Safety at sea

by Jarrod Day, FishingBoating-World Editor on 14 May 2013 A few weeks ago I wrote an editorial titled 'Safety on the water' and went through the necessary safety requirements for boat users regardless of them being law or not.

It is said that 'No fish is worth a life' and regardless of the required safety items you must have by law, it does pay to go that little bit extra and get a few other items that may get you out of a pickle.

This editorial has been brought about due to an unfortunate accident that occurred at sea off the coast of Portland in Victoria just last week.

Simon Rinaldi from Red Hot Fishing Charters was out on his usual day with four clients on board all keen to get tight to some tuna. Simon already had his eye on the likely location of where the fish might be and although he thought about heading to the same location he did the day prior, he decided to change tactics and head to another location instead.

Having pulled up and placed in a rack of lures, the boys were off trolling only to get a 4 way hook-up on tuna followed shortly by a double. Having worked the area, Simon was down the back of the boat watching the lure spread when in the distance noticed a flare in the sky. Without hesitation, Simon brought in the lures and headed to the direction of the flare. On arrival, Simon noticed one angler on the bow of his boat while his three mates were up to their knees in water on the deck. Quickly, thinking, Simon managed to get the man from the bow onto his boat when all of a sudden; the entire boat flipped and went down sending the other three men into the water.

Scrambling onboard Simon’s boat, they were rescued. Simon quickly set their Epirb and strapped it to the rocket launcher of the stricken vessel. On his way back in, Simon called his father Brian with the GPS mark of where the boat was and told him to call the coastguard and police. Having got back to the boat ramp and all four cold and wet men back on onto terra firma, the Coastguard returned a few hours later with the retrieved boat. While the hull was in good condition, the boat’s scuppers took in water but it was too much for the bilge to put out. Unfortunately, more water entered the deck and pulled the transom down.

So, it is with this that I urge those that are heading offshore to ensure that everything safety wise is up to scratch along with checking the small things like your bilge pumps. It is paramount that this especially is powerful enough to pump out the water should something like this occur. Safety should always be your first thought when heading onto the water, so be prepared for the next time you head out.

This week, Gary goes in search of estuarine species and takes a look at why fishing oyster leases can be so productive. Gary explains the tips and techniques required to catch some of New South Wales most enjoyable estuary species.

Last week, Lee looked at a top option for beating the first of the winter blues – flicking for flathead. This week he looks at another species which shows up in quantity and quality in northern waters during the cooler months and is often overlooked, the humble bream.

While putting this editorial together, I am in the mix of packing my bags for a week’s onslaught to the Top End in search of Barramundi. When I return, I should have a few good photo’s to tease you all with a few features on different subjects along with a little of how much fun it is to do a 5 day live aboard in 'gods country'.

Before I go though, my feature this week is on a relatively new subject, using UV lures to catch fish.
UV impregnated and coated lures are fast becoming the lure of choice for many anglers and in this piece, I explain why they are hot property at the present moment.

Until next week,