Safety Equipment

As fishing takes place beside (and often within) water, safety is of considerable importance. Children fishing should be with an adult to be sure they are safe at all times. In addition a life jacket or buoyancy aid should be worn.

One very important item of protective equipment is sun glasses (or any other type of glasses). The hooks and flies used when fishing are sharp and there is always the chance that a stray cast, or someone not watching what is going on around them, might result in a hook or fly getting caught in someone. Getting a hook or fly caught in someone’s eye can be particularly bad as that person will probably loose the sight in that eye. Always wear eye protection when fishing, or when around others fishing.

Safe Fly Fishing

When fishing always be aware of your surroundings, fly fishing lines go as far backwards as they go forwards during casting so there is a risk of hitting people walking behind you if you’re not paying attention – just because you know that the line goes quite far backwards doesn’t mean that others do! Also be aware of the water around you. River banks or loch sides can be very slippery. They can also have steep drop offs and ledges and one step without paying attention can leave you over deep water. In addition some parts of rivers have faster flows than others and lochs can have underwater currents – both of these can sweep you away.

Rivers also have the danger of flash floods. Water levels can rise quickly after heavy rain which can occur in the headwaters of rivers even when the area being fished is dry – always be watching out for rising rivers when fishing, even when it’s dry, as this has caught out even experienced anglers in the past.

Finally, fishing rods conduct electricity and should never be used near overhead cables, or indeed anything electrical, or in a lightning storm for fear of serious injury or even worse!