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Moreton Island 16th - 18th December

Angus

By Angus
in Saltwater

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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Well the long anticipated trip to Moreton Island with James and Simon Harmon to show Terry and I the ropes of big shark fishing has finally occurred. And may I say what a sweet weekend, (despite of course the weather)!

Terry and I met up the night before we left (Friday the 15th of December) to go over all the final preparations. Terry had his traces and hooks all geared up for his Okuma 50W. Lacking a reel myself, I was relying on the Harmon’s 2 x Tiagra 80W matched with custom made 37kg short strokers, which I was greatly looking forward to having a crack at.

Saturday morning the 16th of December we were on our way. Terry and I being overly enthusiastic left quite early and stopped into the opening of the new BCF at Virginia to say G’day to Reef Raider who was working at the time. I must ay that store does have variety! We then proceeded onto Scarborough where had some fish and chips and waited for the Harmon’s to arrive. (Mental note to all the SP’ers out there, hundreds of bream within easy and legal casting range from the Scarborough Marina). Not too much later, we saw the red Zodiac approaching atop a 4WD. Greetings were made to Simon and James and their mate Sean, and without anymore a do we were onto the ferry and on our way to Moreton.

Once we arrived we set up at our first location. Here is where I began to truly understand what big shark fishing is all about. Required is precision and organization which is to say the least, Military. I now clearly understand why so many “Sharkers” simply don’t produce the goods. I learnt an absolute wealth of knowledge from watching the guys prepare the gear, and I’m only to aware of how much I still missed. The camp becomes for about two hours and a half a working factory as hooks are sharpened, sand bags are filled, rigs are made and knotted, knots greased down with fat (to ensure they are as tight as possible), all non moving metal gear taped etc. It is truly an enormous effort. Once this is all completed 3 rods were ready in the holders to be deployed. We had set up one huge bait and two smaller ones (which are still not that small) just to mix it up a bit. Terry and James deployed the first lot of baits In the Zodiac and the waiting game begun.

I have to say the waiting game was one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip. As all you avid fishermen out there know, fishing chat among fishermen is priceless! However we did not get as much in as I thought before one of 80W’s starting growling in the holder (no joke the drag on the 80W literally growls)! As I was on strike I rushed down like a little kid eager to get my first “real” shark. The thought I must point out that “Holy crap this is the big bait”, did rush through my head a few times! The line was literally peeling off the reel and the excitement increased as Simon informed me that in his experience this was going to be a really big fish. The harness felt great and I really enjoyed using the reel as I started (painfully) gaining line. All of a sudden the line went limp. At first I thought the fish was swimming towards me so picked up the line with haste. But sadly it had rubbed off on the bottom. Darn and bother, but hey as we said a few times on the trip; “That’s fishing”!

Back to the rigging table and before to long we had another line in the water. Once again it was back to fishing stories and banter. However rudely a shark only decided to wait only 20mins this time before beginning to run on the same 80W as before! Terry was on strike so down he went to commence another battle. After a good fight and a fair few minutes Terry managed to land his biggest shark to date, a nice bully approx 8 feet long. We did not want to “stress” the shark to much, so after a couple of quick pictures and the hooks removed, it was released to fight again. It was an impressive site actually seeing both the dorsal and tail fins swimming back through the breakers. As it was getting on in the night by now, the decision was made not to redeploy that particular 80W and leave it at the two rods.

Not long after Terry’s shark the weather kicked in so we tried to get some sleep. No very much I might add as it was seriously bucketing and I was wet through before to long. At about 4:00am I realized that I had left my camera somewhere it might get wet! So staggering out of bed I soon learnt two things. Firstly the Olympus camera my dad bought me for my Birthday is a bargain. It had been sitting under water in a puddle for a couple of hours and was in perfect working order! Nice one. Secondly the sound I was hearing in the back of my head was not a cicada; it was the other 80W peeling line. No one had heard because of the rain! I raced down knocking on the car windows as I went to wake James and Simon. After the harness and plate were on the fight began in earnest. While not being nearly as big as the shark I lost or the one terry has landed, this one had already taken 600m + plus of line out of the spool so I had some work ahead of me. After a bit over 30mins I had a 6 foot bully beached. Again, after a few pictures he was released to swim again. Important note: This shark was caught was foul hooked thanks to the extra sharpening that Simon and James do. So keep those hooks sharp! Very wet and exhausted we all again retired to our beds.

The day after we were off to a new location further north. I wont go to huge detail about this day and night as it was a bit disappointing. It was fun however deploying the baits both at night and in the day. And I was also interesting learning how to turn and eel inside out for a different style of bait! We did have two runs on the 80W’s but there must have been a ledge or a reef as both runs were cut short after only about 5 seconds. The line had been frayed and it just simply snapped. Not a perfect end but still an amazing trip. We did move to another location after this but for no result. A massive thanks to Steve and Darren though. These guys helped us move our gear which truly saved us about 1 or 2 hours travel and set up time. Cheers guys. We also met some other guys from Matt and Mitchell’s sharking crew who are also members on Brisbane Fishing. I hope you did well and looking forward to a report if you get anything.

Just on behalf of Terry and myself a massive thanks to James and Simon Harmon. We both learnt a lot, and the use of your gear was obviously invaluable. Hope to get out there again with you guys soon (hopefully with my own 80W)! And you will have to come bass fishing sometime!

Good fishing everyone and the moral of the story is, if your chasing sharks, be prepared to put in the work if you want results!

Angus

[img size=400]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/TheFight.jpg

Post edited by: Angus, at: 2006/12/19 10:27

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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He;s just a little guy! This was my little shark that was 600m out. As he was foul hooked he actually gave a lot more stick than you would think. I cant say i even noticed he was small though, i was far to happy with myself hahaha. [img size=400]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/SmallShark.JPG

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Brian D Newbie

Brian D

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Angus wrote:

The camp becomes for about two hours and a half a working factory as hooks are sharpened, sand bags are filled, rigs are made and knotted, knots greased down with fat (to ensure they are as tight as possible), all non moving metal gear taped etc. [img size=400]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/TheFight.jpg<br><br>Post edited by: Angus, at: 2006/12/19 10:27

Sorry but I gotta ask

What the sand bags for?

Non moving metal gear taped - please explain.

Can you explain the bait?

PLEASE

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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Sand Bags: Used to weigh to baits to the bottom. attahced to the bottom hook by 80lb line. This snaps when a shark runs off with it but is suffecient to hold it in place in the mean time even if the current is insane.

Tape: All exposed metal, even hooks is taped up. The idea behind this is to prevent electrical currents through the metal that the sharks are sensitive to. Of course the points of the hook remain exposed as well as the swivelling part of the swivel.

Bait: I have some good pictures of the bait that will post as soon as i get them off my camera. However basically we used fresh water eels with 2 14/0, 16/0 or 18/0 hooks. Ones placed more or less midway and one places at the tail. (All hook ups seen were in the rear one). These are backed up by zip tying the trace and the exposed sections of hooks to the bait so nothing protrudes from it in the water and it moves naturally with the current.

Hope this helps somewhat. This is purely based on my observations and may have holes in it.

Angus

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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Tim The shark i lost was deemed to a bit bigger ues. Also in the experts opinion not a bull shark either and more likely a big hammerhead or other whaler specie. Double bummer.

Ray Due to the mixed feelings toward shark fishing i might not seek exposure beyond this site for this particular article. After all it will only take a few biased articles and we could have a ban on shark fishing at moreton in general. So cheers for the suggestion but ill leave it at that :)

Angus

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Feral Newbie

Feral

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Mate Bill told me a story about a pair of mad brothers he knows taking him shark fishing last summer. They got on the turps (well Bill did) then this bl@@dy giant tiger shark decided it wanted to be caught. Bill was 3 parts stonkered, so just held the rod while the brothers put on the harness. Reckons it was pulling harder than a schoolboy!

Apparently the shark dragged them about 3k's down the beach before they finally landed it, a 4.8m Tiger. But Bill reckons the stupidist thing was these mad brothers dragging it back out into waste deep water and walking it until it revived and swam off.

I wonder if it is the same brothers? I'll have to ask him what their names were.

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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Andrew: Sounds suspiciously like them mate. Find out for me and ill confirm.

Brian: The thing hanging out its mouth is its stomach. When bullies eat something them realise its bad they turn their stomachs inside out to reject the bad meal. When released they seem to just suck it back in. As it happens naturally and not just when caught im pretty sure it does no harm to the shark.

And dont be sorry about the questions. Thats what forums are for!!!

Angus

Post edited by: Angus, at: 2006/12/21 07:28

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Line Tangler Dave Newbie

Line Tangler Dave

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Hi Angus,

I have a couple questions:

1. If that's the shark's guts hanging out of it's mouth, then where abouts is the bait? Did the shark swallow it whole or is it further up the trace or something?

2. Did you use the de-hooking pole to remove the hooks, and if so, can you describe in more detail how this was done.

Cheers,

Fisher_191

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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Fisher: Bait was on the other side of the shark What was left of it anyway! Obviously the baits get quite shredded as sharks shake their heads from side to side using their teeth like saws to remove peices of meant. This is true of species like Tigers, Bull and other whalers. Nurse sharks and Lemon sharks etc predominently eat fish and thus have needle like teeth enabling them to essesntially \"pin\" fish and render them immobile.

The hook remover was actually not required for these sharks as the hooks were close the opening of the mouth. However i will do my best to explain how the de-hooker works (albeit with difficulty without a diagram). Essentially it is a long pole with an open D-shackle welded onto the end. Just like the little plastic hook removers i think we all had as kids, the open D-shackle, when open is shaped like a \"U\" is used to turn and remove the hook in the sharks mouth while keeping your hands well clear of the teeth. Im still endevouring to get a diagram etc of this and it will be added to the \"Sharking\" section of the site once i have completed this task.

Hope this has been some help however.

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Line Tangler Dave Newbie

Line Tangler Dave

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Thanks for the reply Angus. Sounds like the bait was ripped to pieces. I look forward to seeing the pics of the bait before they were attacked (and after if you got any) once you get them off your camera.

As for getting the hook out, I still would have thought that a de-hooker would have been used even if the hook is near the edge of the mouth. Wouldn't the shark try to make a second meal out of your fingers, or whole arm for that matter, if you got to close to it with your hands ??:ohmy:

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Line Tangler Dave Newbie

Line Tangler Dave

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Angus I'm sure you know what you're doing I just tend to worry about those big sharp teeth a bit too much probably:)

I've re-read your story, and noticed you guys all seemed to be up from the beach asleep at times, so I'm just wondering was someone watching out for the rods, especially with the 4WD traffic etc. ??? I've heard stories about cars picking up fishing lines and taking them for bit of a ride.

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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Fisher: Good point mate. One of tww methods is utlilsed to avoid this happening. Firstly as for hearing teh line going off, the Tiagra 80W's make a noise loud enough to be heard over a loud boats engine so thats not a problem.

Regarding cars however, either the rods are moved over the course of the night to be constantly at the water line with the additional aid of a gas lamp so its obvious something is there. Alternatively you set the rods far up the beach and bury the line. Thus cars can travel over them and cause no problem. This method does not seem to affect hook up rates, and a shark has not worries pulling the line out of the sand and thus causing the reel to start growling :)

Hope this helps.

Angus

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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Shimano Tiagra 80W's cost about $1100.

Custom made 37kg Short Strokers about $1000.

Line and tackle about $150.

However, the during the waking hours there is always someone watching. Up until about midnight. After midnight there is essentially no traffic. Even when the rods are technically unwatched, not much sleep really occurs. The car is parked facing the rods in the event there is a run. Someone is always asleep/dozing in the front seat.

But as i mentioned during the time from 12:00-4:00am there is essentially no traffic.

So why is may seem a risk, i would venture so far to say a very calculated risk.

Angus

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Line Tangler Dave Newbie

Line Tangler Dave

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WOW those things are worth a lot:woohoo: I'd be padlocking them to the car or something. And every time you get a bust off there goes $150 or so. Ouch!

Angus: What size hooks did Terry catch the big bull shark on ... were they the 18/0's ?

And what was that about animal fat or something to make sure the knots are tight? Does that stop the lines from slipping, and is that just left-overs :P from a Sunday roast then? I wonder if there's a product (like maybe glue), that you can get from tackle shops to keep knots tight?

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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Fisher: I believe the Big bully and the bigger one i lost were on the 18/0's yes. They could have been 16/0 however ill have to double check for you.

As the fat,it just lubes the line up causing the knot to tighten to the maximum degree.

As i mentioned in the report its all about organisation, patience and hard work.

For example a person once asked me why i spend more on rods than some other people when it really only improves your catch rate by say 1%. The reason is, that combined with many other things such as good quality line, good reels, good maintence etc and each those 1% advantages start adding up.

Same with the shark fishing. Making sure the knots are perfect might only cause you to land an extra 1 shark out of ten, however with all the other efforts put in, you start gaining the edge.

Angus

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Line Tangler Dave Newbie

Line Tangler Dave

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That's sounds like good advice there Angus ... the little improvements soon add up which is obvious from the sharks you got. So are there any particular knots that should be used when sharking? I know that some knots lower the overall strength of the line while some knots (can't remember which ones right now) maintain the line capacity. What strength of line was that big bull caught on anyway? I'm guessing 80 pounds or more.

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