Gold Coast flood: Concerns over whereabouts of Carbrook Golf Course bull sharks

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of several bull sharks that typically reside in waters at a golf course, after the business was inundated by floodwaters earlier this week.

CARBROOK Golf Course enjoys the reputation as having the most dangerous water course in the world due to bull sharks in its lake. What now with the floods?

Your columnist first wrote about the lake at the course off Beenleigh-Redland Bay Road, just north of the Coast, decades ago when some of its 1000 members saw fins.

At first it was thought they were Gold Coasters spending too much time at the 19th hole.

General manager Scott Wagstaff later began feeding the bull sharks, and a photograph he took in 2011 shows a monster about seven-feet long.

“There were at least half-a-dozen bull sharks at one point,” he told your columnist.

“I used to feed them a bit. There was one that died that was at least eight feet. There’s a lot of fish there (for them).”

The sharks may have entered from previous floods. The course and its lake neighbours the junction of the Albert and Logan rivers.

But it was more likely small bull sharks entered from the river through a pipe that links to the lake, and as they got fatter could not escape.

What now with the floodwaters and lake becoming part of the river system?

“On this occasion this is the worst we’ve ever seen. The extra water can exit the lake,” Mr Wagstaff said.

“They may have (escaped). There may have been an exchange, the big ones have gone, the little ones have come in. We won’t really know for years.”

On the weekend, staff hope to get access to the clubhouse for a clean-up before everyone returns to the greens. What if a ball is then hit into the water?

To paraphrase fisherman Quint from Jaws: “You go in with your nine iron, you go into the water. Shark’s in the water, our shark.” Can anyone hear “duunn, dunnn, duuuunnn!”

‘Stay out’: Shark flood warning after boy’s big catch

March 2: Those in flood affected areas are being warned to stay away from beaches, rivers and creeks as murky water intensifies shark activity across the southeast Queensland and northern NSW.

Bond University shark expert Daryl McPhee said bull sharks in particular were “highly efficient” at feeding in muddy brown water.

“After this rain you would expect to see more activity around river and creek mouths and beaches,” Dr McPhee said.

“(The sharks) would have moved with The Freshwater inflows, as has their prey, such as mullet.”

He had this warning for swimmers and surfers: “stay out of the water until conditions clear”.

One local fisherman who has taken advantage of the shark frenzy is 10-year-old Jack Green, who reeled in a shark bigger than him just before the flooding emergency.

The mini angler has been regularly catching sharks with his dad Andrew from the jetty of their Mermaid Beach home.

“There’s still heaps out there. We’ve been catching a fair few the last couple of months,” the proud dad said.

Footage of Jack hauling in the prize catch like a pro has received hundreds of views after being shared on Facebook.

The little tacker has already got sponsorship deals and a growing following on his Instagram page @im – the – fisher – man.

“I was so excited,” the 10-year-old said of his monster catch.

How to stay shark safe:

– Avoid swimming at dawn or dusk

– Avoid murky water and don’t swim in harbours, canals, estuaries and river mouths, especially after heavy rainfall

– If it looks fishy, it could be sharky. Leave the water if you see schools of bait fish or diving birds

– Swim and surf between the flags where lifesavers can look out for you

– If there’s no patrolled beach, follow local signage and guidelines

– Surf or swim with a buddy

Tips from Queensland Government

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