ryhno

A FISHING skipper has successfully landed $750,000 in damages from his former employer after his left hand was mangled in a boating accident. Glenn Ronald Hunter, 49, successfully sought damages from New Fishing Australia Pty Ltd after his less dominant left hand was crushed between a winch and a rope in a boating accident in October 2001. In a Townsville Supreme Court judgment handed down by Justice Keiran Cullinane today, he awarded Mr Hunter $751,668.05 in damages for loss of income in past employment, future employment, pain killers, surgery costs and financial assistance for "mowing a lawn". The court heard Mr Hunter left school at age 16 in Western Australia to become a prawn fisherman and spent until March 2005 in the fishing industry. Despite no qualifications in any other area, he was earning a gross annual income of about $140,000. In his judgment, Justice Cullinane said Mr Hunter's accident occurred in the Gulf of Carpentaria in Northern Territory waters when he was holding a rope on a winch which was held there by a cleat. "The winch was stopped but began to move and as it rotated the plaintiff's left hand became crushed between the winch and the rope," he said. "Each finger of the hand was caught in the rope, with the main injury being sustained to the left index finger." The court heard the injury required Mr Hunter to have his left index finger amputated, whilst other fingers required surgery. "The plaintiff returned to work for the defendant in early 2002 and found considerable difficulty in performing the necessary tasks because of the constant pain he was suffering," Justice Cullinane said. "The hard physical labour required of a skipper during the season was, he found, not something he was able to cope with." The court suggested easier occupations Mr Hunter may be able to take up until he was 67 years old, such as a car park attendant or storeman, and used the average wage of those jobs to calculate the loss of damages amount. However Justice Cullinane said he doubted that a man of Mr Hunter's "enterprise" would ever be satisfied in such roles. "Overall he has lost the capacity to engage in the only work that he has for all intents and purposes ever engaged in," he said. "The fact is he is now 49 years old and has no other qualifications. He must be regarded as having a substantial destruction of his earning capacity." P.s. Congrats Glenn you deserve every cent.

I agree a Stargazer... And definately on the stay the hell away from list.

I'll take the GPS Marks!! hahaha That's one Spot X that i'd be willing to share... for the right price...

I was out near West Reef on saturday with similar results Port Jacksons and Hammerheads... Congrats to your bro on his first jewie! I'm sure he can't wait to get out there again and get a few more! Cheers, Ryhno

And congrats on the Squid... Cheers, Ryhno

Hey Everyone, Inspired by Hodgey's previous posts of this nature I thought i'd have a crack... With the forecasted winds it looks as though i'll be watching the footy on Saturday and having a few But weather permitting on Sunday might have a crack at some dollies at the FAD's if they are still around? or plan B try cowan for some bread and butter fishing... What's everyone else doing? Cheers, Ryan

That's a nice haul there Peter!! Wish i was out there today, the conditions look perfect! If it was me i'd be celebrating with a few by now... Good work, Ryan

G'day Raiders, I am going camping with a mate, his and my down in Ulladulla this weekend. Never been down that way before, and was wondering what the fishing is like? Is it similar to fishing in Sydney? And if anyone could point me and my mate in the right direction so hopefully we can get into some fish... Any input is appreciated. Cheers Guys, Ryan P.s. Any tips on hiding the fishing gear from the till we get down there is also welcome!!

Nice work mate, thats heaps good for a quick session... Can I ask which SP did the damage? Did you get the flattys toward the mouth or more upstream? You definately do your name proud Cheers Mate, Ryhno

Hey Mate, I'm not much to go by, but hit the usual spots... Generally West Head for bait, Pittwater for squid. Juno Point, East of Dangar Island is ok for flatty's. And as locodave said Jersalem Bay and Bobbin Head should be full of Bream and tailor... Anyways hope this helps, let us know how you go anyways. Cheers, Ryhno

Thanks Slinky, I'll have a look into these Sabiki jigs. Much appreciated. Ryhno

Hey Raiders, Was finding it a bit difficult to catch a decent amount of yakka's and slimey's over the weekend. Only ended up with 4 or so in about an hour... (must be doing something wrong) So i thought i'd ask you guys your opinions on what type of rigs, etc you use to catch liveys? What works for you? Cheers Guys, Ryhno

Congrats on the new PB mate. 44cm is an awesome breambo. Gotta be happy with that. Cheers, Ryhno

Good on ya for getting your mate onto a kingy! I'd be happy with 10 squid compared to the few i usually get... Cheers mate, Ryhno

G’day Fellow Raiders, Bit of a late report but better late than never… Prelude- Dad purchased a new toy and had just got it fitted on Friday, we were both aching to get out there and try the new Hummingbird 797c out. So the plan was to get to bed early on Friday and get out there early on Saturday. However it was a mate’s 21st Friday night, I tried to behave myself and get to bed early but never seems to be the case… anyways got to bed bout 11pm. Session – Woke up 4am with some “encouragement” from dad. Did a final check of the equipment and off we went. Picked up dad’s mate and his son about 5am from just in front of GoFish, G’day Pete! Down to the water and out by 6am. First stop west reef, lets see what’s biting... Sent a few squid and pillys down and after a short wait I’m on! Few head shakes and short runs, I was hoping it was a jewy, but after tangling lines and finally getting him to the surface… a wobbly. He was released to tangle another persons line another day. Nevermind re-rig and send a few more baits down, this time the wait was much longer but a few tailor were boated and released. We thought we’d try something different and moved on to F&S. Nothing, even the hummingbird was silent. Ok we thought lets sound out the Valiant Wreck and see if anything is down there… Unfortunately as we approached we realized there was a ProDive boat diving the wreck so scratch that. We ended up just heading out past Barrenjoey head and while everyone was being mesmerized by the awesome features of the Humminbird, I spotted a huge amount of birds chasing a school of fish. Saw a few boats 4 or 5 chasing the birds also. Might have been a few raiders looking at the last few posts… Quickly chased them down and thought I’d throw an SP into them and see what they were… First cast and I’m on… fought the fish for a few mins and geez those salmon can jump! Got him to the boat just before we netted him to find he had straightened the 2/0 hook, he took off to catch up with the school. F*ck! Now knowing they were salmon decided to change the plan and trawl some lures through the school and see if we could get some decent hook ups. Long story short we boated around 15 sambos, kept 6 for the families, and dropped around 3 or 4. All between 55 – 70 cms. Afterwards we thought we’d find a quiet bay to have some lunch and enjoy a few beers to celebrate our first ever sambos! After a few beers and lunch we had a quick try at Juno but didn’t get anything there but pickers so we headed for home. So to sum it up Great weather, Great fish (for me anyway), Great day on the water. What else are weekends for! Next Week it’s Kingy Hunting! Cheers Guys, Ryan Will Post pics in a few mins...