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Rock fishing is probably the most dangerous of all forms of fishing and it has claimed many lives and has inflicted serious injuries to anglers that have been caught out. As an experienced rock fishermen myself, i have always put safety first and have driven for 30 or more minutes to a rock platform only to find its too dangerous to fish and turned away from it without fishing at all many times. I had a bad experience just last weekend on the rocks which could have cost me dearly and should have never happened.
I was fishing one of my favourite rock platforms for Drummer, on the opposite side of the rocks there is a particular spot that im sure holds good fish but is often too dangerous to fish from. I kept an eye on this spot for about 45 minutes while fishing from my usual spot and everything looked fine, no waves were coming anywhere near the spot i wanted to stand so i made the decision to have a go. It all started off fine, for about 20 minutes i fished this spot without even getting my feet wet since the swell was not too bad, but a short time later i noticed the wave size was slowly increasing but still felt safe so i continued to fish there which was a big mistake and one i will never make again.
I had a small slightly elevated rock to stand on and a wave which was considerably bigger than the rest washed up onto the rocks and came up past me on the left but didnt come up to where i was standing but on the way back out it entered into a small channel in the rocks and came back down directly behind me and without being prepared i was swept off my feet and started to slide down the rocks toward the water. Luckily i managed to grab a peice of rock on my way down just enough to stop from sliding down any further, and i was able to scramble back up the rocks just in time before the next wave came in.
My injuries were minimal, a badly bruised and swolen wrist on my right side from when i put my hand down to try and break the initial fall, at first i thought the wrist was broken but as it turns out it was not. And a deep cut to my backside which i assume happened during the water slide towards the water. At the end of it all when i was back up into a safe location on the rocks, i realised i still had my fishing rod in my left hand, and the rest of my gear was stored well up the top of the rocks from the start so i was lucky not to lose any gear as well. It was a stupid mistake on my behalf to have even considered fishing in that spot since i always avoided it because of the dangerous location but a mistake i will never make again.
I have always promoted rock fishing safety to everyone i introduce to the sport but on this particular occasion i made a foolish decision and nearly paid the price for it, and i consider myself lucky to have come out of it with only minor injuries and no lost gear, it could have been much, much worse. If you are new to rock fishing and thinking about giving it a go, please take all of the neccesary precautions like checking the weather forecast for wind, swell and wave direction and once you have chosen a location sit back in a safe spot for at least 10 minutes and watch what the waves are doing and see how it will affect your position on the rocks.
Rock fishing can be very rewarding but always put your own safety first, you may not get a second chance if it goes wrong.
I was fishing one of my favourite rock platforms for Drummer, on the opposite side of the rocks there is a particular spot that im sure holds good fish but is often too dangerous to fish from. I kept an eye on this spot for about 45 minutes while fishing from my usual spot and everything looked fine, no waves were coming anywhere near the spot i wanted to stand so i made the decision to have a go. It all started off fine, for about 20 minutes i fished this spot without even getting my feet wet since the swell was not too bad, but a short time later i noticed the wave size was slowly increasing but still felt safe so i continued to fish there which was a big mistake and one i will never make again.
I had a small slightly elevated rock to stand on and a wave which was considerably bigger than the rest washed up onto the rocks and came up past me on the left but didnt come up to where i was standing but on the way back out it entered into a small channel in the rocks and came back down directly behind me and without being prepared i was swept off my feet and started to slide down the rocks toward the water. Luckily i managed to grab a peice of rock on my way down just enough to stop from sliding down any further, and i was able to scramble back up the rocks just in time before the next wave came in.
My injuries were minimal, a badly bruised and swolen wrist on my right side from when i put my hand down to try and break the initial fall, at first i thought the wrist was broken but as it turns out it was not. And a deep cut to my backside which i assume happened during the water slide towards the water. At the end of it all when i was back up into a safe location on the rocks, i realised i still had my fishing rod in my left hand, and the rest of my gear was stored well up the top of the rocks from the start so i was lucky not to lose any gear as well. It was a stupid mistake on my behalf to have even considered fishing in that spot since i always avoided it because of the dangerous location but a mistake i will never make again.
I have always promoted rock fishing safety to everyone i introduce to the sport but on this particular occasion i made a foolish decision and nearly paid the price for it, and i consider myself lucky to have come out of it with only minor injuries and no lost gear, it could have been much, much worse. If you are new to rock fishing and thinking about giving it a go, please take all of the neccesary precautions like checking the weather forecast for wind, swell and wave direction and once you have chosen a location sit back in a safe spot for at least 10 minutes and watch what the waves are doing and see how it will affect your position on the rocks.
Rock fishing can be very rewarding but always put your own safety first, you may not get a second chance if it goes wrong.
