In this post he explores safety on the water, particularly eye safety, something anglers probably take for granted until it's too late.
Please enjoy.
Safety while fishing, do we really think about it?
Nowadays, parents have kids basically in bubble wrap to do anything. Sorry, but I grew up in an era without child seats, riding in bed of pick ups, etc... Back to the point in hand, I tend to go fishing a lot, and picked up a few things.
The safety aspect I believe is most important to fishing is eye safety. I work as a mechanic so I have to wear safety glasses all day. My glasses have prescription lenses, so I basically wear safety glasses all the time, paid for by work. :)
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| Spurky doing what he does best |
When out fishing, the glasses have prevented me from getting branches in the eye when following someone, or from injuring myself when not paying attention. Now the reason I am so thankful so wearing them...
I was fishing for trout on the local over-sized hill which was no cell signal area. I would have to cross the stream twice to get back to my truck due to terrain. (I am lucky, my truck has OnStar if there's no cell coverage in an emergency). My lure got snagged, a 1/4 oz spoon, and I had 8-lb test on. Pulling to free the lure was not working so prepped myself to snap the line, as lure was in a deep hole 30 feet upstream.
Pulling to break it, I heard the line "singing," then it happened. The lure broke free and in a millisecond the spoon hit my glasses dead center in the left lens, knocking my glasses up my nose and off my head and laying me out on the ground. When got my senses back, I had blood all over from cuts on my nose. I found my glasses and saw a small chip in lens, it was dead center.
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| Not THE glasses, image used for effect |
If I did not have my glasses on, my doctor said I most definitely would have lost my eye. I had the lens replaced and the eye doctor had the lens manufacturer check the lens. They estimated the impact at approximately 45 mph!!!
With the wide range of safety glasses out there, there is no excuse not to wear them while fishing. Whether it is a dry fly or a large metal bait, remember your sight is important and you need to protect it.
What a great reminder, Spurky! Reality is..................... The things we take for granted sometimes can blow up in a hurry.
ReplyDeleteMichael. thanks for sharing this....
Here is my new link for my blog. I know you miss me!
http://fishin4walter.blogspot.com
Thanks for the heads up Spurky! I wear glasses and have "incidents" happen frequently although I've never caught one in the eye.
ReplyDeleteI always wear sunglasses while fishing. The plastic ones will not shatter form impact but they do scratch faster and don't seem to last as long. I recently got some Costa's and love them. They are the first pair of actually "glass" sunglasses I've had in a long time. Safety always seems to become more important as you age and have more to lose. When I load my kayak up I always tie down the front and back as well as the hull. People always say to me "you know you really don't "have" to tie down the front and back, over the hull is fine." It's safer to tie down the front and back and I'll continue to do so. I'd rather have my boat stay on my car than fly off causing someone else to get into an accident.
ReplyDeleteI always have two pairs of glasses packed in case I lose one wading. It is the most important piece of gear you take along. And yes, I do have shatterproof. =)
ReplyDelete