Safety Gear

Hi,

I am new to sea fishing so apologies if this question has been asked before. Is it common practice for shore anglers to wear bouyancy aids when fishing from rocks or from piers ?
What type of water safety gear would you recommend ?

thanks.

Hi , yes it would be a very good idea, to wear a life jacket,, keep a good eye on the tides , have a fully charged phone , dont go where you wont have phone coverage ,, And always make sure you tell someone where you are going and what time you will be back..

Even if you don't have mobile coverage on your phone don't worry, you can still call 112 (emergency number) and your phone will try to connect to any available network.. It's a handy thing to know about..

a floatation suite is the best job i find for the winter and the irish summer ialso use a life jacket when spinning on the fine evenings

Thanks for that advice. Is there some kind of lifejacket thatautomatically inflates when it contacts water or when a canister of gas is released manually ??
Would the standard boating type lifejacket be very bulky when fishing ?

Hi Unfit,
I use a automatic inflation lifejacket when shore angling. I use a Baltic, but there are a lots of good makes around. It's a 150 Newton lifejacket - newtons in this case being a measure of the bouyancy provided when fully inflated. The jacket is quite neat to wear and does not get in the way when casting, etc. It has a CO2 cylinder and firing mechanism that should inflate the jacket within 5 seconds of entering the water - that's the theory anyway It also has a manual toggle that you can yank on in the event that the automatic system fails. As a last resort there is a mouthpiece that allows you to blow up the jacket.

A few tips from my own experience:

When you buy the life jacket, buy a spare re-arming kit and keep it in the car. This allows you to rearm the jacket if it goes off accidentally (dropped into a pool of water for example).

Wear the crotch strap supplied. Otherwise there is a danger that it will come off over your head.

Follow manufacturers instructions regarding inspections, re -arming, lifetime, etc.

Treat it with the respect it deserves. Your life might depend on it one day. Don't throw it into the boot of the car and chuck a load of gear in on top of it.

Hope that helps!

Regards,

Liam.