Can Sandflats Get Dangerous?

[swong]

Altho im still new to fishing, ive worked out i like fishing off sandflats compared to jetty/wharves. . .so far ive spent most of my time at Kelso Beach and made a few trips to Fig Tree Bridge as well. . .

anyways, i was just wondering if it's dangerous to go too far out?? I only have gumboots atm, but i know people on the forum have mentioned using waders. . .the only problem is that even in gumboots ive noticed that if i go too far out i get bogged in the marsh. . .

One time i got stuck in the marsh so badly that i had to pull up my feet while gripping the top of my boots because i couldnt make any more steps. . luckily my wife was close enough to help pull me out too.

is it just the places im going to? Are there safer places to go to?. . .i would love to invest in some waders to go out further, but i can only see it leading me to more trouble!! Especially as most of the time i fish by myself.

[DGF]

mate with our without waders in areas like that you will always get bogged as its a muddy bottom but at least i guess you wont have to try pull your legs out with your hands if u had waders on personally i hate the feeling of the muddy bottom haha

but yeh im thinking maybe do somthing like what they use in the snow to spread the weight over a wider area with maybe some tennis rackets strapped onto the boots ? may not sink as deep ? but then again if it fails might stick in harder not really sure

i just stay a lil further inland

[Captain Spanner]

I dont really fish Kelso but i think you should be able to hit ok water from the shore there without getting too wet. On the safety side of things apart from getting your gum boots stuck in the sand/mud i wouldnt want to be trying to swim in gumboots full of water, i'd imagine you would get dragged under pretty quickly if you could no longer reach the bottom or get them off. I'm pretty sure guys do drown occasionally when they fall over and have their waders fill up in both the surf and streams and i would imagine it could happen on the flats too (keeping in mind you may be on the edge of a channel that has substantial tidal flow at Kelso). People may see Bull sharks as a wading hazard at Kelso also.

I would recommend wetsuits booties or dunlop volleys to protect your feet from sharps until you are more experienced at wading these areas even though it can get cold.

There are flats around Dolls Point and Brightom in Botany Bay and also in Gunamatta Bay in the Port Hacking that may be a safer/better starting point. Probably from a fishing point of view as well.

Good Luck