Waders are good to stay dry but it's good to know when not to step in the water in them. Fast currents and shifting sands are a trademark of sand bars.Wear a pfd and leave the waders off. Bring dry clothes an a towel.Several yrs back I lost a couple fishing buddies on the Vineyard when the sand turned to liquid under them at the Tisbury Pond opening.No pfds an waders killed 2 of them.
Be smart enough to stay within your abilities. What is normal to some is risky for others. What some of us hard cores do we've done for yrs and do with experience.But a chance wave can do the best without a pfd.Look what happened to a real good hardcore at the canal.Take it slow and be safe. No point in gettin killed to try to go too far unsafely.

I'm not referencing boaters. Sometimes they fall down drunk and break their heads on the gunwale, then go over the side with a fractured skull and a life jacket on.

You know of a surf death where a person was wearing a p.f.d.? I was researching an article on surf rescues and I spent a full day in the morgue of the Narragansett Times reading about all the surf accidents for the last fifty years - I didn't come across any. Must be pretty recent if it did happen.

No I don't know of any surf fisherman that have died with a pfd on. I do know of some that were on boats. Not saying it never happened, but I agree with your point. I'd bet less than 5% of all surf fisherman wear pfd's all the time. I fish with a lot of guys but might know one. It's just that some places like hazard ave or Beavertail that when it gets really snotty out , I think you'll need a lot more than a pfd to get your ass out of the drink. I'd be curious to see the stats for the whole east coast or US. :)

I dont know what it is about wearing a pfd, its not something you see very often at all. Ive only seen one person wearing one, that was during the day time. I have an inflatable, that i wear on occasion at beavertail. It rides in my truck all year and last year i didn't wear it at all. More than once i have thought about getting into a "situation" and having it in my truck. I wouldn't mind seeing a inflatable PFD that fits on the strap of a plug bag being invented. It wouldn't be ideal since it would float all over the place but it would give you something to hold onto if you went for a float.

Not sure if this is so or not, but do you all think we consciously or unconsciously equate bigger risk with bigger reward? Does getting out to that distant rock equal more fish or bigger fish?

Sometimes getting out on the farthest rocks makes all the difference in the world.

In 2 of my fishing spots that are over 1/2 mile walk over rocks/boulder fields I have marked the safest "path" with a small paint brush and dab of forestry "flashlite" paint, which "shines" when hit with a headlamp. Its just a small dab of paint so its tough to see unless your looking for it and know the starting point, which I do. Very helpful on those pitch black nights when fog and/or spray make for difficult to find anything beyond 5 ft in front of you. I do this in the summer while Im out getting mussels and stays pretty visible throughout the fall, although needs to be done every year.

I also carry a "throw bag" in my back-pack which is used in swift water rescue. Its basically a rope and a little bouy that can be tossed 30-40 yards with little effort and "drag" someone in if they are caught in the surf.

Abut 3 yrs ago I was out fishing Oregon Beach for blues late afternoon alone....I noticed the fog rolling in of course but was having fun catching blues on every cast..I then turned towards the beach and the fog was so thick I could not see it..I turned around knowing I was facing the beach somewhat and started in..Thankfully I heard voices coming fron the beach and aimed for them..After a while I got to the beach and was about 300 yrds to the left towards the jetty..Safely,,At least the water is fairly shallow there

Yes it does.
Those far rocks and inshore reefs are superb fishing spots - that's the allure. Particularly inshore reefs where you have to either wade deep or swim with a wet suit on through a sluice-way way then up onto the reef to fish the steep drop-offs on the seaward side. They are killer spots - literally.
Traditionally, the best boatmen have been the ones that know every rock and can fish these spots in the dark with a swell on. Those no-man's land spots were the bread-and-butter of a lot of very successful rod and reel commercials. However, you needed to be highly skilled at boat-handling to even think about trying such places.
Look at this way: As tragic as it was, if Al Pellini was swimming out to a spot, there's no need to question whether or not it was good spot. Al possessed a vast, multi generational knowledge of the sport and spots that was passed first-hand and undiluted, from the legendary post-war fishermen that were the founders of modern surfcasting in our region. He had that and his own considerable knowledge and personal experience, gleaned from decades of fishing.

X2 - This is a direct result of having a few before fishing at night.

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...ing-feels.html

Squid kids you were very lucky. There's a big hole that forms out there at times that gets to 20ft after a good storm.I've taken a kayak over it and have been less than 50 ft from guys standing waist deep almosy 1/3 mile from shore. it's like barnstable or Monomoy. take a compass. you can't swim in waders plus an incoming tide is a bitch.

I was fishing the one of the breachways one night under a heavy swell, perhaps 50 feet from the end. I wasn't on the end because it was too dangerous. This dude comes bolting down the breachway all excited to have the end to himself. Five minutes later, he's missing. A wave knocked down a crevice and his foot was stuck and he is yelling for help and big rollers were coming in every third set.
He tells me his foot is stuck. I told him to take his waders off he was taken aback, so I yelled at him to take them off right now because we had no time. He got them off, which easy extricated his foot from the crevice and I yanked the waders up, and I pulled him up and got him out. I escorted him back to his car, where soaked and shaken, he profusely thanked me. I got him out of there in less than a minute and just before another roller would have taken me out also and probably broken his leg.
Now, when I encounter a person who does something like that, I warn them that they're on their own if they get wiped out. If they don't listen to the warning (and they never do) I pack up and leave. It's not in my makeup to sit bye and watch someone die or get hurt badly - I know I'd go out to help. But I don't ever again want to be put in the position of getting myself killed over a fool.

Another "safety item" I had an experience with this year, and one that I shared (and got help from) with a member of this site. Met him for the first time under this circumstance.

It was mid- September around 3am and I had just landed a nice bass in the 30lb class. The hook-set was perfect, right corner of the mouth in the "thick" part of the jaw. I grabbed my pliers to remove hook and it was stuck pretty good. I wanted to get the fish back in the water ASAP so I gave the hook a hard and forceful yank, something Ive done 100s of times with no thought. The hook came out and got buried into my thumb up to the shank. I tried to remove it to no avail, it wouldnt even budge. I started the long walk across the boulders to my truck for an early morning ER visit when I noticed someone fishing in a wetsuit fishing about 50 yards away. I asked him if he had cutters, he said no. But had 50lb mono and would pull the hook if I wanted. I never met him before so I was kinda leery but after thinking about an ER visit and missing out on some good fishing I decided to let him do it. Downward pressure on the shank, count to three and a yank the hook was out. Blood squirting everywhere I just taped it with electrical,had a very thankful conversation for about 10 min. with him and I was on my way and caught a few more, although not as big. Thanks again, you know who you are! And for anyone who hasnt tried the mono trick. It works and is pretty painless if done right.

Morale of the story. I now carry a 3' strip of 50lb mono and heavy wire cutters in my back-pack. And I think about what Im doing before I do it, even when its something as "routine" as unhooking a fish.

I would say this:

If you don't have the confidence that you can fish a particular spot safely then don't fish it.

I say this because as I have become older and have some physical issues that make fishing certain places not really safe for me anymore.Does this limit the amount of quality fish that I can catch?Absolutely but I still manage to whack a decent fish once in awhile and I'm still out there enjoying my time on the water.

Wearing Korkers in rocky areas is a good idea, but wearing them doesn't necessarily mean that you won't slip and they can cause you to trip.

If you can't swim, learn or consider taking up another sport.

Just a word of caution here - similar event happend to me years ago. I thought about doing this but chickened out and went to the ER. Doc told me I was smart not to do it because the hooks barb was caught on a tendon/ligament - would have done permanent damage had I yanked it out.

DZ

I'm with you. My two extractions have been done by guys with medical degrees.

Woody I remember the night well. I'm glad I looked at the dissappearing bar when I did. The walk back definitely had everyones' attention!!
Wetsuiting: I advocated through my club articles of the possible dangers lurking into deeper waters. Your gut usually tells you should I or should I not. Use your head and stay close to your buddy.

Really good thread here.

Like most guys here I carry two lights, a headlamp and a neck light with a rescue whistle taped to it mounted on surgical tubing.

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...s-whistle.html

I lost my hat and headlamp a few years ago while trying to avoid a rogue wave, ducked down between two rocks and the wash broke over me, luckily I had my neck light and was able to make my way back to shore safely.

I always try and fish with at least one other guy, if I do fish alone I will fish the "safer" spots.

Know your limits and stick by them.

When we do swim to a rock or point, we go one at a time, watching the other guy get to the point safely, that way if something was to happen were in a better position for a rescue.

Were in the works of putting a "rescue bag" together for next season. Something light enough where theres no reason not to bring it every trip.

So far the bag includes: small air horn, basic first aid kit, bolt cutters, whistle, roll of electrical tape, and a throw bag.

Hoping to put all the gear in a dry bag or small back pack, then the cell phone in a dry bag in case we need to call serious help.

The two guys I fish with are going to make the same bag so that we all have the same rescue gear, so no matter what happens we will always have at least one full kit.

The other things I always do are text the girlfriend where I am, a lot of times plans change at the last minute and you end up somewhere else, even though shes sleeping at least theres a time line of where i was last if something was to happen.

Be safe, its been said before but "its just a fish"

There was night this season that I found myself headed out to a dangerous spot requiring a swim in very rough seas... I had a bad, uneasy feeling before I even left the house, and it only grew, since I knew that with very big water, I had NO business going where I was going alone. Something just pushed me to go, as if I had no choice. I knew there would be fish there... I fished for 20 minutes, stuck 2 nice fish, but I swear that to this day, I have never actually felt a presence of near death like I did that night. it felt like the grim reaper was casting a snag hook right by my head... It was a VERY stupid place to be, in huge surf, completely alone... We all say "listen to the voice in your head"... But sometimes we dont...

Well that convinced me.

NEVER listen to the voices in Pete's head! ;-)
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Or to an ex-wife.
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hahaha Woody... I cant tell you how many times I have looked at nasty conditions, and said "aaahhhhh... should be alright!" I need to cut that crap out!

When we used to go out of nauset inlet, just circling around inside waiting for the swells to lighten up a bit. You'd get your window and blast over the bar. . . . scary stuff standing a boat on it's tail. :eek:

If you're driving home after an all nighter and start to nod off. Get off the road and either catch a couple zzz's and/or get something in your system to keep you alert.

Back in the day my partner and I use to drive from No. RI to P-Town, fish the Back, drive home, sleep 2 or 3 hours and spend some time with the family. Then do it all over again that night.

A couple of times I fell asleep at the wheel and RJ was asleep in the passenger seat. The Cranberry Highway is very lonely at 5 AM on Sunday morning. We finally wised up and started stopping at the rest area right after Bass River. Catch an hour sleep and be good to go.

Don't try to be a hero. If you start nodding off. STOP and sleep a bit.

Plain and simple: Don't fish Hazard or East side of Beavertail in a big swell. There are experienced guys on this site who have gone down or been swept off the rocks at both places and are lucky to have come out alive. There are better, safer alternatives near both locations anyways...

Ive came closer to death driving home from fishing more often that i was in serious danger in the surf. I have a place in RI that i stop at if im tired and another place on 495 if im coming home from the cape. One year i got a real scare and put my blazer in 4 wheel drive and made a rest stop on 495. I just drove down into the ditch on the right side of the road and got a few hours of sleep. Caffeine doesn't do the trick for me at night.

The Unitarians of the Transcendentalist Movement of the early-mid 1800's like Emerson, Alcott, Thoreau, Parker, etc., they believed that God spoke to us through intuition.
It was a radical notion to put forth at the time because it undermined the power of the clergy to act in intercession. However, I believe in it and always heed my intuition.

Agreed on the driving thing... This is the most dangerous part of surfcasting for me...

For some reason allot of people say that, fine with me though "sometimes its best to be a loner"-Frank D. What year was that trip John? We didnt catch much, but between the group of guys we had and franks cooking we certainly had allot of fun and never went hungry.

Hi Pete. The trip was 2009. Yes sir eats were great. Fishing was slow to say the least. Good time.

Anyone ever use one of these?

Spot 2 Satellite GPS Messenger

Attachment 49891

I have one I bring out on the boat and on the kayak. Thankfully haven't had to use it yet. I think I need to renew my subscription to the service soon, though.

I think the spot gps requires a monthly fee.

I would also suggest when wading you should test your forward foots stability before moving, The wave action can create a sudden dropoff that can be very dangerous.
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I'm pretty sure it's $100 a year. Not bad for something you can take with you wherever you go.

If anyone has a spot device how does it compare to an epirb device that doesn't require a fee, is the an advantage having one over the other? How about a vhf radio that has gps and wil lbroadcast your position in an emergency? I suppose it depends upon how far off shore you go, I really have no idea which is best. Perhaps I should start another thread so the most important tips are easier to read for those who might not read through all the tips that have been posted, maybe a sticky could be put together that covers the most important safety tips.
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I wrote this story on surf rescues. What makes for a well executed surf rescue is not technology but leadership and planning.

There is oviuosly a degree of common sense that comes into play when removing a hook and just "how bad" the impalment is and location. As with anything common sense rules.
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No fish in the sea I'd trade my life for.
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