IAN AND THE LITTLE SHARK CAT. Terry eventually found full time work, I ran the boat for a while, in between pulling wires. Ian had purchased a 14 foot Shark Cat and was keen to try his luck at ‘catching a feed'. I guess that the prime reason for enlisting as a DECKHAND was to keep my fishing license current. Back then you were supposed to earn 75 % of your income from the ocean. This indicated your primary profession. Your boat license was your responsibility, the State and Territorial License was for the boat owner to keep up to date. Normally the "Deckie" received 1/3 of the catch value. We settled on a slightly greater sum, the reasons will be evident. I must say Ian was somewhat ‘Gung-ho', there were times when I asked myself, "what am I doing here". You normally approach the Brunz Bar with a high degree of caution, you will normally progress to sea on a run in tide early morning. That is, after having a close inspection and evaluating wave conditions. Ian has been known to make his run at somewhere near TORAKINA, AND, not throttle off until we out the back. Several times it's been an airborne display of crashing and bashing. We had half a clue on fishing, we had half a clue on fishing marks. In fact we had a good clue. Just like any Primary Industry the future can be bleak. The Farmers and the Fishers have a common yet diverse problem, "bloody water". MY THESIS; Farmers hope for water, Fisherman hope for less water, REASON; If there was less water in the ocean the fish would be easier to catch. QUOTE; "There's plenty of fish, just to much water mixed with them". Now I must not progress before admitting to a certain "tongue in cheek". The reason we live is because we eat, the people that feed us earn a living, it's a fact of life. We are the problem; We produce, we consume as much as we waste, that's stuffed. I will relate a little down the track on John Farley's pissey effort to rectify the situation. Prior to and then? HOFBRAUHAUS. I had discovered a "secret mark", it resided in 30 fathoms. I called it "HOFBRAUHAUS', if you Germanic people can understand, it was half way something. A strange place, the sounder indicated a ‘rise' of only 1, maybe 2 fathoms, I suspect it was more of a gutter. Sometime the sounder indicated a sudden dip. We knew from the Trawler men that the unterwasser terrain was shale beds and rocky outcrops, and largely no go. The secret mark was half way between a known mark and another, FULL STOP. Just by accident; drifting from the north of this mark up comes a Parrot Fish, a small Schnapper, a Moses Perch, another Parrot fish, then nothing!! Bells ring, no less than 3 shore coastal sights are recorded. I motor back, same result, EUREKA. Only this time a bloody great Samson Fish is landed. There's something down there. I can tell you, only 3 people know this spot. Could I find, could I remember, IT WILL COST YOU. THAT MAGIC MOON. Every body who fishes out from BRUNSWICK HEADS knows the common localities, the good spots. You have to be there on the day. There is a ‘band' the Trawlers fish, there is a band the fishermen fish. One thing that is typical to all fishers is that magic moon. A shit load of stuff about the moon has been written, what happens in the ocean, what happens on the land, but it cannot be disputed, the moon that is. The ocean bed and it's inhabititors somehow rises, fish school, prawns congregate, alls alive in the briny. We were fishing on the 40 fathom mark, it's the night AFTER the full moon, we landed 251 kilograms of fish, all hand lined. The fish box was chokers, a couple of hessian bags were full, the "folkshole" is full, the deck was alive with fish; Mulloway, Treaglin, Schnapper, Pearl Pearch, Kingfish. The sounder indicated fish from the top to the bottom, we could see fish under the boat, we cut of hooks to give us a break, this in 40 fathoms. Freeboard was a precious commodity. But there comes a time to depart the bounty, and this is MY favorite recollection of the "BIG PAY DAY". Unlike most outside fishermen, we would anchor in deep water. It's hard work dragging an anchor from 30 to 40 fathoms. But I reckoned that; when you drift you take the fish from their congregation. One point; A full moon on the ocean on a good night is like nothing you will ever see, it's like daytime, with the light off. PULLING THE ANCHOR. What a prick of a job. How did I get involved? OH, yes I'm the deckhand. I have pulled more anchors than schooners. Overall consensus of the operation; 40 fathoms down, angle of deflection; 45%, rope out; 90 fathoms. Skipper motors ahead and breaks off anchor connection, shithead begins to haul in, up comes the chain, the anchor, were done, bugger. Beside us was a bloke from BYRON BAY, HE IS FLOGGIN' EM, we wave goodbye in the moonlight and head for home. As we travel a glimmer of light keeps on flashing above my head, I look behind. The bloke from Byron is furiously hauling at his rod, "he's on'. NOW LOOK; as I pulled up the anchor a set of gang hooks was embedded in the anchor rope, I just kept hauling in. The glimmer was his fishing line. After 50 miles it suddenly dawned, the poor bugger was being spooled big-time.

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