You guys know anybody that drowned or almost drowned while wading?

[Don Smith]

In addition to my Scioto River experience that I related back on page 2 or so of this thread, there was the time a friend and I almost drowned in the Sandusky Bay. Day after Thanksgiving, years ago. We took his boat, a 16 foot modified V, 70" beam with a center tiller handle and a 35 hp. Not really the kind of boat you should be using in the Sandusky Bay. We launched at Willow Point on the south side and pretty much paralleled the south shore until we were about half a mile south of State Route 2, which crosses the bay. Shooting was great! Then, the wind started picking up and we decided we'd better get out of there. By the time we picked up all the decoys, we were looking at 3 footers. Hitting the waves perpendicularly would have accomplished nothing, we would have only crossed the bay and would still have to turn south. So, we decided to head to a little commercial fishing shanty we could see on the shore about a mile away. The problem was that we had to run through the waves at an angle. Every time a wave hit us, water came in. At one point, he yelled back to me (I was sitting in the stern) asking how much water was back there. It was up to my knees. He said later he could hear me repeating, "Oh, please, God, oh, please, God, oh, please, God, etc., etc.". We were still hundreds of yards from shore when the boat was filled, another wave hit us and we started to roll over. As we capsized, he grabbed his Lab's collar (the only dog we took), and threw him as far from the boat as he could so the dog wouldn't get trapped. Then, we rolled over and went in. We were both wearing neoprene waders. Of course, like idiots, we hadn't put our life vests on (a mistake I never made again). He went in slightly before me and suddenly, I heard him yell, "I'm standing on the bottom". I ended up standing on the bottom too. The water was up to our necks. Because of the way the wind was blowing, it was blowing the water out of the bay. Otherwise, we would have been under water. We collected what we could and threw it on the bottom of the now capsized boat, including the dog. He had this stupid chicken wire blind on the boat that got all bent up and it caught a lot of stuff. We started pushing the boat toward the shanty. Finally, we got a bit less than 100 yards from the shanty, but that stupid bent up chicken wire blind kept catching on the bottom. To this day, I don't know how we were able to do this, but by both of us getting on the same side of the boat and pushing up on the gunnel very time a wave hit on the other side, we were able to flip it over. We then pushed it to shore and got to the shanty. The shanty was unlocked (if not we would have broken in) and inside we found a oven and a working phone. We pulled off our waders, turned on the oven and the burners on top to warm up. We called the squad. We were told that they already had a call about us and were on the way. They took me over to where we'd launched to pick up the truck and trailer, then helped us winch the boat onto the trailer. We lost a few things - some decoys (he didn't use decoy bags), a cooler, our life vests (which, as I said, we hadn't been wearing), but most things got hung up in that stupid chicken wire blind, including all of our ducks except for one - the banded one. He also lost his new Browning BPS 10 ga, because wading in and pushing the boat, he'd laid it in that stupid blind and it dropped through a hole with out him knowing. Fortunately for us, it was a warm spell and even though it was the day after Thanksgiving, the water temperature was about 47 degrees. I understand that you can last for about an hour in 47 degree water. That's about how long it took us to get in.

Of course, don't you know that as we pulled away for the trip home, we looked back at the bay and it was flat calm. Had we simply waited the storm out, we would have been fine - and not lost that banded black duck. But, who knew, we could have been there until well after dark if we'd waited.

If you're going to hunt the Sandusky Bay, take a deep V.

I've burned off a few lives while duck hunting.

 

[bill cooksey]

I’ve been lucky in not having some scary situations take that next step to “I’m about to die” type of concern. It can happen really quick.

Quick story, I went to Saskatchewan with a big group the week flights resumed after 9-11. We had a ton of neoprene wader samples in the warehouse, so I sent new waders for everyone with all the other gear which was being driven up. Up to this point, all the samples had been pretty true to size.

We didn’t hunt ducks the first few days, but we hunted a huge permanent pothole the third afternoon. Ducks were piling in and out while we suited up. I pulled my waders out of the packaged, stepped in and started pulling them up. I got the crotch to just below my knees before they came to a hard stop. That was as far as they’d go, and the ducks were there, so I duck waddle across 200 yards of prairie and through 100 yards of silted in pothole to the spot we’d picked.

The walk and hunt were both miserable, but it was getting out when trouble set in. I did my best to help pick up decoys, but everything cramped up before I’d made it halfway on the way out. I was absolutely stuck, and there wasn’t a thing I could do. It was miserable and embarrassing. I told the others to head on while I rested up.

Someone grabbed my gun and bag, and they headed to the truck. I waited a bit, but now I’d mired up deeper and couldn’t move at all. Finally, I see one of the trucks come down the hill, and two guys come wading out. One got under each arm and carried me out.

Had I been alone, I’d still be in that SK potholes in those I’ll fitting waders.

 

[JP]

New change of clothes could definitely be a life saving measure. And easy one to carry with you at that. Of course I dont but will probably start

Also, don't forget a sharp stick so you can poke yourself in the arse so as to be able to take a pizz.

 

[riverrat47]

I always hesitate to get involved in these arguments, as someone always has some story of someone they know who drowned or nearly drowned and they KNOW the waders pull them down. But they drowned because they panicked, the waders didn't pull them under.
Several years ago, when that Coast Guard guy was on here, I was hoping he would mention the courses they give on water safety, which includes going in the drink with waders on. It's an excellent course, if you ever see it offered, take it. It reinforced what I'd already been taught.
The water inside the waders weighs the same as water outside the waders. It isn't going to weigh you down. AFTER you get out, the water in the waders weighs you down. Your panic actions are what drown you. Rubber, canvas, or breathable waders have enough air trapped to keep you afloat, wader belt or not. I've never owned a pair of neoprene waders or hip boots, but I imagine they would be even more buoyant. When I went thru the USCG course mentioned above, neoprene waders weren't available.
I spent 30 years as a rivers biologist and another 10 as a consultant on rivers & streams, from the Mississippi to small rivers and streams. I've filled my waders hundreds of times in streams and rivers, in all sorts of temperatures, and all sorts of river stages, and never once did I feel that I was going to drown. Hypothermia, yes. Granted, regular swimming isn't easy, but if you don't panic, you will float and can direct yourself toward the bank. Bring your legs up to your chest and paddle with your hands. No problem. And, if you happen to be wearing a life vest, it's a breeze.
This will be my only post on this, as I'm not going to get into BS "what if," or "I knew a guy" arguments. I've been there numerous times.

 

[FowlWeatherFan]

The Reelfoot killer died while trying to wade to the bank.

The old man from last year?

 

[nebgoosehunter]

Was hunting a big river with a buddy in college for early teal season and stepped into a hole right off the bank. Went completely under and I stuck my unloaded gun up and my buddy who was right behind me grabbed the barrel and pulled me up. I was soaked but it happened so fast that my waders didn't fill completely. Luckily it was warm and in the evening so we just kept hunting.

Another time in college a buddy and I were walking into a marsh with no headlamps. It was cloudy so it was pitch black and the wind was gusting around 50-60 mph. I was ahead of my buddy maybe ten yards and I got into the worst muck I've ever been in, probably belly button deep. I was barely able to communicate to my buddy not to come any closer or he'd be stuck too. He ended up going downwind of me a ways so he could actually hear me yell at him. By now the sun was almost up so he could see me and made his way close enough to me that we could hear each other. I ended up taking my coat off and laying it across the mud and sparse cattail cover and then laying my gun across my coat to act as a brace and support. It was enough that I was able to get one leg worked free but now I was laying on my stomach with one leg still in the muck. I pretty much had to belly crawl over the mud to get the last leg free. The sun was well up by now and I was physically and mentally drained so we went back to the pickup to regroup. We drove over to another marsh and noticed a bay that was easy to get to and had birds in it. I think we ended up killing 6-8 between the two of us but what made the day worth it was a Brewer's duck.

 

[Shirleyshusband]

Neighbor, late sixty something year old, died this summer with hip boots on. He was alone on some river bottoms pothole fishing. He had fished it hundreds of times. Had a little 12' skiff with a trolling motor. We know he'd push it out aways and then jump in.
Don't know if he stepped on a hole and couldn't get in or maybe a heart attack. He was in good health as far as I know.

Good memories of him giving his little grandson motorcycle rides up and down the road. Sad.

 

[bill cooksey]

The old man from last year?

January 2021.

 

[OneShotBandit]

OT: Not in waders, but had a boat that was stupidly over packed when a nice wave damn near swamped us. My buddy got it shore, me & his son got out & walked the rest of the way to the ramp while he full gunned it w/o the plug to get water out! You should have seen me bailing water w/a 5 gal. bucket! THIS was the MOST scared I have EVER been! I've done 100 ft. tabletops on a SX track (back in the day) & not been THAT scared.

 

[JP]

To cap onto Riverrat47's prior comments, about four week ago, another 'fuge member (J3) and I were doing a scouting trip in a new area. We were idling down a creek run that was full of logs and stumps so I was standing up in order to see the obstacles and obstructions. Missed one and the hull heeled over sharply to starboard causing J3 to fall against the cockpit coaming which caused me to slide over that side backwards as a scuba type entry into the water. I righted myself while under the water and thought, it's a creek and I'd just walk across the bottom to the bank.
I pot sinking so swimming became the option. Got to the surface just as things were getting tense. Got a breath, went back under as it was easier to progress that way instead of fighting to stay above water. It was approximately 15 yards to the bank and I didn't touch bottom until about 4" from the bank. The waist high breathable waders began to completely fill up while J3 got the boat over to retrieve me. The water was roughly 15" deep where I went in. The waders didn't get heavy until I exited the water to get aboard. At least two guardian angels retired that morning.