Night fishing the rocks

[krause]

Hi, im new to the site, but have been reading these forums for a while. Found some good info, but looking for something a bit more in depth. Im just wondering if anyone has any good ideas or information for fishing the rocks at night. Im heading to tomaree head this week, an oceanic rock self with deep water, and am wondering what I can do to catch something special. I normally use pillcards under floats, and catch 40cm tailor, with the ocassional snapper or salmon. What could I do to increase the size of these fish, or hunt new species that might be available. Any information or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

[Jew Stalker]

I would give the rocks a miss at night to be honest... It is a dangerous place to be in the day when you can see the waves coming in let alone at night when you can't see them at all. If you were dead set on going at night I would be there during the day also so you can get a good idea on what the ocean is doing as well as making sure your ledge will keep you well out of harms way.

As far as tips, I would have a livey under a float on one rod, a free swimming livey doing its thing where it wants and a ganged pilly on a sinker near the bottom. That way you are covering most levels and have a good chance of a few fish like salmon, snapper, kings and perhaps even a Dory.

Just stay safe and keep in mind that no fish (no matter how big) is worth your life.

[krause]

Shall do. We are on the ledge from midday, so all will be fine. Its a high ledge in a low swell, no trobles. Your right though, no sense being stupid when it comes to this stuff. Cheers for the advise man.

[thesurgeon]

I agree with Trout Stalker if you do intend to night fish DON't do it alone, and wear a life jacket, also check for an area where you can get out safely if you take a dip, and wear cleats. Most people fall in when trying to land their fish as the rocks get covered with weed and slippery. Also it pays to have a gaff and a strong torch. Fishing technique i agree with Stalker.. Good Luck

[stevie g]

I wouldnt do it at all. Concentrate ur times around dusk and dawn. Give urself extra time if u want but i wouldnt go through the night. Ive tried in a spot i have fished many times and the weather turned real bad real quick and spent 6 hours wet and cold waiting for some light to get out of there. Ask urself how much better is the fishing going to be at midnite than at dawn or dusk which are generally prime times? Its not just the waves you have to worry about but ur footing as well. U lose alot of depth perception in low light as well.

[stevefish]

a mate took me to his fave spot one night, about 6 m on a cliff above rocks and water, seemed like a pretty easy way to die but he liked it.

if you do hit the rocks in the dark;

you will be tripping over everything and stepping in cracks all night,

put some glow sticks to mark your no go line near the edge.

take everything very easy and slow

have as much lighting as you can

dont stay too late, things rarely improve late into the light

[krause]

Hay everyone. I want to reassure the world that I am not marching to my death by fishing the rocks at night. I will admit that such an activity is not with out risk, however we have made several trips like this. All men involved are equipted with headlamps, as well as experienced at fishing such an environment and familiar with the rockself itself.

Many people, including some of those above, fear that you cannot see waves as they advance. This is a misconcept conjured up by people that have never fished the night. If one actually turns off the lights and torches they think are crucial to their survival, your eyes will actually adjust to the natural light around you. With this, you can see waves quite clearly if you are attentive (which a rock fisherman should always be). Using factors like white wash patchs and floats also help identify swells as they approch. With a head lamp blaring above you eyes, you can only see around 30 meters ahead, before the sever contrast causes the environment to "disappear into darkness".Another point is that, against popular beleif, "freakwaves" donot exist. One will only ever come across a 'set' of waves that are about half a meter higher than the rest. These pose no threat if one plans for them. By fishing an area, you develope the knowledge of that locations maximum safe swell. Fishing right on this limit allows these sets of larger waves to pose a hazard to a fishermans footing. If one thinks properly about conditions, and fishes below the safe limit for a rockself, then these slightly larger swells roll through unnoticed. Also observing where is safe to fish, and where is stupid to fish is an important skill. Lower platforms that are covered in weed or slippery algae should not be fished as they dont provide proper footing. In general, if the rock is wet, then water got there, and is likely to get there again, so dont fish in that spot.

If one obtains a proper knowledge of the disricts weather, using a reliable site such as BOM or willy weather, they can make sure that they dont end up stuck on the rocks in the middle of no where in rain, wind or big sea's. Information about weather systems, swell patterns and dirrection, moon percentage, and sunrise/set will assure that one can fish with the knowledge that they are safe. I will admit though, that as stevie g stated, depth perception is lowered, and can present a problem. But if one takes their time, and doesnt fool around on the rocks, then they are likely to face any troubles,

In general, there is a bad misconception that rock fishing, in particular at night is a deadly activity. This is not true. With proper planning, and sensible actions and dicissions, one can safetly catch a feed of fish whilst admiring the raw beauty of the open night sky. Im sorry for this rant, but im biast to the topic. Im sorry if you see this as arrogent, but i beleive the thought that this activity is overly dangerous needs to be extinguished. All activities are dangerous, IF carried out improperly. And it is the same for fishing. Sadly, to often I see fisherman on low ledges and was zones, risking their saftey for no reason. It is these people who end up in the drink, and it is these people who make rock fishing seem so dangerous.

[matt84]

Dumb people put them selfs in dumb situations weathers its day or night the majority of incidents happen on days most wouldn't be seen on the rocks, or at least not at those spots.

The spot your fishing is safe In anything under 2m, I have fished it in 3m, in saying that I have been swamped there in the middle of the night by a freak wave up to my chest in water in the pitch black.

By the way, won't get much but sharks at night there. Wasting ur time. Is other spot that do produce well at night though.

[krause]

Hahaha, matt84, you posted in both threads I had. Im guessing that you are local. Youve mentioned better spots? Where may they be. Around port stephens, or further afield? Any info wohld be appreciated, cheers man.

[abecedarian]

What people refer to as "freak waves" are sets of waves from different origins that combine to produce a much larger wave than those surrounding it.

They do exist and can be unpredictable. I've encountered unusually large waves when fishing that have hit hard but never done any real damage as I was prepared.

Fishing the rocks at night is more risky than during the day, there's simply no denying it. And there's not much to be gained compared to dawn and dusk, if anything. With a full moon you can see the wash quite well, fish a new moon though and it's a totally different story. There's only so much light our eyes can absorb of a night.

Once you become overconfident and down play the risks that's when you'll run into trouble.

[nbdshroom]

^ what he said. The superposition of waves can occur when they happen to reach the place at the same time and their magnitude (i.e. heights) are equivalent to the two or more separate smaller waves. Obviously this is why people watch the waves from a set distance for a significant period of time (e.g. 15 mins). This is because it can also be true that the waves are out of phase and thus cancel each other to give no or little waves. It only takes one aligning of the phases of waves to produce the 'freak' wave and hopefully by then you have already taken all the precautions which I'm not doubting. Just putting this out there and hopefully some others may find this info useful.

Edited July 11, 2013 by nbdshroom

[krause]

^^LMFAOOOO engineering or physics student?

[shred]

I like how the bloke who started the thread simply asked what he could do to catch some bigger fish at the spot, and it has turned into a physics lecture

[FISHLETIC]

If you spend enough time fishing the rocks you tend to gain a lot more respect for Mother Nature and how unforgiving she can be.

Not a laughing matter to be honest.

I'd take on the advice from fellow raiders

.....just saying.

[GreyNurse]

I fished Avoca at night once many years ago. Low tide at midnight, a full moon (well, good enough to see anyway). It was dead quiet, fishwise. Come sunup, the action started. mainly greenback tailor. High tide passed and about an hour later the platform was swamped by a green wall of water about half a meter above the platform level. Knocked me off my feet, but pushed me back, luckily and I was able to get to my feet and stay planted. The moral of the story here is that, as mentioned above, the fishing is better at dawn and dusk. Night fishing doesn't appear to be as productive, unless, your targeting sharks, perhaps.

Cheers,

Nursie