Port Hedland guys - Leslie Salt Lakes
So about 20 years ago I spent 4 years growing up in South Hedland as the ol man was in the police force and posted up there. I was there from year 4 to 7, then back to perth for high school.
Anywho, a bit of background for those who don't know, one of Hedlands main businesses is the Leslie Slat mines where they mine the salt. Can't remember how far north of hedland it is, but there'e a creek that comes in and what happens is there are a couple of massive (talkin like 6 foot diameter) pipes running from the creek into a big "pond" just on the back of the creek. Up top on the edge of the creek bank are a couple huge caterpillar diesel engines, hooked to pumps that pump water from the creek and into this first big pond. Well joining that pond is another huge pond, again with 6 foot diameter pipes joining and cat diesel pumps up top that pumps water into the second pond. And you guessed it another pond, and another, and so on. This is all on provate property of Leslie salt and goes for miles. I'd love to know the size but if you are out there, its as far as you can see in any direction, and these ponds get bigger and bigger with each one. The first few ponds are probably the size of an olympic swimming pool i guess, not sure how deep. Now the kicker is, fish get sucked from the creek through the pipes and into the massive ponds, the pumps turn off and they cant get back into the creek, they're trapped, destined to live happily and breed in their own happy little pond :-) As the ponds get bigger and bigger, the underwater ground structure changes too. The first few are made of huge boulders similar like at a marina wall, some other ones have nice red muddy banks leading into the water, and others have shallow flats etc. So what ends up happeneing is different type of fish end up being more proliffic in different ponds.
Well back then, not sure if it still happens today, but if you worked for leslie salt and had a bit of pull with senior management you could get a key to the gate for the "salt lakes" and go out there for a days fishing. They also had the same deal for the police of Port and South Hedland, lucky for me :-) So on countless weekends we would head up there with friends for a days fishing and it was just nuts!! We'd fish some ponds and catch metre long flathead, I'd set the crab nets out and get huge muddies, there used to be tonnes of "wolf herring" about a metre long that you would see swimming along the surface of the water. One of the larger, flatter ponds was great for huge queenies and trevally. Also on most of the ponds you would find that in the huge 6 foot pipes that joined the two ponds, huge cod's would take up residence inside them, so you would stand on the bank and dangle a line striaght over the edge of the pipe and wait patiently until old mister cod decided he just better have your crusty old Mulie :-) It seriously was nuts!
It used to be wild being out there when the pumps were on and you would see thousands of litres of water just being pumped into the ponds per second, creating massive waves and disturbance in the target pond. The wolf herring used to go nuts in the wash picking up the bait fish, almost like a feeding frenzy with the tails and fins breaking the surface.
I would love to go back there for a days fishing now. Back then it was a cruddy ol rod and a set of gangs with a mulie, that was it. Now it would be all sorts of lures, poppers, soft plastics, it would be wild! I used to have a throw net and clean up using it out there. I'd get one cast then spend the next 45 minutes picking out huge flathead, mullet and bream.
Unfortunately digital cameras weren't around so i dont have any digital pics to show, but do have some hardcopy photos somewhere. I'll see if I can dig em out over the weekend and scan em.
So yeah, Hedland guys, ever been out there? :-)
just dhu it
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 14/05/09
great read
very interesting read tall paul, yep if you got the bosses keys and clued up with whats going on its all good , its amazing whats going on behind the scenes and fish getting caught up in areas that now one else would think about, one of my apprentices a few years ago had a diving job with a company that cleaned out the water intakes etc with power stations and he had spent quite abit of time recently cleaning the water intake pipe that supplys the Dampier power station, incredilbe huge coral trout and coranation cod , rankins and other residents took up residence in the intake lines and took offence to them being there, which they cleaned out over a few weeks and had the odd spear gun shot for dinner .
PilbaraBrad
Posts: 3628
Date Joined: 16/05/07
it is the same in dampier
not like that these days mate, couple of people being prosocuted at the moment for tresspassing on a mine site. Cameras are being installed in the new year. Not really worth the risk
poddyfish
Posts: 986
Date Joined: 01/05/07
mind blowing!
yeh had a couple of sessions in there when the barras wrnt biting out in the ridley itself... mind you caught plenty of barra in the ponds themselve too... some unreal fish in there! its a shame its illegal to fish there lol.... ive seen cod that looked 50kg+ no worries at all.... the giant herring a total blast always.. unreal when they turn the pumps on too the intake of water phenominal ya wouldnt wanna fall in... not sure what the fish would taste like i always caught and released the lot.... had a couple of memorable sesh there thats for sure... barra jacks cod G-herring everything... mate got got a 16kg threadie one morning stripped his abu like a spaniard would have... makes me wanna head back up ha
Fear The Spear............!
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18108
Date Joined: 11/03/08
sounds like a fun place to
sounds like a fun place to be, all c and r a def
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
fishintruckie
Posts: 198
Date Joined: 22/07/08
And now it's owned by
And now it's owned by Dampier Salt which is Rio Tinto so good luck getting in there for a fish! You can get to the feeder creek by going out past the speedway and the fishing can be really good in that creek!
GusG
Posts: 547
Date Joined: 07/04/08
I was working up there for a
I was working up there for a while and the boys were telling me about the ponds and hte feeder lines. Sounds amazing but nowadays, unless you are the CEo fo Rio Tinto I dont like your chances of getting in there. Unless of course you do a night mission with a pair of bolt cutters...........
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
Pond Zero?
Pond Zero?
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
Alan James
Posts: 2245
Date Joined: 30/06/09
Pond Zero
"Pond zero" was the name given to the pond where these fish became landlocked in. Don't know the history as to why it was named pond zero but I can remember it in the early 1980s. I am sure there are others out there with with more knowledge / history of pond zero than I.
jay_burgess
Posts: 4648
Date Joined: 18/08/05
haha yeah heard quite a few
haha yeah heard quite a few legendary stories from a few Dampier old timers bout pond zero.
Alan James
Posts: 2245
Date Joined: 30/06/09
Easy on the old timers
Easy on the old timers Jay.
wopjrb
Posts: 1407
Date Joined: 05/03/09
mmmmmmm
maybe track down the bloke who runs it and buy im a beer at the pub - spike the beer with happy pills and get him to let ya borrow the keys
Tall Paul
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 06/09/09
yeah not sure about at
yeah not sure about at dampier but at the hedland leslie salt lakes, each pond had a number, the first being pond zero, the next one POND ONE, and so on. Like I said, each one was good for certain types of fish so we'd say "ok lets go to pond X for some threadfin, go grab a couple of muddies from Y then head over to Z and get a couple queenies and some cod"....yeah, really sucked growing up there :-)
Aussie Boofhead
Posts: 88
Date Joined: 23/03/09
I want in on this...!!!
I want in on this...!!!
PilbaraBrad
Posts: 3628
Date Joined: 16/05/07
i work there, no longer
i work there, no longer leslie salt. Since then it has been cargil, now riotinto own it and have done for the last 8 years or so. A lot different these days! like everything i suppose, prosocution for those caught and large fines.
Richard Snellin
Posts: 56
Date Joined: 12/03/10
Fished there myself a few
Fished there myself a few years ago and it was known as "Jurassic Ponds" by the crew i used to fish there with because of the size of the fish in there. I do have some photo's laying around of the place and will endeavour to scan them and post some up, we would literally hit GT's on the head with our poppers they were so thick in the water and the long tom would be nearly 6ft long! We saw lots of cod but never had gear big enought to try and hook em.
Richo
Richard Snellin
Posts: 56
Date Joined: 12/03/10
tried to upload a couple but can't seem to work it out i'm a bit IT illiterate
Aussie Boofhead
Posts: 88
Date Joined: 23/03/09
any one have any luck with
any one have any luck with photos??
solly
Posts: 375
Date Joined: 11/09/05
Dad was superintendent there
I too grew up on the intakes as well,this was the days of freedom and no population in the Pilbara. We use to go mud crabbing in the canels and prawning in the ponds as well as fishing the wall at the intakes.It was over 30 years ago and I will never forget it but as Pilbara Brad says its now off limits and it does not matter who you are its a non fishing zone.There is still seaward access to ridley and tabba tabba creeks and these still produce good fish but the business has grown and the creeks are smaller than they use to be.Dont try and climb the walls and you will be on camera.
There are two types of people ,do'ers and watchers
Right now the do'ers are the doing it
And the watchers are watching us do it
petervb
Posts: 447
Date Joined: 18/12/09
can still get in the back way
can still get in the back way if you know your way round... or beach launch a tinny and fish the creeks that feed it. good barra there, but don't get caught.
dodgy
Posts: 4587
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Feeder creeks are fine. Just
Feeder creeks are fine. Just dont try and climb the walls to fish the ponds.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?