Less than a week ago I opened a post about safety with these words: I’m not being dramatic. Nor am I being flippant. The podcast I was referencing was entitled “Don’t Die Fly Fishing.” Although the label sounds a bit like clickbait, I was not being flippant. And since the episode was recorded four days after a local man lost his life while fly fishing, I was certainly not being dramatic.

On Father’s Day, a man from New Hampshire went fishing with his adult son on the Kennebec River in Maine. Not long after 8:00am, he apparently lost his footing and went under. His waders quickly filled and he struggled to get to the surface. He was eventually rescued, but it was too late.

There is no way to eliminate risk in life. Needless to say, there is no way to eliminate risk in fly fishing. But there are some things that can help. This tragic story includes the unfortunate detail that a wading belt was not used. While a nylon strap isn’t a foolproof life saving device, it can mitigate how much and how quickly water enters waders.

My prayers do go out to this family because of their loss. And I can only assume that they hope that by hearing of this terrible event others might avoid a similar situation.

Here are some important things to remember:

• Wear properly sized waders and wading boots.
• Utilize the best wading soles for the terrain and your stability.
• Wear a wading belt properly.
• Use a wading staff.
• Wear polarized glasses to better see the bottom.
• Learn how to wade in various currents and know your limitations.
• Become familiar with local flow rates and what they mean for wading specific rivers.
• If you are not a strong swimmer, consider using an automatically-deployable PFD.
• Do not wade alone or, at a minimum, let someone know where you’ll be.
• Make sure you have hydration and nutrition if you’ll be on the water for a prolonged period of time.