SHARK FISHING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 259, 24 June 1932, Page 7

SHARK FISHING

; Post"

. THRILLING SPORT CAT.CHING MAN-EATERS WITH TIIREE-PRON GED HOOK AND LINE. A YERY VARIED BAG.

(Written for the "Morninj

by "Aussie.") ARTICLE II. Four of us left Brisbane by motor launeh early one morning for the shark-fishing grounds. We were clad in khaki shorts, open-necked shirts and topees. The sea was perfectly cairn, scarcely a ripple on the water, and the sun poured down on us, the heat was terrific. There was absolute quietness all around us except for the noise of our engine and the swish of the water curling past the bow. We passed between the islands at the entrance of the harbour and every now and then sighted a turtle coming up for breath. By this time, the pitch between th'e deck boards was beginning to blister with the heat. As we passed the heads, our pilot headed our boat for "68 Sand." This signifies that there are 68 fathoms over a sandy bottom. This is the recognised ground for the big fish. On the Grounds. Late in the afternoon, we arrived on the fishing ground and dropped anchor, Everyone but the pilot had almost fallen asleep on the trip out, but now we roused ourselves and bustled about getting lines ready and hooks baited. George, who had been asleep in the cabin (that is where the beer was stored) came out rubbing his eyes sleepily, and wanting to know what all the row was about. Before anyone could answer, however, he stepped on a bait fish lying in the Joottom of the boat. The fish slipped, so did George, and by the time he had hauled himself out of the tank of water in which we were keeping the bait he was sufficiently awake to realise that we were baiting up. Three-Pronged Hooks. The hooks used for shai'k-fishing have three prongs, are seven inches long, and are baited with fish. The hooks are attached to a rope by a length of steel chain rather stouter than a dog chain. This is to avoid the line being bitten through by the sharks. Baited up; we heaved the three lines overboard and sat down to wait our luck.The sun was dropping towards the west and the air was slightly cooler now. With our engine stopped there was scarcely a sound except for the occasional slap, slap of a wave against the side of the boat. Bill jumped to his feet with a yell! A bite! A bite! The rest of us rushed to hang on to the rope. Tiny (so called because he weighed 15 stone) tripped and fell on his face; I fell over Tiny, and George trampled over the pair of us; by the time we had picked ourselves up, the shark, or what ever it was had gone. Except for Tiny's murmurings as he rubbed his shin, all was once more quiet and peaceful. The air was growing distinctly colder now and as the sun set we hauled in our lines and repaired to the cabin for a. cup of tea. A False Alarm. A cup of tea revived out interest in life and fishing. So we clad ourselves in oilskins, looked to our bait, and slung our lines over again. The sky was thick with stars and on the horizon could be seen the tip of a yellow moon rising slowly from the sea. Tiny jumped from his seat in the bow, thinldng he had a bite, but it is a false alarm. There is a tenseness about us now and an air of expectancy, for the big fish usually bite best at night. A Big Fight. Then wow! the light rope line I was holding jerked away and then started to run through my hands so fast that it burnt. Jim rushed to my assistance, while sounds of feverish activity behind us indicated that the others were hadling in their lines prsparatory to coming to our assistance. The line slackened up, and we hauled in for all we are worth. The others reached us just in time to steady the rope as the fish made a dart away again. W'e huhg on, the boat rocked, the line sagged, we heaved in, and then paid out a little; at last, we managed to hold him, and then foot by foot we hauled the line in. The line slackened suddenly, so suddenly that we almost collapsed in the bottom of the boat. Overside, the water swirled, boiled and foamed as the fish rose beside the boat. He's a monster, gasped Tiny as he grabbed for the axe, but "before he could get it the fish darted away at right angles and We steadied ourselves to take the shock. Landiitg the Fish. Gradually we managed to shorten the line, with the fish fighting every yard of the way. At last the rope was quite taut; from time to time he broke the surface and Bill stood by with an axe kept for the purpose to stun him as soon as he came near enough. Bill struck with the axo, but the fish swerved, the axe -slipped, and Bill was just saved from going overboard by Tiny grabbing him around the waist. Tiny grabbed the axe and had more success. By our united endeavours we got the catch in-board. lit was a large carpet shark. Subsequently we took a photograph of it showing George with his head and shoulders in dts mouth; that will give some idea of its size. Man Overboard. After we had recovered our wind we lost no time in getting the lines down again, that is, with the exception of Tiny, who went down to the cabin for a sleep. About twenty minutes later George

got a good bite. His shout must have awakened Tiny, for he rushed out of the cabin brandishing an empty beer bottle instead of the axe, and besought the rest of us at the top of his voice to "Stand clear! while I hit him!" Next minute he got his leg fouled in George's line and with a mighty splash he went over the side, Fortunately he cleared the rope as he fell and come to the surface puffing and blowing. Leaving the other two to play the fish as best they could between gusts of laughter, I went to Tiny's assistance. Our second fish was a wabogong, which is similar to a shark, but has a head like a pig and a striped skin like a snake. Incidentally, the skin was so tough that although I spent four hours trying to skin it I failed to do so. I remember that we caught a conger eel and two six-foot octopi as well, before we pulled up anchor and left for the smaller fishing grounds, en route for home. We caught bream, whiting, rock cod, mullet, and flatfish on the way home; but these were indeed sinall fish beside our eaptures of the night.