NSW
Playing Russian roulette ILLAWARRA
Greg Clarke
Let’s forget the fishing for a moment – if you head out to sea for a fun day and end up dead it really isn’t worth it. It seems obvious, but that’s what has been happening in the Illawarra lately. Last August I wrote about the two lives tragically lost when a boat capsized after driving straight into Peggies, which is a conspicuous, massive bombora off Bulli. Then we lost three more anglers earlier this year when they capsized around Bellambi bombora, an even more obvious, bigger, rougher piece of ocean just out from the Bellambi boat ramp. Then there were the five deaths in two days from the rocks at Hill 60, and then Peggies claimed another life on the last day of October this year. My deepest condolences to all the families involved. What makes these deaths especially tragic is that they were completely avoidable, particularly the most recent. The ocean was not that bad except for a solid swell, 10:30 in the morning on a clear day. How they were in so close and drove into the clearly visible bommie is for the investigators to work out, but if not for a perfect lifesaving
when taken from the water to the beach by jet skis and IRBs. That is how quickly it can happen. The first responders all did an amazing job – over 70 people on the beach working to save the lives of these guys who were in a very bad way. The trauma experienced by all of these responders, some only in their teens, and the three people on the vessel not seriously injured watching all this unfold, will affect them and their families for the rest of their lives. My heart goes out to them, it was a tragic event. So what can be done? Everyone will scream “life jackets!”, and that’s all well and good, but if you don’t get into strife in the first place they aren’t needed. What is sorely needed is education. The local ramps around the Illawarra have been swamped by anglers and boaters from Western Sydney and many don’t have a clue. They are from many and varied ethnic backgrounds and mostly have never/rarely fished in the ocean, which at its best is unforgiving and its worst, deadly. These boaters don’t live on the coast and see the ocean in all its varying conditions, and they come unstuck when conditions turn nasty or when they don’t follow safe boating practices. They just go out and buy a boat –
you’ll only gain experience by being out there, but you first must know where you are going and have the basic seamanship to get there. One item that must be carried is a chart of the local waters. Every boater should get it out, put it on the kitchen table and study it every night for a week and familiarise themselves with the area before heading out. It’s obvious none of the people involved in these latest tragedies have done this, because they would have been aware of the dangerous shallow areas all along the coast and avoided them. Please, until you are very experienced, stay well away from these places. Don’t trust your GPS and plotter; I have a top end unit and I have lost count of the times it has told me I was on dry land when I was hundreds of metres offshore, or telling me I was in the water when it was dry land or, even worse, a dangerous area. West of the range the weather can be totally different from the coast, so if you get here and the conditions are poor, go back home. It may have taken an hour to get here but you’ll live to fish another day. I’m not tarring everyone with the same brush, as I’m sure there are some capable boat owners coming to the Illawarra, but from what
There are usually a few samsons around willing to grab a livie meant for kingies. situation all seven would probably have perished. Bulli SLSC were holding a practice search and rescue with two IRBs and a jet ski only 200m from the incident. Thirroul had just hosted a board race with IRBs and jets skis in attendance for safety and the other close by clubs of Sandon Point and Woonona had just set up patrol for the day and there were several surfers in the water at the actual spot the boat capsized, so help was virtually only seconds away. Still, four people were critical and unconscious 76
DECEMBER 2021
and some are amazing rigs – then put it in and off they go. They lack knowledge of ramp etiquette of prepping and undoing tiedowns before backing down to launch, turning off your headlights while reversing so as not to blind others trying to launch on a 4-lane ramp. Sometimes they’ll drop their boat in the middle of the ramp because they undid the hook to the winch at the top of the ramp – this happens every week. Then they get onto the water and disappear out to sea. This is when the real danger comes into play. True,
I see, many are not – and I regularly observe near misses that could have ended in tragedy. So, for your sake, do some homework before you put to sea. If you are not really confident, maybe get a group together and approach the local maritime services, as I am sure they would be keen to help a group understand the local conditions and coastal features that pose a danger along our coast. Another essential skill is you must learn how to swim. If your boat capsizes or you simply fall over the side and
The bigger dollies like this usually come through early in the season. panic, you will be under and gone in less than a minute. Just knowing how to float could keep you alive until help arrives. Finally, slow down and be vigilant. Your boat may do 40 knots but you don’t have to use every bit of the horsepower it can generate. If you travel a little slower you may see the wave rise up off a blind shallow bommie ahead of you, or avoid a collision with rocks, shallow white water or another boat. Another option to learning is join a local fishing club. They can give you the benefit of decades if not centuries of combined local knowledge and expertise, not just for fishing but local conditions, dangerous places and seamanship. These locals have dealt with pretty much every scenario you may run into, and you may even learn how to fish better and get even more Facebook likes and stay alive while doing it. I make no apologies for being blunt, and if this article motivates someone to seek help with their boating and navigation skills and prevents someone losing their life and shattering their family, it will have been worth it. I don’t ever want to go through Sunday 31 October again as I was one of the first responders on the scene of the tragic incident of seven people in the water with an upturned boat, four unconscious. FISHING IN DECEMBER On a brighter note, the beaches are alive with bream, salmon, tailor and plenty of whiting all along the coast. The bigger jewies will start to show on the big tides at the end of the month. Any beach with a deep hole or gutter and some very fresh bait will see you in with a chance. On the rocks there are some decent kings on the deeper southern ledges. Most are well educated and will take some work with a live squid or slimy mackerel just
before daylight, or you could get lucky and find a travelling king that will eat just about any live bait it sees. Salmon are about too all along the deeper ledges, with a few bonito thrown in the mix as well. Pilchards on ganged hooks or lures will score them. Throw in a bit of berley for some nice bream and a few trevally. The lake is now firing with flatties just about everywhere, and they will get bigger over the next few months. The main channel and the drop-off into the lake proper are the main spots, but they will get busy, particularly towards the end of the month when holidays begin. It will be hectic this season as so many people have not been able to get out and they will be making up for lost time. Blue swimmer crabs are in good numbers too, so keep an eye out for the floats so you don’t wrap them up in your prop. There are whiting all along the main channel from the drop down to the flats at the entrance, with squirt worms and nippers the baits of choice. Beach worms go alright too. If you see a few terns diving down around the break walls or in the channel before the bridge, throw a chrome lure their way as there will probably be a few salmon working baitfish. Minnamurra is pretty much the same, with flatties and whiting on the flats and in the deeper holes, with some solid bream around the bridge pylons. Outside things are starting to get a wriggle on, but it can change from day to day, with warm water full of fish turning cold overnight and turning into a barren wasteland. It will settle down at the end of the month when the good hot water pours down with the East Aussie current. It’s always a lottery until then, but a few striped marlin have been taken in recent
weeks, and there will be some big dollies about before the hard push of hot water and all the rats arrive around the FADs. Yellowfin tuna are always possible with the changing water temps, but the big schools that were in close during October seem to have moved on with the 18°C water they love so much. There is always the chance of a spearfish or even wahoo at this time of year. Later in the month we could even see the first black marlin arrive as our second La Niña in two years could see little blacks show up early. It has happened on previous La Niña events then gone quiet when they should be here in January and February. Fishing, you gotta love it – no two days are the same and it is ever changing. Why do we put ourselves through this torture? Because it is great when it all come together! Closer to shore there are some nice snapper around the 30-40m depth right into the close in reefs in 10-15m. Drifting with plastics and pick and berley are both scoring fish. The samsonfish have already shown up, and even a trag or two. Kingies have been about in all the usual spots from the deeper reefs to the close in shallow spots around the islands and Bass Point, but so far they are hit and miss. If you find there is a bit of current, head to the usual spots with some livies as they love that moving water. The flatties are on the bite on all the sand patches all along the coast now for the bottom bouncers, and will get better as we progress into summer. Mowies are still around in good numbers, along with some pigfish and better than average trevally. That’s it for 2021, thank goodness. Let’s hope next year is so much better with many more days to fish. Stay safe on the water and have a wonderful Christmas and holidays.
