Stinker’s Fishin’: The good old days

DO you remember the good old days when catching calamari squid was simple?

Inside the harbour, excited “squidders” gathered around the Nelson Bay Marina or drifted over the sea grass in Shoal Bay on calm days.

Tossing a squid jig and slowly retrieving it ensured a bucket or so of thumping squid to be prepared into squid rings for the kitchen or to freeze away as the best possible bait for mulloway, kingfish and snapper.

Outside the headlands, big calamari squid called “green eyes” could be guaranteed to be basking out of the breeze in Hospital Bay on Boondelbah Island, cruising among the moorings in Esmeralda Cove on Broughton or taking it easy in Government Hole referred to as the Gantry on the northern face of Fingal Island.

It was in the Government Hole that I first discovered squid way back in 1975 when I was camping with a heap of schoolkids on Fingal Island as part of what was known as “End of Year Activities” at the old Nelson Bay High School.

There will be readers of this article who were part of the camping trips that went annually over many years.

The first year that Nelson Bay had a High School was 1975 when local kids could complete years 11 and 12 without travelling to Raymond Terrace or Newcastle.

The first Principal was Tom O’Dwyer who was confronted by an odd situation in that the students chose not to attend school for the last two weeks after their November exams.

Box Beach or One Mile Beach were far more appealing.

In his wisdom, Mr O’Dwyer declared that teachers would offer activities that would encourage kids to return to school.

I, along with maths teacher Neil Goudge, offered island camping and fishing under the subject of “Marine Experiences”.

As you can imagine this option was very popular and certainly beat sitting in a class room.

Three nights on Fingal Island didn’t seem long but at the end of the trip everyone was happy to return home.

The first hurdle to overcome was how to transport 25 boys onto Fingal Island with the uncertainty of the Fingal Spit.

When the Spit could be crossed, commercial fishermen Ken Barry, Glen Tarrant and Jimmy Chalkley piled the kids into their trucks and over we went, picking us up days later.

Problems arose when the Spit was washed away.

It was the Water Police who offered their services to board their rescue boat and steam over into the quiet northern corner of the beach where the kids would jump off before pitching their tents.

On one occasion the Police were not available so it was Teddy McLeay and his trawler “Matadore” that motored out to the island.

Back to the squid.

The kids were permitted to go fishing on the beach or in the Government Hole which could be supervised.

I was amazed when one of the boys named Jones returned with a bucket full of monster squid.

Never having caught a squid I was amazed.

“How did you do that Jonesy?” I asked.

Following a short lesson I was in business.

Today squid catches are rarely reported simply because there are no squid!

Such is the case in Sydney Harbour and other well documented squid hot spots along the coast.

The question that must be asked is – where have all the squid gone?

I have no idea.

Is it that they were over-fished?

Could it be a change in water temperature or water quality or maybe a change in salinity?

Hopefully one day they will return.

By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE