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I liked what Bloocrab wrote.
Some of my rock rules:
You need to have a plan before you go onto the rock. Stand there for 5 minutes and watch the waves to see where the best place is, where the retreat point is, where you'd need to swim to. Never fish a place for the first time at night.
Be constantly aware, as fit as possible, and have the proper gear. Lots of people like Korkers, but I did just fine with felts. This year I went to studded felts - which are better than either by themselves.
Know your limitations. The most important thing when fishing rocks is to be able to put a lot of weight on your front foot, and that foot needs to stick. If you're light as a feather or don't have the right footwear, it's not going to work and you're going swimming. If a wave is large enough, it's going to lift you right off your feet, so you need a retreat point that you can get to in a hurry. If you're not nimble enough to get there, or can't hear/see well enough to have enough time, fish safe spots.
Carry a long handled gaf if you keep fish, and be prepared to cut off an expensive plug if you don't. That last few feet can kill you. It almost got me this spring.
Wear a surf top if the weather's bad or the spot is dangerous. I use a shorty wading jacket when possible because it's more comfortable, but there are defintiely times when I use the semi-dry top. You should have a dedicated belt for the top. So if you have a knife/bag belt, use a separate belt for your top. It should be elastic and fairly tight. Wear a PFD if the sitation warrants it. I've used the cabelas low profile jacket and SOS penders. I like the actual low-pro jacket because it can't be popped, and you don't need to be conscious to inflate it. It's the same one I use for yakking, and doesn't restrict movement at all. As someone said, no real surf fisherman could use an auto-inflate jacket.
If you're fishing and the weather is so bad you're wondering if search and rescue will ever find the body, go home. It's really not worth it.
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