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David Clumpner

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Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 08, 2009, 04:08:48 PM
Two weeks ago I took off in my kayak after work and headed up the west side of the island I live on.  The weather was beautiful, water was flat.  I had only been fishing for 10 minutes when I stole a glance away at the sunset while popping.  I quickly turned back because I thought I felt something touch my Sea Frog.  I was right - on the next pop a ~6-7kg grouper-looking fish came out of the water and took my lure.  Since I am set up for a big, big fish (how might I land this on a kayak, you might ask?  i don't know, is how i will answer) and I clearly saw that this was not a big fish, I decided to let him have a fair fight.  Instead of cranking down I let him have a little line.  This was a big mistake, of course, because even though I thought the bottom was flat, he found the only piece of coral to go under and attach my lure to (and disattach himself).  Now I was in a fix because I was attached to the bottom.  There was no way out, so I emptied my water bottle, then cut the line and tied it off to the water bottle, fully intent on returning later to dive for the lure.

The next day I went back, but the current was too strong to let my kayak loose while I swam down (and I hadn't rigged up an anchor), so I decided to hold off another day.  (But I did check out the scene with my snorkel gear and the coral where I thought my lure was, about 15m down.)  Well, the winds and waves came up quite strong for the next 4-5 days and by the time I made it back, it had been a week.  It was still way too rough to go by kayak, but I thought maybe I could make a long, shore-based snorkel out of it.  I had to ride 30 minutes to this point, then walk around the reef 400m (at low tide), then swim another 200m to the point, then I got stuck in a decent current - and the water bottle was gone.  I was triangulating myself when I looked down and saw a Sea Frog floating up off the bottom.  The color didn't look like mine and I actually thought it might have belonged to another fisherman, but once I dove down and got it I realized it was in fact mine.  Score!

Recently I have decided I should take 20 minutes every morning and fish off a jetty at the entrance to the harbor where I live.  It's a nice thing to do when I wake up and who knows, maybe a GT will be passing by one of these days?  I am also experimenting with single-strand leaders, but I don't think I have the materials (bobbin) to make a PR knot just yet, so I went with the mid-knot.  Well, after 20 casts this morning, the mid-knot came apart, leaving my Sea Frog 30-40m out in the channel in front of me.  I wasn't about to leave a Sea Frog out there, so I watched as closely as I could for the bobbing head, then tried to line it up with landmarks (I concluded it was 'not in line with anything'), then I stripped down to my boxers and dove in.  I swam out to the middle, into a headwind, and couldn't see the orange lure anywhere.  I treaded water as best I could until I looked up and saw a sailboat coming towards me, leaving the harbor at 6:20am!  I quickly turned back to get out of their way and found my lure on the return swim.

I rarely catch fish here, but it's nearly as fun to cast Sea Frogs until I lose them, then try to figure out ways to get them back.

Luke Wyrsta

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 08, 2009, 04:27:48 PM
Best read in a long time! Made me chuckle  ;)

Peter Morris

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 08, 2009, 06:22:31 PM
 :D :D....that was a good read...Thanks mate.

I was expecting you to salvage the lure after the goupers efforts then lose it to a GT....But No you swum for it twice... :D...It will hurt when you lose that one..!! :P

Pete

Darren Cook

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 08, 2009, 07:13:16 PM
That's funny David.

Jay Burgess

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 08, 2009, 07:19:37 PM
Funny read, well done on getting your sea frog back on both occasions. Where is it that you live?

Brock Arifovic

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 08, 2009, 07:40:06 PM
David - interesting way of exercising!! I like it  :D :D

Chuen Fan

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 09, 2009, 08:20:05 AM
David - interesting way of exercising!! I like it  :D :D

brock.. fancy a swim mate? i just dropped one about 200m off st. kilda pier.. it'd be great exercise in 2 degrees of water..  :P
AKA: Sunny

Brock Arifovic

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 09, 2009, 10:02:44 AM
There is a good possibility, have to stay warm some how

David Clumpner

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 09, 2009, 01:12:04 PM
Where is it that you live?

Jay, I live in Okinawa, Japan.

Whenever I lose a Sea Frog (about 4 times over the past 1.5 years) it is not at all funny at the time.  But after I was paddling yesterday with one hand - a Sea Frog in the other - at 6:20am, nearly completely naked, with a boat of Japanese gawkers passing close-by, I realized what amusing lengths I (we?) will go to to hold on to a Sea Frog. 

Chuen Fan

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 09, 2009, 02:59:21 PM
Where is it that you live?

Jay, I live in Okinawa, Japan.

Whenever I lose a Sea Frog (about 4 times over the past 1.5 years) it is not at all funny at the time.  But after I was paddling yesterday with one hand - a Sea Frog in the other - at 6:20am, nearly completely naked, with a boat of Japanese gawkers passing close-by, I realized what amusing lengths I (we?) will go to to hold on to a Sea Frog. 

so we'll be expecting some pictures of that 'moment' up on facebook pages around the world shortly..!!  ;) hopefully its not winter there for your sakes..!
AKA: Sunny

Ben Rutkin

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 10, 2009, 03:01:55 PM
David,

I would even consider retiring that lure. I'll tell you story about a close friend of mine (unfortunately no longer with us) that may convince you to do so.

Bob was a legendary gladiator, a champion GT/trout slayer with countless feathers in his cap.  He had so many scars, each a its own story, a badge of honour from a past victory. Over time, Bob became weary from the constant operations he endured to conceal the violence of battle.

Bob was both ambitious and greedy, always seeking that 'one last fish - the big one - the jewel in the crown'

As we arrived at a location known only as 'The G Spot', little did we know, a tragedy was unfolding. We had been fishing for much of the day, and Bob had landed some solid fish.  It was getting late and the bait was starting to move - it was showtime.

After a few casts, Bob hooked up to a monster GT.  After the opening flurry of what had been a clean, fair fight, the GT drove hard for a massive bommie, diving deep at a vicious pace.  The drag was tightened and the spool palmed in a last ditch attempt to tame the juggernaut. With no side conceding any line, it was a tug of war, Man vs Fish.  The tension was so great - something had to give - and when it did, it wasn't the fish.

Bob was dragged through the water into the depths and out of vision, I collapsed to my knees in disbelief, how could we lose Bob? We frantically searched the waters surrounding the boat, hoping he would miraculously re-surface.  For 3 minutes we stared just hoping for a miracle, but it was not to be.

As we stared blankly at the horizon, a shout of excitement came from the rear of the boat, 'There he is, floating over there!'  We quickly swung the boat around and dragged Bob from the water - we quickly checked for signs of injury - some scratches and puncture marks but all superficial. We couldn't believe it. Bob was gone for all money. It is so rare for someone to survive after such a long period underwater.

Despite what had just unfolded, Bob insisted that we continue to fish what was certain to be a hot bite - his stubbornness driving him to continue. When he hooked up to a similar size fish, we all feared the worst. True to form it happened again.  As he disappeared into the depths a second time, we were certain we had lost him. Then, as happened before, Bob had miraculously escaped and was spotted him some 5 minutes later, drifting in the distance.

Seemingly unscathed, we had to do one last pass of the channel before heading home.  After a handful of unsuccessful casts, a massive suicide cast over shallow reef was struck, and the water washed white in a fit of rage. 

A shark had taken Bob, and was twisting viciously in the water tangling itself in the leader. As we neared the commotion, the line went slack, the line had been bitten off.  The shark, still bound by the line continued to convulse on the surface.  We could clearly see Bob being shredded in the jaws of the 1.5 metre reef shark as we approached.  Then, in a moment of desperation, I lunged over the side of the boat in an attempt to grab the sharks tail and hurl it on board.  As I outstretched my hand, the shark vanished with a couple of beats of its powerful tail....

Unlike the previous occasions, our friend the all-conquering cubera did not surface.  His 'bobbing' days were over. Each day I thank my lucky star for the life he had - and the final battles in which he was so fortunate to participate. 

Each expedition since that dark day, I remember Bob and I blame myself. Just like Andrew Johns or David Campese, I wish he had retired him that little bit earlier - so that the memory I keep is not of a sad demise into obscurity, but the greatness that once was.

Don't let it happen to you too David.
Last Edit: July 10, 2009, 05:36:29 PM by Ben Rutkin

Andy Rowe

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
July 10, 2009, 04:58:36 PM
Haaaaaa :D :D :D....

Very good.
Set the ray to GeeT

Hwee Guang Phang

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Re: Fishing for Sea Frogs
November 04, 2013, 03:55:06 PM
these are some awesome stories