GIVEN, that ours is an outside pursuit, it comes as no surprise that anglers encounter wildlife in one form or another on at least a semi regular basis. Whether these encounters are a positive thing is dependant on the species being encountered and the situation in which the meeting occurs.
I’m a bird lover and I appreciate the birds I come across, be it a flash of blue and a splash as a kingfisher feeds on a bass river, the raucous call of a pair of oyster crackers or a fish-snatching- swoop of a bird of prey. All are preferrable to the Pelican pooing I received as a 12-year-old. Imagine, sitting in a tinny chasing crabs when a Pelican opens the bomb doors, Watching with increasing horror as I realise there was no escape!
As the population of east coast humpback whales rebounds, so too has the number of close calls with boat-based anglers. They’ve been a couple of life-threatening events as Humpbacks breach onto or collide with small boats. Whales have become entangled in anchor ropes and I’d put money on Whales surfacing beside boats and scaring the occupants half to death with a noisy breath.
Last year, two guys out of Coffs Harbour met a whale on their way out one morning and the deckie went clean over the transom. Needless to say, wet clothes don’t make for a fun winter’s morning fishing trip. Further up the coast, a whale breached on the top of a small tinnie resulting in damage to the vessel and crew. Fortunately, no lives were lost. Then a local guy had one tangle with his anchor rope, luckily he had a sharp knife handy and was able but the rope just as he reckons the boat “Really started to move”.
I love seeing whales when I’m out to sea, as long as there is a fair distance between my boat and them. They are majestic creatures and their behaviours, particularly a full breach, can be awesome. That said, my worst “brown pants” moments both relate to Humpbacks.
The first took place a decade ago when a calf came up behind my outboard and blew. I was attending to a snapper and bolted upright to see it 2m behind us. Then, he or she stuck it’s head out of the water and I kid you not when I say that this young fella turned his head and looked right at me with an eye the size of a saucer. It stayed there long enough for me to talk to my mate about the dangers of turning the outboard on for a quick exit. The image is burned into my brain to this day, but I reckon I would have let out a sigh of relief when the thing swam off. So cool, but so, so close! Shark encounters are another regular for
anglers, and they can be great or terrifying, depending how they go. In the tropics, sharks are far from welcome given they eat prized, blue water eating species such as red emperor and coral trout. However, as far as I know, these meetings are rarely threatening to one’s health.
My most recent shark encounter occurred whilst holidaying in the Capricornia Cays National Park. Being November, it was egg laying season for the big Green Turtles, and being able to see them in numbers was awesome. On one evening, whilst sitting on the sand for happy hour, we saw nine females come out of the water to prepare or to actually lay eggs, at the one time. I had to move my camp chair to the side to get out of the way of one determined female. One morning I was out fishing when the flash of white about 5m from the boat, caught my eye, seconds before a 3m tiger shark became almost completely airborne, prior to attacking a big turtle. The white was the turtle’s belly as it tried to evade the tiger. After a couple more attacks, the water went quiet … I assume the tiger got its meal!
Further south, bull sharks have a habit of appearing out of nowhere and nabbing fish beside the boat. This happened to a friend who had a lip grip on a brackish water bass and was left with the head of a good-sized fish when the foam cleared … very lucky!
Saltwater crocs feature in many Top End and tropical estuarine encounters of the close kind, and for me, not many would be positive. I get a kick out of seeing them on the back and chasing fish, but like whale encounters, I need space. I’d reckon that local fisho’s would have some cracker tales to tell, and even some terrifying ones, however, I’m one with limited experience. I’m told that quite a few Territorians carry firearms when staying in dangerous areas … sounds smart to me!
Ending on a positive, dolphins are another creature most of us appreciate seeing, particularly when they want to play, I don’t think I’ll ever get nonchalant with a dolphin encounter!
