snatcher Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 My daughter dropped me off at Fairlight mid-morning and in no time at all I was at the waters edge and tackling up. I decided to try legering squid on the bottom first as all of the fish in the harbour seem partial to it. As per usual the bites were almost immediate and as normal I was failing to connect up. At this point Steve walked down the 100yds from his daughters house and joined me,setting up similar to me. It was a cracking day weatherwise and there were quite a few other anglers out for the day,some had brought their families along as the rock ledges were very angler friendly. After missing a lot of bites I did the usual and dropped the hook size. I eventually managed to hook one and it turned up to be a Chinaman Leatherjacket. I very carefully unhooked it and took a quick picture before returning it to the water. Steve said he had to pop back to the house for a while and so I fished on managing one more Chinaman Leatherjacket. At this point I decided to change tactics and stuck on a metal toby. After a few fruitless minutes decided to change over to a jellyworm fished behind a drilled bullet. A couple of casts with this and I got a real savage take and it started to take line against the drag. With a medium spinning rod and 15lb mono I could not exert too much pressure. This must have gone on for about 10 minutes before I slowly started to get line back. Eventually I got a glimpse of it and could not believe what I had hooked - a TURTLE !! There is no way I could have landed this by myself so I phoned Steve and told him to get straight back as I had a turtle that needed landing. When Steve arrived back the turtle was ready for landing but it proved too big for the landing net. He simply had to reach in and grab it by its flippers. It had been hooked on the outside of its mouth so was it an accidental hook up or did the turtle go for the lure ??? I have since read that young turtles tend to be carniverous but as they grow older tend to just eat vegitation. I will never know the answer to this. Steve then borrowed my long nosed pliers and carefully removed the hook. Quite a crowd had gathered by this time as it was an unusual capture. A couple of quick photos with the turtle then I carefully returned it to the water. It swam away,non the worse apart from a small flesh wound. We decided to call it a day at this point as how can you top catching a turtle in Sydney Harbour. On getting back to the apartment it was suggested that the local paper could be interested in the story so I e-mailed a picture to the local paper and gave my details. Next morning the editor phoned me back saying that they wanted to publish the story and wanted a few more details from me. Well here is the picture of Snatcher making the Australian papers. As far as I could tell no one had heard of a turtle being caught from the harbour before. At this point my ozzie species list totalled 33 - including the turtle Still no flathead though !!!!! Next report sees me at Little Manly Point Park again. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toboggi Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Mate love your reports. A turtle! Thats quite a story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Great report once again John and you made the newspaper! Talk about 15mins of fame. Your description of a soft plastic had me rolling on the floor laughing! "After a few fruitless minutes decided to change over to a jellyworm fished behind a drilled bullet." Great story! Cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fragmeister Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Another great report John, Like Scatchie, I find the fishing terms you use a little "different" "I decided to try legering squid on the bottom first" I gather this means you had a sinker on and the bait was held on the bottom but I am still not 100% sure. Anyway, Love the reports...keep them coming. Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest no one Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I'm used to your terms John... Ledgers... not used that term for a few years! Certainly a special experience catching a turtle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snatcher Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 I'm used to your terms John... Ledgers... not used that term for a few years! Certainly a special experience catching a turtle! Yep that catpture was "turtally" unecpected and I was "shell shocked" mate John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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