IN 1952, Victoria Point local Kevin Lowe locked eyes with a 3.5m crocodile in Eprapah Creek – an encounter he still vividly recalls more than 70 years later.
Mr Lowe was fishing with his father at their favourite local spot when he spotted the crocodile staring directly at him.
“I ran down the bank to Dad and he told me there were no bloody crocs up here, but he was proven wrong when the croc was shot in the Logan River 12 months later,” Mr Lowe said.
“Dad may not have believed me at the time, but I know a croc when I see one.”
Now 82, Mr Lowe has a lifetime of fishing tales but says the crocodile sighting remains his favourite.
“We had a secret spot, but the best was the big hole in Eprapah Creek,” he said.
“I once saw a 10-foot shark there and I was pleased that day that I was fishing off the bank and not from our 12-foot dinghy.
“It didn’t stop us water-
skiing though, although I had to make sure I didn’t fall off.”
Another memorable moment came while fishing for jewfish at the same hole.
“I was fishing for jewfish in that hole and watched a 2.7kg jewfish jump clear of the water and land on the muddy ledge,” he said.
“It was amazing to watch and then with a flick of the tail, the fish went back into the water.”
Mr Lowe said the hole, which was about nine metres deep and located roughly 1.5km from the mouth of the creek, produced his biggest ever catch – an 18kg jewfish.
“I was just sitting there, and you could hear the fish coming towards us up the outside channel,” he said.
“So, I loaded the rod with whole gar and within 10 minutes he took it.
“The fish took me about 100 yards up the creek before getting onto the landing net.”
Fishing has been a lifelong passion for Mr Lowe, who was raised on a small crop farm at Pinklands.
He and his father regularly fished for snapper, jew, flathead, bream and mud crabs.
Mr Lowe said he got a carpenter’s apprenticeship at age 15 and built a Hartley design 4.4m plywood boat, which opened new fishing possibilities.
Today, he uses a 6m Haines Signature boat with a 175hp motor to head about 5km offshore in search of a different experience.
“We have lots of secret spots,” he said.
“But now my son looks after that, and I just go where he wants to go.
“My grandson also enjoys coming along and it’s nice for it to go to another generation.
“I’m just a hanger on who loves fishing.”
For Mr Lowe, the joy of fishing is about more than the catch.
“Frankly it doesn’t matter if you get a fish or not,” he said.
“Having said that, I can only remember one time when I came home with no fish.”
