On The Hook

[Ken A]

DUNBOGAN ’05…………TOO MUCH FUN

Isn’t it funny how a fisherman’s passion for different spheres of fishing can live dormant for years. Maybe as a youth, a fisherman may have scrambled the rocks…fishing the drummer and bream or perhaps wandered a lonely trout stream with fly rod in hand always anticipating that fish of a lifetime but not always catching it..

My fishing career has been very much like this:……..The many facets of fishing which I love so much in my youth have never left me…… they have been tucked away for another day, to emerge again and to be enjoyed again, even more now than those many years ago.

I fished with my Grandfather and my Dad wandering beaches or sitting in my Grandfather’s beautiful rowing boat on the expanses of The Brisbane Waters at Tascott…………….Fishing with them, listening and hanging on their every word

Those days are still so precious to me, the love of all these more simple forms of fishing are probably as much, if not more enjoyed today, than when I was a youngster.

Whilst these times I do spend 180 days per year at the helm of my charter boat BROADBILL chasing the big pelagics around Mother Ocean and please don’t get me wrong, marlin are my passion, I just love catching these amazing fish ….they are the ultimate challenge for a skipper and they are my favourite fish to catch at this stage of my apprenticeship as a fisherman

I have many times thought about this and whilst it is now fourty years since I caught my first marlin ….it led me into a lifetime of a learning program in an attempt to understand the whys and wherefores of the species.

Broadbill has 22,000.00 hours on the hour metres and 70% of these hours have been spent chasing these remarkably exciting fish This boat has released over 2000 fish….. best season ’97 where we tagged 247 .

So I guess there has been some success along the way ….but here’s the cruncher I still have so much to learn.and still go out ,troll all day for “diddly squat”

A fisherman’s apprenticeship, for want of a better description, spanning over fourty years and I still learn something new every trip…..these fish are without doubt the “fisherman’s fish”, they are hard to hook ,hard to keep hooked and a challenge to catch.

However when on the end of a line, nothing in the water will be more spectacular than these athletic, aerobatic fish………It is this facet of fishing I find myself enjoying so much in the summer months.

However whilst I regard marlin as the pinnacle of any fisherman’s career…..I still get a different kind of contentment and joy from fishing a lonely beach, just on dark with the surf rolling at my feet or throwing a fly over a feeding trout or standing on a river bank, watching a float on a good blackfish bite.

These days I really do love…….. the more simple forms of fishing …returning from years gone by.

a personal feeling emerging again, to enjoy, when I am not catching marlin or tuna.

No boats…..no rough seas…… just good old Terra Firma……..me and my childhood passions returning again……what a great world it is …………...the one of a fisherman.

I have met many fine people over the years who have taught me much in various forms of fishing.

My dear old Dad and Grandfather …both now deceased,without doubt the ones whos encouragement led me into the world of fishing.

The salt of the earth Newcastle coalminers at Scott’s Head ,Allan Wotton and Nev Haggerty They taught me how to pick a good gutter on a beach and how to catch the illusive beach worm……I was then a youngster following them around the northern beaches like a stray pup.

The steelworkers at Pt Kembla Bill Crann and Bill Carloff who taught me the art of catching bream in the washes of Windang Island when I was a teenager..simple things to them never realising that their lessons would stay with me for life….

Laurie Woodbridge …..my hero….A great Cairns marlin boat Captain and pioneer of the heavy tackle scene, a quite unassuming man…...a man who taught me much in the early Cairns days in the mid seventies, especially about the patience required to pursue these great fish…….never a word about disappointment,if a bad day was had …….No! .More the thought that to morrow will be better.

There have been many more I could mention but it would take up the whole chapter .

The point I make is that fishing is a lifelong journey there are many self appointed experts with melon headed egos . Such egos should never enter into a fisherman’s repertoire or thoughts because once one thinks he’s learnt it all, then he has ceased learning and has just started going backwards.

Fishing is a persuit which should be a passion to be savoured and loved in quite humble manor, always ready to learn ..never sitting back on laurels……… always ready to pick up scraps of learning along the way, especially from some one who has accumulated much over a particular type of fishing pursuit.

THE BLACKFISHERMAN

Blackfishing is a great passion which I personally have been enjoying immensely over the past few years ….maybe as the years go by……………. this is where we head….if so, it’s fine with me.

As a blackfisher man I have much to learn, whilst I have fished for them on occasions, they have not been high on my favourite species until the past few years .

DUBOGAN ’05 ……FISHING WITH OLD MATES

I have a bunch of mates Bob “The Roadrunner”Morgan ( we courted our wives to gether some 40 years ago …..we must have got it right as we are still married to the same girls) Brian “The Moose”Nesbitt…… a friend of 40 years and John (“the Gnome”) Robertson We grew up to gether as teenagers….joined the St George Sportfishing Club to gether in the early ’70 s

Every year we all go away somewhere……. be it trout fishing ..or a bit of beach and rock at Yamba, but in the latter decade it is the sleepy hamlet of Dunbogan near North Haven we have settled to.

We look forward to this annual sojourn to-gether in October each year.

We are joined each year by the young guys our sons and their friends….they fish from their tinnies in the river, whilst I tend to keep out of the boats and stick to “Terra Firma” chasing blackfish

In this field I have been fortunate to befriend a few locals, they have been very much my mentors in this exacting world of blackfishing.

Wonderful blokes who have fished the blackfish all their lives …men who I was embarrassed to stand beside, such is their skills ….and so poor was mine in comparison….. men who have forgotten more than I know, such is their knowledge of blackfish

They sensed, however that I not only enjoyed their company but wanted to learn from them so they went out of their way to help me improve my basic skills.

Locals…Jack Ellis, Brian Perkins and the late Ian “Bato” have taught me so much over the past few years to the point where I am not in their class, but feel much more comfortable rubbing shoulders at our favourite haunt.

What a joy it is to fish a morning with these larrikins ……

Jack will say “How Deep Ross ?”

“About 9 foot Jack” I reply. “Take it down a foot” he’ll say and bingo the bite is on again.

Brian said “Thursday will be the day Roscoe …..it is the perfect day in the month” .

We caught 13 between us…. Thursday ……..was our best day of the week.

Exactly what Brian predicted on Tuesday

The late Bato , a Vietnam veteran and his dog Sally, a champion bloke who died last year; leaving us all with great memories of his company fishing on the wall at Dunbogan

This year we caught some great blackfish.…fish to 1.5 kg …..not big numbers, but a four to 8 fish…. per session …..per angler…

We fished the wall using local weed and cabbage and had some great times catching quality blackfish and I loved the experience.

THE ANNUAL ’05 FLATHEAD COMPETITION

Whilst I would head off with blackfish rod the boys were intent to win the converted flathead trophy on the Monday

At daybreak they launched their boats and the challenge began

Check out the entrant’s names

“Banana Bob” Cartwright, “Stinky” Willess, Glenn “BigBird” Hunter ,Kevin “Banger” Banks, “Ricko’ Clay, “The Gnome”, “The Road Runner” and ‘the Moose”

The day progressed and by the radio scheds….. Big Bird with 20 flathead was up in numbers but not in quality The Moose was looking good with a 50 centimetre fish until Banana called one in at 51 cm on a squidgy .

It was turning into a neck and neck battle to the end ….however the best fish was Bananas 51 cm flatty which took out the annual event

This year the bigger fish were scarce when compared to last year but that’s fishing for you.

We fished hard enjoying each others company over the afternoon beers and I’ m sure all look forward to ‘ 06

BACK ON THE SYDNEY SCENE ……IT’S YELLOWFIN TUNA

Whilst we have not fished too much since returning Glenn Hunter on BILLFISHER score two 20 kilo tuna on his last trip to the shelf . The fish were trolled on Bloodshot tuna lures .

These lures are by far the best tuna lure we have encountered over the past 30 years They really do work

It is really time to get serious about striped marlin encounters These fish will turn up on que over the next few weeks .

My prediction is that we will have a late run on the fin leading into a great marlin season ….Lets hope the crystal ball is accurate! .

HOT OFF THE PRESS ……My good friend Rob Curry just rang He caught a 44 kg tuna to day and lost two others …maybe the crystal ball is accurate.

A 1.3kilo Blackfish

Ross with a Blackfish

A snake

Bob Hods trophy

A shot of the crew

[kevvie]

nice story mate... makes me feel good about what i do when i hear the excitement is still there after fishing for so many years. I started fishing years back for yakkas off kirribilli wharf and no matter what sportfishing i do now i still feel excited about sitting on the end of a wharf dangling a handline for little blighters

[big_steve]

GREAT REPORT M8

[Guest bluecod]

The anticipation of the days first down, be it either from a rock in Middle Harbour or a North Coast wall, is as eagerly awaited as a marlin materialising behing your bait/lure, I can understand ending up as a "blackfisher man".

Good read