By Tony Walsh
In the distance, the stacked balconies of the high-rise apartment buildings appeared to be suspended in the navy blue sky. Meanwhile, an inseparable pair of pied oyster catchers in their unruffled black and white plumage was scurrying before the incoming tide on a beach that could be as far removed from Surfers Paradise as to be on the other side of the Australian continent.
Small wonder that Cameron Dunn is happy in his work environment. He is a former professional fisherman who has now found his niche in the Queensland tourism industry.
His patch is a 22km stretch of golden sand that separates the indigo waters of the South Pacific Ocean and the wild, green grass that grows in runners on the undulating sand dunes of South Stradbroke Island.
It takes Cameron just five or so minutes to transfer his guests from Couran Cove Island Resort, which is situated on the western shores of the island, to this superb portrait of nature, to learn the art of beach fishing. As Izaak Walton, the father figure of fishing wrote in his classic guide to fishing, The Compleat Angler (sic), published in 1653, "That fishing is an art and an art well worth learning."
Cameron introduces the participants to his fishing school by firstly teaching them to read the currents, wind and tide. He slowed the 4WD to a halt on the firm sand and as he got out, he said with a tone of respect in his voice, "This beach is alive, and it can be very treacherous; sandbanks are shifting all the time. But once you see how the beach is acting, those conditions usually repeat themselves every three or four hundred metres along the entire 22km length.
"Because the beach is so long, there are areas where the water is coming in and out at the same time." He pointed to a small wave that was actually travelling back out to meet a bigger in-coming wave.
"It's all like a jigsaw puzzle with different fish at different tides. At high tide, there is a very deep body of water, which is used by a selection of fish to swim through. These include tailor that may be out there, perhaps a mullaway, so you're not going to get small whiting trying to compete as they could end up as food for the bigger species.
"As the tide goes out and the water becomes more shallow and the sun gets up a little bit higher, the whiting and the summer fish will come in when things are right for them to eat."
Cameron said that because there were no sharks nets located offshore, it was not uncommon to see a shark just 15 to 20 metres off the beach.
Easily accessible in rod racks at the front of his vehicle, Cameron's varying range of fibreglass surf rods, each fitted with a durable, side-cast, Alvey reel, are ready for action. There is not a bag of bait in sight.
"It's all here, it's fresh and it's free." Cameron gave a wide grin and with his bare feet did a slight shuffle (the pippie pirouette) in the sand and waited for the water to recede. Feeling the hard shell of the eugarie come in contact with his foot, Cameron casually bent down and scooped out a 6cm oval-shaped eugarie, followed by another and another.
"This is what the fish come for so why not give them what they want. I have been to many other beaches all around Australia and I have never encountered so many eugaries like these found here. Because the eugaries are sitting here right on the water's edge, that's where the food chain starts and that means you can catch all the fish you need on the beach in the first 20m of water."
He cracks open the shell of the eugarie using the nut on the centre bolt of the Alvey as a pressure point while warning his students who are gathered around, "Never use the blade of a fishing knife to prise open the shell. The blade can easily slip and go straight into your hand."
Cameron sets about extracting the flesh of the eugarie for placement on the hook. "The fish prefer the white and black parts, not the yellow, so thread the soft tissue so as to have the point of the hook through the black."
With an easy cast of the rod, he shows his students how to the propel the hook, line and sinker into the world of surf fishing as the words of Izaak Walton again play on my mind, "That fishing is an art and an art well worth learning."
Couran Cove Island Resort on South Stradbroke Island is 20 minutes by catamaran from Runaway Bay at the northen end of the Gold Coast. Cameron Dunn offers a range of fishing experiences for small groups from the resort with expert tuition in the art of beach fishing with all gear supplied. Children must be 11 years and over. Fish caught on Cameron's excursions are specially prepared for guests by the resorts chefs.
For more information:
Couran Cove Island Resort
Tel +61 7 5597 9000
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