Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Jim_Tait on November 01, 2011, 03:49:57 PM
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Dad's been digitising some of his old black and white prints from my childhood days in PNG (1966-1979) - and they include some of fishing adventures we had - most of these Jungle Perch photos come from an exploration trip we did with a dear friend Ian Rolls (died from flying his plane into a hill) near Wasu on the north coast we started going up an estuary looking for black bass (after going across miles of open sea in a 12 foot leaking bond wood boat with a 9 horse merc on the back) – we got so far upo the estuary and found this beautiful freshwater limestone catchment creek coming into it – casting lures at it got us followed by XOS jungle perch – so we went exploring up it on foot and followed it into the hills – pool-waterfall – riffle-run –pool until we came to a big cave where the creek came out the side of a mountain – amazing place !!
Other photos include Jungle Perch dad caught in New Ireland and Black Bass fishing in a dug out canoe with out rigger.
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Couple more pics
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Some good memories there Jim :)
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Some classic pics there mate. Would love to toss a lure into some of those truly wild places. Bet it was the experience of a lifetime.
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Great images there Jim I wonder what the place is like now - probably just the same unless the mining giants have got in there. Thanks for sharing .PAT
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I can tell you that on New Britain, that last picture wouldn't change today. That looks just like the Langalanga.
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Great to have those memories Jim, they will stay with you forever, just the ones you give Your kids. Love those out of the way spots. I flew in a lot of mustering choppers when I was working up north, there are creeks and rivers that never see a motor car still up there.
JD
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Here's a old guiding shot from the gulf.
We were mother shipping in the Aramia at the time.
On another trip I caught a 6lb JP...must have been 20 years old.
Unfortunately it wasn't a time for stills, we were filming a commercial
for an American company and the whips were cracking.
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Love the quad-factor Harro, you know your in amazing country when you can pull four different species of great sportfish from the same water !! I've also seen some JPs in PNG that I reckon would of gone close to double figure (~10lb) in the old scale - but even in totally unfished waters those big ol hen fish have natural precautionary tendencies.
John, I've also spent a bit of time in choppers and light planes in the Gulf and PNG and yeah there is something to be said for throwing a lure into water where your pretty sure its never happened before...!
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You're right Jim, a few of the pilots I flew with had a rod and tackle box on board. Of course those were the days of 5ft 6in baitcasters. Don't know how you'd go cramming some of the longer rods in today. I've seen the odd chopper return back home a little late, but with a barra hanging off the skids.
John
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Don't want to hi jack your post Jim, but this JP was taken in the upper reaches of the Kulu last year. It's a savage thing, looks like it's going for Chis' throat. We also got a couple in the Langalanga and I've seen them in the Pandi and Sai. Beautiful fish.
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I remember looking at your pictures with some jealousy Dale, our PNG wantoks taught us to wrap JPs in two layers of banans leaf tied with vines and sat on top of a coals fire, once the outside layer of leaf was scorched off - you'd pull em out and have a most beautiful feed of moist white flesh (we always carried salt in our tackle bags for the occassion) the local don't call them gris pis (gease fish) for nothing - they go like butter when cooked properly (sacriliges to even think about in most places in Qld ::)) !
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I remember looking at your pictures with some jealousy Dale, our PNG wantoks taught us to wrap JPs in two layers of banans leaf tied with vines and sat on top of a coals fire, once the outside layer of leaf was scorched off - you'd pull em out and have a most beautiful feed of moist white flesh (we always carried salt in our tackle bags for the occassion) the local don't call them gris pis (gease fish) for nothing - they go like butter when cooked properly (sacriliges to even think about in most places in Qld ::)) !
What happens in PNG, stays in PNG Jim. ;)
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You would be amazed at how often peoplle up this way talk about eating JP's. The kill it, fillet and grill club is alive and well up this way :-[
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The legal bag limit of one fish a day is not too drastic if taken from a large river/population - not all JP populations are in dire straights (unlike SE Qld and developed areas) - must admit I've done a few bush hikes in the hills that have finished with one sizzling in the coals - don't know abot filleting them tho...too small and too much waste - plus the sweetest meat is sucked of the bones ;)
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Unfortunately those who eat them are not refering to single fish. It is not at all diffucult to get cricket score catches of these things annd it is what happens. Bag limits mean nothing on private farmland.
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Yeah hear your concerns Brett, those sort of mob will never learn unless their local population crashes - and then they are often the last to make the connection with their cricket score catches - I've heard it before 'we used to catch biggest mobs of XXXX, filled ya eskys in no time, don't know what happened now, must be all the..... insert (farm pollution, asians, pro fishers) etc..." :P
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They really are amazing pictures Jim. Some spectacular memories there. My family spent three years in PNG in the 70s after my Grandad was posted to Moresby. Was able to see a slide show of the pictures that they took of their time in PNG. Was a humbling experience just looking at the pictures! Even got to see pictures of my old man playing Rugby League for PNG against Australia as a schoolboy :thumbsup...he was born in Brisbane haha. Was awsome to check out anyway.
Thanks for sharing mate,
Sam