Spanker Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Hi Fishraiders, Being a lazy soul I don't post much, however a holiday up to Hat Head last week has my blood boiling. The first and only previous time I have been to HH was about 12 years ago. I was single and so camping with a mate. We took the mandatory two eskies, one for beer and one for meat. We were enchanted to drive over the bridge over the Korogoro creek and see it teeming with schools of whiting and bream. We camped at the National Park camping site over at Hungry Head and fished Death Hole back at HH. Heaven! Returning last week with wife and two kids in tow, I battered their ears with promises of explosive sight fishing poppers and lures and a good feed of local fish. The place is as beautiful as ever Despite the howling wind most of the week I swiftly get into action and went scouting up the creek. I was disappointed not to see any fish in the first hour but dismayed not to even get one hit. Being a bit confused about my recollections of a thriving waterway and having just read in delight the week before the descriptions on local camping websites of the Korogoro being teeming with fish, I packed up the gear and simply walked up the creek to try and site a fish, a single fish. Nada, zilch, nothing, hens teeth, bugger all, fail, you lose. I was still not sure what was going on and grabbed an elderly couple walking along the river and asked how the fishing is at the moment. With practically tears in his eyes, the gentelmen said the place was netted about 6 months ago and 90% of resident fish were now gone, the place is a desert. I spluttered that I was sure there was a ban on netting in the creek so what were locals thinking? He shook his head and explained that scum come down from SWR or Crescent Head and illegally net the place at night time once a year. He said that everyone was pretty sure who it was but the authorities claimed they had no evidence and could do nothing. Local fisherman were shattered because the creek fishing has gone to zero. Local tourist businesses are shattered because the tourists feel like they have been lied to and disappointed and trade is diminishing. Folks I am not the fiery type but this makes my blood boil, that a few would selfishly and illegally cause so much harm the the environment, the locals and people in general who want to enjoy the area. To finish off, I did not do any more fishing in the creek. I did see a couplf of flathead caught and encouragingly someone said they had recently seen a small school of whiting in the creek, however populations building back up again are month away. Sounds like the nets can return at any time. What can we do? Spanker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogtooth Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Thats sad to hear , my mate just returned and said that the fish seemed quiet in the creek , I guess and now know why . .... Hopefully it will improve to what it was ... Cheers Dogtooth.... John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 There needs to be a concerted effort by locals to gather as much eveidence as possible, i.e boat & car regos, video footage, & present it to the authorities. If people know who is doing it then they shouldn't be too hard to catch. As per site rule no2 this post is now closed. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts