River Clyde Fisheries Management Trust Ltd.
 

Wither you are on a loch or in an estuary the rules of safety apply to all.

Lifejackets

Lifejacket buoyancy is measured in newtons - 10 newtons equals 1Kg of flotation.
There are four European standards for lifejackets which must all carry the 'CE' mark:

•  50 newtons are only for use by swimmers in sheltered waters when help is
   close at hand.
   They are not guaranteed to turn a person from a face-down position in the water.

• 100 newton lifejacket is for those who may have to wait for rescue and are
   likely to be in sheltered and calm water.

• 150 newton lifejacket is for general offshore and rough weather use, where a
   high standard of   performance is required.

•  275 newton lifejacket is primarily for offshore and extreme conditions and
   for those wearing heavy protective clothing.

Safety First - 

• Please do not wear waders or wellingtons.

• Always wear a life jacket or a suitable buoyancy aid.

• If using a plank or manufactured seat across the gunnels -
  DO NOT USE IT WHEN MOVING UNDER POWER, as the boats centre
  of balance becomes top heavy and a capsize situation can develop very quickly.

  Drifts & Drogues -

There are three main ways to achieve bow-first drift. You can use a drogue which is tied to the middle of the stern of the boat. A drogue will slow your drift as well as keeping the stern to the wind. The use of drogues of different sizes can be beneficial as they will give you some control over your speed, particularly on very windy days, rather than simply hurtling flat-out down-wind. The second way, where allowed, is a rudder clamped to the stern of the boat which is used to set and control the angle of drift. The third and most popular way is to use a pair of oars.

When using the oars, they are placed in the aft-most rowlocks and swung along-side the boat, blades to the rear, vertical, and as near the stern or as far beyond as possible. The handles are then tied to the midship rowlocks with bicycle inner tubes. When everything is set-up, you can adjust the angle of drift by "shortening" or "lengthing" one or other oar as well as altering the weight distribution of the anglers in the boat.

The object of the exercise is to fish and search for feeding fish at different depths. Two people can fish at different depths by using different lengths of line as well as lines of different sink rates. After you have cast, by counting the number of armfuls of line as you pull it off the reel, you can measure the depth at which you are fishing. If you catch a fish, by pulling off the same amount of line on your next cast, you should return to fishing at roughly the same depth. If at the end of a drift you have not been successful, then try a different line and fish a different depth.