Illegal fishing marks...right or wrong?

[Davyred]

the wind tide and sea state will all have an effect on where and when you can fish a mark it is down to common sense if you decide to fish or not but if we do have to be rescued then yes we should have to pay for it . as for climbing over gates to gain access to piers again its down to yourself but dont complain if you get caught and fined

I'd never complain, its the risk I take.

I've been caught once on the South pier by a jobsworth security guard. The guard on the previous shift actually waved to us as we were going on. He came on, and down came the police.

To be fair, the police were really sympathetic, telling me that we were doing no harm, but they had to come down as he'd phoned it in. They took my name and address, but I've heard nothing about it.

[blackcat]

davyred everyman for themselves you know the risks ...but you are quite contradicting yourself by saying ,you and your mate have to run off the pier, obviously because of the dangerous conditions....im only saying this because i know for a fact now the cod season is getting a grip anglers "will" risk there lives and the lives of the lifeboat rescuers because of there yearning for big fish off illegal marks.

the marks i mentioned are illegal not just because of land ownership but because of they being sea defence walls obviously not for fishing off in extreme conditions

im not being a killjoy either its just i know i will read in the coming 3 months of storys concerning anglers safety from these marks and may others

[Davyred]

the marks i mentioned are illegal not just because of land ownership but because of they being sea defence walls obviously not for fishing off in extreme conditions

im not being a killjoy either its just i know i will read in the coming 3 months of storys concerning anglers safety from these marks and may others

So how come they used to use a permit system for the South pier for years, and Hendon docks was open to the public for years as well?

The South was closed because the foundations were deemed unsafe (the official reason). The unofficial reason was they were sick of some 'anglers' having a walk around the docks, seeing what they could pick up along the way.

Hendon wall has always been dangerous, but like I said, it didn't stop the Port Authority opening it to the public.

I think I was quite right in what I said, that its the inexperienced angler you should worry about, but how do you educate them? You can't even get them to pick their own rubbish up without getting a mouthful of abuse.

davyred everyman for themselves you know the risks ...but you are quite contradicting yourself by saying ,you and your mate have to run off the pier, obviously because of the dangerous conditions.

I was using this as an example of how you can use your experience to gauge how dangerous the conditions are, and also that its up to individual interpretation. As an example, I took a friend down Roker one night in conditions I didn't think were unsafe, but my mate did, as he'd never fished the place before, and when he saw a swell hit the pier and white water splash up, he didn't like it. So my interpretation of dangerous is different to his, and so yours will be to mine.

As for running off, we used our method of judging the swell very well and to be honest, we could of walked off. Bear in mind I'm only talking of a jog here between the neck end and the first steps opposite the old concrete posts. It was all down to knowledge and experience.

Ultimately it is down to education, knowing when not to risk it.

[RossW]

Little anecdote... I managed to prang my ankle on Tynemouth Pier a few years ago. In agony. Couldn't climb the gate. On my own. Freezing cold. Going into panicky shock. Who should I phone? Police? Lifeboat? Oh, no. Mates? My mam? It was 1am. Eventually tried to climb the gate and very nearly fell.

Entirely my own stupid fault I know, and i know that sea fishing is always a bit dangerous, but it really made me think, like.

[casper71]

I'd say it's not worth the risk at all, even tho i've had some good fish from tynemouth pier.
I've just got back into sea fishing after 8 years because i nearly lost my life on that pier (i did loose every bit of tackle i had with me at the time) it was two hours after high water when a freak wave came over the top and took all of my gear, luckily i heard the wave coming and hid in one of the archways, that flooded up to my chest, i only survived not getting pulled in by braceing myself against the wall's of the archway. So if you do insist on fishing it, then please be carefull, no fish is worth loosing your life for.

I only wish i knew about these forums back then because i would have known about the better marks on our coast line that are more productive and in my eyes a lot safer.

[The Plum]

As someone who's fished all his life in the Sunderland area, I've done more than my fair share of 'trespassing', whether it be Hendon docks, the South Pier, or Roker pier when its been shut.

I can understand lowriders point of view regarding putting others at risk, just because you want to catch a fish from somewhere you shouldn't be.

Myself and Mick65 regularly used to run off Roker pier at high water during big seas - not the safest thing to do, I accept, but a lot of thought and research went into our fishing sessions. We'd analyse the weather forecast, particularly wind strength and direction, and what we also learnt was that there were a cycle of wave heights that hit the pier. Whether you believe this or not is up to you, but it never once failed us.

e were only ever caught out once. We went on at Low water as per normal, but by half tide, we knew this sea was bigger than it should have been, so got off straightaway. We returned to the pier at high water to see the roundhead regularly getting swamped. Experience had saved us. When we got back, we looked into how that sea had been bigger than expected, and learnt from it.

My point is, there are a lot of inexperienced anglers out there who really haven't a clue - we've all seen them. These are the people we should be worried about. The trouble nowadays is the internet is a mine of information. If you want information on a mark, you do a search, ask the question on a forum, and the answers there. But how do you get information about how the sea is affected by different wind strengths/directions against different stages of the tide? You have to get out there and do your homework, like myself and countless numbers of older anglers have done through the years. Unfortunately, in these days of 'I want it now', that doesn't happen anymore.

I'll continue to fish from Roker, the South and Hendon as I've done it all my life, but I won't risk my life to do it.

SPOT ON MATE <i worry about the inexperienced getting caught out reading some of the out of bounds places ,once your there and it changes its to late ya fooked,SOME FOLK dont realise what a good sea along with a bit wind or big tide can do

[treeboa]

worst i have seen was to a mate on hendon prom, we had been fishing there when at high water this extra big wave went up, covered him and soaked him, like a drowned rat he came to me to see if i had any spare gear in the car, i did as luck had it, he goes back to his box he had been sitting on then shouts me, hes holding a rock the size of a basket ball that had appeared next to his box from the wave, you dont need to be washed off to end up dead

[codseeker]

worst i have seen was to a mate on hendon prom,holding a rock the size of a basket ball that had appeared next to his box from the wave, you dont need to be washed off to end up dead

never ever seen rocks that big like if so i wudnt even attempt driving down there ,but in my time fishing there on a big massive sea never wud i go on the bottom part the car park yes

[Charlton]

to all you who say they will continue fishing what could be described as dangerous in certain conditions, remeber the guy who has rescued a few anglers and could well rescue you, could well be my son Mark, if anything happens to him rescueing a irresponsible angler you had better keep your head down for a long time. Safe fishing lads.

[Mike.Haley]

Well said Alan. Any angler, Inexperienced or otherwise who risks his own life or anyone elses( those who have to rescue them ) should be banned from fishing for life. It was not inexperienced anglers that were lost off Tynemouth pier. Those lads had been fishing that spot for years. Even the most experienced and responsible angler can have an accident.
Being a Safety Manager I deal with accidents on a daily basis.
Most accidents involve " experienced " people. Familiarity breeds contempt. Because they have been doing it for a long time, they get the idea that nothing can happen to them because they are " experienced ". Well it doesnt work that way. The only way to avoid any accidents is to do as you are told. If a sign says " Keep Out " then keep out. If it says " Fishing Prohibited " then dont fish.
sqafe Fishingt Lads
Just obey the rules and laws.

[anndy]

was at roker pier sunday bit of a swell on seen a young lad bait up on the floor bang wave came over the top and covered him there were boxes and bags all over they closed the pier an hour later

[Red5]

It doesn't necessarily have to be the piers that can be described as dangerous. I have fished marks, where I have watched lads fishing 30-40 yards in front of me on a skeer, when all of a sudden one of those waves (they come more often then you think on a big swell) came over the top of them and washed their boxes and bait away. Of course me standing right back with my bait and tackle box further back was quite safe.If they slipped when that wave came in what are the odds of them being pulled out to sea also?

I have watched lads wading out to marks as the tide ebbs, up to the top of their chest waders. One slip and what do they think would happen?

I do know of one lad who used to fish in the Alnwick club who went under with his tackle box on his back, and somehow was pulled out alive, and am aware of a number of incidents involving anglers not being aware or being negligent of the risks in my area alone.

As Alan says it's people like his son on the Lifeboats ,Coastguard Rescue Teams and the RAF who are likely to put their lives at risk to get these people out of a situation that could have been avoided!

[eddie t]

was at roker pier sunday bit of a swell on seen a young lad bait up on the floor bang wave came over the top and covered him there were boxes and bags all over they closed the pier an hour later

i seen that too he had just come down as well. i got down about 1.15pm and it was flat within a couple of hours it was big and the pier was a wash.

[Charlton]

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[Davyred]

Well said Alan. Any angler, Inexperienced or otherwise who risks his own life or anyone elses( those who have to rescue them ) should be banned from fishing for life. It was not inexperienced anglers that were lost off Tynemouth pier. Those lads had been fishing that spot for years. Even the most experienced and responsible angler can have an accident.
Being a Safety Manager I deal with accidents on a daily basis.
Most accidents involve " experienced " people. Familiarity breeds contempt. Because they have been doing it for a long time, they get the idea that nothing can happen to them because they are " experienced ". Well it doesnt work that way. The only way to avoid any accidents is to do as you are told. If a sign says " Keep Out " then keep out. If it says " Fishing Prohibited " then dont fish.
sqafe Fishingt Lads
Just obey the rules and laws.

I partly agree with what you're saying Mike, however my point is Sunderland South Pier was closed to the public due to the acts of individuals wandering around the dock estate, so how does that make the mark unsafe? Hendon Wall was deemed 'unsafe' as it had no railings, yet you go a couple of miles down the coast and you have Seaham pier - the only difference being two different port authorities.