A MAN was fighting for his life last night following a vicious shark attack at a popular netted beach in front of stunned swimmers.

Surfing at Redhead Beach, near Newcastle, tattoo artist Glen "Lennie" Folkard screamed for help and climbed back on his board after he was bitten on the thigh by what locals believe was either a baby great white or a bull shark.

With blood all around him, and fellow surfers coming to his aid, the shark continued to chase the 44-year-old as he paddled to safety.

Lifeguards dragged him from the shallows and he was rushed to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition. Late last night he was listed as stable after surgery.

Witness Peter said the scene was frighteningly reminiscent of the movie Jaws.

"My son actually said he saw the shark leap out of the water and grab a fish," he said.

"(The man's) skin was really grey, he obviously lost quite a lot of blood. It was kind of like Jaws, you know, the scene at the start ... where everybody's pulled out of the water and it's a hot day and the water's inviting."

There were about 500 people on the beach with scores in the water at the time.

Surfer Steve Tidey was about 15m from the victim when the shark attacked.

"There was a disturbance in the water and I looked back and saw him get back on the board, there were bits of his board floating in the water and blood was streaming out from behind him. I knew there had been a shark attack," Mr Tidey said.

"The damage to the board doesn't look all that bad, but skin is a lot different to a fibreglass surfboard. He was good all the way to shore and as soon as we hit the shore and rolled him off his board - that's when he started losing consciousness a bit.

"They got the Oxy-viva on him and then he was pretty lucid all the way into the shed. "They cut his wetty off and he wanted to have a look at his board, so I went and got it and held it up for him to have a look," Mr Tidey said.

"He was joking about how it was his favourite board."

Lifeguard Danny Napper said other surfers saw the shark follow the man to shore.

Even though it is known as a "netted" beach, lifeguards could not confirm if there would be nets in the water today, or if there were any in the water at the time of the attack. NSW Fisheries randomly remove and set the nets at various beaches in the area.

It is the first shark attack at a netted beach since February 2009 when a Bondi surfer lost his hand.

Since the NSW shark meshing program was put in place in 1937, there has only been one fatal attack on a meshed beach. That occurred at Newcastle's Merewether Beach, just a few kilometres north of Redhead Beach, in 1951.

The state government's "shark meshing program" started on Sydney's ocean beaches in 1937. It now covers 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong.

The nets do not stretch from one end of the beach to the other. Instead they are a series of short nets, set near the bottom.

The nets are 150m long by 6m deep and have a mesh size of 50 to 60 cm.

They are set in about 10 or 12m of water, within 500m of the shore.

Anyone have one?

See link: http://www.bcftv.com.au/public/default.aspx?id=y8SqfIOUfH4

any auto electricians onboard or anyone that knows about wiring car radios can you please pm me cheers

gidday all-decided a little while back to change my username "smash" to my own first name and initial. Picked that username in a hurry when registering over a year back. Not even sure why as I try not to smash things, cos it costs money!

Anyhow as I enjoy this forum quite alot (and get a bit out of it) I decided a bit more transparency was in order and hence the change.

Probably have ta watch the old p's and q's somewhat now but still there are a fair few others on here using their given names and its always seemed a little unfair to be disagreeing/debating with someone using their real name while posting under a "non-de-plume".

So-in a few days time (after I get back from the islands again :-) I'll delete this text, smash will commit cyber-suicide and there will be a new FW member!

cheers-Rob

PS-pic of Gun Island guano jetty

Going to Jurien Thursday and Friday Surface temps look the goods, has anybody been out to look for pelagics?

Guys, is there anyone that can help us out with installing a new split system. We have a new family member, 3 mnth old boy, our first child and his room is too hot to sleep in.
It would be a back to back setup with the cable run about 10m. I haven't got the unit yet but I will as soon as I can get someone to install it. It will be a small inverter probably Fujitsu.
If anyone can help please pm, my wife and little fella would be very happy!

Cheers
Jude

Hi Guys

Has anyone launched a 6m boat from  Cape Keraudan. I normall launch at Pardoo but the road from the homestead to Pardoo Creeks is still wet.

I've heard some horror stories about launching at  Cape Keraudan has anyone got any advise as I'm wanting to go this weekend. Launch on Friday and retrieve on Sunday?

 Ive got DBP up here  for 3 days fishing, want to show him a good "Pilbara Trip"

Cheers

CCC

hey everyone, i am new with dslr cameras and have a few questions, just bought a canon EOS 600d with two lens's and now have to decide on what case to get. i have been looking at the pelican 1300 hardcase, are you able to fit both the lens's in the case? is this case the best option? also where is the best place to purchase a case and filters?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

Posting this up for a friend of a friend . . . . . .

Monty is Lost. Our beloved pet dog, Monty has gone missing.
Somewhere between Ledge Point and Perth between 1.30 - 3pm 15th Jan,
he has jumped out of the back of our car.
Here is a current pic. He is two years old, very friendly and fit.
He is a Kelpie/Collie X, but looks a bit like a dingo.

He is microchipped and a red collar and a green Nedlands Council registration tag. We will do anything to get him back.
If you hear or see anything about him, could you please call Sam on 0412 252 243.

And can you pass this on to everyone you know who lives anywhere between here and Ledge Point.
Thank you very much. Sam

sorry about this non fishing related post!

i have a 100 series 4.7ltr petrol cruiser and i want to get a bit better fuel economy out of it!

i was looking at putting the whole kit on extractors and 3 inch stainless but i have been quoted around the 3 g mark

i also got a quote for a cat back system so from the cat all in stainless 3 inch at 1050

has anybody done any of these conversions and would you be able to pass on any info???

or do you no a good place to get it done?

cheers jeff

We have a few spaces left on one of our 6 day live aboard trips to the Montebello Islands,  departing Sunday 18 March, if anyone is inteested email us on MahiMahi1@bigpond.com for more details

Hi guys, any gas fitters out there who want a quick job - need a couple of burners installed at home - live in Carine. Please PM me if you are insterested

Hey guys headed off to Jurien for the weekend with another mate and his boat as well. Conditions were absalutely awesome! Only down side was fishing was very slow on sunday as we could not get a drift happening...that was 30km offshore. All in all though both boats bagged out on dhuies and baldies with yours truly boating a 15kg on saturday and 11kg on sunday. Plenty of fillets for the 4 of us after an awesome weekends fishing

WTF. Even for a short time they want to call it "Australia". What happens when a US gaint like CRAFT takes over our Brands.

http://www.news.com.au/business/vegemite-changes-its-name-to-australia/story-e6frfm1i-1226237296078

I was just checking one off my reels when I remembered who sold it to me. Its was Skinny, aka the late Ian Smith, and it made me remember all the sad things we hear about on here.

I just thought that in memory of all our friends and partners of friends on here (Colin Hay you come to mind) we remember them. I also remeber dearly the English chap with such a passion who drowned at Ningaloo. Also Deckie I never heard what happened to your mate.

Just nostalgic and thinking about those that have had some challenges and loss.

neels

Just got back from Rotto with the boys from Whitfords and Fremantle Sea Rescue.

Absolutely a great day, can recommend it to anyone who has not done it before and is new to the area. The sea rescue boys were very informative and also gave us a flare demonstration at the Army Jetty. We even had one unsuspecting boatie come up and wanted to give the Sea Rescue boat a hand because he set off one of the flares as part of the demonstration.

The boat proved to be excellent and handled the wakes of the convoy boats with ease. Very pleased with its performance.

The weather as you all know was absolutely fantastic and the waters around Rotto were totally pristine.

All in all, a fantastic day.

 hey guys wheres a cheap place to stay in jurien just want a roughy to have a shower and kip for one night before i drive home after a charter

Just a quick one to see if anyone has seen the new range of boats from Formosa. Its called the Searod and the 580 centrecab looks damn sexy, cant wait till they're in Perth so i can go and have a look

Just heard north west coastal has been re-opened good news

And about bloody time too. From one end of Bunbury to the other when going Busso to the city it's now 9 sets of lights and if your are really unlucky, you get the train crossing too. This was adding anything up to 30 minutes to my journey each time but now Main Roads have announced a plan to build a highway righ around the outside of Bunbury, click on the link to see the mud map. It's not that I have anything against Bunbury, but it was getting a little bit frustrating getting through.

Cheers

Dale

http://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/AboutMainRoads/OurRoleRegions/SouthWest/projects/Pages/BORR.aspx

http://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/_layouts/getAsset.aspx?URI=3478835&REV=1&RCN=D11#297783

mate is taken off tomorrow for a weekend in exmouth just wondering what the roads like. i know theres a fire down near canarvon just wondering if burkett is still excessible also herd bit of water round nanutarra? anyone taken the road this week?

any info would be nice

Hi to everyone

This is my first post as a newbie to boating and fishing as well as the forum. My mission is to enjoy boating catch a few fish I can eat and have the family enjoy it as much as I am.

Enough rambling on.

I have a 32 ft cruiser moored at Hillarys and would love to bring it down to the River for Australia Day or other weekends for that matter, enjoy the day and then stay overnight before heading back to Hillarys the next morning. (There is no way on this earth I am navigating back through the river and back to Hillarys at night time).

Questions:

Can you anchor in the River overnight? (I must admit to thinking this is not the best option losing sleep worrying about dragging)

The public moorings state that they can only be used for 4 hours max, I guess this is policed  and they would be taken pretty early?

Does anybody have any ideas as to how it can be done.

I appreciate any advice on offer.

Thanks

Evan

Looking for some rod options for a trip to the coral sea later in the year

Must be able to handle 50lb braid pushed to the limit, but be light and easy to use for long sessions.

reel will be either a daiwa 4500-5000 or shimano 6000-8000

Not looking for a heavy popping rod, it will be used to cast 7' plastics, smaller poppers and metal slices around lagoons as well as smaller to medium sized pelagics

budget - $200-$500

cheers

Hi all.

I have been a very lucky boy this festive season. So far i have been feasting on Dhu thanks to Brendan, crabs in Mandurah, Hapuka-Bass Groper-Blue eye Trevella thanks to Harro, Exmouth prawns, local crayfish, fresh South West Marron, King George and flathead. The blue Eye has taken the first prize so far (just). It has been a culinary delight.

Looking forward to some more ocean delights. 

We are spoilt.

Dave 

G'day all, am new to posting but have been surfing the site for a while. I am trying to lure the wife into boating and would like to start with a nice trip up the swan. Has anyone cruised that direction maybe up to the wineries or any other places of interest and if so what would be the best ramp to stay in the smooth stuff?

Cheers in advance

Shot out for a quick dive late morning today and bagged out on half a tank. These were the pick of the bunch getting ready for the pot yummy!

 Hi guys I was wondering if anyone could help me  looking at buying a 4x4 for around the 25k mark I have been looking at the colorados few questions how do they go off road and is there anything else anyone recommends or is selling ( diesel ) 

Cheers guys 

Hi all, hope everyone has been enjoying a fine festive break.

I have 4 XTSH260litre marble boxes i would like to clear out of the warehouse.

Dimensions:

L: 1675, W: 590, H: 535

Lid thickness is 62mm

Wall thickness is 40mm

Weight is 32kg

This box is the largest in our range. They have been popular with the spearos and large boat owners looking. It is a well designed box that does not have too much height and is the perfect seat/bench option

To have a look at one of these or any other box in our range simply PM or call Dave on 0403978583 to make a time.

The warehouse is situated in MT Lawley.

To give you an idea of the internal space available, we fit a XT100litre mack box inside the 260 for shipping.

Normally the XTSH costs $480.00

Clearout price is $380.00 saving you $100.00

*Free delivery in the metro area*

Enjoy the summer months, get out there and get into some fish.

Regards

Dave Allen

hey fellas,

i'm lookin at getting my new hilux chipped (3L turbo diesel). i just had a quick look at the chipit site, with exhaust gas temp sensor, totaling $1400. apparantly, the difference in performance is pretty substantial. better power, fuel efficiency, etc.

anyone got one (or equivelent), any good or bad experiences, performance differences, etc?

can anyone reccomend any other brands or places to go?

cheers,

scotto.

 well no body ever says thanks for help and advice or great service anymore when dealing with people like the Rangers.

Over last week, we had a problem with our mooring and also an issue with a discrepancy on our Rottnest permit. 

Senior Ranger Dave and his staff were very helpful, understanding and went 100% beyond their call of duty.

Same goes for Dalphene at the Rottnest Visitors center that moved us over to a pen on the refuelling jetty at no cost and great service.

So we're saying thanks and giving a  to the Rottnest Rangers and Visitors Center staff.

Tony