the arvo was poor
Prawned the lower end of the river last night from 5-10pm and caught 15 buckets of greasies and 4 buckets of a mixture of tigers and bananas
No the cast net wasnt working overtime, but the 9m river beam trawler and nets were.
Yes did a trip with one of the rivers beam trawlers and sure was an experience to see how these blokes forge a living.
By-catch was minimal as you can see by the pics, although i did end up with a good supply of bait for future trips (herring/divers/poddies/squid) and a nice bucker of fresh prawns, sure beats throwing a cast net.
Dangerous game with all the bullrouts/happy moments/small catties/demon stinger/toadies, that showed up in some of the catches.
The way the nets are set-up now with extrusions devices, very little by-catch is now brought on board.
Great night.
regards
Webby – do you think this experience is typical or indicative of the average estuary beam trawler?? - One recent afternoon in the Pine River I witnessed a beam trawler throwing an estimated 100kg+ (4 x large plastics crates) of all-dead by-catch over the side from one pull – mostly small herring, whiting, bream, etc - acknowledge they are an easy target for criticism on this site but really wonder how much damage they do – nevertheless, appreciate your efforts in getting out on one rather than standing on the bank (or the keyboard) & taking cheap shots - Mal M
Haines Hunter 650 'Horizon' 200 4st Johnson (aka Suk DF200) call sign "Dozer" or "Uripper"
TRAWLERS WHAT MORE CAN I SAY
Geez mate , you sure do get around
more information please, why doesn't more bycatch get caught ?
do they troll that slow that most fishies can swim out of the entrance of the net before getting swept down inside the net ?
or is there some sort of outlet at the other end that allows bigger fishies out?
me just a dumb sprinkler boy
oh......
and where's my share ?
the simple answer is what more do you know?? or can you back up with credible evidence??Originally Posted by indy
lets be objective & consider the "facts" carefully
Mal M
PS I've been a staunch critic of beam /creek trawlers for a long time & I don't plan on giving them any slack but have realised in recent times I should base my opinions on credible evidence rather than emotive assumptions - fish to all
Haines Hunter 650 'Horizon' 200 4st Johnson (aka Suk DF200) call sign "Dozer" or "Uripper"
Mal M
Lets just say i have fished the pine river for a lot of years and have seen the same trawlers flogging it and they do catch alot of by catch that they are throwing back dead with a flock of birds behind picking up the scraps that is evedince enough for me
cheers pete
Webby
You werent on there for the prawns you were only there to restock your bait freezer
Cheers Dazza
Hi Webby, do you know the owners/operators of this trawler? Or did you just ask to go on a trip? I have been wanting to do a trip on such a trawler to get a fist hand view of what goes on. But I dont want to make a fool of my self by asking
Shane
Hi Brian
Can you share any other info.
Can they tell when they are onto prawns?
what areas do they fish,,, and when ,(deep, shallow, etc inside /outside of bends)
in short what they look for.?
Apologies if Im being a pest,
cheers
rando
I sense an interesting article in B&B coming.
Very interesting.
"By-catch was minimal as you can see by the pics, although i did end up with a good supply of bait for future trips (herring/divers/poddies/squid) and a nice bucker of fresh prawns, sure beats throwing a cast net.
Dangerous game with all the bullrouts/happy moments/small catties/demon stinger/toadies, that showed up in some of the catches. "
Webby bullrouts/happy moments/catties etc. are the by-catch. While fishers may call them vermin, others call them a very important part of the ecosystem.
interesting to see a real perspective on river beam trawling, or was it? I am not yet totally convinced though. Knowing they had a fishing writer on board, they may have changed their tactics? Trawl shallow for less prawns and less bycatch, trawl deep for more prawns and more bycatch? I don't know shite about this, just speculating. Be interesting to read your thoughts on this Brian.
Jeremy
"The underlying spirit of angling is that the skill of the angler is pitted against the instinct and strength of the fish and the latter is entitled to an even chance for it's life."
(Quotation from the rules of the Tuna Club Avalon, Santa Catalina, U.S.A.)
Apathy is the enemy
Jeremy,
I would have to say that I am with you on this one. 5 Hours work for 19 Buckets.
How do they pay the bills? Why are they or how are they still in Business
Cheers
Steven
Cheers
Steven