my rod under my right arm and flexed my knees like a downhill skier. (I had never skied at that time. But survival is the Mother of Invention.) This wave washed me onto and off a second rock toward a third rock.

Looking ahead all I could see was a large pool of calm water behind the third rock and just to the left the current making a major swing into the rapids. Fortunately, I was able to land on top of this rock and regain my balance. Then I stepped off into waist deep water and waded to shore. Sitting down, my knees shook for about ten minutes at how close I had come to being fish bait.

That same trip, I was on the Gallatin River in Yellowstone Park. I had gone upstream from a bridge to fish. The water was crystal clear and I could see the bottom all along the bank.

Some quarter mile from the bridge, I found what looked like a perfect undercut bank holding area. But I was standing on top of it.

Just downstream of this area looked like a good place to cross and then fish back against the undercut bank. About to stop off into the Gallatin, I paused. My inner voice told me to take a good look at where I was stepping. Kneeling down, I stuck my 9 foot rod, tip first into the river clear up to the reel.

Right where I was going to step off the bank was some 8 to 10 feet deep with a fast current along the bank. The gin clear water had totally fooled me. The bottom structure at 10 feet was as clear as if I had been looking at a 3 foot depth.

That fellow fly fishers is how I learned fly fishing stream safety the hard way.

Here are some easier ways

See Link to Seven Steps for Fly Fishing Stream Safety

Proven Advice for Fly Fishing Stream Safety by an Expert

copyright 2004 Marshall Estes