Safety To Be Observed During Fishing Trips
A fishing trip can be a fun and relaxing way to spend a lazy day and good for family and friends bonding too but I must emphasized that safety to be observed during fishing trips shouldn’t be an oversight or taken for granted otherwise it could turn a fun day into a bad day.
Remember, it can be an exciting adventure for a young child going fishing with parents or grandparents too but you don’t want to spoil it because of some mishap. For me, when out fishing, safety is always number 1. If some mishap is to befall on you or fishing partners, it could really spoil a trip especially in cases where you have no choice but to turn your boat back and head for shore.
There are far and plenty of points to observed for safety on fishing trips so I will try not to bore you and list the essentials although I doubt I will be able to cover everything here.
If you are planning on going on a fishing trip especially with young children, there are some situations that you must be prepared to face.
1. Bring along or pack a first aid kit in your tackle box. Because fishing uses many sharp tools, you should be prepared to treat injuries such as cuts and open bleeding wounds with disinfectants, medicated lotion and bandages.
2. Before going on a fishing trip, you should always check out the weather forecast regardless if you are planning for fishing off shore or fishing from shore. Those out on boats should pay special attention to storm movements. Many storms are a lot closer than what you think and can easily outrun your boat. Be prepared to run for sheltered waters or land upon the first sign of darkening skies and distant lightning strike.
3. Hooks. Some people has the bad habit of leaving their hooks on the seats of boats or other “convenient” places within their easy reach in case there’s a need to change set-ups to because they are targetting a different species of fish that calls for a change or perhaps going from bottom fishing to drift fishing.
I urge you to practise the good habit of putting your set-ups aside in a safe place away from others. Those who are unaware could end up sitting on some hooks or getting hooks embedded in them. That could be a very painful and bad experience for some caught in that kind of situation depending on the size of hook and how far it has been embedded in you.
Always, always keep a look out for others who may standing or doing something behind you befor your big cast. It’s certainly no fun hooking a fellow angler in areas that you cannot imagine possible.
Make it a habit to look behind and to the sides before you cast, you never know who or what may be in the path of your cast. If you fishing with young children or beginners, drill this into their head so much so that it becomes second nature
4. Knives, gaffs and other dangerous equipments. Make sure your knife is sheathed after use and gaffs are out of the way and only present when there’s a need to use them although
5. Line tangling. Not a dangerous situation unless you make it as such. Tangles are commonn where your line maybe caught in a tree or some underwater structure. These situations must be approached with caution for you can turn it into a major disaster if the wrong approach is taken.
If you are using a fishing rod. It’s not some cheapskate stuff but an engineered piece of equipment that can really take a lot of stress. Don’t attempt to use your rod to fight that tangle because that could end up real bad.
A good approach would be to give enough slack in your line and access the situation and not simply try to yank your tangled line in the hope of clearing it. Some tangles can be bad or there are instances where your tangles do come free and your whole setup comes back at you at a very fast speed line, hook and sinker. That could pierce a hole and cause some serious injury in some unsuspecting person who happens to be in the “line of fire”.
It’s better of snapping of the branch of the tree or try going as close to the source of tangle and cutting your line of at that point. Forget about the $8 lure (try making your own lures instead, it’s much cheaper and really rewarding when you are able to catch fishes with lures that you have made with your own hands, sorry that I went off topic for awhile) or whatever setup that is at the end of the line. The consequences and potential injury that can happen to you is not worth it!
Same goes for underwater structures and remember, never use your bare hands to try and tug it off the line. Serious injury and deep cuts can happen to your hands if you are not careful. Make use of a glove or rag if you have to and never wind the lines in your hand in a attempt to have a better grip on the line. The line can do some serious damage to your hand if it doesn’t give way and bites into your hand.
Well, these are the essentials on safety to be observed during fishing trips. I’m sure you have others as you go on more fishing trips to different areas and face different situations. Experience counts and make a note of those situations mentally so that you are prepared for your next trip and possibly share with others about safety to be during on fishing trips.
