# QLD: Of tiger sharks and snapper



## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Some images 800 pixels wide etc
It's been nearly three weeks since we could reasonably go fishing offshore up here so it's no wonder that we were watching this morning's single window of opportunity creeping closer on Seabreeze's wind and swell forecast. Even so, as late as last night it was touch and go but at 5am there was little or no wind at Sunshine Beach and the automatic weather station at DI Point was telling the world that the wind there was only 10 knots.

Jaro had his 61 year old kid brother Rob visiting and was dying to take him out yak fishing. It was Rob's first kayak fishing trip so he was full of questions and possibly a little apprehensive but he certainly seemed calm and collected about the whole thing. Being a keen fisho, as he is, certainly helped. Before long we were ready to get our bums wet, should that be necessary.









_0608hrs. The horizon is just starting to glow. Rob and Jaro, brothers in arms, on the beach._

The launch was easy but as soon as we cleared the groyne the southerly breeze could be felt, pushing us gently toward our planned destination, Jew Shoal. As Jaro had somewhat more setting up to do than normal Rob and I were ready to go first so Rob tagged along with me. As we headed NE straight toward the Pinnacles, Rob and I were chatting but soon I spotted a familiar Noosa Cat boat headed toward us and into the Bay -- it was Cata-pult, operated by the shark nets and lines contractor. The vessel was travelling slower than normal, but heading straight for us. To make sure that he'd seen us I held my paddle straight up and waved it. As if to acknowledge my effort, the skipper altered course to his starboard, giving Rob and me a great view of two large sharks being dragged tail first from ropes on his port side.

Some time later, after some mac tuna diversions, my attention was drawn to the activities on Cata-pult, now hove-to near the baited shark lines north of Dolphin Point. I've chatted to these friendly guys before about sharks in the Noosa area so decided to paddle over and bid them good morning. Soon I could see that they were trying to manoeuvre onto the deck of the cat the second of the two sharks earlier seen. The other shark had already been successfully brought aboard and I was about to see them try to get this one aboard also. Clearly it was going to be interesting as the second shark, a tiger as was the first, was way longer than my Espri and much fatter. I asked permission to take some pics, received the go-ahead and then paddled right up close.









_The idea was to drag the shark (by now almost dead) through that door in the starboard side._









_So far, so good._









_Starting to get a bit heavy... let's put her on the winch_









_Hmm, maybe we need a bigger winch, and a bigger door_









_Oh shit, it's stuck. Note the distinctive stripes which lead to this species' common name._

Clearly they weren't going to get it aboard with their existing gear. The crew started calling people on the phone (7am, Sunday) to try to get help. I left them to it, knowing there was nothing I could do. I bade them farewell, "Well, I'm off to catch a snapper, guys." For those who know the area, both of these tiger sharks exceeded 3m length and were caught on the baited hooks set between Jew Shoal and the headland and carrying large yellow buoys as floats.

So then it was back to the snapper fishing. I'd been experimenting with the use of wire on my rigged soft plastics because of problems I'd been having with bite-offs by mackerel and other toothy critters. But my recent use of wire traces coincided with an apparent reduction in the number of strikes, although this could have been simply because there were few snapper around. Indeed, other yakkers' catches had not been spectacular lately.

At last today my wire-traced soft plastic went off in typical snapper style. This was what I'd been hoping for -- a strong indicator that snapper don't care about wire. The tussle went on for a couple of minutes before the fish yielded and soon I could clearly see it, about 5 metres down. A nice eating-size snapper glowing irridescent pink in the dull ambient light.









_0934hrs. Proof that snapper are not necessarily put off by a wire trace. The steel ring on the lower right is a securing clip which I use to make sure keepers don't escape after being boated._









_Close up of the rig. The wire trace can be seen clearly as can, if you look closely, the snapper tooth marks in the jighead._

Shortly after this capture we had to leave but now I'm far more confident that when the snapper are on, I'll get my share, even with a wire trace. And of course when I get hit by mackerel, I'll be able to cope with them too. The experiment continues.

Thanks for reading AKFFers. Tight lines.


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## gcfisho (Oct 31, 2009)

As usual a very enjoyable read and some great photos , very nice snapper but did notice no models  Loved the frame by frame photos of the shark as it was exposed from the water showing a massive creature .


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Kev how much of an issue are macks in the winter months at Noosa? I remember you lost a big spaniard on a plastic a month or so ago, is this a constant pattern throughout the colder months? I guess the real test would be fishing in close proximity to someone running mono or fluro. I was using 20lb fluro the days i was up there but as you know, there was scant evidence either way :lol:


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## efc (Sep 19, 2006)

what did they do with the shark?


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

sunshiner said:


> The steel ring on the lower right is a securing clip which I use to make sure keepers don't escape after being boated.


I like the idea, and I'd like to hear/see more on it! Always learning!


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## Dak (Jul 16, 2010)

Hi sunshiner my name is Dan new to the forum, would like to try Noosa one day, ;-) am a bit suss on the shark thing. :shock: You say those sharks were caught near where you fish?
does this not worry you? Have you seen any or had any encounters?


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## Ads (Apr 25, 2010)

Not to objectify to your thread but I hate seeing photos of sharks like that, and the fact that they had another already board just seems like a neanderthal thing to do. I enjoyed the fishing parts tho.


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## kas (May 5, 2009)

As allways a good report & nice catch. Must have been a surreal experience being at water level seeing that monster being hauled on deck.


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## whoohoo (Feb 3, 2006)

Great read Sunshiner - you have a gifted turn of phrase! I guess the shark would be given an autopsy to check stomach contents, etc. for research purposes.

I remember visiting the Natal Sharks Board in Durban, South Africa (the guys who developed the technology behind the shark shield) and seeing a display cabinet in the foyer with a few interesting items taken dead sharks stomachs caught in the shark nets. They included the head of a "duiker" (small deer), a large tin of bully beef (probably thrown overboard from a ship) and more macabre - a copper bangle commonly worn by the indigenous people over there!

Incidently, bull sharks over there are known as "Zambezi sharks" because of being found hundreds of kilometres inland up the Zambezi river which forms one of the borders of Zimbabwe.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Great report Kev , gee mate i wouldnt have gone over to have a look in case the shark had one more bite in him, nice snapper Kev , you never miss mate , but where are the bikini girls


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## tezzablue (May 6, 2010)

What soft plastic?


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## yaker (Aug 29, 2005)

.


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

That's one heavy duty snapper! so is the shark!


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## carnster (May 27, 2008)

Nice snap I must say after a few scary encounters with tigers and great whites it is reassuring to know that there is a couple less to hassle us yaksters. Wire on plastics interesting I have been doing the opposite (dropping down to 9 lb mono trace) but I did catch one today on 50lb trace.


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## actionsurf (Jul 8, 2010)

Great report mate. That is one large toothy beasty. Have you had sharks bite off your fish there and/or do you see them out there under schools etc.?


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWVMXMjkAABFfgAAQUAWAAiAINAov5/9gIABoRTyaR6g9TQAGajQNTCmU9qNTTAAaamK8CoxzaTmNR+fcN7ismm+tqwEIIB4T4Y0ASXvQJcwnfSJfCs3WAJ3NeQKURk9UnasZ9teak6v6FouL7ngo+GcN6MHKrJI21SoIDlUP6YfvAzkHou5IpwoSCmLmRyA=


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## Ads (Apr 25, 2010)

kraley said:


> Ads said:
> 
> 
> > Not to objectify to your thread but I hate seeing photos of sharks like that, and the fact that they had another already board just seems like a neanderthal thing to do. I enjoyed the fishing parts tho.
> ...


Ofcourse I read it right, offing sharks just so people can swim there isn't justifiable, seems like if a place is known shark area you just dont swim there, go to a tidal lake or buy a shark shield if you want to swim in that particular area imo.


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Yikes. And we were happily swimming off Noosa main beach all last week (sorry we didn't get to meet up Kev)

I think you're gonna need a bigger yak if you're targeting sharks!

Heres the bikini girl shot (my 9 year old daughter stand-up paddle boarding in Tiger Shark territiory!)


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

scater said:


> Kev how much of an issue are macks in the winter months at Noosa? I remember you lost a big spaniard on a plastic a month or so ago, is this a constant pattern throughout the colder months? I guess the real test would be fishing in close proximity to someone running mono or fluro. I was using 20lb fluro the days i was up there but as you know, there was scant evidence either way :lol:


Hi Sam

Up until the last couple of months I've persisted in targetting snapper and sweetlip using 6kg monofilament right to the hook. It works OK but very now and again I'd get bitten off, pretty much all year round. I figured that using fine wire was worth a try. If I can still catch snapper and sweetlip (and I've already shown that sweetlip don't seem to care) I'm in with a chance. I was chuffed to hook that Spaniard, even though the hook pulled at the end. It showed that at least some of my bite-offs were probably mackerel, as I suspected. Watch this space -- I hope you can join me in experimenting this snapper season.

Kev


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

efc said:


> what did they do with the shark?


That's a good question. I watched the contractor boat, several years ago, go past me dragging a dead dolphin and disappear over the horizon to the north east (ie further offshore) only to return later with no dolphin visible. I concluded then that the carcasses were being dumped in deeper water. Now, as a result of your question, I've sent an email enquiry to Qld Dept of Primary Industries. I'll let you know if I get a response.


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## YakCult (Nov 4, 2008)

By the looks of the photos Kev - the sea stayed reasonably kind - 
Well done with that beautiful snapper!  
I always resisted the tempation of wire (many years past) for presentation reasons - will be interested in your findings......


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Dak said:


> Hi sunshiner my name is Dan new to the forum, would like to try Noosa one day, ;-) am a bit suss on the shark thing. :shock: You say those sharks were caught near where you fish? does this not worry you? Have you seen any or had any encounters?


Hi Dak

You're welcome to join us Dak, but please contact me well before you plan to do that. As for sharks, yes, we do encounter them, but quite rarely and yes, those sharks were caught in the exact places we routinely traverse in our yaks. Clearly they are present but if this worried us we'd probably not go out. On the occasions I've encountered them in my yak they've been more interested in eating bait fish or hooked fish than in tasting my boat. Sometimes when there are feeding frenzies underway we share the action with small sharks which cruise past within a few metres with dorsal fins out of the water, feeding on the baitfish. But I'm an old fart and have nothing much to lose so I just get on with it and enjoy my fishing. It's exciting stuff, mate!


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

sunshiner said:


> I'm an old fart and have nothing much to lose


What happens if the Tiger had an nibble on the old fella   if you left in dangling down your scupper hole !!!! Surely you'd still want that in your old age :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

sunshiner said:


> Watch this space -- I hope you can join me in experimenting this snapper season.
> 
> Kev


I'll be up there the minute my uni commitments and the weather match up!


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

mingle said:


> Just curious; what would they want to kill a shark like that for?


Hi Mike (and others who asked similar questions)

The Queensland and NSW governments (and I understand, the government of the republic of South Africa) authorise the deliberate killing of sharks near beaches which are popular as bathing places. This is presumably in the belief that this policy reduces the chances of shark attacks on people who enter the water at those places. There is some evidence that this policy is effective in achieving its aims. The vessel in the pics was operated by an authorised contractor involved in the maintenance of the government policy.

Here in Noosa there are shark nets in two places in Laguna Bay, one within 600 metres of, and parallel with, the main swimming beach. In this particular net I have personally seen large dead sharks as well as devil rays and, on one occasion, a large longtail tuna. Further out toward the open sea, but not far from the shore, there are also three baited lines supported by large yellow buoys. According to the skipper of the vessel, one of these was the cause of the demise of the shark in the pics.

Interestingly enough, amateur fishers in Queensland are not permitted to keep any shark or ray, *including shovel-nose rays*, which exceeds 1.5m in length and are permitted to have only one shark in their possession at any time.

Kev


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

tezzablue said:


> What soft plastic?


G'day tezza

Welcome to the forum.

You can see it in the pic. It's a Squidgies Shad, about 100mm on a 1/4oz jighead. And that's another theory I'm experimenting with. Does colour of the SP matter at depths exceeding 15m? So far I've found that the colour is no indicator of success. The main success factor appears to be "*Fish where the fish are*" . I'm using that daggy green colour partly on the basis that, for humans at least, colours in the red range become grey at about 5m water depth, and others successively fade as depth increases. Whether that applies to fish I have no idea, but there's a fair chance it does, I think, based on the fact that the colour comes from the same source.

And the other basis for using them is they're the cheapest I can find. The fish took the SP at 17m depth.


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

wopfish said:


> sunshiner said:
> 
> 
> > I'm an old fart and have nothing much to lose
> ...


Hi woppy

The scuppers on the Espri are only 2.5 inches diameter so no chance of that happening ;-) .


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Davey G said:


> Yikes. And we were happily swimming off Noosa main beach all last week (sorry we didn't get to meet up Kev) I think you're gonna need a bigger yak if you're targeting sharks! Heres the bikini girl shot (my 9 year old daughter stand-up paddle boarding in Tiger Shark territiory!)


Hi Dave

Are you sure that pic was taken last week? I don't remember a day as sunny as that the whole time you were here. I was thinking, "Poor Dave and family -- they're holidaying here in the worst week (weather-wise) we've seen this year!" Hope you enjoyed it anyway. Next time, mate.

Kev


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## DougOut (Dec 31, 2006)

another great report ..... thanks for sharing your experiences Sunny.


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## Dak (Jul 16, 2010)

Thanks for the reply and useful information  , I am still learning my yak and will spend some time in the surf before I take you up on the offer ;-) but really look forward to it. I will give you plenty of notice, but as usual the weather will be the determining factor. Re the sharks, I think your attitude is right as your experience has indicated they are usually more interested in their natural food source, thanks for sharing this as it helps to put this fear in perspective and come to think of it, to many times in my life I have witnessed the theory of "when your time is up it is up".

Cheers Dak


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## Fishlicker (Jul 20, 2010)

Was watching a show on the discovery channel yesterday and the sharkman was swimming with Tiger sharks (and a lot of them) and when they came up to him he was patting them to get their confidence them rubbing them on the nose and they would go limp and roll on their backs.
Then he went to a Great white spot and did the same thing and even had a 14ft great towing him along for 70 metres but when it came to the submission nose rub it wasn't working till he slid his hands to the sides of his snout and this shark just went limp and rolled belly up, was a very interesting show but I'am sure I won't try it out.
Cheers Fishlicker


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## efc (Sep 19, 2006)

Hey Sunshiner, 
Thanks for finding out for me. 
You would think that a beast like that could be put to good use. Jaws sold at the markets, fins sent the the local asian restraunts, flake meat sent to the takeaways and any off cuts go to the local pro crabbers.

I dont understand the lack of respect shown from people


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## tezzablue (May 6, 2010)

Sunshiner

Thanks for the reply I actually sent an email to Noosa Yakkers but had no reply. I have just bought an Espri and was wanting some advice on setting it up. I would be mainly fishing Tuggerah Lakes and Lake Macquarie and hopefully a couple of close reefs I know of.

Thanks for your time
Tezzablue


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Another interesting report, Sunshiner! 
That's a biiiig one! And nice fish too.

Thanks for the net and line backstory, too. Just what I was wondering about. I don't know if I like the idea of the "baiting", though. I would want deterrents not attractants, and too much bycatch IMO. I guess you mentioned the tuna in the net. Touchy subject I'll leave at that.

Keep getting out!

Z


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

efc said:


> Hey Sunshiner,
> Thanks for finding out for me.
> You would think that a beast like that could be put to good use. Jaws sold at the markets, fins sent the the local asian restraunts, flake meat sent to the takeaways and any off cuts go to the local pro crabbers.
> 
> I dont understand the lack of respect shown from people


If senseless waste and cruelty are at issue I'm not sure shark fin soup is something we want to condone. Furthermore there would probably be issues with eating a fish if this size in terms of mercury levels etc. I do agree however that it seems a shame to kill these magnificent creatures. On the other hand, having paddled past these very nets and set lines, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a comfort that such sharks were out if the way. I think that it's something we all have to reconcile ourselves with. Hopefully someday soon the shark shield technology can be extended to applications such as this.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

As always an entertaining and informative read Kev.


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

sunshiner said:


> efc said:
> 
> 
> > what did they do with the shark?
> ...


I was somewhat frustrated yesterday afternoon when I still hadn't received a response from my emailed enquiry, sent 01Aug. So I phoned the Dept and spoke to a cooperative lady who had immediate visibility of my question and who apologised that it hadn't been sent on to the action officer until Thursday 05Aug. I asked her to pass on to the action officer that I was still interested in an answer.

At 5.30pm yesterday (Friday) Tony Ham, Qld DPI spokesperson on the shark killing program, phoned me. We had quite a chat and it turned out that he'd seen my post on AKFF. He told me that unless the shark is needed for research or fresh shark bait, the carcasses are dumped at least 5km out to sea. He also explained that one of the best baits for shark is fresh shark, and that while the usual bait is whole mullet, dolphins are particularly adept at removing the mullet without getting hooked, but they won't eat fresh shark.

Other info acquired locally was that the two sharks mentioned in my post were 3.3m and 3.7m long respectively and both females. Tony told me that a 2.8m GWS had been caught at the Gold Coast yesterday.

Lastly, one of my mates sent me this link -- a 20 second clip from "Jaws" the movie, entitled "You're going to need a bigger boat!"


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## YakCult (Nov 4, 2008)

Very interesting info Kev!
Good of Tony to give you a call.



sunshiner said:


> Lastly, one of my mates sent me this link -- a 20 second clip from "Jaws" the movie, entitled "You're going to need a bigger boat!"


I remember fishing many years ago on the northern end of the Jew Shoal and a smallish snapper (squire in those days) was hooked and hauled up. As it was being brought up rather briskly (it was only a small fish) it suddenly felt like it threw the hooks. Even quicker line retrival was continued and up came a "half moon" of the unfortunate small snapper. We all looked at it come aboard, feeling sorry for the fish that met a sudden end. About 5 seconds later, about 60% of the bitey end of a shark catapulted out of the water, obviously after the rest of the snapper but left his final run a little too late!! :shock: 
I would estimate the shark would have been around 4m long. It nudged the gunwale of the Haines Hunter 17L we were in at the time and as luck would have it - it fell outside the boat, parrallel to it, pushing the gunale again!!!
Everything in the boat was then saturated with salt water.....
If ever a bigger boat was needed - it could have been then!!! :shock: :shock: 
We quietly got all the lines in and immediately headed back to the Noosa bar, thinking all of that days luck had just run out......


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## Cuda (Sep 18, 2006)

Onya Kev, you're a bloody legend mate!


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