South Coast Fatality

[Green Hornet]

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/man-in-his-20s-dies-while-rock-fishing-on-the-south-coast-20201108-p56cnj.html

 

Its always unnerving to see such an incident so close to home.

I've been fishing this platform for over 30 years and as the years are creeping up on me, made to call late last year to give it away now I'm not as strong a swimmer as I once was.

Knowing this spot as well as I do, I believe a PFD could have gone a long way toward keeping this unfortunate guy alive.

[Rebel]

Mate, they will not listen. You tell people to wear a life jacket and they do not want to know.

[Green Hornet]

7 minutes ago, Rebel said:

Mate, they will not listen. You tell people to wear a life jacket and they do not want to know.

True mate.

With the swell that was running, it would have been crazy to fish there in the first place.

[Rebel]

It happens up here at Avoca. Seas up, wind howling and they still go fishing.

[noelm]

On a kind of related note, the swell was quite big on Friday into Saturday and a family group had all their gear ready to fish the rocks in front of my place, there was surfers everywhere and I just happened to ask them "where are you going to fish" they pointed to a spot that was pretty damn dangerous and I suggested they just look for a while or fish in a safer spot, a second later a "set" came through and covered the entire spot they planned to fish, I pointed them to a good spot that is safe in bigger swell and often produces fish.

[Green Hornet]

10 hours ago, motiondave said:

just my thoughts, if I go rock fishing, Id be inclined to wear a foam life vest, not a PFD, simply because , if I get knocked out before I get to pull the cord on the vest, I still have a chance of staying afloat because of the foam vest.

Too many people risking it, even in boats, so many I see not wearing life jackets because they are "good swimmers" or some other lame excuse.

 

I wear a foam, kayak style vest for that very reason, plus I have tried an inflatable PFD in the pool and they are extremely difficult to swim in. In choppy water it would be near impossible.

For the record, the way I see it, all buoyancy vests are referred to as PFDs.

[Rebel]

I wear one around the waist. Doesn't get in the way like the other one's.

[Phil Remington]

I fished low for many years, on blackfish ledges, raising my leg as the swells past and listening for the call of "water".

Its always sad when someone is lost, Rockfishing remains, by far, the most dangerous sport in the country. 8 people a year die in NSW alone.

On reflection, 40 years ago no one wore wore life jackets, though even back then I did fish with a few blokes who wore helmets, if you can swim, and you get swept off, your main risk is always being knocked unconscious.