Another Fisho Dead

[arpie]

Hi Bart & Rockhoppin

I know that experience counts a lot, but ....

Don't forget that 2 old buddies died rock hopping last year & they had a combined rock fishing experience of about 70 years!! They both went in & they both died. No-one knows what happened - their gear was found up on the rocks - but they weren't with it!

Anyone who thinks they won't ever 'go in' should buy an inflatable pfd!

Cheers

Roberta

Noisy told me that info on inflatable rashie vest can be found on WWW.REAPERCHEAT.COM

or

http://www.hotbite.com.au/content/articles....php?art_id=224

Edited August 28, 2007 by Roberta

[coastspinna]

we fished snapper rocks on sunday morning and if my mate didn't scream out to this dude and his missus there would have been two more.... i was riggin up at the time and was close to our gear so we were sweet, but there were buckets and chopping boards floating around the ocean....

mind you this was on 1.5 m of swell and a low tide and this wave came over a ledge that i have fished on a high tide with 2 m seas safely....

ask any surfer about groundswells and the power that reefs and walls can have on magnifying surf and they will tell ya...

this was pretty wild, and when i read the reports all i could think was wow, that could have been us

all for aussie salmon... not likely

[RockHoppin]

Hi Bart & Rockhoppin

I know that experience counts a lot, but ....

Don't forget that 2 old buddies died rock hopping last year & they had a combined rock fishing experience of about 70 years!! They both went in & they both died. No-one knows what happened - their gear was found up on the rocks - but they weren't with it!

Anyone who thinks they won't ever 'go in' should buy an inflatable pfd!

Cheers

Roberta

Noisy told me that info on inflatable rashie vest can be found on WWW.REAPERCHEAT.COM

or

http://www.hotbite.com.au/content/articles....php?art_id=224

Im sorry to hear that, its always a shame when any fisho goes that way. And with 70 years experience between them it really does highlight how unpredictable the ocean can be! But I got the utmost respect for the power of the ocean and will never claim to know exactly whats going to happen - only thing I'm sure off on the rocks are my knots!

I steer well away from the low ledges in all but a 0.5-1m swell and never fish anything greater than a 1.5m. Even so, a 1.5m swell can be very dangerous - especially after the seas have been up and the swells decreasing. Yes the vest may save a few lives but surely if you cant swim, the last place you'd want to be is on the rocks?? You can never know whats going to happen but you can always aim to minimise the risks. In saying that, the size and direction of the swell are the 1st things I look out for when checking out the forecast. You can never prepare for everything but reading the conditions sure does help...anyways, you'll never see me risk my life for a fish. Im guessing most responsible rock fishos will agree.

[southerly]

Hi all,

I have been observing sadly the death toll over the past 30 odd years, one correlation I have found is that a large number of deaths are during a 'making' sea. That is the swell is on the rise, on the east coast this can happen very rapidly, even faster on the south or west. The effect is that the wave behind is always bigger than the one in front, it is very disconcerting if surfing in a making swell, it is also the conditions that cause sandbanks to collapse (another furthy) leading to mass rescues by life savers.

Not sure how I would describe a rising sea but I can pick it in about 30 seconds and with all the surfing and ocean weather sites around it should not be too hard to predict anymore, some of the surfing sites get it right to within +/- 30 minutes. Bottom line if the sea is on the make stay away from the rocks, breakwall etc and don't go surfing either.

Southerly

Edited August 29, 2007 by southerly

[Rode Cary]

we fished snapper rocks on sunday morning and if my mate didn't scream out to this dude and his missus there would have been two more.... i was riggin up at the time and was close to our gear so we were sweet, but there were buckets and chopping boards floating around the ocean....

mind you this was on 1.5 m of swell and a low tide and this wave came over a ledge that i have fished on a high tide with 2 m seas safely....

ask any surfer about groundswells and the power that reefs and walls can have on magnifying surf and they will tell ya...

this was pretty wild, and when i read the reports all i could think was wow, that could have been us

all for aussie salmon... not likely

interestingly i was rock fishing whale beach that same day. swells as mentioned were 1.5m, however, i couln't fish my usual normally safe fishing ledge. the swells were powerful though, very powerful. even on a low tide and 1.5 m swell, it was dangerous on a normally safe ledge. just to confirm that swell size is not the only factor. watching the spot for a while before fishing and common sense are important

cheers

bertrand

[southerly]

interestingly i was rock fishing whale beach that same day. swells as mentioned were 1.5m, however, i couln't fish my usual normally safe fishing ledge. the swells were powerful though, very powerful. even on a low tide and 1.5 m swell, it was dangerous on a normally safe ledge. just to confirm that swell size is not the only factor. watching the spot for a while before fishing and common sense are important

cheers

bertrand

Hi all,

As mentioned above the factors that make a rockfishing spot fishable are more than just average swell size and include:

1. Swell height (not just the average swell height as reported on the news but also the maximum swell height - which can be double the average)

2. Swell period - this is critical to rock fishing as it determines the speed and amount of water in each wave for a given wave height. Longer periods mean faster and more powerfull waves (the 'killer' or 'king' waves of WA are long period stuff from deep in the southern ocean).

3. Swell direction - for example Nth Curl Curl is fishable in a much bigger South Swell than it is fishable in a Nth East swell.

4. Whether the swell is making (rising) or abating

5. Tide is it rising or falling

6. Surface wind strength and direction - offshore winds delay the breaking of a wave as it comes into shallow water, onshore do the opposite.

Bottom line is spend as much time observing the water as you possibly can to build up that knowedge base, it could just save your life. My wife gives me much grief when we walk along a beach or headland as i just stare out to sea, she just doesn't get it.

Southerly

[Mondo Rock]

There's one other tip for rock safety that is, in my view, the single most important.

If you lose your feet then immediately swim away from the shore. Do not attempt to get back to your feet, do not attempt to hold onto the rocks, do not attempt to climb back out of the water - all of these will simply ensure that the next wave that hits you will have maximum chance of smashing you into the rocks and knocking you out. I have seen too many friends attempt this move during aborted attempts to launch their surfboard off the rocks - only to end up broken and battered as the remaining waves in the set tumble them across the basault.

Once you're in the water there is ONLY one direction to go and that is out to sea. Once clear of the breakers you have all the time in the world to calmly swim to an easy exit-point.

Which is why you should never fish the rocks if you can't confidently swim. NEVER.