west coast rock fishing dangerous october/november

Two buddies of mine were bass spinning yesterday and just after they left the ledge, three big swells came from a flat calm sea and swept along it

Last November, while he was fishing at the Blue Pool, a 27-year-old Latvian man was swept into the sea, in front of his wife and child. The Latvian man had been living in Athlone.
On October 29th, a Polish man drowned when he was swept out to sea while fishing at Tullig Point, also in Co Clare.

"we've moved into fall in the Northern Hemisphere, which means increased and more intense storm activity in the upper latitudes (40-60 degrees north latitude) of the North Atlantic. These cold storms slide off of Eastern Canada or Greenland and over the Gulf Stream fueled (and relatively warm) waters of the North Atlantic, generally every three to five days Ground swells from winter storms off New Zealand travel over 6000 nmiles to reach the beaches of South California, groomed clean of chop.........

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Yep

http://www.magicseaweed.com is a good site for checking wave patterns and heights. Long deep swells are relatively flat in the open sea but can rise dramatically as the ground underneath them shallows, especially if the swell is also being funnelled into a deep gully or bay. This is very common on rock marks on the west coast from Cork to Donegal and people should be aware that storms hundreds of kilometres offshore are capable of creating massive swells. These will occassionally lose their rhythm and pile up on each other, in effect doubling the size of the swell. This is one of the causes of "freak waves" which are far more common than people realise. You should fish at least 5 metres above the tide line and be aware that swell will reach higher on a flooding tide than on an ebbing tide. On most rock marks, you do not need to fish at HW only...

The old line "never turn your back on the ocean" is always good advice.

Anyone fishing a rock mark at any time of the year without mates and certainly an automatic lifejacket is a total fool. They are needlessly endangering themselves and people sent out to search for them.

An automatic lifejacket gives you a chance if you are swept off or fall somewhere and for less than most people would spend on a new rod.

Other useful options are a piton hammered into the rocks and a safety line (extreme but if you fish a mark regularly its well worth it) and if you can not hammer it in, you can buy cement - fast hardening stuff - that sets harder than metal. I know one place where a guy has built his own platform from concrete including metal railings but well, that is true dedication! :wink: Would not have believed it unless I had seen it!

Having a thermal blanket, waterproofs, a change of clothes, first aid kit (and training in how to use it), ropes, various mobile phones to maximise coverage between networks close by (and not half an hour away in the car boot) are all intelligent options for rock fishing.

You can use rod sections and line to make a splint in, only seen this done once and it was a bad compound fracture so I never want to see it again.

BTW wool keeps you warm even if it gets wet a tip I got from a Canadian mountaineer which I unfortunately got to test - and yes it is true!

Any other safety tips, people might collect them here and we will put them together in a PDF or simple guide...

Thanks

Automatic lifejackets are available from about 60 euro or so in some of the chandlers in Cork. I know there may be a perception on some of the marks that the fall will kill you anyway but sure if thats the case and the only reason for not wearing one it will make it easier to find your body wont it.... In areas with no phone coverage, a small handheld VHF isnt a bad idea either and they aren't that expensive. Never go without some form of a working torch or headlamp in your box. If something goes wrong, the evenings are drawing in fast. Usual stuff about never going alone and always informing someone of an expected time of return apply. I have an arrangement with the missus when I go boating to ring me at a specific time. If the phone rings, I'm OK, even if I dont answer it (ie, not in the drink)

Pete,

i think it might be illegal to carry a hand held VHF for that purpose, though obviously if it was a matter of life and death you should use it. Wonder if your coverage would be ok from rock marks.

One idea might be to keep the cellphone in a waterproof box as I know in the case of the two polish lads mentioned above, both were washed out and the next swell threw one back onto the rocks.

The guy who had a narrow escape yesterday almost always wears a life jacker and carries one of those ropes coiled in a bag designed for throwing from a yacht, but because it was flat calm he had neither. He'll be putting it on when he gets out of bed from now on :lol:

I would carry a throw bag like this one http://www.jackson-sports.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5833
it takes up very little room in your rucksack and very easy to use.

Hi,
All great advice above,would just like to add from a person often sent to search for the people who get swept into the sea.
Wearing an auto inflate lifejacket will increase you chances of surviving/being rescued by 80%, main advice is, if swept in do not try and get back to the rocks, ( unless no-one has seen you fall in), being thrown against the rocks by the next wave is often what does all the damage, its amazing how sharp little barnicals can be when you are forcibly being rubbed up and down them!( i have often seen the results)
If there are others present that could raise the alarm try and swim away from the cliff/rock, you will be safer and have a much better chance of staying alive.
One other helpful tip for us to find you, if at night try and have a light on the jacket,or reflective material,its amazing how far we can spot a small piece of refletive tap at night in the helicopter.( up to 5 miles!)
As mentioned let someone know a time that you will call them, this information would have saved many people by having the search commenced much earlier
regards
screeming

Its very spooky this happened again on the same day. The report talks of
"falling" from rocks, though certainly all the cases last year the men were swept
out by the swell


Polish man fatally injured after falling from cliff while fishing in Clare

Pat Flynn

A 35-year-old Polish man died after falling from a cliff while fishing in Co Clare yesterday.

The married man, who had been living in Charleville, Co Cork, is understood to have been fishing from cliffs in an area known as the Pollack Holes on the western side of Kilkee Bay. He fell some 30ft into the water.

The alarm was raised by several members of the public at about 2pm. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter was scrambled to the scene to assist local rescue crews which included the Kilkee unit of the Coast Guard, Kilkee Marine Rescue Service, the fire brigade and gardaí.

Weather conditions in the area at the time were said to have been "dreadful", with high winds and a strong sea swell.

After being spotted in the water, the critically injured man was flown from the scene to a nearby field so he could be assessed by a local doctor.

It was decided he should be immediately transported to Ennis General Hospital. He was accompanied and treated on board the aircraft by ambulance personnel from Kilrush.

At about 3.10pm, the helicopter landed at Ennis, where it was met by two ambulances from nearby Ennis hospital. However, the man was pronounced dead a short time later.

Kilkee Marine Rescue Service spokesman Manuel Di Lucia said: "This can be a very dangerous area, especially when the sea is as rough as it was today. We also had a spring tide today and often, unfortunately, the biggest problem is that people just don't know the Atlantic Ocean.

"There are a lot of signs warning of the dangers associated with the cliffs and especially fishing in the area. This is a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with this man's family."

Yesterday's operation was co-ordinated by the Marine Rescue Centre at Valentia Island in Co Kerry. Gardaí say they are treating the incident as a tragic accident.

A brother-in-law of the deceased travelled to Ennis last night, while efforts were being made to contact his wife. A postmortem is expected to take place today at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.

Last July, a Moldovan national died after he fell from rocks while fishing near the notorious Blue Pool just a few miles north of Kilkee.

Yesterday's incident occurred a year to the day since a 35-year-old Polish fisherman died after he and a friend fell from rocks near Tullig, also in west Clare. One man managed to swim ashore and raise the alarm. His friend's body was recovered after a search which lasted almost a week.

Two years ago, also during the October Bank Holiday weekend, three men died after the vehicle in which they had been sleeping rolled off cliffs into the sea near Doolin, Co Clare.
© 2007 The Irish Times

Take some food and drink (non alcoholic) with you - nothing fancy a bottle of energy drink and a couple of chocolate bars . If something happens like you get cut off by the tide on a large rock then you can sit it out to the tide drops or someone comes to get you.

I know I probably wont be popular for saying this but beer is the worst thing you could be drinking as it puts a thirst on you in the small amounts and we all know what to much beer leaves us like. :roll:

i would say beer and rock fishing are a very foolish mix.