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Mishap

Cliff Turner

Cliff Turner

Senior Member & Supporter
We've done an angling mishap thread before but here's a new one ... I was fishing a local lake on Tuesday for tench, slow going with only 1 decent rudd when one rod shot off and I was in to a decent fish. The fish was trying to get under bushes on my left so I stepped over the second rod and moved to the right to get a better angle. I got the fish out and was playing it in open water so went to step back over the second rod to get the landing net when I somehow lost my footing and stumbled. My right foot came down onto the second rod and in my desperate attempt to not put my weight down and break the rod I somehow tore my hamstring and collapsed in a heap in excruciating pain. For a few seconds the pain was so bad I didn't know what to do, I put the rod with the fish on on the ground and tried to get myself into my chair. From then the next 10 mins were a mess trying to reach my landing net, pick the rod back up, land the fish and unhook it especially as the fish had now gone through and tangled with the second rod, and I couldn't stand up. Eventually I landed and safely returned the fish and then went about untangling the two rods. I rang my wife and told her what had happened and asked her to be ready to come to my rescue ! I spent the next 20 minutes shuffling around and managed to get my gear packed away but I decided there was no way I could get it back to the car so I called my wife again and asked her to come and bring a crutch. She turned up 25 mins later and with her help and the crutch we got to the car and then home. 48 hours on and I can only walk little pigeon steps, if I try and extend the leg its still excruciating. Ive called 111 and they agree its hamstring so no treatment just rest and ice. Im gutted as I was planning a week on the rivers next week which isn't happening unless I make a miraculous recovery. Its made me think about all the times i fish on my own in the middle of nowhere and what I would of done if it had happened then ? Be careful out there guys and enjoy the new season !
 
My wife after two decades suddenly realised that she doesn't know where I am at any one time when I go fishing and tells me to "what three word" where I am when I get there now. Can't say I always remember to do this but I can be in some remote places alot of the time and she worries if something happens, how she would tell anybody where I'm located.
For those that don't know what three word is a very accurate location app.
 
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Stuart Linton said:
My wife after two decades suddenly realised that she doesn't know where I am at any one time when I go fishing and tells me to "what three word" where I am when I get there now. Can't say I always remember to do this but I can be in some remote places alot of the time and she worries if something happens, how she would tell anybody where I'm located.
For those that don't know what three word is a very accurate location app.
[/QUOTE

Good thinking.
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Cliff Turner said:
We've done an angling mishap thread before but here's a new one ... I was fishing a local lake on Tuesday for tench, slow going with only 1 decent rudd when one rod shot off and I was in to a decent fish. The fish was trying to get under bushes on my left so I stepped over the second rod and moved to the right to get a better angle. I got the fish out and was playing it in open water so went to step back over the second rod to get the landing net when I somehow lost my footing and stumbled. My right foot came down onto the second rod and in my desperate attempt to not put my weight down and break the rod I somehow tore my hamstring and collapsed in a heap in excruciating pain. For a few seconds the pain was so bad I didn't know what to do, I put the rod with the fish on on the ground and tried to get myself into my chair. From then the next 10 mins were a mess trying to reach my landing net, pick the rod back up, land the fish and unhook it especially as the fish had now gone through and tangled with the second rod, and I couldn't stand up. Eventually I landed and safely returned the fish and then went about untangling the two rods. I rang my wife and told her what had happened and asked her to be ready to come to my rescue ! I spent the next 20 minutes shuffling around and managed to get my gear packed away but I decided there was no way I could get it back to the car so I called my wife again and asked her to come and bring a crutch. She turned up 25 mins later and with her help and the crutch we got to the car and then home. 48 hours on and I can only walk little pigeon steps, if I try and extend the leg its still excruciating. Ive called 111 and they agree its hamstring so no treatment just rest and ice. Im gutted as I was planning a week on the rivers next week which isn't happening unless I make a miraculous recovery. Its made me think about all the times i fish on my own in the middle of nowhere and what I would of done if it had happened then ? Be careful out there guys and enjoy the new season !
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Poor bugger...bad timing but at least you saved the rod albeit injuring yourself in the process. However flesh repairs itself but not smashed carbon so chin up.
Depending on what you have done ie tear sprain or snapped hamstring you should be 'back on the grass' in about six weeks. 😏
 
Ouch. Hope you feel better soon Cliff. I've torn a calf muscle before but never a hamstring. That was very painful to walk on, but surprisingly no pain when I cycled.
 
W3W every time for me when I go fishing too now. After suffering a heart attack three years ago, and the resulting surgery for triple bypass, with two mechanical heart valves, followed by a post operative stroke, kidney failure, three weeks induced coma, serious doctors telling my mum and other half that it’s getting near to turning off life support, and now daily swallowing umpteen life-critical pills….

It’s the only way my other half lets me slip my collar for a few hours. I no longer have the confidence to fish more remote sections of the river, as I once did but I regularly fish my club lakes alone. That said, fishing is behind two locking gate systems that would mean that even though my location would be known, I’m all but in a box by the time anyone could get too me. 🙄

All this of course reduces angling pleasure somewhat, but I’m stuffed if I’m going to avoid all risk and wrap myself in cotton wool for the rest of my days.
 
Bad news re the hamstring incident Cliff , happened to me in my younger days . Ouch !


If you have an Apple Iphone you can just use “ find my friends “ if your phone is twinned with your wifes phone. We had a slightly different incident where my wife was out and the car broke down , she called me ,not knowing exactly where she was . I used find my friends which showed me her exact location . I screenshotted the FMF location , then called international rescue , e.mailed them the screenshot and they went straight to her and fixed the problem . I could have gone myself but it seemed churlish not to use the internationsl rescue, green flag or whoever it was after paying for them .

Dave
 
Cliff Turner said:
We've done an angling mishap thread before but here's a new one ... I was fishing a local lake on Tuesday for tench, slow going with only 1 decent rudd when one rod shot off and I was in to a decent fish. The fish was trying to get under bushes on my left so I stepped over the second rod and moved to the right to get a better angle. I got the fish out and was playing it in open water so went to step back over the second rod to get the landing net when I somehow lost my footing and stumbled. My right foot came down onto the second rod and in my desperate attempt to not put my weight down and break the rod I somehow tore my hamstring and collapsed in a heap in excruciating pain. For a few seconds the pain was so bad I didn't know what to do, I put the rod with the fish on on the ground and tried to get myself into my chair. From then the next 10 mins were a mess trying to reach my landing net, pick the rod back up, land the fish and unhook it especially as the fish had now gone through and tangled with the second rod, and I couldn't stand up. Eventually I landed and safely returned the fish and then went about untangling the two rods. I rang my wife and told her what had happened and asked her to be ready to come to my rescue ! I spent the next 20 minutes shuffling around and managed to get my gear packed away but I decided there was no way I could get it back to the car so I called my wife again and asked her to come and bring a crutch. She turned up 25 mins later and with her help and the crutch we got to the car and then home. 48 hours on and I can only walk little pigeon steps, if I try and extend the leg its still excruciating. Ive called 111 and they agree its hamstring so no treatment just rest and ice. Im gutted as I was planning a week on the rivers next week which isn't happening unless I make a miraculous recovery. Its made me think about all the times i fish on my own in the middle of nowhere and what I would of done if it had happened then ? Be careful out there guys and enjoy the new season !
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Bugger. As you know Cliff, I lost 3 months Fishing with that shoulder/back injury before the season end.

Don't push it, steady recovery mate.
Then you'll be wading the Wye, bagging up as usual.
 
You can also get those GPS trackers that send an alert if you fall over or press the SOS button.

We used to use them at work for Lone Workers, and have found that they could be set off by colleagues dropping them or throwing them on the back seat of the car in the coat pocket.
 
As we approach another fishing season on rivers and thinking of Cliff’s unfortunate accident, it would be worth reiterating the basics on water safety. We don’t intend to go into the water unless wading but sometimes unplanned things happen. At some point one of us is going to slip in or fall in so have you thought about if that happened where would you get out. You won’t always exit the water where you entered so maybe have a think where that could be. If you do go in then it will be cold, it will be a shock, but try and stay calm and float for a bit until you get your bearings. After that consider options for exiting. If your with friends then someone will know you’re in the water and need help but maybe it would be worth putting that phone in a waterproof pouch, and in that way you might be able to make a call if you can’t get out. Link below is a basic on these things but let’s be mindful that we’re near water all the time when fishing and we need to respect it.

https://www.rospa.com/water-safety/water-safety-code

Lastly, should you get wet then get out of your wet clothes a.s.a.p. and put on anything that’s dry. It will help with rewarming. Stay safe and tight lines everyone!
 
Cliff Turner said:
we've discussed using whatthreewords before and never done it, think I may reconsider !
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It’s incredibly simple Cliff you don’t really have to do anything other than download the app. Obviously allow the app to access your location when it asks then just tap on your square to reveal the unique location point with 3 words.

If you think signal is going to be a problem where you are and you might struggle to share that location, simply find the location manually at home and share a 3 word square with whoever necessary before you go like so
IMG_9684.jpeg
 
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