Danger - Deep Water

[Zerkalo]

What are the most precarious and potentially dangerous places you have fished?

There's a few really deep parts of the Middle Severn near me that I won't fish, a) because I don't think the fishing is generally as good as the shallower stretches and b) because the banks seem dangerous in places.

Here's on of the safer looking pegs at Ribbesford but you've probably got 12' of water off the platform from looking at the flow.

View attachment IMG_1742.m4v

Also at Patshull Park. There are a few stagings around the lake that are probably 4 foot off the water. Apparently they can be good pegs, especially the new ones they've opened near the hotel, but I wouldn't want to fall off them, not so much because I think the water is that deep off the staging, it probably is, but because you'd never pull yourself back onto the platform if you fell in.

 

[Dave]

To me it's got to be the banks of the River Wharfe from Newton Khyme, through Smaws Ings and down to Tadcaster in places, as they're steep drops into deep margins and far too easy to lose your footing and slide down. When I used to fish the matches on there many years back you obviously didn't get to chose so part of your kit was a strong rope and an even stronger set of banksticks to tie the rope to.

 

[Silverfisher]

Probably nowhere that dangerous really. Just some places you wouldn’t want to fall in.

Only place I can think of I’ve fished that’s potentially always dodgy is the wye at luckshall. It has some proper hairy banks down into deep water but was summer when I fished it so dry banks and a slow river so wouldn’t have been too bad. Some of the pegs at highley look quite interesting but you’d end up in fairly shallow water most the year so not too bad. Tbh any river in the winter can be iffy given they are up and the banks are muddy. Even parts of the Thames that are perfectly safe in the summer and autumn can be pretty dodgy become winter.

Wouldnt want to fall in around the solent with tides all over the place and loads of boats which although more likely to rescue you could run you over. On any of the passes I’ve fished in Florida both from the amount of boats and sharks. I have fallen out of a kayak in that part of the world but luckily was on flats so fairly safe.

 

[mickthechippy]

Some of the pegs on the ploughed field side of the river stour at plucks gutter

really steep drops from the field level to the river, you have to climb down to fish properly, to cut all over that, its tidal too, so the water can rise and fall by a fair amount during the day and the current according to the moon phase can be pretty strong

not being the greatest swimmer, I avoid any situation like that now, theres plenty of safer places to fish

 

[tipitinmick]

To me it's got to be the banks of the River Wharfe from Newton Khyme, through Smaws Ings and down to Tadcaster in places, as they're steep drops into deep margins and far too easy to lose your footing and slide down. When I used to fish the matches on there many years back you obviously didn't get to chose so part of your kit was a strong rope and an even stronger set of banksticks to tie the rope to.

Yeah, matches on Yorkshire rivers can be a little challenging at the best of times. Dangerous even. And the guys that do the pegging are often ‘ very optimistic ‘ as to where and angler can fish from.

 

[OldTaff]

As a kid I used to fish a multitude of small ponds and lakes near my house - the biggest problem was that as well as being full of fish they were also settling ponds for the steelworks cooling water. Because of this many were very deep at your feet, had high sheer concrete banks with very large infil pipes and submerged outfall pipes.

We were all made very aware in school of the dangers of these waters and at least 3 lads had lost there lives falling in and either drowning by not being able to climb back up the banks or being caught in the outfall suction and dragged under.

There were a pair of these ponds just behind town and a popular dare was to walk along the steel pipes above the water - that’s where one lad lost his life.

One such water was “the miley” or “long feeder”. It ran along the mountainside overlooking the steelworks - almost a mile in length it was little more than 15m wide in most places but the thing was you could start a session down inside the walls on the floor of the lake fishing a 4’ deep channel until the pumps came on and it was like the tide coming in. We’d shin up the banks with our kit and within half an a hour you’d be fishing 10’ deep but the warm water coming in would trigger a feeding frenzy.

Whilst the majority are now filled in, the miley is still there

 

[Yuccaman]

Piking on most of the Lincolnshire Drains. There can be some excellent fishing if you put the yards in, but you are often fishing on high, wet, muddy, 45 degree-ish banks

 

[Zerkalo]

That video of Ribbesford is one of the safest pegs there but you'll notice I still didn't stand on the platform when filming it. Further along near the road I think you would need rope to get up and down. It's also right next to a road. I had to drive along there at night when I took a wrong turning when there was a diversion in place at Bewdley and it made me think one slip of the wheel and there could be a bad accident there. It's pretty mad how it goes from shallow to deep just at the stretch below Bewdley as you can have less than 4 foot of water further upstream.

The muddiest part of the Severn I've fished is Knowle Sands just below Bridgnorth. Steep banks and muddy. Me and my dad could have done with ropes but made do with carefully placed banksticks. Winter is worse for sure, not least because I tend to wear a lot of layers. 3 foot of water on and it can change a usually 5' deep stretch to 8' off the rod tip and ploughing through. Always best to take care. It's very sad that a car with teenagers in went off the road and into Patshull. Reported in the news as 25' deep and sadly lost their lives.

 

[Godber]

Peg 8 and peg 16 at Port Talbot dock straight into 15-20ft of water.

 

[Silverfisher]

Went on a cricket tour to north Cornwall once and both games got rained off so we went fishing instead. Some proper iffy rock marks there when they’re wet that’s for sure, it’s an event just getting to them!

 

[Backwoodsman]

River wharfe, kearby sands people have drowned swimming off the sand bank. Similar just below the bridge at linton just outside collingham ,also on the wharfe. Once again swimming resulted in death. I believe both these places have some kind of underwater spiral/corkscrew current, not visible from the surface.

 

[Dave]

I know both well and they do have strong undercurrents once past the shallows

 

[davepellet]

Dam wall at Damflask slopes steeply into over 100ft of water

they don't allow access these days, but when I was a teenager we used to fish it all the time... one of the best places to target the stockie trout back then
we'd sit there on rickerty old wicker baskets, levelled off with a pair of wooden wedges, never a concern for the danger...

that said the only time I ever fell in anywhere was at a tiny mill dam hidden away in the Loxley valley, fished a swim near the sluice & stepped on a clump of grass next to the water that had no solid earth under it, went straight into 8ft of water...

mad scramble to get out & sat there shivering for the next 4 hours without a single bite...

 

[crumpercatcher.]

Red Scar woods and the horse shoe bend on the Ribble. Steep, steep, slippery banks that are undercut in places. Angler’s have lost their lives there in the past. I always think of these poor buggers every time I am there.

Tragedy at the riverbank as killer landslide strikes

 

[Keith Sparky]

I love my river fishing particularly on the Wye but all these pictures are exactly why commercials are so popular and safe. The platforms on the Hereford town stretch are good and it would be great if more we put in on our rivers generally but I assume clubs do not always have the know how and maybe reluctant to install them for insurance purposes?

 

[The Landlord]

Piking on most of the Lincolnshire Drains. There can be some excellent fishing if you put the yards in, but you are often fishing on high, wet, muddy, 45 degree-ish banks

I remember fishing a National on the Middle Level & my peg was just as you say.......high above the water & sloping at 45°. I could just about reach the water with my landing net. There were no footplates or box legs in those days either. Luckily it was a scorching hot day & the bank wasn't slippy.

 

[Not Now Kato]

The most dangerous place I've fished has to be the canal at the side of the villa we'd booked in Fort Myers in the states. We'd been fishing from the staging at the side of the villa and had a few Sunfish when I was overenthusiastic with a cast and got right into a bush of the far bank. Didn't want to pull for a break as it belonged to the villa and there was very little tackle anyway so I untied the rubber dinghy off the boat and paddled across to retrieve it. Simple job and paddled back. Whilst in the dinghy I decided to try fishing from there as I was closer to the water. Didn't catch anything as I'd probably scared the fish off with my rowing and tugging at the branches of the bush to retrieve my tackle, so decided to call it a day. Sat on the staging having a beer when I saw a nose and a pair of eyes coming down the canal and right past where I'd rowed to. Didn't think much of it until we were on a Manatee and Alligator cruise in the Glades a few days later and I was relating my fishing story to the guide as I suspected it was a small Alligator I'd seen that had wandered into the canal by accident. The guide asked me what I though the distance between the node and the eyes were and I said about ten to twelve inches. He smiled and said "Oh, a big one then. We estimate their length as one foot per inch of the distance between the nose and the eyes when they're in the water and we can't see the rest of them".

Needles to say, we only fished from the staging after that!

 

[smiffy]

Some of the local gravel pits can be a bit intimidating. If you’ve seen them as they’re being worked on some of the edges are like cliff faces . Playing a fish 5yds out in 20ft of gin clear water is a bit strange.
Older pits aren’t so bad. Erosion has done its job and made slopes of the margins.

 

[Silverfisher]

The most dangerous place I've fished has to be the canal at the side of the villa we'd booked in Fort Myers in the states. We'd been fishing from the staging at the side of the villa and had a few Sunfish when I was overenthusiastic with a cast and got right into a bush of the far bank. Didn't want to pull for a break as it belonged to the villa and there was very little tackle anyway so I untied the rubber dinghy off the boat and paddled across to retrieve it. Simple job and paddled back. Whilst in the dinghy I decided to try fishing from there as I was closer to the water. Didn't catch anything as I'd probably scared the fish off with my rowing and tugging at the branches of the bush to retrieve my tackle, so decided to call it a day. Sat on the staging having a beer when I saw a nose and a pair of eyes coming down the canal and right past where I'd rowed to. Didn't think much of it until we were on a Manatee and Alligator cruise in the Glades a few days later and I was relating my fishing story to the guide as I suspected it was a small Alligator I'd seen that had wandered into the canal by accident. The guide asked me what I though the distance between the node and the eyes were and I said about ten to twelve inches. He smiled and said "Oh, a big one then. We estimate their length as one foot per inch of the distance between the nose and the eyes when they're in the water and we can't see the rest of them".

Needles to say, we only fished from the staging after that!

One of our family friends over that way has a couple ponds on their land but I’ve seen the gators so I’ve never fished them! At least in saltwater the sharks can’t join you on dry land

 

[Zerkalo]

There's something quite satisfying about fishing deep water for me. I'd love for Ribbesford to hold a lot of fish as it's such a steady pace for trotting but I don't hear that many positive reports from there, I might try it myself sometime just to see but don't expect much.

When it's a still water I love counting a feeder down and then bringing up a big slab from the depths.

There's another venue, with 'Crucians', that's about 20' deep near Bridgnorth, Hurst Farm, but that feels safe as although it's deep a rod length out it's shallower in the margins and the banks aren't treacherous even though there's no platfroms, margins is where most of the fish are anyway when it's warm enough to catch them as the deep water seems too deoxygenated.