I recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of a “Too Close” event on the river. It was a nasty, wet day. Back then, it involved a fine trout on the Mongaup. The trout was rising steadily just beyond the reach of my longest cast.

I picked my way over slippery river rocks until I was waist deep in a swift water braid. The cold water was rapidly sapping my energy reserves. It did not take long until I was bobbing along and very lucky to somehow clamber back to the river bank and safety. It took me a long time to stop shivering and chattering.

Hemingway spoke to us about the risks of venturing out too far. Often there is a price to be paid, and the largest trout ever bred is not worth one angler dead. This is supposed to be a recreational activity; not life and death.

A wise person might have learned from that lesson in 1986, but didn’t. I again got an April dunking this year. Somehow I convinced myself that using a wading staff is quite enough for safety. It is not.

There is hardly a more experienced riverman than Al Henry, who dedicated 40 years trying to keep people safe on rivers. Now a member of the Upper Delaware Council, Henry urges, “If you are in, on or near the water, wear a properly secured lifejacket.” As this advice comes from someone who investigated a sad number of river deaths, it is time to pay attention.

This is why the “Water Safety Partnership,” a coalition of river safety advocates, is working so hard on a campaign to get the message out concerning lifejackets: “Wear It!.”

Kris Heister, our Upper Delaware National Park Service Superintendent, points out a grim statistic to make the crucial water safety point. Since 1980, there have been 67 river-related deaths, and not a single one involved a person wearing a properly fitting and fastened lifejacket.

The logo for the Wear It! campaign was thoughtfully developed. When do you wear a life vest? When you are “Swimming, Boating, Fishing, Floating.” Drowning investigations too frequently reveal that at the end of a float trip, that quick “swim” without the lifejacket has proven to be fatal. The river is not a backyard wading pool. The river, however much fun it is, can be full of surprises such as currents, drop-offs and deceivingly chilly water. Wear the life vest.

It was heartening to learn from Jamie Myers of the NPS that 28 participants from the liveries attended the Water Safety Partnership meeting on April 29. Lives will be saved.

Tips of the Week: May has started off cool and wet. This weather does not mean you should despair. Experts fish for shad both early in the day and toward evening. This is because shad respond best in low light conditions. Hint: a cloudy day means low light too.

Many fly fishers know that 80% of the trout’s diet is sub-surface. It’s not a bad idea to fish a small nymph combo down deep. It’s hard to beat a small Hare’s Ear or Prince Nymph fished toward bottom. Use a bead-head version when the current requires.

As productive as nymph and wet fly fishing is, the pie a la mode is dry-fly fishing. The calendar says dry fly fishers should be seeing sulphurs, March browns and pale evening duns in quantity soon.

The key factor is to get out there and wet the line. “Anyone can be a fisherman in May” (Ernest Hemingway). This certainly is the time—but remember, stay safe and Wear It!