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Please be careful out there

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Ben Lippen

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Edited 11-17-2011

I've bumped this up a few times over the years, but the loss of yet another surf rat yesterday made me do it again. Please, please be careful out there guys and gals......

 

Edited - 2006

If ya look at the time/date stamp up and to the left, you'll see that this post I made was nearly two years ago. I was reminded of this early this week when reading of striperondaflys getting swept off the North Jetty at Barnegat Inlet. Made me think about bumping this one back up again this fall. I usually wait til the season gets in full swing, but recents events convinced me to do it now.
The second thing, trigger ya might say, was reading tonights post/thread about the seven men whos' boat went down recently.
The third was just minutes ago. Tho it wasnt fishing related, it put the fear into me something fierce.
I walked out of my house to lock up my truck for the night. I no sooner get back in my house when I hear a loud "Thump! Bang!"
Turn around and go back out the door, and there's a 6" by 8' white oak limb laying half stuck ten inches into the ground and shattered across the sidewalk I just passed thru.
But for a few moments, it was on my head with who knows what kinda damage.
Anyway, the point of all this is, I believe that there are never enough "Be Careful" posts. Everyone should read all of them and take heed. At least think about the other folks in yer life when you hop to that last rock, take that one extra step into the water, run the boat into the white water by yourself. Whatever we do to make that next cast the one that will catch the large we seek. Think about the others waiting for you to come home. Them that dont really care if you got the big fish or not.......



I know some of ya'll are like me and will fish in extreme conditions of wind and tide, lack of sleep and other things. And some even fish alone for the most part like me.

This mornin' I wasn't gonna go out, but since I've ben gettin up in the wee hours for a few weeks now, I couldn't go back to sleep so I headed out on my own.

Twas black as ink with the low cloud cover and some fog on an incoming tide. A shore break that didnt seem too bad. About every five minutes or so I could just make out the white of a breaker out on the second bar.

As is my usual ritual, I walked to the waves' edge and stood and watched the water as best I could for awhile, both to let my eyes adjust to the darkness and to get the feel, timing and size of the sets that were rolling in. I was looking for the usual. A bit of white water, an obvious rip. Anything that had maybe changed since the previous morning.

Seeing not much, I walked a bit to a secondary point I had ben eyeing up recently but hadn't fished much because it was usually occupied by a meat stick or two. Since I was earlier than usual because I was not with a buddy, there was no-one there. On this particular stretch of beach the front trough is not all that deep in most spots. The parts that are deep are easy to spot, and I knew this wasn't one of those areas.

Now, anyone who's ever fished with me knows that because of my size, I tend to go in a step or two farther than others. But I try to remind myself when I'm alone not to do this.

Anyway, I found what looked to be a nice little rip on the south side of this little point, clipped on a black swimmer and stepped in to begin the hunt. Thinking after ten minutes that I had it wired, I made a few casts.

Suddenly the horizon, which is really all I had to look at to judge my distance, disappeared.
I was eye to eye and about ten feet from the top of a wave that hadn't yet begun to curl.

Knowing it was too late to backpedal, I slid on foot behind me and braced to get a wet face.
What followed was so quick I'm still surprised sitting here over twelve hours later that I could manage to do what I did.

The wave didnt break, or I should say broke behind me. After it lifted my off my feet.

At that split second I, with both arms already well above my head, threw my rod as hard as I could over my head towards the beach and struggled to keep my feet below my head.

I dunno how far back the wave carried me, but I managed to land on my feet. Right in the beginning of a nasty rip current that took out my old knees. Knowing the water was going away and I had at least a chance to fall and then right myself one time, I kinda tossed myself around and came down hard on my right arm, spraining my wrist pretty well in the process.
My feet were out from under me, but I had contact with the sand with both hands now and started frantically climbing up the beach to get clear of the next wave.

I stopped crawling when I came upon my rig, scrambled to my knees, then feet, and staggered out of the wash and well up the beach. Thanks to my wader belt and gore-tex jacket I was only a bit wet around the collar. A shooting pain in my wrist and a reel reduced to a coffee grinder told me I was done fishing. But I managed to grab a somewhat dry smoke and lighter and sat down there for what seemed like ever and slowly got my breathing and heart rate under control.

This is when I got scared. Because I looked up and down the beach and realised I was really alone. I dunno if I might have died. I dunno if it was that serious a situation. But all I could think of was Ken Schwam ( 10x10 ). I thought about how it happened to him. And about how much it hurt all of us to lose him. How fast it happens, ya dont really have time.

My emotions overcome me as I write this. Thinking of Ken, and how much I miss him. And how it would hurt my friends and family if I went missing, just going fishing....

I appoligise for the long, drawn out post. But it's the only way I can tell the story and make my point.
What we do, as striper anglers, is inherently dangerous. But we can be careful, and limit the danger.


Please, please folks, be careful out there.
Dont take yourself or the water for granted. Even when you know, you never know.
The season we do these things is also the holiday season. Your family and friends want, need you around.

Edited by Ben Lippen
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A shooting pain in my wrist and a reel reduced to a coffee grinder told me I was done fishing.

 

You should've fished the Nautil. biggrin.gif

 

Seriously, a nice breaker took out my legs two weeks ago during that stiff North blow. Got distracted when i saw fish busting just out of range...stepped too far thinking i could get a better cast off. redface.gif

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That, my friends, is why I don't fish alone any more from midnight till 5am on the beach or rocks. Yeah I know that that's when the gurls are around but ya know what? Life's too dear.

 

Glad yer still with us John. It would be a sad day not seeing you at the Food Fling.

 

If yer gonna fish alone at least let someone know where yer gonna be (even if it's just a note on your door), a time when you expect to be back and wear some sort of floatation device.

 

Sounds like you have something to be really thankful for this Thursday!

 

Enjoy the day.

I fish ...therefore I lie
Member #1315
Well onto my way to the next level!
There's not a fish out there I won't target or a technique I won't try! At the very worst I died with my rod in my hands!
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Ben, you gonna start wearing a PFD?

 

Brian, the sad truth is I bought SOSpenders the week after Kenny died. Wore them religiously for the first year or so.

Then started fishing with buds again, and started leaving them in the truck. Now they are in my back room somewhere.

 

I'll be diggin' them out tonight, checking them for condition. Then they'll go back in my truck with my other gear to be worn.

 

I ben doin this for thirty years. Twenty hardcore. I know better.

Complacency is the enemy.

 

Truthfully, I'm a bit ashamed, but all the more reason to be public about this.

Stuff happens too fast.

 

BTW, I made this post/link my Thanksgiving greeting to all nine of my brothers and sisters and my daughter.

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