Sea Angling Safety (Shore)

A shock leader is important to the safety of other beach users.

Personal Sea Angling safety is as much down to common sense as anything, the important part happens prior to your session, - most of it is down to planning.

1. Always let someone know where you are going with an estimated time of your return.
2. Take a mobile phone.
3. Make sure you wear the right clothing and pack a shelter, taking into account the weather and the possibility of ending up in the water (floatation suit).
4. Wear appropriate footwear, - rock marks are notoriously slippery (make sure they can also be removed fast should your foot become jammed in a crevice)
5. Take spare bulbs or an alternative light source when fishing at night (a pocket torch can be a life saver).
6. Never take a risk at the water's edge just to land a fish (over reaching from a rock mark or wading into heavy surf).
7. Never consume alchohol or take drugs during your session.
8. Do not fish a new venue at night (always scout the venue during daylight first to spot any potential hazzards).
9. Make sure you are not going to be cut off by the incoming tide, either due to a flooding tidal gully or by the surf having the potential to reach the base of any cliffs behind you.
10. Always try to fish with others (if you end up in the water your chances of getting out unaided can be very slim indeed).
11. Make sure you check the weather forcast before you leave.
12. Expect the unexpected (illness can strike anyone at anytime leaving their life heavily dependant on the ability of others to react fast).

The safety of other beach users is also very important to consider, and again most is down to planning and common sense.

1. Always use a shock leader to prevent any wayward flying sinkers due to line breakage upon casting (10lb of breaking strain to every ounce of sinker used) and make sure it is of sufficient length to leave at least six turns of leader remaining on your reel when the casting position is adopted.
2. Make sure your 'rig body' is of at least the same breaking strain as your shock leader.
3. When buying ready tied rigs or especially feathered lures make sure they are tied with an apropriate breaking strain of line (some feathered traces are only meant to be lowered from a boat and are constructed with line of as little as 30lb) and never attach a sinker or swivel using the pre-tied loops or links that come with them (these should always be cut off and new swivells and links from a trusted source tied in their place).
4. Never tie a sinker direct to your line, - always use an appropriate trace link between them (the knot will get abraided by the seabed if you don't).
5. Be prepared to compromise your casting style to suit your location (piers need special attention due to their high concentration of users and casting far is seldom necessary anyway on such structures).
6. Do not attempt to cast with a style that is 'beyond your means' in a quest to outcast those around you.
7. Always get proper tuition before attempting a 'power cast' (Pendulum / Back cast / Flat arc Groundcast).
8. Be aware of any people swimming around you (even if you have set up early and were there first, it is usually best to move location rather than risk a potential accident).
9. When hanging spare baited traces from your tripod, be alert to people walking dogs along the shore (put them out of reach in such instances as the dog walker is usually ignorant of any danger to their pet from baited hooks and will often let them run around you).
10. Keep the area around you tidy and never leave litter or discarded tackle when you leave