Your Personnal Safety Whilst Sea Fishing...

[The Cornish Kingfisher]

Hi guys. I have decided to post this thread to help keep sea fishers safe whilst enjoying the sport!

SAFETY ON THE ROCKS:
The most dangerous time of all is when you're actually fishing. Try to choose a fishing stance that is as flat as possible and never stand too close to the edge when retrieving line and fish. Any casting needs to be done as far back from the waters edge or rock edge so that should you slip you only fall onto rock and not into the water. Landing bigger conger, huss and cod requires gaffing or lifting as close to the water as possible. This makes the person performing this task extremely vulnerable to slipping, falling, or being washed off by a rogue wave. To combat this he needs to wear a thin safety rope attached to a separate waist rope as follows: Take a length of 10mm rope and either knot or plat a loop into each end. Attach a split link spring locking carbine hook (chandlers, climbing shops) to one loop only. When going down to land a fish this rope belt is placed around the waist by passing the carbine hook through the free loop. A second carbine hook attached to a safety rope is clipped to the belt carbine hook. Wear the waist carbine hook at stomach level so that if you should fall you can pull directly on the rope yourself to help haul yourself in.

BREAKWATERS:
These are the most dangerous. They build breakwaters to protect inner harbours and quays etc, from the elements of the tide, therefore expect big waves to break across them and even fully over them, but also the rocks and concrete they are built from to be covered with slime and weed and be extremely slippy. Just because all looks okay at low water, get a change in wind direction and a rising tide and minutes can make the difference. Obviously, the time to fish breakwaters is during reasonably settled weather and not during unsettled spells with constantly changing wind strengths and directions adding to an already confused sea. The moral here is to make sure you have an easy way off if things get suddenly nasty.

PROMENADES:
Athough these may back a shallowish beach you get big waves smashing into the front of these forcing a huge wall of water up vertically which the wind pushes up and over onto the promenade. We've all seen this on the TV after a big storm. Believe it or not but you get some idiots trying to fish off promenades in this type of weather. What happens is that the wave pushed onto the prom then gets washed back seawards and drags you with it. Even railings won't stop you because you get washed through under them. The other danger here is that the waves lifting over the prom wall carry sizeable lumps of shingle with them, too! Catch one of these around the head and you'll know about it! If you must have a go on a promenade in rough weather, stay well away for a while and watch what's happening to the surf before committing your self.

PIERS AND JETTY'S:
These are usually less exposed and have railings along the sides, but still present dangers. The chances of high waves are less likely fishing from a top deck, but are possible if the structure has a lower deck. Getting down to a lower deck to land fish puts you at risk from not only rogue waves, but also from slipping on wet planking. If you have to go down, set up a simple safety line using stainless steel snap link carbineers linking one end around a railing or post as an anchorage and the other around your waist tied with the rope facing forward of the stomach. Set up like this, if you do get dunked you can pull yourself forwards with the rope to safety. Tie the rope to your back, which most people do, and you'll find it difficult to turn when in the water to grab the rope.

HARBOUR WALLS:
These look fairly safe at the outset, but hidden dangers lurk where you least expect them. First off, when casting, stand well back from the edge, about 5yds makes sense, providing you can cast without hitting Joe Public. The same applies to playing fish. Stay back a little from the edge to allow for slipping, or a decent fish throwing you off balance. Harbour walls will have boats tied to them and boats need to be moored, so watch out for ropes, fish boxes and lobster pots when playing a big fish such as a conger or bass that may walk you around a few yards. The best way to land a fish from a wall type structure is with a large drop net. Lay on your stomach with only the head and arms over the edge of the wall and let the angler bring the fish to net. Alternatively, if you have steps that give access to the water level, assess just how slippy the steps are before starting fishing. Concrete steps are especially bad at collecting a film of slime that's got the surface coating of an ice rink. In fact, years ago anglers after conger etc, from such structures used to wash the steps off with neat bleach to rid the steps of slime, but this is not acceptable anymore in our green when it suits you society. Again, if you use steps, or ladders even, to get down to a fish, tie yourself with a safety line to a mooring post, ring, or stanchion.

LIGHTING:
Essential is large amounts of illumination to flood you fishing area. Pressure lamps are okay providing you set them up on a tripod a good 5ft off the ground. Sat on the floor they are useful and give a tiny pool of light. Their weakness is that any spray or water getting onto the hot glass will smash it. Also mantles are weak and fiddly to replace on the mark if they shatter. Better still would be a rechargeable lamp like the Samalite which we reviewed in a past issue. This type of light has an adjustable arm to focus light where you want it and is not affected by a sudden dousing in water.
Any main light source needs backing up with a top quality headlamp. Tape a spare bulb into the battery compartment or similar of the lamp and carry a further spare in your tackle box.

FOOTWEAR :
Assuming any near the sea surface is going to be damp at least, then what you put on your feet needs careful choice. The expense in a waterproof pair of climbing boots for breakwaters and any other stone based structure is well worth it in the long run. The ones with the carbon based soles seem to give the best grip for fishing situations. On piers with no direct access to the sea and safety railings, then normal wellies may be okay, but rubber soles are very slippy on slime covered rocks and wooden planking, so check this out. Trainers, waders and normal street shoes, seen everyday worn by anglers on the local pier, give no protection from the elements and prove extremely slippy in anything other than dry, warm conditions.

CLOTHING:
Obviously waterproof, but when you need a new coat consider getting a flotation type. Something similar to the Cosalt Oilskin type two piece floatation suit and with some reflective tape on the hood etc, to make you stand out. Some anglers prefer a full one piece floatation suit. Fine! But whichever you get make sure that there is enough arm room in it. Being restricted in your movement makes you easily overbalanced and increases the danger factor. Something else to consider are the neoprene gloves which seem to be flooding the tackle shops at the moment. Not only do these keep the hands warm, but they have amazing grip and prove ideal for both holding onto rails etc, when needed, but are equally good at grasping landing net handles, ropes and gaff handles.

FIRST AID KIT:
This is the last bit of advice you're likely to listen to. But think on this! Breakwaters, piers, jetties and harbour walls are all likely to be the home of rats. Rats carry a variety of diseases, some of which can kill. Cuts and scratches quickly treated and cleaned with antiseptic cream and protected by a plaster are less likely to become infected by any germs you come in contact with and can save a really bad heartache.

OVERALL TOP 10 SHORE FISHING SAFETY TIPS:

• Never fish exposed venues you're unsure of during periods of unsettled weather and spring tides.
• Stand well back from the edge when casting and to some extent when playing fish.
• Listen to the local anglers and if they pack up in worsening weather, you do too!
• Always carry a long safety line and clip yourself to a solid structure when gaffing or landing fish at water level.
• Have plenty of light to illuminate your fishing area and always fish with a headlamp which can also be used for signalling for help if necessary.
• When choosing coats and suits, go for a flotation type with reflective tape added so you can be easily seen.
• Wear good waterproof walking boots with carbon soles for extra grip on slippy surfaces.
• Fish in close proximity to other anglers, or try to always fish with a companion.
• Tell a friend or family member where you are and give a time you expect to be home.
• Carry a simple first aid kit with a few plasters, antiseptic cream etc.

I hope this information helps!
Tight Lines!

[mad-on-fishing]

Thank you for the help - very informative - another great post - thank you.
Have you fished at all of these places?

[The Cornish Kingfisher]

Thank you so very much for the praise! Yes i have fished in all of these places - at least twice each and me favorite venue is off a jetty and as i've said above - they can be quite dangerous. Thank you once again.

[madcaravanner]

One further useful tip

carry your mobile phone in a waterproof pouch

you can get them at surf shops and dive shops they cost a few quid but are worth their weight in gold if you need to use your phone in the wet you don't need to open the pack

[carping on]

some verry goog advice you deserve to be a mod!

even though i dont sea fish i always love reading what you put into ALL OF YOUR THREADS sorry about the caps cant be boverd changing it


well done

an u always like decorating your threads

[The Cornish Kingfisher]

madcarananner: Thank you for the extra bit of information, Gray!
Carping on: Thank you for the praise. And yes i do like to decorate my posts - people won't read it if it is all black!

[carping on]

yh i need to start decorting mine

they are always dull =¬()


(i have started now )

[The Cornish Kingfisher]

Yeah - people will probley just get bored if you don't have:

• Bullet points or numbering.
• Many different colours.
• Different sizes in writing.
• Different fonts and styles of writing.
• Bold, italic and underlined writing.
• And the occasional picture.

Most of my reply posts like this are ussaly dull and black but i try to make my threads as eye-catching as possibal.
Good luck!

[madcaravanner]

Originally Posted by The Cornish Kingfisher

Yeah - people will probley just get bored if you don't have:

• Bullet points or numbering.
• Many different colours.
• Different sizes in writing.
• Different fonts and styles of writing.
• Bold, italic and underlined writing.
• And the occasional picture.

Most of my reply posts like this are usually dull and black but i try to make my threads as eye-catching as possibal.
Good luck!

Josh

Don't go to mad with colours and fonts so that it becomes difficult to read that puts people off reading articles too.
Stick to one basic font (Arial, Courier, Times New Roman) and use bold and underlining try not to use Italics too much as for some folk especially those who wear spectacles it can also be hard to read
Make sure the picture is not to big in an article whereas in a post on a forum size doesn't really matter yet.

[The Cornish Kingfisher]

Thanks, Gray - i'll keep those tips in mind.

HERE ARE THE THINGS I STICK TO IN MY POSTS: (that you may have seen):

• I always make the top bit of my threads (introducing the post) and the bottom bit of my threads (saying i hope it helps and tight lines etc.) - in bold (with a smile at the end)!
• If it's a thread that i update montly - i put the month and year date in the center, bold, black and underlined.
• I make subtitles bold and in capitles - sometimes underlined.
• As for the colours - as i said to carping on before - i make new paragraphs different colours so people can see that it's a new paragraph - rather then having just black ajoined paragraphs.
• I try not to use to much italic - but do so where i think it would be good.
• I have now started to use numbering and bullet points.
• I always stick to the Times New Roman font and have never used any other.
• For my pictures - i always attach them as a thumbnail attachment at the bottom of the thread rather then add them across the post.
• I use smilies where i acn to make it more interesting and to make it stand out.