The Grunter Run!

There's nothing more exciting than when the Grunter start running.  Every man, women, bunch of kids, cousins and anyone that can possibly hold a line is down there. Baits, livies, lures - it doesn't matter. It's like people are completely taken over by a blindly exciting feast just waiting to be caught.   With Mak on my left, Xav on my right we launched our assault early at about 6am and I threw the cast net and got a good selection of bait.  Dad had gone hunting so it was just us today.  We had a bag of squid incase my throwing arm let me down....My dad taught me to throw them when I was about 8 but he's a lefty so I throw lefty too with a technique no one up here would recognise lol.

We started off the wharf and it wasn't long before Xavie hooked up.  I set his drag pretty loose as he only has 12lb line so pulling up a 50cm grunter looked like he was hauling in a marlin. He was squealing with excitement and at one stage I thought his rod was going to snap in two.  We got it to the surface and this fish was enormous...... too heavy to pull up onto the jetty and the weight of it snapped the line about a metre from the hook.  Devo'd!

Mak was next and her fish was about 45cm but fought like a jack hammer and the same thing - PING as we tried to haul it up onto the jetty. 

Right! That did it.  I launched our last resort - my rod with a 40lb leader.  Grunter number 1 landed aboard but only just....

The tide started to change and the bites were few and far between so we knew they'd moved on.  We grabbed our gear and esky and piled back into the red racer to our new spot (via the servo to get an icecream).  We threw the mud crab pots in our secret spot with some stinky-ass mullet in there and wished them luck!

By 9am we went across the refresh our bait supply and try our luck off the point.  Nothing but snags, catfish and a croc there.  Time to move on.

We launched our attack at Red Beach.  Within 5mins of my live mullet hitting the water, my rod was running!  I had 15lb line on it with a 40lb leader and live fish.  Barramundi - come on!!!!!  This fish was a heavy bastard and wanted to run.....but it didn't jump so I was beginning to get sceptical now.  From behind the bush, Scott our Chemist popped out and I couldn't contain my excitement.  On the verge of snapping the line or yanking the hook from its mouth in sheer adrenaline, I took my time and adjusted the drag on my reel.  Please, please, please just let me see what it is before I stuff it up and now at least I had a witness if it was a record fish.

20minutes later I'm still fighting this monster and as soon as I think I'm winning it'd bloody run again.  A shimmer of silver glitter and what look like black lines down the side appear running parallel to the beach - ooooooh it could be a threadfin!  Yah, that'd be good!  It runs one more time then I wind like crazy!  Both Mak and Xav are frothing at the mouth and I'm yelling at them to hop out of my way - yes it was going to be their fault if I lost it for sure!!!

With Scott still next to me, eager to find out what this monster was too, we finally got a good look at it. 

A stinking Queenie about 75cm long.  It had taken my mullet then spat it out and hooked itself underneath it's carriage so I was hauling this thing in on it's side.   Devo'd.

By 10am it was getting hot and the kids wanted to check their mudcrab pots so I gave my Queenie to a lady down the beach and off we went again to find better luck.

1 small Jenny in the pot and our others were empty with the markings of sharks so I packed up the pots and put them in the boot. 

It was time for the big guns.  Little red car is like a go-cart that gets smashed, crashed and can go through mud puddles with the agility of a 250cc quad.  I took her, loaded with the lines and pots and kids out to Red Bank and from there launched our final assault on the Grunter.

Both Mak and Xav are competent casters now so at least I can put my line in the water without having to stop every 2mins and re-cast them out!  Wooshka, first line took off and I had a good feeling about it.  Yep - a good size grunter.  Then it was the kids - 1 catfish and another grunter.

It was on like Donkey Kong!

For tea we had fresh grunter in the pan with garlic, butter and salt.  Even the dogs got fresh fish for dinner!  Yee Haa! 

(P.S I couldn't find a hat so the fluffy santa cowboy hat had another outing x)

A Sunday Morning Chase - not for the faint hearted!

The Sunday morning drive started well and around 5am.  We piled into a friends Ute and locked the dogs into the cage on the back until we got out of town. Dorothy knew the minute I put the harness on her what she was in for and she could hardly contain her excitement.  My mates brought their two dogs too which are experienced hunting dogs so we hoped some of it would rub off onto our gollute.

We crossed the bridge which is temperamental on the best of days during the wet season but considering I had packed a chook and a bag of fruit, we weighed up the risk and it was worth it.  About an hour out of town we slowed down and let the dogs out to ride on the back of the tray.  It wasn't long before Rarney was keen and just infront of the car we saw a lone boar, completely unaware we'd pulled up behind it.  We all jumped out of the car and the chase was on!  One of the blokes went left of the fence, the other went right and I went under and over into the mud in the sheer excitement.  Dorothy learned her first lesson about barbed wire and, needless to say, was a bit nervous about running at full pelt behind this boar.  Judging from the warn in pig track along the creek, this boar was well ahead of us and he knew every hiding hole.  I picked myself up off the ground at least 3 times chasing Dorothy without a collar and hoping she'd stick with the other bloke who were far quicker than I was in the pursuit.  Close to spewing with exhaustion, I stopped running and splashed my face in the creek trying to catch my breath.  I spotted the other bloke about 100m from me and made my way to him before I got too lost.  We heard a gunshot and then the car horn and thankfully made our way back to the car. They'd double backed chasing the pig and were waiting for us.  The boar was nowhere to be seen.

Boar 1, Hunters 0.

The dogs were keen as after their first run and it wasn't long before one of the boys spotted a mob on the side of a dam.  We pulled up down-wind of them and snuck up from behind.  I was carrying my hubby's knife and it's too big for me so running with it is like running with a light-saber so I strapped it to my leg and over my pants.  The dogs could smell them but they were near the base of the hill, the dam water cutting off their only escape.  One of the boys cocked his rifle and before the pigs knew we were there we were on top of them.  Trap sprung.  He shot two instantly and Dorothy took one with Gypsy on the other side.  One of the boys called out to me and I stuck it quickly.  "More pigs, More pigs!" we hollered out to the dogs who responded by chasing down the mob over the other side.  One of the dogs double backed as the mob turned on it only to see the other two lugging dogs in pursuit as well and the three of them together took them all down like a well-oiled muscle machine. We were all on an adrenaline rush by now and the dogs washed off in the dam and cooled themselves off.

Pigs 1, Hunters 3.

Twenty minutes down the road we saw a dark shadow and recognised it's shape before it lunged into the long grass on the side of the road.  There were puddles and holes everywhere and before the car had pulled up to a complete stop, the dogs jumped off and the boys took off after them.  "Mob! Mob! Mob!" I heard one of them yell out.  This boar, instead of running away had led them all back into another mob.  The dogs were barking and bailed up a big sow and as I ran my fastest through the grass another sow ran in front of my legs and I went ass over in the mud again.  It took off in the opposite direction and I made my way over to check out Dot and the boys.  One of the boys had stuck a sow and I yelled out "More pigs! More pigs! Gettem Dotty"  Rarney and Dot took off on the scent trail and caught up with it about 250m away.  By now I was convinced I was going to break my leg, get bitten by a snake or vomit from sheer exhaustion but once they're on, they're on and you have to be fast.  I caught up with the dogs and my other friend and got my second pig for the day.

Pigs 1. Hunters 5.

The sun was starting to bake up now and all the dogs needed water and to cool off.  We started to make our way back to town and the two of us rode on the tray on the lookout for one more to make our half/dozen.  The wet season grass was high and visibility is much harder so the more eyes the better.  Almost back to town, Rarney got keen again and we stopped to let them have a smell.  Dorothy and Gypsy were all chasing Rarney and were ready to go again.  They took off into the bush with the two of us in pursuit when Dorothy went right and Rarney went left.... Oh shite! without a tracking collar and with only a few successful hunts under her collar it could have gone badly.  I followed my friend and hoped we'd catch up with Dot soon when I saw her galloping at fall speed after a big sow.  Both her and Rarney took it from either side and they bailed it up in a mud wallow.  Gypsy came in as final straw and one more Cape hog bit the dust.

Pigs 1, Hunters 6.

We were home by lunch and overall it was an awesome way to spend a Sunday morning!

For Valentines Day this year I got conjunctivitis and a new hunting knife. My hubby got a new hunting collar for our Dorothy and a new chest plate as the last one got a bit damaged when our galloping dope learned the hard way how to get through a barb wired fence at full speed in chase of a boar....