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Rock fishing is fishing from rocky outcrops into the sea. It is a popular pastime in Australia [1] [2] and New Zealand. It can be dangerous and many people have died. [3] [4] [5] This may improve as more people who are rock fishing are beginning to wear life jackets.
Rock fishing can be done with a rod and reel and line, or a line only.
Both ground and surface fishing are generally successful methods.
Rock fishing can be done both with artificial lures and natural bait. While bottom fishing typically relies on natural bait, both natural bait and artificial lures are used in different forms of surface rock fishing.
Some fishers who are rock fishing use an umbrella rig in spring, and use bait fish, such as perch and bluegill, in summer and autumn (the fall).
Using an umbrella rig is a method of trolling. Typically, an umbrella rig consists of four plastic neon green lures with a lead dragging behind. An additional lure is attached to the lead. Only the lure behind the lead will have hooks attached because this lure can appear to a stalking fish as the wounded or sick laggard in a school, making it a more likely target.
Another method of rock fishing is using bait fish. The bait fish may be bought from a store, or the angler can catch them himself. Bait fish can be used either whole or cut up into pieces. The size and type of bait fish used will vary depending what species is being targeted.
Problems may arise from the fact that sea bottom areas close to a rocky water's edge often consist of jagged rocks, which can cause a sinker rig to become snagged beyond recovery and thus be lost. Conversely, surface fishing with a float or buoy is often made difficult by the fact that rocky shore areas can have strong currents, in which light floats in particular can be carried away quickly from a desired area. Spin fishing as a form of surface fishing can allow more control over a lure or bait in these conditions.
Rock Angling as the name suggests usually entails the angler fishing from a rock ledge or outcrop on the shore. This will usually allow the angler access to deeper water than from the beach, which usually means more fish.
An angler rock fishing will usually use a rod of between 10 and 11 feet when fishing from rocks although the full Beach Casters of 12 to 14 feet may be used when distance casting is required or a stiff rod is required due to rough ground. It is usual that only short casting is required from rocks to catch fish as they tend to be close in trying to feed of crabs and other animals. Again the angler may use a fixed spool reel or a multiplier reel loaded with line from as little as 8 pound (float fishing) to 30 pounds over rough ground. When fishing from rocks several different methods can be used such as bait fishing, spinning/plugging and float fishing. Bait fishing will be much the same as from the beach but the most common bait would now be peeler crab and hard back crab. Spinning/plugging involves casting an artificial lure or plug and retrieving it to induce a fish to 'take' attack the lure or plug. Whilst float fishing is simply suspending a bait usually a rag worm, sand eel of prawn below a float. The species of fish targeted will be the same as from the beach but will include species such as Ballan Wrasse. Species varie from coast to coast, but the main species from rock marks are conger eels, various species of ray, tope, cod, bass and bullhuss. A rotten bottom system is commonly used among professional anglers looking to cut down on tackle losses due to rocky snags.
In Australia between 2004 and 2019 192 people died in relation to rock fishing. [3] 185 of these 192 deaths occurred from drowning. [3] Of these 192 deaths "...waves and slippery surfaces contributed to 85%". [3] This figure of 85% does not include the rock fishing deaths where the circumstances of what happened to the person prior to their death are unknown. [3]
In Australia between 2004 and March 2021 nearly 200 people had died in relation to rock fishing. [2]
In New South Wales between 1992 and 2000 74 people died in relation to rock fishing. [6] It was reported that for rock fishing "...many people who have drowned received some sort of head injury." [6]
In New Zealand between 1980 and 1995 63 people died from "Fishing from rocky shorelines...". [7] In New Zealand between 2010 and 2020 31 people died in relation to rock fishing. [4]
It was reported that "Between 2012-2016, 46 anglers died fishing off the UK coast, 25 of them while fishing from the shore." and "...that 70% of shore anglers who drowned were swept into the sea by waves." [5]
Safety measures include:
Safety measures for weather are to "Check the local weather forecast before you go" [11] and "Spend 20-30 minutes watching the wind and wave conditions from a safe distance before deciding if a fishing spot is suitable." [11] [9]
Safety measures for fishing rods include "...using longer fishing rods, about ten feet or longer, increasing your vision of the ocean in front of you, watching the waves and swells, tidal and weather changes, landing your catch, and avoid getting snagged up. [A long rod] moves you backwards away from the edge of the rock platform danger zone, back further reducing those wash ins, slips, trips and fall ins." [2]
It was reported that "A wave period or interval is the time it takes for one complete wave length to pass a fixed point, and it’s given in seconds. Shorter wave periods can be eight to 12 seconds apart, they tend to look peakier and closer together." [1] and "When the wave period is four to 12 seconds, you can see the wave heights that are dangerous more easily." [1]
It was reported that "...longer wave periods can be 10 to 20 seconds apart and carry much more energy." [1] During an 18-second wave period a person rock fishing from a shore platform may not have any large waves that are visible in the first 200 – 300 metres in front of the shore platform. [1]
It was reported that for "12 rock fishing-related drownings in Randwick Council...", [1] the "...wave period at both sites [in Randwick council] was longer than average at the time of drownings". [12]
It has been reported that "For rock fishers, the speed of the tide can often come as a surprise. At mid-tide—generally three to four hours after the tide has turned—the tide can rise by half a metre, in half an hour. You can be on dry rocks one minute, and then before you know it waves are surging onto your platform." [11]
It was also reported that "Over many hours a fisher may be unaware of the slowing changing water level of the tide and how this affects wave behaviour. As the tide drops, waves may begin to break more frequently in front of where you are fishing as the water becomes shallower, whereas a rising tide may make the waves surge onto the rock platform all of a sudden." [11]
It has been reported for Australia that there can be circumstances where "...a low pressure weather system far out in the Pacific or the Southern Ocean may be generating local waves of 2 to 4 metres or more. These swells can travel for days and many hundreds of kilometres from where they were formed – losing their height but stretching out and keeping their power.
While they’re in deep water, these long, low swells are not a problem, but as they approach shallow water they break powerfully. Because the systems that generate these waves can be far off to the east, or far south of Australia, they do not always appear on local weather charts – and the swells can arrive when it is sunny and calm. Another source of danger is that these ‘sets’ of powerful waves... ...can arrive at lengthy intervals – often every 15–20 minutes...". [9]
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques include hand-gathering, spearing, netting, angling, shooting and trapping, as well as more destructive and often illegal techniques such as electrocution, blasting and poisoning.
Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water. This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from a jetty. Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as salmon, mackerel and kingfish.
Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses a ultralight-weight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is insufficient to overcome air resistance, it cannot be launched far using conventional gears and techniques, so specialized tackles are used instead and the casting techniques are significantly different from other forms of angling. It is also very common for the angler to wear waders, carry a hand net, and stand in the water when fishing.
Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniques such as handlining also exist. Modern angling rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a cranking device for storing, retrieving and releasing out the line, although Tenkara fishing and traditional cane pole fishing are two rod-angling methods that do not use any reel. The fish hook itself can be additionally weighted with a denser tackle called a sinker, and is typically dressed with an appetizing bait to attract and entice the fish into swallowing the hook, but sometimes an inedible fake/imitation bait with multiple attached hooks is used instead of a single hook with edible bait. Some type of bite indicator, such as a float, a bell or a quiver tip, is often used to relay underwater status of the hook to the surface and alert the angler of a fish's presence.
Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities.
Big-game fishing, also known as offshore sportfishing, offshore gamefishing or blue-water fishing, is a form of recreational fishing targeting large game fish, usually on a large body of water such as a sea or ocean.
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival and livelihood.
A fishing lure is any of broad category of artificial angling baits that are inedible replicas designed to mimic real prey animals that attract the attention of predatory fish, typically via appearances, flashy colors, bright reflections, movements, vibrations and/or loud noises which appeal to the fish's predation instinct and entice it into striking the lure.
Handline fishing, or handlining, is a fishing technique where a single fishing line is held in the hands, rather than with a fishing rod like the usual angling, of which handlining is a subtype. Handlining is not to be confused with handfishing, which is catching fish by hand. When handlining, one or more fishing lures or baited hooks are attached to the line, and a fishing lure and often a weight and/or a fishing float can also be attached to the line. Handlining is among the oldest forms of fishing and is still practiced throughout the world today.
In angling, casting is the act of the angler throwing the bait and hook as well as other attached terminal tackles out over the water, typically by slinging a fishing line manipulated by a long, elastic fishing rod. The term itself may also be used for setting out a net when artisanal fishing.
Fishing tackle is the equipment used by anglers when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used in fishing can be called fishing tackle, examples being hooks, lines, baits/lures, rods, reels, floats, sinkers/feeders, nets, spears, gaffs and traps, as well as wires, snaps, beads, spoons, blades, spinners, clevises and tools that make it easy to tie knots.
In Britain and Ireland, coarse fishing refers to angling for rough fish, which are fish species traditionally considered undesirable as a food or game fish. Freshwater game fish are all salmonids — most particularly salmon, trout and char — so generally coarse fish are freshwater fish that are not salmonids. There is disagreement over whether grayling should be classified as a game fish or a coarse fish.
Bank fishing is fishing from banks or shores, typically very near but still above the water's edge. Bank fishing from rocky outcrops that protrude into the water is usually called rock fishing. Bank fishing is typically done by angling, casting a tethered hook dressed with bait or lure into the water, and is usually performed by a rod often equipped with a reel, but handlines, nets, traps, bows, spears and snag hooks can also be used.
A surface lure or topwater lure is a diverse class of fishing lure designed to attract predatory fish through commotions produced at the water surface, imitating preys of interest swimming at the surface such as injured baitfish, frogs, wading mice, lizards and water snakes, drowning insects and dabbling ducklings. These lures are preferred by some anglers due to the belief that they attract larger-than-average fish, and from the added excitement of actually seeing the sudden splashes created by fish aggressively breaching the surface to strike the lure, in some instances even clearly seeing the fish stalking the lure before striking.
Surf fishing is land-based game fishing while standing on the shoreline or wading into the surf zone. A general term, surf fishing may or may not include casting a lure or bait, and refers to all types of shore fishing – from sandy and rocky beaches, rock jetties, or even fishing piers. The terms surfcasting or beachcasting refer more specifically to surf fishing from the beach by casting into the surf at or near the shoreline. With few exceptions, surf fishing is done in saltwater. The most common misconception about surf fishing is the idea that one must cast as far out as possible in order to reach the fish. At beaches on the west coast of the United States, and in fact, at most beaches around the world, you only really need to get your bait into knee-deep water. This is referred to as surf fishing the "skinny".
Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs and edible marine invertebrates.
Recreational fishermen usually fish either from a boat or from a shoreline or river bank. When fishing from a boat, or fishing vessel, most fishing techniques can be used, from nets to fish traps, but some form of angling is by far the most common. Compared to fishing from the land, fishing from a boat allows more access to different fishing grounds and different species of fish.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fishing:
Land-based game fishing is a form of big-game sport fishing in which anglers attempt to catch oceanic game fish from shore rather than from ocean-going boats. The locations for such activities are generally rock platforms, though wharfs, jetties and beaches are also common. Some species such as sharks can be targeted in shallow littoral water, however most other species prefer deeper pelagic water, and this limits the areas where these types can be fished from the shore. Tackle used is usually comparable to that used on boats, but some differences are necessary, such as changes in rod length. Different tackle is used according to location and species targeted.
Girella elevata, the rock blackfish, Eastern rock blackfish, black rockfish or Eastern rock blackfish drummer is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the family Kyphosidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean around eastern Australia and northern New Zealand.
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