Winter fishing survival tips
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PikeAngler :: Fishing :: Pike Fishing
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Winter fishing survival tips
In this post I want to pass on a few little tips that will come in handy to my fellow anglers during the winter.
I can't stress enough the importance of keeping warm and dry. I'm sure you've all heard of the wind chill factor. It can be a killer. It doesn't necessarily have to be winter for it to make you feel seriously cold. And if you are wet you can be sure the effects are multiplied.
To combat this, I wear multiple layers: long johns, trousers, wool pullover, fleece jacket, hat and gloves. If it's really cold or the wind is blowing then I wear Gore-Tex trousers and jacket on top. Gore-Tex is an excellent material as it's waterproof, breathable and windproof. I also have a two piece quilted under suit that goes underneath the top layer but have never had reason to wear this yet. The majority of these items are military surplus, bought online. Excellent value, well made and inexpensive.
This may seem like overkill but doesn't really weigh you down as it's all made up of fairly lightweight materials. Definitely a blessing if you have to hump your gear any distance, but I try not to take too much with me anyway. If you get too warm take off a layer before you start to sweat too much as sweat goes cold and can actually freeze in extreme temperatures.
Your head, face, hands and feet also need protection from the cold in the form of a balaclava or hat, gloves, wool socks and good sturdy insulated waterproof boots.
Wellies can be too cumbersome and don't have very good thermal qualities in my opinion. Having said that, there are specialist wellington type boots on the market now that apparently overcome this. Have a good look around before spending your well earned cash. Another good piece of clothing to have is a scarf or a snood.
Be sure to start your day with a hearty breakfast and take a flask of stew or similar and one of tea or coffee. A word of warning though. Use a flask that has a stainless steel liner, glass ones are too fragile. Drop a glass one and it will break. Even if the liner seems to be intact, tiny pieces can become dislodged and cause serious damage if ingested.
Keep your fluids up. During cold weather we feel the need to pee more often. This is because the body keeps the internal organs warm by diverting blood towards them instead of our extremities. (This is why your hands, feet, face etc. feel cold.) Due to them being kept warmer, they work harder. Hence the kidneys and bladder produce more urine. That’s why you need to keep drinking warm fluids (tea, coffee etc) so as not to dehydrate and also help you to keep warm. Don’t take cold drinks with you as the body has to heat the liquid you consume and this heat is needed for your continued survival and not being unnecessarily used up.
Always carry a fully charged mobile phone that has plenty of credit and tell someone exactly where you intend to fish. If you move to a different venue, then notify them.
Fishing with a friend is also a good tip. You can monitor each other for any ill effects from the weather and it helps to while away the hours.
Phones are getting more sophisticated. A lot have Sat Nav/GPS built in. Mine has a Bluetooth GPS dongle and TomTom installed on it. These go with me all the time so that if I need rescuing I can look up the Longitude and Latitude co-ordinates if need be. (Also helps me find where I’m going!!)
The Inuit have a brilliant sign for letting each other know they are ok. The tips of the thumb and little finger on the same hand are touched together. If you cannot comfortably and easily do this, then you obviously are not ok. Get warmed up immediately. Jump up and down on the spot, wave your arms about or jog on the spot. Don't go mad though, you'll use up valuable energy reserves and don't forget the tip about sweating. If you go cold again quickly then pack up and go home or you could end up being ill or worse.
Learn the symptoms of hypothermia and monitor yourself and your fishing buddy for them.
Have you noticed how when you are cold you put your hands under your armpits? This is because it’s one of the warmest parts of the human body and can save you from frostbite. The Norwegian army teaches their soldiers to put a comrade's bare foot or hands into their own armpit to warm them up and prevent frostbite. They actually court marshall any soldier that gets frostbite!
Take an umbrella or bivvy with you for shelter from the elements and use it. Don't sit outside of it. Good tip for summer too is that one.
I always carry with me a small personal survival kit. In it I carry painkillers, whistle, torch and 2 forms of fire making. Why 2 you ask? Simple, if you need to make a fire and your matches don't light then there's always the lighter. I advise you all to look up survival in a web search and read books on survival.
I've listed some of the websites that I visit below for survival tips and ones that are for bush craft or outdoor pursuits. Read them. Put them in your favourites and visit them on a regular basis as they are constantly updated.
I don't want to be a scaremonger but cold weather can be deadly unless you prepare for it. Remember, there's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing and lack of knowledge.
Keep safe and enjoy yourself when on the banks of your favourite fishery.
The websites:
www.equipped.org
www.wilderness-survival-skills.com
www.survivaltek.com
www.bushcraft-educational-society.co.uk
www.bushcraftliving.com
www.ukgeocachers.co.uk
www.surplusandadventure.com
www.outdoorsurplus.co.uk
I can't stress enough the importance of keeping warm and dry. I'm sure you've all heard of the wind chill factor. It can be a killer. It doesn't necessarily have to be winter for it to make you feel seriously cold. And if you are wet you can be sure the effects are multiplied.
To combat this, I wear multiple layers: long johns, trousers, wool pullover, fleece jacket, hat and gloves. If it's really cold or the wind is blowing then I wear Gore-Tex trousers and jacket on top. Gore-Tex is an excellent material as it's waterproof, breathable and windproof. I also have a two piece quilted under suit that goes underneath the top layer but have never had reason to wear this yet. The majority of these items are military surplus, bought online. Excellent value, well made and inexpensive.
This may seem like overkill but doesn't really weigh you down as it's all made up of fairly lightweight materials. Definitely a blessing if you have to hump your gear any distance, but I try not to take too much with me anyway. If you get too warm take off a layer before you start to sweat too much as sweat goes cold and can actually freeze in extreme temperatures.
Your head, face, hands and feet also need protection from the cold in the form of a balaclava or hat, gloves, wool socks and good sturdy insulated waterproof boots.
Wellies can be too cumbersome and don't have very good thermal qualities in my opinion. Having said that, there are specialist wellington type boots on the market now that apparently overcome this. Have a good look around before spending your well earned cash. Another good piece of clothing to have is a scarf or a snood.
Be sure to start your day with a hearty breakfast and take a flask of stew or similar and one of tea or coffee. A word of warning though. Use a flask that has a stainless steel liner, glass ones are too fragile. Drop a glass one and it will break. Even if the liner seems to be intact, tiny pieces can become dislodged and cause serious damage if ingested.
Keep your fluids up. During cold weather we feel the need to pee more often. This is because the body keeps the internal organs warm by diverting blood towards them instead of our extremities. (This is why your hands, feet, face etc. feel cold.) Due to them being kept warmer, they work harder. Hence the kidneys and bladder produce more urine. That’s why you need to keep drinking warm fluids (tea, coffee etc) so as not to dehydrate and also help you to keep warm. Don’t take cold drinks with you as the body has to heat the liquid you consume and this heat is needed for your continued survival and not being unnecessarily used up.
Always carry a fully charged mobile phone that has plenty of credit and tell someone exactly where you intend to fish. If you move to a different venue, then notify them.
Fishing with a friend is also a good tip. You can monitor each other for any ill effects from the weather and it helps to while away the hours.
Phones are getting more sophisticated. A lot have Sat Nav/GPS built in. Mine has a Bluetooth GPS dongle and TomTom installed on it. These go with me all the time so that if I need rescuing I can look up the Longitude and Latitude co-ordinates if need be. (Also helps me find where I’m going!!)
The Inuit have a brilliant sign for letting each other know they are ok. The tips of the thumb and little finger on the same hand are touched together. If you cannot comfortably and easily do this, then you obviously are not ok. Get warmed up immediately. Jump up and down on the spot, wave your arms about or jog on the spot. Don't go mad though, you'll use up valuable energy reserves and don't forget the tip about sweating. If you go cold again quickly then pack up and go home or you could end up being ill or worse.
Learn the symptoms of hypothermia and monitor yourself and your fishing buddy for them.
Have you noticed how when you are cold you put your hands under your armpits? This is because it’s one of the warmest parts of the human body and can save you from frostbite. The Norwegian army teaches their soldiers to put a comrade's bare foot or hands into their own armpit to warm them up and prevent frostbite. They actually court marshall any soldier that gets frostbite!
Take an umbrella or bivvy with you for shelter from the elements and use it. Don't sit outside of it. Good tip for summer too is that one.
I always carry with me a small personal survival kit. In it I carry painkillers, whistle, torch and 2 forms of fire making. Why 2 you ask? Simple, if you need to make a fire and your matches don't light then there's always the lighter. I advise you all to look up survival in a web search and read books on survival.
I've listed some of the websites that I visit below for survival tips and ones that are for bush craft or outdoor pursuits. Read them. Put them in your favourites and visit them on a regular basis as they are constantly updated.
I don't want to be a scaremonger but cold weather can be deadly unless you prepare for it. Remember, there's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing and lack of knowledge.
Keep safe and enjoy yourself when on the banks of your favourite fishery.
The websites:
www.equipped.org
www.wilderness-survival-skills.com
www.survivaltek.com
www.bushcraft-educational-society.co.uk
www.bushcraftliving.com
www.ukgeocachers.co.uk
www.surplusandadventure.com
www.outdoorsurplus.co.uk
Lefty- Posts : 1297
Join date : 2008-08-26
Age : 54
Location : Cadeby
Re: Winter fishing survival tips
Excellent stuff mate
.....i would always endorse the use of a spinning set-up just to keep you active on the banks
.....failing that........take loads o' drink
....and black bags of course
.....i would always endorse the use of a spinning set-up just to keep you active on the banks
.....failing that........take loads o' drink
....and black bags of course
Re: Winter fishing survival tips
some of my top tips
take superglue this can save your live
dont rely on matches get and learn how to use a firesteel even in the wettest weather these work lighters and matches wont
anctually do what i do get a plastic tub with a decent sealing lid
put in it firesteel
lighter/led torch (these can be combined from puondshops)
a whistle
couple of tampons (nothing better to start a fire with)
couple of condoms they make great water carriers inside a sock (get the unlubed ones)also handy for keeping things dry like a phone if your overly exposed
superglue (for repairs of gear and its also a top thing to use on cuts closing the wound very fast)
small compass (if you need rescuing it helps to know where features are in relation to you)
puritabs for water
mirror
small multi tool
wrap electrical tape around the outside of the box as it comes in handy too
aspirin is worthwhile too
you may notice from the picture i have multiple redundancy built into the kit with a few items carrying torches whistles compasses etc, better being safe....
picture to describe it a little better
take superglue this can save your live
dont rely on matches get and learn how to use a firesteel even in the wettest weather these work lighters and matches wont
anctually do what i do get a plastic tub with a decent sealing lid
put in it firesteel
lighter/led torch (these can be combined from puondshops)
a whistle
couple of tampons (nothing better to start a fire with)
couple of condoms they make great water carriers inside a sock (get the unlubed ones)also handy for keeping things dry like a phone if your overly exposed
superglue (for repairs of gear and its also a top thing to use on cuts closing the wound very fast)
small compass (if you need rescuing it helps to know where features are in relation to you)
puritabs for water
mirror
small multi tool
wrap electrical tape around the outside of the box as it comes in handy too
aspirin is worthwhile too
you may notice from the picture i have multiple redundancy built into the kit with a few items carrying torches whistles compasses etc, better being safe....
picture to describe it a little better
Last edited by noodle on Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:34 pm; edited 2 times in total
Re: Winter fishing survival tips
the stuff above is the bare minimum id have with me if venturing into the wilderness for a day.
I can state that on one occasion the contents of that tub has saved me from seroious harm
long story so i wont go into it here, but warmth is the most important aspect of surviving in the short term (overnight, if you can find shelter your halfway there if not you must be able to get a source of heat both for the warmth and the ability to melt snow/ice to drink.
its worth sticking a foil bag in your rucksack at all times as they are wonderfull if you get a dunking they can be worth their weight in gold even in decent weather as hypothermia is a risk even in the height of summer
I can state that on one occasion the contents of that tub has saved me from seroious harm
long story so i wont go into it here, but warmth is the most important aspect of surviving in the short term (overnight, if you can find shelter your halfway there if not you must be able to get a source of heat both for the warmth and the ability to melt snow/ice to drink.
its worth sticking a foil bag in your rucksack at all times as they are wonderfull if you get a dunking they can be worth their weight in gold even in decent weather as hypothermia is a risk even in the height of summer
Re: Winter fishing survival tips
The kit I have with me at all times is what I consider the absolute bare minimum to carry around. As I've stated, this goes everywhere that I go. I do have a more extensive kit that is in the process of being made that fits into a tobacco tin, and one for the car that should keep up to 4 people safe for a week.
As noodle quite rightly states, shelter is your first priority followed by heat, then comes water and lastly food.
If you look at websites for survival you will get lots of very good tips that will come in useful at any time not just when fishing.
An excellent book I can recommend is The SAS Survival Handbook by John 'Lofty' Wiseman. This book covers EVERY eventuality including nuclear war !! (hopefully we won't need that bit)
As noodle quite rightly states, shelter is your first priority followed by heat, then comes water and lastly food.
If you look at websites for survival you will get lots of very good tips that will come in useful at any time not just when fishing.
An excellent book I can recommend is The SAS Survival Handbook by John 'Lofty' Wiseman. This book covers EVERY eventuality including nuclear war !! (hopefully we won't need that bit)
Lefty- Posts : 1297
Join date : 2008-08-26
Age : 54
Location : Cadeby
Re: Winter fishing survival tips
Lefty wrote:The kit I have with me at all times is what I consider the absolute bare minimum to carry around. As I've stated, this goes everywhere that I go. I do have a more extensive kit that is in the process of being made that fits into a tobacco tin, and one for the car that should keep up to 4 people safe for a week.
As noodle quite rightly states, shelter is your first priority followed by heat, then comes water and lastly food.
If you look at websites for survival you will get lots of very good tips that will come in useful at any time not just when fishing.
An excellent book I can recommend is The SAS Survival Handbook by John 'Lofty' Wiseman. This book covers EVERY eventuality including nuclear war !! (hopefully we won't need that bit)
NBC suit from the military surplus stores a tenner
ive got one
Re: Winter fishing survival tips
So have i, though the Charcoal lining has long gone
One thing i have always found, mainly Winter shooting on farmland / woods etc.... is that you need to start off warm before putting the layers, hats, gloves etc.. on. If you travel somewhere & are cold & then start adding the clothing it is difficult to get warm. Also. if you are outdoors & get cold & THEN START ADDING EXTRA GLOVES ETC.. i find you are usually wasting your time and cant get warm, as the layers and stuff insulates and theres no point in insulating a cold body. If i get uncomfortably cold i pack in what i'm doing and get into a warm place or car with the heating on. These are my findings
One thing i have always found, mainly Winter shooting on farmland / woods etc.... is that you need to start off warm before putting the layers, hats, gloves etc.. on. If you travel somewhere & are cold & then start adding the clothing it is difficult to get warm. Also. if you are outdoors & get cold & THEN START ADDING EXTRA GLOVES ETC.. i find you are usually wasting your time and cant get warm, as the layers and stuff insulates and theres no point in insulating a cold body. If i get uncomfortably cold i pack in what i'm doing and get into a warm place or car with the heating on. These are my findings
Bazz- Posts : 1184
Join date : 2008-11-12
Location : Notts
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