AT 88, Victoria Point’s Peter Bengtson doesn’t have many photos of himself holding fish, but he has a lifetime of stories that stretch across Moreton Bay.
For Mr Bengtson, fishing has never been about the photo.
It’s about the catch, the feed, and the memories – especially those shared with his grandson Rik.
“I don’t worry about photos,” he said.
“I’m more interested in catching them and eating them.”
Those memories date back to his childhood growing up in East Brisbane, heading out onto the Bay with his father.
“I grew up at East Brisbane and we’d put the boat in Doboy Creek and head out to Moreton Bay,” he said.
“We did a bit of amateur net fishing for whiting, mullet and flathead.”
His love of fishing quickly became a love of boats.
His first vessel – a 3.6-metre dinghy built in 1965 – was powered by an improvised Victa motor mower converted into an outboard.
Over the decades, he estimates he has owned at least 30 boats.
That passion turned into a working life on the water, skippering barges, including a 12-car vehicular ferry, and running a charter boat out of Victoria Point between 1974 and 1976.
But his time boating ended abruptly four years ago after a serious accident at Weinam Creek.
“My right foot got caught in the bow rail and I busted my femur,” he said.
“I was in the water a few hours before the Coast Guard could get me to the ramp.
“I put the boat back on the market and sold the bloody thing. And that was the end of it.
“I’ve got lots of metal in my leg, but now it’s as good as gold.”
While he no longer owns a boat, his connection to the water hasn’t faded.
Mr Bengtson still recalls time spent with family on Macleay Island and chasing whiting at Dalpura Beach on a rising tide.
His grandson Rik has carried on the tradition, landing a 39cm whiting and a 50cm mangrove jack off the island.
But for Mr Bengtson, one fish stands above the rest.
“I’m a snapper fisherman,” he said.
His favourite grounds include the Lazaret Gutter off the north side of Peel Island during a south-east blow, or near the Platypus wreck to the south when northerlies push through.
“They are top-feeding fish and always good eating,” he said.
“I always concentrate on snapper.
“You use big bait and big hooks and fair-sized gar, pilchards and whiting heads and backbones as bait on a four-gang hook.”
For him, fishing has always been more than a hobby.
It’s a way to unwind and reconnect.
“You catch snapper on dusk – first thing at 4am so you stay out all night,” he said.
“There’s nothing like wetting a line in the middle of the night.”
