Rescue - Water dragon vs. discarded? gear.

[ginko]

Just a quick reminder, please be careful to collect any lost hooks/line. 

Today, a water dragon had a lucky rescue.  I'm not sure how he got there, but the poor guy was dangling from a branch over a creek leading into the top of manly dam... held there with a weighted-hook/soft-plastic and about 80cm of mono that was caught up in the branch.  He looked like he'd been dangling there for a bit - he was all skinny and bony. 

I did manage to get him off without too much damage (the hook pinned him through top jaw), and he thankfully scooted off as soon as he was free.

It was a pretty jarring photo - not for sharing, even here.  Please be careful with your tackle, who know who might be taking pictures of it later!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Restyle]

11 minutes ago, maccapacca said:

I want to echo this, went fishing at the piers and the amount of line left laying around was surprising, I could count atleast 5-6 animals hindered by loose bits of mono dangling or wrapped around there wings.

A pretty bad sight if I’m being honest, especially as it could be prevented very easily

 That spot has always attracted the worse kind of fishos, the place is no cleaner then the land fill at eastern creek. Won’t be long till that spots shut off for good. A small minority of ‘fishermen’ will ruin for all of us

Edited April 5, 2022 by Restyle

[Little_Flatty]

I always make a point of picking up any line that I come across, and disposing of it, even though it's not mine. It's nasty stuff for wildlife.

The advice I have read is to cut it up into small pieces before putting it in the bin, so there is less chance of it ensnaring anything. So that's what I do.

When I was a kid my dad and I released a seagull that was tangled in line at the low tide mark at Roseville. It would not have survived the top of the tide.

[steeevooo]

Nice work saving it @ginko  They can be hard work to get off a hook!
And good call on not leaving rubbish behind.

Oddly though, it may not have even been some discarded or lost gear but bycatch and snapped line...

Lures that look like food to fish can easily look like food to other animals and those water dragons are too quick for their own good sometimes :/

I live around the corner from the dam & used to fished there loads, almost daily for a while, and had a few tangles with those poor dragons over the years. 

Never lost the line luckily, and only once got one hooked, which was no fun for either of us. 
The thing leapt through the air and chomped a cicada shaped lure while I was mid cast!
Took a bit of a wrestle and a few scratches getting it off the hook before we both scurried off a bit shook-up.

Not much you can do if the line snaps, so it's good to be extra careful around them if fishing with lures and light gear.

 

[dirvin21]

The good old Eastern water dtagon or commonly known by bass fisherman everywhere as "ya bastard!"

You did well they are nasty things to de hook, but they are cool, seen tyem big enough to near breath fire

It's a shame when creatures get snared in discarded line always serves as a reminder to not leave discarded gear if it can be helped and pick up any we find

As fishraiders we set an example for the rest of the fishos out there

[Pickles]

Good job on “catch and release” of water dragon @ginko, when I fish for Bass, I generally use barbless hooks (squash barbs flat) to make lease easier, especially with trebles.

[Yowie]

The hardest catch and release I have had is a pelican, hook in a foot and line around the opposite wing. He could not fly.

I lured him close with fish scraps then dropped the landing net over him. A bit of a wrestle then he calmed down and I held him like I was playing the bagpipes. Removed the hook and line and he flew away at great speed.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Yowie

[Isaac Ct]

I have seen a pelican with a soft plastic with the hook still in it in its wing. A couple of the locals pinned it down and removed the hook. It is disgusting how people think it is ok to leave their rubbish around for animals to get caught up in and others to clean up after them.

[bessell1955]

Good job on te water Dragon rescue.

[Rebel]

Well done.