Dedicated or mad

[Stores]

Spot on Bob. It was Rod he was casting over. You know the scenario - he pulls in Rod\'s rod bumps, he pulls in ............. Rod had a word with him then he joined you. I was really disappointed that there were not more fishing the Bottom of the Stairs and less in the Slatey as I was dying to join you as the fish had finished as the tide ebbed but as there were 4 of you balancing on a teacup........

[Ell]

A while back I posted something about anglers and rock climbing. The jist was that combining the two sports could result in some very interesting fishing (and climbing). the post was met with some very negative replies which seemed to stem from the fact that people had made up an equation that went

Angling = Risk (Acceptable)
Climbing = Risk (Acceptable)
Angling + Climbing = Twice the risk (not acceptable)

Lets face it NO mark is safe! No angler is insured against acts of god. There will probably never be a year goes by without a few souls lost to the sea. I think hardcore anglers will inevitably take to learning the art of rock climbing to take them places no-one has ever fished from.

I know me way round a hand jam and a Jumar, I\'ve done \"The Old Man of Hoy\"

No hang on that was \"The Old Man Hoy\"

















\"Discovery Adventure Channel\"

[MikeR]

Saw something similar on TV a few years back. A guy absaied down the cliffs somewhere near dover, spun for a couple of macky and a pollock, and then used one of those devices that you put your feet and hands in to climb the rope back to the top.

Absolute nutter. Might have made sense if he was going to fish for something decent!

[mark]

.... and then used one of those devices that you put your feet and hands in to climb the rope back to the top.

Prussik loops, giri giri, Jumar or clogs depending on which method was used (yes climbers use clogs sometimes)

yup I\'m a climber and an angler and have combined both!

need to go find some scary pics of places I\'ve done both

[mark]

ok if climbing and fishing are a questionable combo, check out the guys in the background. They combing climing with diving! to dive the old mines, the abseil down into the quarry then climb half way back up to get to one mine entrance then dive in the mine and come back up in the flooded quarry. I took a rof down here as I\'d heard rumours of trout, caught nowt though - note can of stella for breakfast, pic take 9am!


demonstration of the art of falling off:


my fave climbing venue in the UK, Malham cove, route is called thriller direct, rated E6 (they don\'t go much higher), 500 feet straight up with a 30foot overhang at 400feet, happy days, thats me in the middle somewhere

[Davyred]

Rather you than me mark.

If I wanted to fish a mark no-one has ever fished from as Ell says, I\'d travel in the car, not down a rope!!!

[TC]

Tala,
I\'ve got no qualms about people posting details and photos of the more \"awkward\" to get to marks.
I hope that the photo you posted DOES deter the less experienced who may have heard of the mark and thought they\'d fancy trying it.

My only worry really, is the state of
a. the rope
b. the cliff

How long has the rope been there?.....is it regularly renewed?
Rope - nylon and natural fibre deteriorates pretty quickly (especially exposed to such things as salt water / air.

Are the cliffs prone to erosion?......by the looks of the rubble at the base of the cliff, it looks likely. The cliffs up our neck of the woods are forever crumbling and we\'ve had HUGE collapses in recent years.
A couple of years ago, a guy was killed whist fishing from the (relative) safety of the cliff top....the whole lot just went away from under his feet and he went down with it.

[Davyred]

Cracking pics mark, Id need a couple of crates of Stella to do it :P :P

[Chippy]

IMHO, other people can do what they want as long as it doesn\'t involve me. However at marks like that, you\'ve got to look at the risks and the benefits. Benefits? a double figure cod. On the other hand on a climb like that you get no chances if you make a mistake, if you slip you fall all the way to the bottom. If you\'re wearing waders, especially PVC ones, once you start sliding down the hill you\'ll not stop.

I broke my leg walking on a grass footpath on cliff tops between two marks. It was daylight but I was on my own and it took three hours for someone to walk along the path and mobiles don\'t always work in coastal areas. After that, I\'m always that bit more wary of any hard to get to mark.

Piers and breakwaters are easier to judge, you stay clear if there is a big sea on. Life has enough risks and I don\'t want to lessen my chances of making 40 by taking more risks than I have to .

[tala]

To answer your questions Tony,that section of the cliff is probably one of the more stable sections of cliff in that area as you can see by the amount of grass, if you could look either side it is near vertical and all shale and slate neither of which are the best media to climb on.
The ropes have been changed , but not very often, if you could see the knot that is attached to a circus type tent peg (looks like a steel scaffold tube) that would frighten the sh!te out of you.
That picture and many more can be found on another fishing wed site.(no names you will just have to look)
The thing with that photo is that it does not really do the climb justice, I think (im not 100% sure) that climb is 600ft from top to bottom and either side it rises to nearly 670ft which I\'m told are the highest cliffs in England, some of the climb can be done without the aid of a rope or ladder (but not much ), some of those rocks at the bottom are the size of a transit van.
Its not a climb that I do very often now (maybe three times a year), I ,like most go round the bottom from Cowbar (whimp).
There are sections of cliff on the way round that are constantly falling, so we always stay well clear of the bottoms. It is a very slippy place and the futher from the cliff bottom you get the harder it gets, gullies to clamber thru and the like, but when all said and done it can be well worth it.
Another double figure fish was taken from there this w/end, when you concider that not many people fish it and the number of doubles taken from boulby and the boiler hole is already into double figures, its got to be worth the trek.
Dont you think? on second thoughts \"dont answer that\"

PS Nearly forgot \"Mark\", they are cracking photos mate but please dont take this the wrong way You Must Be Looney,
not a hope of hell of getting me up and down there .
Respect m8.




[Edited on 31/1/2005 by tala]

[mark]

Perhaps the point might be, that from a NESA point of view, fishing in any areas whatsoever where there may be an element of risk is done so solely at your own personal liability and that as the publishers of such information NESA cannot be held responsible if your head falls off etc.

At the end of the say I always believe in do what you\'ve got to do and what you want to do, but at all times it is your own descision for which you can only hold yourself accountable

Tala: Wait till I dig the really crazy climbing photos out - climbed a route called minus one one tower ridge of ben nevis a few years back, climbed it solo and red point, that is, it was climbed on sight (no practice) and with no ropes. Just me, me climbing shoes and big bag of chalk versus 1800foot of granite!

[Stores]

Things have moved on haven\'t they and we need to be aware of that. When I was a bairn Whitley Bay AC had a real reputation for being aggressive match fishermen. That meant being the first on marks, the last off and, often, the most sucessful. They took risks, they got a few dookings but in their time they were the equivelant of our cliff descenders today. They were also skilled at what they did so risks were minimised. It\'s those skills we need everyone to have today

[willywetegg]

Been watching this post with interest. Didn\'t see the first picture untill tala reposted it. Personally I can\'t see a problem as long as the person that is fishing is fit enough and experienced enough to do the job and the ropes are ok (same in every walk of life). I MIGHT have done it quite a few years ago but certainly not now lol. Loved your pics Mark wouldn\'t mind a go at abseiling but I bet my a***e would be giving it sixpence half crown as I went over the edge for the first time mate lol.

Jim.

[Marc]

Wait till I dig the really crazy climbing photos out - climbed a route called minus one one tower ridge of ben nevis a few years back, climbed it solo and red point, that is, it was climbed on sight (no practice) and with no ropes. Just me, me climbing shoes and big bag of chalk versus 1800foot of granite!

Thats Nowt!!!,

I once took a 7m Merc Sprinter van up a gorge in Rookhope in a blizzard and survived
and ah had nee deisel in it. I\'m bloody pleased mountain rescue was at the top though, Cheers finn

[willywetegg]

Hahahahahaha nice one Marc. Always take precautions and fill up before you go into the WILDS. If you don\'t you might as well take your boat into a firing range mate.

Jim.