Shark Fishing - Fraser Island

[Chuganorts]

Finally! Sorry for the delay in getting the images. This was a nice and relaxing afternoon at Fraser.

[Blueby]

Yeah thats why I leave the surfboard at home when I go to Fraser :o

Thanks for the reminder

[cuzzamundi]

nice fish mate. what did she measure? you use eel for bait? well done mate.

cuzza

[Chuganorts]

Fresh tailor on a 10ft wire trace. This fish was over 7ft.

[rando]

Big fish, What species????
And yes ,I know its a shark, before all you smart&sses jump all over me ;D ;D

[cuzzamundi]

she's a bull from the photo without my glasses on rando. a female too at that size. thats great you got some tailro to whack on the rig chugga! what size hooks did you have on? diid you manage to keep the bait outta the sweep for long? great effort once again.

cuzza

[Slider]

Catch and release?

[Sportfish_5]

Pete - where r u ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[jackash]

Bloody awesome fish mate! bet she went pretty hard! And a further question.... any weed around???
Cheers
Jackash

[Chuganorts]

I forgot to at that none of the sharks we catch are killed, all are released without harm. This is a Whaler Shark. The trace is a 10ft multistrand wire (what they use on yatchs). The hooks are stainless steel 14/0. There was no weed when we do this as it is a pain in the ass winding in a couple of hundred metres of 24kg line. Enjoy!!!

[Chuganorts]

More photos

[rando]

Chugga.
Do you use some form of watercraft to position your bait, or do you just drift it out in a rip???

[Slider]

Thanks Chugga

We should make the 'release' part of our sport very prominent wherever possible - you know what it's like out there these days.

Those bronzies can give you a workout mate hey.

Linds

[Chuganorts]

The technique to get the bait out is very similar to the hammer throw. You need a burly trail to get them in and the launch the bait. These things are a lot of fun when you are stapped in. ;D

[theVan]

Absolutely awesome Chugga

where were you on Fraser?
Looks like the top end

great pics

cheers

[HAZY]

Absolutely awesome Chugga

where were you on Fraser?
Looks like the top end

great pics

cheers

that would be little waddy

[Chuganorts]

Just south of Waddy.

[F1SH_BOY]

NICE SHARK HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO BRING UP?

[kingcobe]

Awesome bet they were very heavy. What type of sharks are they and how much did they weigh approximatly?


Jay Jay

[Slider]

Now Chugga, I'm a little confused here - there are 3 photos in your post. The 1st one has waddy in the background and looks to be just south of Ocean Lake. The 2nd one with you holding the rod has Middle Rocks in the background and Indian Head obviously further south. The 3rd has Middle Rocks in the background and the photo was taken from the Southern side. Is this some sort of trick photography or is there 2 perhaps 3 sharks involved or am I losing my mind?

[Slider]

Actually that is probably south Waddy in the background on the 3rd.

[elephrez1]

great work

[choppa]

is that woman in the first pic holdin' the bait?????????

awesome creature,, do you tag em chugga or just release,,,,

its funny you mention 14/0,,, i still have 2 in the bottom of the tackle box that i bought in townsville when number 1 son was born,,,,they like me have seen a hell of a lot water since then,,,,,

[Slider]

Not to mention the different time of day for pic 1 to that for pic 2 & 3.
2 different sharks hey. Your back must be better than mine mate.

[charleville]

Nice shark. Seems too nice an animal to kill.

How do you release a beast that big that is sitting high on the beach?

[choppa]

Nice shark. Seems too nice an animal to kill.

How do you release a beast that big that is sitting high on the beach?

i thought of that to charleville??,,,,

ya cant just throw it back in,,

ya cant place your hands to close to the business end,,,

and if ya drag it back with the tail rope,,,you have to realise sooner or later ya up to your knees/waist in water,, with him

i reckon wait til the tide comes in is the safest,,,,,,always drag it around a bit first and get a few worms i 'spose :D :D :D :D

[charleville]

and if ya drag it back with the tail rope,,,you have to realise sooner or later ya up to your knees/waist in water,, with him


...but even if you did tow him with a tail rope, my assumption is that you are going to ram sand into his gills and kill him that way.

Happy to be proven wrong but the "release" bit sounds like BS to me. :-/ :-/

[cuzzamundi]

gday chugga,

do you mount em (i know that sounds bloody suss, but you know what i mean) on their backs or right way up. we usually hop on after we've turned em onto their backs - seems to be able to access the hooks easier that way. although we've had a couple of near misses and been thrown off.

in general charleville they are r**ted by the time you get em in. they dont flap around like pups as chugga mentioned. they can be released without harm - for the monster 12 plus footers, you can actually roll em back in no worries. hard work, but well worth seeing em swim away. but yeah, there's no doubt that chugga woulda easily got those two girls back in safe and sound. sometimes we've spent half an hour walking them up and down the gutter to get em kicking again, but in the end, they come to.

cuzza

[nqboy]

how do yuo get you bait out there and what do you use for bait?

[Chuganorts]

To answer a few questions there are 2 sharks and they were caught near middle rock and ocean lake. This is from the same trip but we have been doing this for 15 years. They are between 400-450 pounds and take between 1 - 1.5 hours. None of them have been towed onto the beach and none have ever died or been killed. To get the hooks out you sit on the and hold on tight with your knees pulling their head up using pliers. To release they are pulled into the water and held for about a minute for them to get the balance back. I am new to the website and not sure if video clips can be loaded but we have heaps of video footage of the whole process. I know that it is hard to believe until you have seen it.

[charleville]

None of them have been towed onto the beach and none have ever died or been killed.


Chugga - apologies if I seem excessively sceptical but it all looks like a massive venture to keep them alive. Not meaning to appear to be rude about this - just fascinated. :)

1. When I have pulled small sharks into my boat, they don't lie in the bottom of the boat just waiting to die. They kick up a real stink - jumping all over the place. I am surprised that someone could get so close to a live shark for a bit of a gander as your picture shows.

2. When you say that none have been towed, isn't that a tow rope around the tail in the picture?

[Chuganorts]

The rope was used at the very end to control the shark to get it in, it was pulled in by hand not car (that was what I was referring to). The sharks are stuffed when they come in and are extremely tired. These beasts can take you a couple of hundred meters up and down the beach and do put up a real fight.

[charleville]

Thanks for the clarification, Chugga. :)

[Mozza]

My old man used to kite-fish for shark back in the 'motherland'.

Don't recall ever seeing him doing it tho', probably before I was even and idea I guess.

But I remember seeing some seriously heavy gear in the shed when I was a kid and I heard tell that you get a chunk of bait way out past the back-line.

Anyone here ever kite-fished?

Mozza

[Strike]

nice sharks mate. Was up fraser for tailor season a few years ago and saw some blokes catching sharks the same way. They had everything... a live bait tank off the end of the cruiser holding Tailor caught that morning.. certainly drew a crowd.

[choppa]

you still have't answered my query re the lady holding the bait???????????

oops sorry,, ads over back to the footy

[Flash]

Anyone here ever kite-fished?

Mozza

No, but I've heard of it.

I would be a good way to get your pelagics leaping out of the water.

[charleville]

Anyone here ever kite-fished?



No - but I used to fly box kites all the way out on a 500m handline off Point Vernon at Hervey Bay many years ago. Those things are very stable in the sky and have lots of power so it would not be too hard to rig one up to take a line out a few hundred metres if you wanted to, I think.

I recall how it used to be a bit of hard work retrieving them on a 500m handline. ;D ;D ;D

[Chuganorts]

Choppa, not sure how the live bait might go, it could scream a bit too much

[Slider]

That's what attracts predators Chugga - distress vocalisations. Usually from baitfish but hey you never know.
The way your mind works choppa - very interesting. Ever recived any counselling for that warped sense of humour?
Keep em comin mate, I get a great laugh from your posts!

Linds

[Chuganorts]

Hey you need to have a laugh or you go insane. Can't wait for the weekend to head out and have a fish.

[rando]

Chugga
a couple of months back one of the current affairs shows had some film of blokes on Stockton Beach at Newcastle catching 6-8 ft white sharks. They paddled out on surf boards to lay the baits and had hook-ups before the paddler was out of the water :o :o seriously cracked these blokes!! ;D
THEN THEY WALKED EM UP & DOWN THE GUTTER TO REVIVE,,, WAIST DEEP!!!!!

I couldnt do it ,,,dont have a heart problem ;D ;D,, its just IM A PICSES ;D Id be shark bait in seconds :D :D :D

rando

[T1]

RANDO, i remember seeing that too! Me, like u am a Pisces... enough said!

CHUGGA, when i used to venture to Fraser on an annual basis (before becoming self-emplyed and selling 4wd), guys used to go to Fraser just to fish sharks. I remember 1 year where the sharks were beaching themselves at our feet following the Tailor in! It was something i'd heard about for years but you don't truly grasp this until you see it in front of your eyes! :o Needless to say, there weren't many people that day fishing in anything deeper than ankle deep water :-X

I remember looking back up to the girls at 4wd's and the look of shock on their faces was something else - it was a truly amazing sight how this shark would just sit there 2 feet in front of you and wait for the next wave to roll over into and just non-chalantly swim back into the gutter! It is something i will never forget! ;D

Take Care T

[philip_thomson]

Awesome stuff mate, that must get the heart pumping so hard. those photos are great, great story behind it as well, can't wait to see this video footage though.

[choppa]

The way your mind works choppa - very interesting. Ever recived any counselling for that warped sense of humour?
Keep em comin mate, I get a great laugh from your posts!

Linds

i can take that a coupla ways slider,,,,,,, but just for the record,,, my minds not bloo##y interesting ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

(mrs choppa reckons its got something to do with my attitude,,,,,,,,now thats sigmund freud stuff)