jetty safety, jetty tips

[DarkSkies]

^^Thanks for the feedback Monty...as always you have a diplomatic way of expressing your point....

As for hooking yourself while casting to trees...well I think we ALL have a little GOOGAN in us....




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Here's another cautionary tale I wrote tailored to kayaking,,,but edited to include surf and jetty fishing...I know some of this may seem redundant and repetitive, apologies for that...but if it ends up saviing someone's life, then I make no apologies...




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Some basic lessons for the new guys here, and the rest of us as well

1. Always have a location plan written and available to someone you trust back home. (If fishing a jetty or jetty area write down where you should be that night)

2. For the new guys, don't go out alone until you are extremely confident in your abilities.

3. Don't go out at night until you are confident with your safety precautions and have run a list of "what if" scenarios in your mind. If you are not good at strategizing Plan B, C, and D scenarios, you could get yourself killed out there.

4. I hope my words about guys "challenging" themselves aren't taken the wrong way here.You never want to challenge yourselves by compromising your safety. If something goes wrong, you not only put yourself at risk but put the safety of first responders at risk. You should also think about the family or friends you leave at home, and what will happen to them if you don't come back from a trip.

Ex - I thought about the people at home who depend on me, and instantly knew I had to leave. No shame in that.

I hope these poiints will give the new guys some things to think about. We're not pushing anyone to go out there who doesn't feel it is within your skill set.

If it's not within your skill set, you will find out very quickly, and remember that things can turn around on any jetty or inlet, in a moment's notice.There's no shame in being careful, cautious, or saying to yourself..."Things aren't right for me today, to do this...I'll re-assess, do something else, and come back when conditions are better."

Hope this helped some of you guys.





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Last but not least...
*How important are your family and loved ones to you?
*What would happen to them if you didn't make it back from a fishing trip?
*What kind of pain would they go through knowing you drowned out there at night?
*Is it fair to put them through that, all for a fish?

Please be safe out there, guys and gals...no fish is worth your life...

[xtreme_visions]

check this guy out. a few years ago he was trying to take photos of the ny skyline and met some rocks

although he wasnt fishing it shows how safe u need to be even when not on the rocks


http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/loca...erg_new_jersey


that is some of my stuff dark

[DarkSkies]

Alcohol and Rocks don't mix..

a few years ago I was on the Shark River north jetty. I thought I was fishin by myself...until to my surprise 2 drunk dudes who had climbed the tower above began singing to the seas for me to catch a fish....they were so drunk, and swaying over the rail so much, I thought one of them was going to fall down and smash his skull like a cantaloupe on the rocks next to me...

Luckily, someone (not me) saw them and called it in to the Bradley Beach PD. They came out and arrested these guys...I know they weren't hurting anyone, and were in fact the best entertainment I had that night...but they were in a dangerous position, and really were too blazed to know that....

Thanks for sharing that Extreme...
....tell me, how did you get to that accident scene so fast to film that video?

[xtreme_visions]

i move like the wind

[captnemo]

Move like the wind, funny. I wonder if you're old enough to rember Ali, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Nice work, did it pay well?

[captnemo]

Move like the wind, funny. I wonder if you're old enough to remember Ali, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Nice work, did it pay well?

[surfwalker]

I don't do the rocks/jetties anymore, matter of fact it's been years since I did them. My fear of them has overcome my catching at any cost. I don't preach not to go out on them, just take note of what Dark states. If you think something can't happen to you, then maybe you should keep in mind those that have slipped or taken a dunk- I'm sure they didn't wake up one morning and say that today I will have an accident on a jetty. Just think before you step or take that extra stroll, especially in the cold. Don't be one of the ones who say what a stupid thing I did- after the fact, if you're lucky enough.

[DarkSkies]

I'm sure they didn't wake up one morning and say that today I will have an accident on a jetty. Just think before you step or take that extra stroll, especially in the cold. Don't be one of the ones who say what a stupid thing I did- after the fact, if you're lucky enough.

Excellent points, Surfwalker, thanks for sharing them.


Something along those lines happened to me the other night....
Thought I would share.....




Stories, stories, there are so many of them out there.. some good some bad.
but really, I want to to stress safety, over all else, how sad would it be for your family if you went out there, and didn't come home from a night of fishin?...I had the dubious pleasure of fishing next to a drunk guy the other night,...

He came up as I was gearing up to go out. Generally I would rather keep to myself out there, but this guy kind of crept up on me....

When I turned around and he was talking, his breath was so strong from drinking if you lit a match he would have been breathing flames....

He said he had just come from the bar, and he was going out there...
I tried to give some words of advice, talked about the huge swell, said it was bad enough I was wearing a PFD, and told him that even though I didn't know his level of expertise, it was not a great night to be out there anyway....

Additionally I told him that if he fell in I would be the one who would have to jump in and save him, and I wasn't looking forward to that moment if it should happen...

You can only reason with a drunk so much, otherwise it's a waste of words.

I did much drinking and drugs in my life and no one could ever tell me anything when I was high or drunk....

His response:
"Thanks for looking out for me, brotha! But I'm going to go out there anyway"


I saw that he eventually put himself into a risky position. There were no real opportunities for fish that night where he was fishing anyway. I know you can't save someone who is hell bent on destruction.

I left soon after, and checked the papers the next morning to see if anyone was reported missing or dead. Satisfied that there was no news, I'm glad he made it out of there OK.



He had no business being out there in those conditions.