Learning to Wade a River

When I first started fly fishing one of the first things I was forced to learn in a hurry was how to wade a river. Dave took me to the South Ram and we hiked into the canyon together. I had always retained a small fear of water since I had almost drowned as a kid, but over the years I had come a long way to enjoying water sports, most of which I had experienced on lakes. This picture shows me mastering a deeper/faster crossing on my own. The river was a little off color and higher than normal that day, so this crossing involved trusting what I had learned about reading water and feeling my way across with my feet, as I couldn't see the bottom. It was definitely a little intimidating at first, but soon I had this skill under my belt. Looking back over the years I've been guiding, I remember a number of guests twice my size who I've escorted across the river. I think I remember the words Dave first told me, "keep your feet shoulder width apart, angle across and slightly downstream, fix your eyes on a destination across the river and go with the current as oppossed to fighting it." "Lose that yellow jacket and those red shorts next time we go fishing together k"  was the other words I heard that day. I quickly learned something else that day - bright colors can alert the fish of your presense.