Most dangerous places to surfcast

[RedHerring]

What do you think are the most dangerous surf locations?

In this area, I would think that Hazard Ave in Narragansett is the worst; the place is haunted by the lost souls of fishermen. I won't even fish there even though my grandfather had a place nearby and I had easy access.

The North Rip of Block Island is a place that will suck fishermen in with its siren call. When I was fishing there int he 80s, an oldtimer from Block was lost there. It is seductivey easy to walk way, way out...

The extreme tip of Gooseberry is radical and I am suprised that no one have been swept away there. I fished there a few times in my youth, but the prospect of being caught by a rising tide is too terrifying to deal with. If you fell in, you would float around Buzzards Bay all night dodging tugs and barges and commerical fishing boats out fo New Bedford. No thanks.

[Chugbug]

Rock pile at Plum Gut.......

[jim sylvester]

I second hazard

been fishing most of my life and there are two places i don't feel comfortable....day or night....alone or with a partner
'


hazard and beavertail

something about these two places.....


lost lives in the surf and unpredictable waves

[JohnR]

RI:

Beavertail & The Avenues - One slip, and down the hole you fall

Mass: Some places I have seen from Marblehead make Hazzard and Newton look a little tame in comparison. Imagine something more slippery, more steep, and throw in an 11 foot tide and my fellow Rhodiers will get the picture

[Brother Brian]

My body will no longer allow me under/around the light at Montauk (I don't even know if there are still accessable rocks) but I never felt comfortable there and once went for a ride that ended with me being pinned between a rock and the wall with my rod still stuck in the place I was blown from about twenty feet away. Not fun.

[Back Beach]

The avenues, no doubt. I've only admired them from a distance and that's about as close as I'm getting. Plenty of better places to fish without risking your life. Also, inlets comprised of shifting sand can be fatal on a dropping tide.Had plenty of close calls when I used to fish nauset inlet, both surf and boat.

[luds]

Anywhere when you're standing next to "the_shocker". Watch out for hooks, rod tips to the eye, braid and mono traps etc. Always keep a safe distance.

Look at that face. Scary! Surf Terrorist.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Ave's can be deadly, but it is a matter of knowing when to fish them and how to fish them. A few on here can attest to close calls there though!

[Joe]

Next to the guy who offers bad advice.

[Fishpart]

Anywhere within John R's backcast range....

[JFigliuolo]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

Ave's can be deadly, but it is a matter of knowing when to fish them and how to fish them. A few on here can attest to close calls there though!

That's what I was thinking. I have no problem fishing the avenues, keep your head on straight, mind the conditions and respect the water.

[NIB]

Originally Posted by RedHerring

What do you think are the most dangerous surf locations?

In this area, I would think that Hazard Ave in Narragansett is the worst; the place is haunted by the lost souls of fishermen. I won't even fish there even though my grandfather had a place nearby and I had easy access.

The North Rip of Block Island is a place that will suck fishermen in with its siren call. When I was fishing there int he 80s, an oldtimer from Block was lost there. It is seductivey easy to walk way, way out...

The extreme tip of Gooseberry is radical and I am suprised that no one have been swept away there. I fished there a few times in my youth, but the prospect of being caught by a rising tide is too terrifying to deal with. If you fell in, you would float around Buzzards Bay all night dodging tugs and barges and commerical fishing boats out fo New Bedford. No thanks.

I have to agree with all three of these.The sands on N-Rip are quite inviting..
Same with the deep water access of the Avenues..and Beavertail
Breezy Pt NY is another one of these type places gets swamped at high tide.
How do u leave a good bite??
I have fished the light in Montauk right after a hurricane maybe 8 yrs ago.Very uplifting..Fished some other precarious places in RI where the waves come out of no where.U can only do it on the calmest's of nights..Even then it's kinda scary..
RI is weird like that.U can be fishing fine for a hour and all of the sudden it's Hawaii 5/0...The worst encounter I've had was when I was on a jetty here in NJ.Rough water blitz conditions of large fish..Looking at the wave in awe when all of the sudden it dawned on me that I was gonna get it.As it rolled over it Blasted me 8 ft back in a milli second luckily a big rock stopped my progress.Luckily I was fine, shook my head and continued casting..Most who know me know I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack..Swept off does not bother me as much as getting tumbled.I have had the current floating me to NY before..swimming as hard as I could.I was just about to start stripping when I hit ground..Hold on to ur fishpole it can save ur life...It was three of us to this day I don't know how my friend made it..Getting tossed is bad..I always have a knife on my belt..I remember a post where Eben got hung up after getting blasted..Tumblina has no bearings..It's kinda scary..If u hit ur head ur done..Be careful out there.

[Ed B]

Originally Posted by Back Beach

The avenues, no doubt. I've only admired them from a distance and that's about as close as I'm getting. Plenty of better places to fish without risking your life. Also, inlets comprised of shifting sand can be fatal on a dropping tide.Had plenty of close calls when I used to fish nauset inlet, both surf and boat.

I would rate most Rocky ledges in a big sea as high on the danger list and they have taken bodies from Jamestown, Narraganset and Sachuest over the last decade. While I spend most of my time in RI now and usually on rocky terrain, highly underestimated in danger is wading out on the barren sandy shoals of Cape Cod in the fog. You have no structure or rock formation with which you can get a sense of direction and If you don't have a compass you are in trouble.
Also when you fish an inlet during the last stages of the tide, the water level will start rising on the incoming while the inlet is still dumping. You can be having a great time catching fish on the outer edges and when you turn around to make your way back to dry land, your route back has been covered with water. No longer is the escape route visable and you can end up having to wade through deep water and soft sand mixed by the current, which can be deadly if your feet get stuck and you fall forward. I would certainly rate Nauset Inlet as being one of the more dangerous places to fish for those unfamiliar with the constantly changing terrain.

I suppose the common thread in all places is know your terrain, think about what your going to do before you do it, don't take chances and hopefully learn from past experiences. Age and experience makes most fisherman more cautious.

[fishpoopoo]

Originally Posted by jim sylvester

hazard and beavertail

+1

rough surf, be extra careful.

[Saltheart]

I would say the Aves because it looks so easy to fish that area until a big wave kills you. I think beavertail is so obviously dangerous with big waves etc that you have no false feelings of safety so you are on guard from the start.

i also think that wading out long distances on sandy bars can also make people lower their guard and not think what happens when the tides come in or a rip forms at the points or over the bars. people can get swept away easily.

[Rockport24]

Originally Posted by JohnR

RI:

Beavertail & The Avenues - One slip, and down the hole you fall

Mass: Some places I have seen from Marblehead make Hazzard and Newton look a little tame in comparison. Imagine something more slippery, more steep, and throw in an 11 foot tide and my fellow Rhodiers will get the picture

yeah John, that spot with a raging sea is freakin' scary.
Some spots in Gloucester can get nasty too

[wheresmy50]

[QUOTE=Saltheart;532648]I would say the Aves because it looks so easy to fish that area until a big wave kills you. I think beavertail is so obviously dangerous with big waves etc that you have no false feelings of safety so you are on guard from the start.

[QUOTE]

I agree. Beavertail is far more dangerous but it looks dangerous so it's actually a little safer (if that makes sense). Most of the spots in Gansett aren't as bad by comparison. I can think of one place off to the right at a certain parking area that can get really bad since it's an overhang and there would be almost no way to get out without swimming south quite a bit.

Penfield Reef in CT can get a little hairy if you fish the incomming. Those 6-8 ft tides will get ya.

Trying to get a fish from any breachway can kill you. The east wall comes to mind as well when it comes to fish retrieval

[RIJIMMY]

Probabaly more of a personal issue, but I really struggle fishing the eastern shore of Pt Judith. The size of the boulders and the wave height are the factors. They're not big enough to walk on, the spaces are large between them and with thr waves, thr water rises 3 feet. I am like a drunken fool, with korkers on when I fish there. I have had some big spills and waves coming over me many times. I get pretty nervous fishing there.

[JFigliuolo]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

Probabaly more of a personal issue, but I really struggle fishing the eastern shore of Pt Judith. The size of the boulders and the wave height are the factors. They're not big enough to walk on, the spaces are large between them and with thr waves, thr water rises 3 feet. I am like a drunken fool, with korkers on when I fish there. I have had some big spills and waves coming over me many times. I get pretty nervous fishing there.

One word... wetsuit.

[Vogt]

All of those previously mentioned here, with the addition of Penfield Reef and the Charles Island Bar , both in Ct. I fish Charles quite a bit and have personally seen 2 incodents in the last year. The tide rips against you so hard there, if you dont know the bar, and dont understand the currents , you shouldnt even try it.

[piemma]

North Rip on BI. I almost died there in 91. The sand on the bar is very soft. 5 ft wide and 20 foot drops on either side. 6kt current running across it. Got swept off and lived to tell about it. Closest I ever came to dying in the surf.

[Nebe]

IMO the east wall is far more dangerous than the avanues. waaaaaaaay more dangerous. the avanues are dangerous as well- dont get me wrong, but the east wall would claim ten times the lives if the same # of people had the sack to fish it. ive gone in he drink at both. One was a rouge wave at hazard, the other was a slip and a spashdown on the backside of the E wall...

[Pete F.]

I think anyplace you are exposed to the swells from the open ocean is dangerous.
There is a big difference in waves. Stand on Gay Head or the bluffs on Cutty on a calm day and watch the swells come in, you can see them come in sets and they are different. Once in awhile a set is bigger, sometimes a lot bigger.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by JFigliuolo

One word... wetsuit.

Just so you guys know. the old timers like Lamar, Guilettone, use to say, "If you fish the East side of Point Jude and say that you never fell down, you are a liar...

[chris L]

the avenues basically cause if you go in you better swim away from shore , if your zoned instead of focused your dead . being battered against the rocks or worse washed into one of the over hangs . your never coming out alive . I wont fish here .some times there are knuckleheads there .

beavertail is for me a safer place cause I know that its a tough place and I fish it very carefully . when its too rough I wont even try .

any breachway these days when the knuckleheads that dont know how to fish it with others . Some times I would rather watch that fish .

north rip very dangerous due to the rip and drop offs . very inviting tried it 2 weeks ago alone. lets just say I have kids to teach how to fish safely . I must prctice what I preach . really is amazing the distance you can walk out and remember your route . So I left .

sand bars or even some beaches on the cape in the fog can be very tough to get back to shore . been scared a few times .

I never fished north shore but from what I have heard sounds like something you have to grow into .


ct has to rips that get people every year , I know how to deal with it so I dont worry . penfield is the more dangerous of the 2 due to a suncken section that puts the water too high for shorter people to make it past .

montauk is only for those that know it well when there is a swell . I would rather hit the cove or the rocks before the wall .

I play it safe as I can . I have done enough stupid crap in my life and I am still here . The law of averages are against me at this mild late stage of my life . If you fish these places be safe and think if you are hsitant pay attention to your gut .

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by piemma

Just so you guys know. the old timers like Lamar, Guilettone, use to say, "If you fish the East side of Point Jude and say that you never fell down, you are a liar...

thats good to know, I'm not the only one! I usually come out of there with sore back, elbows, knees and on a good night.........a shredded thumb

[The Dad Fisherman]

The Absolute Most Dangerous Place to fish.........where ever you go on your honeymoon :yikes:

actually up around here I don't know how people fish off the jetty at the mouth of the merrimac.....absolute death trap. Tried it once......never again.

[Rockport24]

so true about the mouth of the merri
that thing is crazy, the coast guard has been known to warn people to get off that thing when the tide is coming in!

[The Iceman 6]

I agree with Penfield. It's a long walk back from that lighthouse, I always fish that on outgoing and tide comes in quick. One time my brothers were fishing Chatham inlet and the fog came in they didn't know which was was land and got very lucky, fog is a whole nother variable. When you think of dangerous places the first thing that comes to your mind is rocks (and they are very dangerous especially the breachways) but you walk way out on a sandbar and the tides coming in and you lose your bearings, it's a sad ending to the story.
Stay Safe!

Ice

[bassballer]

beavertail, the aves, and a nearby point are basically the only areas I fish. At night at these spots i dont have to worry about crowds and theres somethin about being on those rocks in the middle of the night with no one around that is surreal.

Put me on a beach and thats when i feel uncomfortable.