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Be carefully

M

Marcus Petch

Senior Member
Last night I decided to go and have a few hours on a new stretch of the river dove that I have just obtained a ticket for.
I'd been there a couple of hours and it had just got dark when one of my rods seemed to get pulled over by weed coming down the river.

I got out of my chair and walked towards the rod to re cast it when the bank that I was standing on gave way and the next thing I knew I was under water having gone into the river head first.

On surfacing I found my self upto my chest in water in the margin with a muddy bank above me.
I tried several times to pull myself out but the bank just kept giving way with no vegetation to grab hold of .
To add to my difficulty I had a pair of Welles on that filled with water and a thick hoody on that became heavy with the water.

It was now dark and although the water was still warm and I would class my self as a reasonable swimmer and fairly fit I was struggling to get out of the water and started to panick as no one els was around.

I had been in the water maybe 5 minutes but it seemed for ever when luckily a dog walker came past and helped me out.

I'm truly grateful to that person as I was running out of ideas and without taking the risk of swimming out to the main flow and down river to find somewhere els to get out I don't know what I would have done.

Just a wake up call to myself and the rest of us that the river bank is a dangerous place especially after dark.

Luckily the only thing that I ended up with is a ruined I phone and an early trip home but it could have been a lot worse and no fish is worth losing your life for.

Take care everyone
 
Good grief, glad you're OK Marcus.

Was it crayfish erosion do you think? or were you just on an iffy bit of bank?

All the best
Russ
 
Now that sounds like it was uncomfortably close to being a tragedy Marcus :eek: As you say, you are young, fit and a decent swimmer....you didn't panic...and you had a BIG stroke of luck that a dog walker came along at a very opportune moment. Had it been me, the young, fit and good swimmer bonuses would definitely not apply...I would panic....and any passing dog walker would take one look and push me back in :D:D

Seriously though....that is a wakeup call as you say...but one there is no answer to. Unless the bank is very obviously undercut, you are not going to know anything is wrong until what happened to you occurs. Scary :(

Cheers, Dave.
 
Guys thanks for your concerns it was scary to say the least especially in the dark but thankfully I'm ok with just my pride damaged along with an expensive I phone on an 18 month contract.

Don't think it was crayfish as never heard of them on the stretch it was just undercut I think waiting for a 15 stone bloke like me to step on it.

It has left me a bit shaken and apprehensive having night fished for more years than I can remember but will be back on the river next week hoping for my first barbel from the stretch.
 
just sets alarm bells ringing....maybe time to invest in a floatation vest or something similar.:cool:
 
Glad you are here to tell the tale Marcus...don't forget a dog spike and rope next time, leave the rope either trailing in the margin or right on the river edge and knot the rope every 2-3 feet to give you something to grip..it could well be worth the aggro of screwing the spike in and it doesn't weigh too much to carry...:)
 
As a water sports enthusiast (I used to travel the country doing charity raft races every weekend) and river walker in days gone by I developed a strategy whereby if I found myself out of my depth the first thing I would do is turn onto my back and attempt to float downstream to an exit point or a shallow area to wade ashore. It obviously works because I'm still here.
The key is not to panic, thats easy to say when you are warm and dry but not so easy in practice when you are plunged up to your neck in cold water in the dark.
If this thread helps one person its a good thing.
 
Glad your here to tell the story Marcus, I was on the Dove myself last night on the BMAA stretch, where abouts were you?

Ive been in the Dove up to my chin myself, but in summer and in daylight it wasnt a pleasant experience then never mind you being in the colder water and darkness as well
 
Bill good idea re the dog spike will have to get one of those.
Ricky I was on the bmaa stretch to at tutbury.
The water is still quite warm which I can vouch for we're you the other side of the bridge at tutbury by any chance hope you had more look than I did last night
 
I always have a dog spike and rope with me on high banks and in flood conditions..in flood conditions tied around my waist, once took a dip in flood conditions wrestling a big Carp just took that step too far to get landing net under her to find myself swimming with her. The rope definately saved my life and as said is a lesson to be learnt....best part was finding a garage without a female cashier as i drove home in my underpants lol :D
 
Ricky its a tough stretch to crack as it's my first season on the river but only joined last month.
I'm still awaiting my first barbel from tutbury and last night certainly didn't help.
My mate has done very well at tutbury having the two biggest out which is the reason I joined but at the moment I can't buy a fish.
Perhaps see you down there sometime but please keep an ear out for any large splash :eek:
 
glad your ok markus, fortunatly you did this thing when the dove is as low as i have seen it , when she's up i think you may have a little more to think about,
regards jim
 
Hi Marcus,
I just cant begin to image how frightening that must have been.
Here at Throop we have some very bad overhanging banks that occur after the floods, we try to knock some of these into the river and we do warn anglers on our website to take care of these very dangerous banks.

We have one section that some of you Guys may know, it is on Beat2 just upstream from Highbanks, there is a metal gate that a few seasons ago was hanging in mid-air, the gate was repositioned leaving a nice area where you could scramble down the bank to fish off the spot where the bank had fallen in, at the moment this section has been wiped out, leaving a cliff like bank, if you were to fall in here you would be in very deep water, leaving an escape very difficult.

I am now aware of all these bad overhangs............
Take care and check out these banks before fishing, keep away from the edge.

Brian Willson Throop Bailiff.
 
The good news is my new I power is safe Bob.
Thanks for everyone's concerns.
If anyone is willing to pass on a few tips for tutbury other than stay dry I would be most grateful as I'm struggling at the moment to christen my new rod :D

All the best
Marcus
 
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