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Safe Eastern Suburbs Rockfishing


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G'day raiders,

Just wanted to ask, what combinations of conditions makes for "safe" rockfishing? (Let me re phrase that to "less dangerous")

Obviously every location is different, and there is a great sub forum showing a number of places on this site. However on the past few outings I have looked at the conditions, thought they would be ok, and arrived at my fishing spot to find it harrowingly dangerous.

So to say the least, I always look to fish on a low tide with low swell, and preferably the wind blowing at my back when I cast out to sea.

Now most fishing ledges in Sydney face East so an E or SE swell I tend to avoid. If any Eastern Suburbs raiders can help me to read tide/ swell/ wind/ moon phases and to understand them in relation to where i'm fishing i'd be enormously gracious. Pm's welcome :D

The particular place I fish is Clovelly, but also tend to go a lot to Little Bay if that helps.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Swept down the rocks at Shark Point Clovelly. 1 hour fishing on a run down tide and a rogue hits me from no where.

Safe fishing everyone. The risks are real.

Damn dude... That's hectic. I am a pretty seasoned rock fisho and have a little advice for you.

1) Wear a PFD and rock cleats, I can't stress how important this is. You are undertaking one of Australia's most dangerous pastimes (as you found out, it is perhaps the most dangerous aside from solo rock climbing) and in case of the worst you have a much better chance of being ok.

2) Look for ledges that don't face due east. In a north east swell find a platform that faces south and vice versa with a good chunk of land between you and the swell.

3) Watch the surf for a solid 15-20 minutes before you even consider dropping a line. In that time a few sets will come through and you will have a good idea on what the surf is doing.

4) Never ever fish alone. Always have someone nearby who can either help you out or call emergency services.

5) If you have any doubts about what the water is doing, go elsewhere like where the ocean meets a bay (bay waters are much more predictable than open ocean ledges and are just as productive when hunting for salmon.

I have had to participate in a body recovery once of a man who did not follow these basic rules and let me tell you it is not pretty and quite sad. It is not a situation you, your family or the people who find you wants to be in so please take care. Also remember no fish is worth your life.

As for predicting what the waves will do before you get there, look at the wind. This is the big give away. Generally speaking the surf is much calmer on days where the wind is low. That is about all I can offer as I would wake up in the morning and look at the rocks I was fishing from my back door to see if it was a good day for it and noticed the wind/swell trends from doing this over a period of time. Hope this info helps.

Luc.

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  • 4 years later...

One of my favorite spinning spots.Shark Point,

Generally anything over a 1m swell,you will be on the alert watch, 1.5m swell and most times it will be too rough,2m swell and you have a death wish.This all depends what direction the rocks face but most rocks along Sydney coast face East/North East/South East/North and South and are exposed to the ocean swell, so any swell will be coming at you over 1 meter from one of those directions.

Anyone fishing off the rocks in 2m+ swells is crazy and will most probably get washed off the rocks no matter how good you are.

Any wind over 15km/per hour blowing on to the rocks where you are fishing and coming from any direction from the seaside is a worry and you need to constantly watch as the wind will create wind swell and waves,over time these waves and swell can increase in size as the wind continues to blow.

A rising tide,swell and waves will increase on a rising tide,only fish a rising tide if the swell is less than 1m and the wind less than 15km/per hr from the rocks.

Low tide or a run out tide 2 hours after dead high tide in a 1m or under swell and a wind of less than 15km/per hr is most likely the safest conditions to fish off the rocks,dead calm,no wind,no swell is ideal safety but rare.

Any wind or swell from the South/South East from the rocks around Sydney in most cases will be cause for alarm for rock fishing.North East swell or wind will also be ringing the alarm bells depending on where you fish and also what direction the rocks face and tide.

Main points to remember is a Rising Tide in swell above 1meter and or wind above 15km per hour

is High Risk,anything stronger than this is Dangerous and you have a very high risk of being washed off the rocks by a rogue wave.

Shark Point faces East,so as I said above any swell above 1m or wind coming in from the North/East/South/NE or SE above 15km/per hr,you will have problems.

High tide and those measurements and you will most likely get washed in.

Low tide or out going tide in a 1m+ swell or wind above 15km will just make the rogue wave steeper as it moves towards you and when it hits the shallow water on the rocks in front of you,the wave gets higher busting over the rocks and over you.

So the moral of this story is.

Unless you are a veteran and you have planned a way to get out of the water after you get washed in,if all goes well and your not knocked unconscious or ripped to shreds by barnacles,then do not fish from ocean rocks in swell above 1m or wind above 15kms per hour and certainly not on a rising tide,fishing above these swell measurements and wind puts you in the high risk category just waiting for a rogue wave to rip you off the surface of the rocks,no matter how good you are.

The barnacles on that point are about 1 to 2 inches high in some areas,sliding across those and going into the water there will quickly arouse the sharks that frequent the area there off the rocks and instead of fishing you will become the bait.

This point is very exposed to wind and swell.

Same goes for Little Bay and 90% of the Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney Rocks from Bare Island up to the Gap at Watsons Bay.

Always check the weather http://www.bom.gov.au/marine

http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/about/check-rock-fishing.shtml

 

Edited by DMG
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