Experience

0191 5532828 department of events and resorts

By the way, tried ringing them all day monday to see if they'd open the pier (sea was flat)....no answer, so left a message.

To be fair to them, they rang me today to tell me they were all on a training course, which is absolutely no good at all for my codling tally;)

or my fishing reports, hang on, all away on course, fifty anglers go onto pier, the sea comes away oooopppps
 
or my fishing reports, hang on, all away on course, fifty anglers go onto pier, the sea comes away oooopppps

Good point. Who closes the pier if it was open?

I've since found out that the dept who open the pier take advice from the pilot house as to whether to open the pier or not.
 
Really interesting thread and as an old member of the board I can see it from both sides of the argument - Davey and his "I've loads of experience and I'm thinking of me" and Alan Charlton and his "Been there, seen it, done it but I'm older now and the family and grandkids are more important" stance.
My point is that both Davey and Alan are both good at the decisions they have made - they have both fished for donkeys years and they're both still here. Don't let anybody fool you that neither of them have taken chances over the years - they both have, as have the rest of us who fish in bad weather. Let me give you the latest example.............

NESA comp....tat about a bit until near to the bottom of the tide when I want to be in the Slatey Gut.....crap night, wind and rain in your face but the chance of winning the comp. My favourite spot is well known, it's in the book, but the tide's bigger and the roll is large so to try and negate the latter and maximise the former I plonk myself beyond the sloping rock and cast to the right of the rock in the way. Unfortunately the flat skeers normally fished off don't exist beyond the rock so it's careful plodging until I find a suitable base to cast from. As soon as the tide starts to flood, and on a big tide that's like a cannon shot, I'm up to my knees and working my way back through unforgiving ground. If something goes wrong then it's the same scenario as Tynemouth pier or Roker or anywhere else. The sea shows litle mercy.
Davey's still here, as is Alan because they've weighed up the risk to the benefits. If they get it wrong, like the rest of us, they suffer the consequences.
The problem, as I see it, is the anglers who don't know the risk, therefore don't do the (aaaah) risk assessment before they set out.
If I get washed away in Cullercoats Harbour it won't be my fault - it'll be a greater force proving my judgement wanting and that'll be my fault - no compensation necessary.
 
0191 5532828 department of events and resorts

By the way, tried ringing them all day monday to see if they'd open the pier (sea was flat)....no answer, so left a message.

To be fair to them, they rang me today to tell me they were all on a training course, which is absolutely no good at all for my codling tally;)


I done the same i rang them all yesterday morning/afternoon but it went straight onto the answer machine,phoned this morning and it was open the man on the phone said no one was there yesterday through being on a training course,was gutted it weren't open yesterday as it might off fished well but i went today had 1 codling and 1 whiting for my efforts also seen a few whiting that was it.
 
Just read my last sentence.......bugg**.. but I think you know what I mean

I've been caught out three times in my life by the sea.

My first was when I was 17, fishing the tanks down Hendon in a northerly roll. I'd never fished the place before, but as the place was packed, I felt pretty safe. Afet a couple of hours, out of no-where, one came over the top. Luckily, I was able to keep my feet and grab my gear, but never fished the mark again in a sea.

The second time was the flat rock 3 years later. My second time there. There was a bit of a roll on, we'd been fishing there for 2-3 hours at the back of the rock when one just surged up from no-where. Again, I was lucky in that we'd fished at the back of the rock and secondly, I oply lost my bait.

The last time was on Roker a good few years ago now, which is documented on another thread.
 
Posted in another thread that I'd fished Seaton Point on Saturday night with my oldest lad. You would think that the beach is the safest place in the world to fish.....Not so. On a big tide there is or was a sandbar that you could wade onto, no more than knee high a few years back. It was just such a tide on Sat night we got down just as the tide had dropped enough for us to cast into the channel in front of the sandbar. As the night wore and I started to edge further down the beach (keeping Jack further back looking after the rods and gear) it started to become obvious that the channel was now just a series of holes and pools, and that the beach was hardly distinguishable from the holes as I walked forward to cast in what I thought was a few inches of water which I managed to wade out up to about my knees before casting. As I walked back I had obvioulsy veered off course by a few feet and soon realised the shallow water I was expecting was now nearly waist high and it was rocky underfoot. Experience counted for nothing and had I slipped, then who knows. Needless to say We had one more cast, and that was from the edge of shore. And I deliberately took Jack down to the waters edge to show him the dangers of the pools, Hopefully so that when he is older he realises how dangerous the sea can be!
 
Back
Top