Got this big girl this morning on a 4 inch squidgy flick bait in evil minnow colour. She was released to fight another day.
Got a nice surprise on arriving back at the ramp. Water police issued me with a speeding ticket for exceeding the 6 knot limit. I asked him how he new I was going over 6 knots and he replied' Too much wash'. sure felt like 6 knots to me. $150 flathead!!
Ouch...$150 doesnt tickle.........Funny thing about the 6 knot limit is some boats put out more wash doing 6 knots than if they were on the plane....
Hard luck about the ticket mate, but don;t let it put to much of a downer on the trip because that was one nice lizard. Brought a packet of those evil minnows flick baits but haven't given them to much use yet. Certainly caught me with the colour, looks the goods and you've proven they catch the fish.Well done
Evcen though we might be below the speed limit, we are still responsible for our wash......but amazes me how they can book you without verifying your speed by radar etc............... surely they have to have proof? is it worth enquiring about fighting it?
seems rough to me.......... no radar only their seeing you - go figure......were his eyes calibrated to see a boat correctly at speed?
Mike
Nice fish there keepitreel, bet it fought hard too. What weight gear were you using?
You would probably win a case like this.
Only problem is that you'd have to have a day off work to attend court and maybe that'd cost you more than the $150?
Still, I think someone has to stand up if this is how the Water police are going to act, fines for unproven speeds. Sure we should all pbey the limits but if they are going to ping you with just a visible guess at your speed then maybe they should give us all free GPS so we know how fast we are going?
What about the x% error you are allowed normally on the road, how'd he calculate that?
I am not bashnig the police in any way here either,( I am from a Qld Police Force family). I just believe if they want the public to respect them they ahve to show they deserve such....my 2cents worth
Nice lizard.
As for the speed things, the signs clearly say "no wash" hence if you have a wash, they can book you. I have read a regulation somewhere that the intention of the 6 knot limit is to prevent wash, so you can do 6 knots maximum, or a speed that produces no wash under 6 knots. Having said that its still pretty roughto get pinged though.
i think alot of people dont release you dont have to go to court to contest/quirey a ticket.Originally Posted by 4x4frog
theres a section on the back of the ticket where you can write to the prosecutions unit and ask for ajudication on any matter. and they will look into the ticket.
but in saying this if you deside that you are still not happy and go to court they know on what your defence will be.
the tcket sounds sus to me. but i have heard of people losing in court for speeding in a car by a traffic cops eye. but i think boats are different as we all know every boats wake is different.
no harm in writing a letter.
but thats my opinion
neil
Thanks mate, I was fishing 4lb squidgy braid on an Okuma Inspira 1500 matched to a Sic Stik Pro 2-4kg. I had called the fish as a trevor after 2 blistering runs and it was about 10mins before we seen the big girl. Boats stopped to watch the drawn out fight and cheered when we finally slipped the net under her.
As for the ticket, well the cop was not too bad about it. He said he would of let me off but the guy he was booking at the time said 'what about this bloke' and pointed at me, 'he's doing the same speed as I was' so he couldn't give him a ticket and not me.
To be fair I have had my fair share of let offs in the past so I will just cop this one sweet.
Cheers, Broc
nice flatty there mate, on the light stuff too.
as for the fine, you might be lucky in a way because if my memory serves me correct the fine for making wash in a 'no wash zone' is substantually more than a speeding fine
That would have been a keen fight on 4lb line, nice
Nice flatty mate, well done getting her with the light string too
Nice Flatty mate, but a little on the expensive side.
Cheers Steve
Nice lizard mategood on you for releasing her!
It would be better if they incorporated a better speed monitoring system
Cheers,
Tim.
Ive been picked up once there for also having too much wash, not by the coppers thank god jsut by a patrol boat. Top bloke just said slow down a little and asked if we had been having any luck fishing and then proceeded to give us a hand with the drag net. Awesome flatty, jsut wondering if you got it up towards the mangroves, in the canals or out towards the mouth. Water looks diry-ish so im guessing it was a bit further upstream.
Got it just up river from the minyama island bridge, right on the corner opposite the big black house. sorta in the middle of nowhere.
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