# A Bit Rattled But Still Alive



## Breambo (Apr 19, 2006)

Ive had a fair few close encounters with sharks over this summer, including releasing a few from the leader, and being bitten off many times, not to mention dozens of sightings but today I had an experience that left me a little rattled to say the least.
Keen as after hearing of good catches up the coast I made my charge out to the reefs off Lennox Point at about 5pm. Conditions were perfect, and as I arrived the last stinker departed leaving the grounds to myself. I started trolling a chatterbait when not long after a massive splash behind me kind of startled me and I looked around to see the whitewater and bubbles of what had jumped about twenty meteres behind. It wasnt a fish and dolphins dont make that kind of splash, neither do mackeral. Shark I thought so I stealthly paddled away and continued to fish albeit slightly nervous. About 5 minutes later a really big turtle came up beside me and scared the life out of me, as I did to him and down he went. This was nothing compared to what happened next.
A bit later on I had kind of put the shark to the back off my mind when a explosion of water like the fattest person in the world doing a bomb right behind me, the wave nearly rocking me over and splashing me all over, as I looked behind the whitewater and bubbles were within a foot from the tail of my ski and looked like it was something big. I didnt see what it was but I sure as hell knew what it was and I high tailed it out of there.
Back on the beach Rockworm, a local stink boater said he had a close encounter witha 14 foot hammerhead the day before which may have been an explaination of why it was so quiet when dan and I were out.In fact Dan saw a few sharks yesterday. Earlier in the day my mate in a boat caught a big Ramora on plastic. I didnt read much into it but I know now to where he belonged.
Im a bit rattled from the experience, might go in the lagoon or in the river tomorrow.


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## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

glad you got back safely Breambo.....really shakes you up close calls like that

when i first started yak fishing in mackay i was trolling off harbour beach when a huge shark leap out of the water about 150 metres away......i went to the shallows and chased flatties for a while after that.....

since then i have only seen a few reef sharks when out on boats.....


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## T-curve (Feb 19, 2007)

:shock: :shock: :shock: ..id be packing more duds in future...lol


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## Swamp (Nov 20, 2007)

That would have had your heart racing!



Breambo said:


> Earlier in the day my mate in a boat caught a big Ramora on plastic. I didnt read much into it but I know now to where he belonged.


catching remoras always gets me wondering whats down there :shock: :? 
I caught a big remora in darwin, fishing from the rocks not long after a 3 metre hammerhead cruised past

Cheers Swamp


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## Sparra (Nov 3, 2007)

Good result making back safely....I fished today down on the south coast with a few fella's and happened to land a few small sharks...My mate fishing about 30m away hooked up to a small reef fish and sung out to me that a few sharks were chasing it so I went to have a look..All that was left was a head and a shark woofed it into him with another coming in for a look.At the last minute the onlooker from about 10feet down turned and came straight up at Charlie with it's mouth open and cleared it's whole body out of the water just missing Charlies shoulder,landing on the side of the yak and then fell back into the water..Now we don't know if it was coming at the reflector on his life jacket or the shinny bits on his reel but it was on a mission and the result could have been a lot worse but as it was we just cracked up laughing after the initial shock...Just goes to show that even the small ones can be quite aggresive...

Cheers...Sparra


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## Huwie (Mar 16, 2008)

Dusk and dawn are no doubt the worst times to be out an about with the man in the grey suit...


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## Blaen (Jul 4, 2006)

Glad to see you are back safely Breambo,

I can only imagine what was going through your mind at the time, but I am sure glad you kept your cool and came back in safely.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Oh dear, Brett , thats the end of my nights sleep , i think i would be fishing for bass in the fresh for a while :shock: :shock: :shock:


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## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

just got my boys off to bed...told them about breambo and the shark and they said...

remember the first time you took us out on your kayak at cape hillsborough dad??

yeah!

well remember those people on the boat that only caught the fish's head??

OH YEAH!!!

story goes...new years 2006/07 had the OB for a 1 month or so and took my sons for a pedal about, headed off the beach towards this tinnie with someone hooked on to a be fish...we get closer, still fighting.....get closer, still fighting and just as we reached with 20m of the boat all the guy hauls up is a head of a catfish.......which was the size of a football (NRL/AFL) size...and thats all

one thing i can say about the outback....you feel safe as houses...in fact we pedalled around for a bit longer....the boys showed no concern about the shark....probably because they never saw it....maybe....eldest would probably say..."look dad..Shark...COOOOL"

be alert but not alarmed......

as for sharks jumping...yes they do...as for your mate sparra, likely a combination of all the things you mentioned.....

lost quite a few fish up north to sharks even seen a full on feeding frenzy, glad i was a 20' boat at the time......


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## L3GACY (Sep 2, 2007)

Glad to see you made it back safely Breambo. Not to take anything away from the danger you had put yourself in but are hammerheads man eaters like tigers and white pointers? I always thought that if a shark were interested in my yak it would be a white pointer or a bronzie, hammerheads never crossed my mind.


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## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

Oh Dude, that's a bit heavy :shock: You're usually pretty understated about shit like big surf launches, big fish and even the odd shark.
Obviously there is lots of marine activity in the food chain up there at the moment. Plenty of good fish along the coast and perhaps the odd bastard shark aswell.

Stay safe and maybe go out with someone else to keep peace of mind. ;-)

Cheers Dave


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## fishydude (Dec 30, 2007)

Cripes mate :shock: ...glad to hear you're ok....I've seen a couple of whites while I've been spearing and just about packed me durps each time but was armed and dangerous sort of... :twisted: lol.But, Just a dolphin blowing next to my yak one night made me carp myself  . That would've been a shocker mate. Don't blame you for having an inshore sesh for a change.
Cheers
Mike


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## sulo (Apr 9, 2007)

My oceanic adventures are pretty limited Breambo,I usually just look for a nice relaxing creek somewhere,so I'm just curious.It doesn't take long to chew up a few hours out on the water.My sessions can be up to 6 hours or so without any trouble.If you leave at 5pm how long do you normally stay out for ? I'm guessing that your reef isn't that far out.If you're at Lennox I spose you need to surf launch so can only assume a return to shore after dark would be interesting ?


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## greenhornet (Aug 8, 2007)

Just when i wish i was closer to the coast you guys remind me of one good reason to stay four hours inland :lol:


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## Breambo (Apr 19, 2006)

sulo said:


> If you leave at 5pm how long do you normally stay out for ? I'm guessing that your reef isn't that far out.If you're at Lennox I spose you need to surf launch so can only assume a return to shore after dark would be interesting ?


Mate when I go out late I just make a quick charge and leave it as late as poss to come back in just before it goes dark. Rising moon helps no moon goes black very quick so I dont leave it too late. That twilight time is surprisingly difficult to see the sets as everything blends together.



occy said:


> And by the way I'm told hammers can be amongst the worst offenders.


I didnt actually see the shark, but with the reports its a fair bet itwas the hammer.

Any way its so perfect here this morning and only one boat out who I know, I cant resist going for a paddle to see if they are still around :shock: I might even stay close to the surf and try for some tailor.
I 'll give you an update later.... I hope :lol:


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## Thelittlefisher (Jan 24, 2008)

Sorry, I just have to add insult to injury, but whilst watching a National Geographic Documentary, It said that great whites, or even some sharks for that matter, charge full on and will more than 50% of the time, miss by a couple of feet  This thing might have not just been spyhopping to get a better view. :?


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## butts (Oct 7, 2007)

I think you should have told him that before he left. OOPS

Butts...


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

i haven't seen a grey boy from the yak yet but i had a seal poke it's head out of the water right next to the yak :shock: 
i'm sure it only wanted a chat but god i shit myself.

i'm up at sth west rocks in a couple of weeks and it looks like i'll be going out on my own so i think i'll hit the 'unsubscribe' button.


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## anyyakildoo (Feb 28, 2008)

thanks for the warning..going outside for the first time soon, thought i only had to worry about currents, swell and wind, now i will take spare undies too... :lol:


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## Breambo (Apr 19, 2006)

Thelittlefisher said:


> Sorry, I just have to add insult to injury, but whilst watching a National Geographic Documentary, It said that great whites, or even some sharks for that matter, charge full on and will more than 50% of the time, miss by a couple of feet  This thing might have not just been spyhopping to get a better view. :?


Well close calls are rare even up here where its fairly shark infested, and then its a 50-50 if they are actually charging, thats not bad odds really......

Anyway I just stuck close in and managed a couple of tailor, it was quite pleasant with the cliffs towering above, dodging the sets, trolling the bombies. I was tempted to bridle up one of the tailor and go wide as I could see heaps of surface action and birds, but also the occasional BIG SPLASH, so I played it safe. Didnt have the nerve, still a bit rattled :lol:


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## Cuda (Sep 18, 2006)

I may be way off the mark here, but perhaps the shark was defending its territory from what seemed like another big predator to it and as such wasn't game to actually have a go at your yak - just warn you off :shock: Either way you certainly got the message eh Breambo  Sounds like a nasty experience, but I s'pose when you fall off a bike you get back on and keep persevering ;-) 
Will you be investing in a shark shield now ?


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## DougOut (Dec 31, 2006)

:shock: Breambo Rattled :shock: 
I find that hard to believe ;-)


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## Huwie (Mar 16, 2008)

occy said:


> Breambo,
> 
> I don't want to hijack the thread mate (and I certainly can't talk from experience, but I don't think it would make much difference how far out you were. Other than the length of time it takes to get back in after such a scare. I don't have any proof of this but I'de bet more people are attacked by sharks in harbours, bays and rivers than out wide. Anyone seen the footage of those huge sharks herding a bait ball up onto the beach? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
> 
> You are coping better than I would, so I hope you get back out there and do what you do so well, soon. Keep safe mate. ;-)


I bet there's a lot more people in harbours, bays and rivers than out wide, that's why there's more attacks there.

After reading this I went out off wellington point this morning and a turtle came up about 10 metres from me and let out his breath and I went for my knife! I think we're all shaken up by these things, but it's all in our heads.


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## Baldy (Oct 1, 2007)

Ive allways had a bit of an interest in noahs and from what I understand the Hammerheads arnt the type of noah that will bite your limbs off or lop you in half like a white or a big tiger BUT and theres allways a but....the hammerheads buy their angry pills by the truck load!! They can become really agressive and unpredictable and i'd agree it might have been a territorial thing. The other point with them is they will school up unlike the big whites n tigers, so if theres one theres a good chance theres more, like most school fish feeding...it just takes one to get a bit frisky to get the rest of them to fire up, then you might have some trouble.

As far as I know alot of the guys that go chasing sharks around the place for doccos and research are hesitant to free dive with hammerheads like some of them do with the other big noahs, I think the main reason is they are unpredictable and the tendancy to school up.

Having said all that....I'd still be more worried about the jellyfish up there  :lol: :lol:

Cheers
Baldy


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

so you didn't throw a live bait at him?? :shock: :?

perhaps you're getting soft.. :lol: :lol: ;-)

Breambo - you win this months "AKFF Brown Undies' honorary award....


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Davey G said:


> Breambo - you win this months "AKFF Brown Undies' honorary award....


and the "AKFF Biggest Cobblers" award for the month for going back out today. I was out at Mermaid reef this morning and had one eye over my shoulder all day.
Very pleased to see you make it through unscathed and well done Breambo for having a crack again today. It was an awesome day on the water. Think Im gonna invest in that shark shield sooner rather than later.



arpie said:


> OMG :shock: :shock: :shock: I don't think I'd be going out there again in a hurry!!! If it had been me, it wouldn't have been the blood that was attracting the shark ....... Roberta


I dont think sharks like carrots Arpie so you would be safe!


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## beardys (Jun 23, 2007)

gee mate thats a terrifying story, glad you are ok.


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## rob316 (Oct 2, 2007)

After watching Discovery channel "shark week" a while back , i think its the colours that you should worry about....
black=no shark attraction
red=interest shown and sharks closely observing
yellow=incited sharks to attack
The test was performed on great whites , using dummies/maniquenes dressed in different coloured rubber suits with no attractant added and no other stimulants involved . 
Yes shapes have proven to be attract sharks , animal/fish blood [ human blood showed no attraction ] and movement . But yellow as a colour was the worrying factor as it just incited attack after attack and aggresive behaviour....how many of us have yellow yaks and vests ? !!!


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## Southerly (Apr 20, 2007)

Sounds like the shark came up for a cloer look then spooked a couple of times hence the big splash and boils. Interesting that you never saw it coming up behind you each time.

David


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

i think the word has got out that you are taking their fish and they are trying to scare you off.

years ago in NZ i had a friend who whilst fishing in Stewart island saw a big school of fish feeding off shore, the only thing they could find to get out in was a small dingy so with only a few inches of freeboard 3 of them rowed out to catch some fish BUT when they got close they found it was masses of sharks feeding on a whale carcass.

they high tailed it back in :shock: :shock: :shock:

i have a yellow yak so i am chosing not to believe that hot tip :twisted:


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## Huwie (Mar 16, 2008)

Glad I went for the ivory dune now, mind you I reckon you have more to fear from the idiots in tinnies, in Discovery Channel's Idiots in Tinnies week last week they showed;

Yellow - Stinkboat operator seets you and only runs over your line, not you
Red - Stinkboat operator thinks it's a stop light and ceases movement
Black - Stinkboat operator drives right over you thinking you were a dugong


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## couta1 (Sep 10, 2005)

most probably was a hammer...i was trolling of noosa up the sunshine coast today and baitfish was everywere...next minute about 10 metres in front of me there jumps this 6 foot hammer clean out the water smacking the baitfish...!!!..there pretty agro...but dont think there interested in a lump of plastic or fibreglass...hope it doesnt put you of one of the greatest forms of fishing!!!....its the ones you dont see that will take you out!!!...catch up soon


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## spottymac (Aug 29, 2005)

You will have to get a bigger yak [ Black and paint big eyes on the under side, ]   
Catch you out on the water soon


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## Raumati (May 22, 2006)

I don't think sharks can see the colour of your yak,

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/A-Blue-Sh ... 13176_.htm

It looks black from underneath to me, the red could be his pfd.


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## Physhopath (Jun 21, 2007)

Glad you're back on the horse Breambo, so to speak.
Maybe this would solve the problem ? :twisted: ;-)


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## Breambo (Apr 19, 2006)

I went back out on dusk just to calm my nerves, stayed in close to the point and picked up a couple more choppers, but I thought I saw one bronze coloured shape go under me about two foot across the head, hard to be real sure it was a fleeting glimpse. My mates were in close as well in there stinkboat trolling up some tailor for livies then went out wider. Back on the beach they told me they didnt get any fish but saw something busting up and into something, maybe a mako, by the way it was jumping, these guys are pretty experienced.
The fact it jumped out so close to me, within inches, I reckon it was having a nudge and missed, whatever type of shark doesnt really matter. Hammers are super agro and have attacked surfboard riders here before, same with makos, the other bigguns, tigers etc well we know what they can do.
The one that gets you you dont see, thats what worries me I didnt see it at all, yes my kayak is yellow, and no it wont put me off the sport.
Who wants to come out with me tomorrow :lol:


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## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

Breambo said:


> Who wants to come out with me tomorrow :lol:


Looking good!


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Mate they're just coming in closer to check out that sexy disco of yours. ;-)

Just keep on telling your self that you've got more chances of being killed by office furniture.. :lol:

I'll be down at Brunswick Heads from the 5th to the 12th, maybe I could get down to Lannox for a paddle after dark......hmmmm....dont think so.

Honestly mate if they are harassing you at that time, either get one of those shark shieldy thingies or dont go out at dusk......bit hard to go fishing minus a limb.

BTW do you know of any off shore fishing spots within paddling distance from Brunswick?


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## Breambo (Apr 19, 2006)

spooled1 said:


> Breambo said:
> 
> 
> > Who wants to come out with me tomorrow :lol:
> ...


You'll be right Dan you've got a shark shield. I'll be clashing paddles with you I think :lol:



ar-we-ther-yet said:


> BTW do you know of any off shore fishing spots within paddling distance from Brunswick?


Havent fished up there, that trawler went down on the reefs of Bruns but its out of range Im pretty sure.


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## GoneFishn (May 17, 2007)

Somebody has been feeding the fishies REDBULL :twisted: :lol:

There was a woman over in America killed by a stingray http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008 ... 196284.htm

No really Breambo good to see you made it back safe.


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