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I am quite new to the Gold Cost so don't know the rules too well.
I need your advice on this matter.
A couple of months ago I was caught on a fishing line that was towed by a motorboat on Shearwater, Gold Coast. Being a windy and busy day there were quite a lot kites and windsurfers around. I passed about 10 -20 meters behind the boat at a good planing speed, too late to see two fishing rods and thin lines towed by the running boat a meter above the water. I hit their line with my mast at boom height and jumped into water. Too late since two big hooks managed to catch and puncture my wetsuit. Luckily the boat stopped and it took me a good 5 min to rip the hooks off my suit and free myself.
Since I didn't hear any excuses from the fishing men I assumed that it must have been my fault to get caught on the hooks.
Consequently I now know that passing behind a speeding boat can be as dangerous as passing infront. The accident happened on a very obvious kite & windsurfer Shearwater spot, with at least 20 sailors on the water at the time. Have you been caught already?
So my question is: If besides common sense, is there any regulation regarding fishing from running boats in places like beaches and obvious busy water sports areas?
These days I don't wear a neoprene wet suit, so the huge hooks could easily get caught into bare skin thus causing a very dangerous and painful situation.
I don't know if there are rules, but even if there were, the boaties would need to know them too, and care.
I'm just very aware of the risk of getting jagged by fishing gear, both hanging off the back of boats, and also along river banks.
The tide will drag the line and gear around, and the people fishing often have no clue where their gear is.
JUst keep doing what you are doing, and watch out for trolling boats.
The charter boats give you the best ramps at Shearwater anyway.
Had to sail back to the beach with that thing hanging out of my arm slap slap over each wave. I knew there was no way I was going to get it out without tools, so packed up and drove past my work shop to pick up the pliers and stanley knife. Got home and my girlfriend cut the hook off and tried pulling it through as the point was just coming out through the skin and there was no way it was coming out the way it went in . It's amazing how tough the skin is.
She got the stanley knife and cut the skin down to the barb and out it came.
I am sure that if if your accident, "brad1" happened in US and you sue fishermen for proper treatment, suffering and damages, you will end up swapping your board on his yacht in compensation.
Anyway I have an idea.
In the time that kite surfing is getting more popular and windsurfing is in decline we should state " windsurfers" as en dangerous species and took steps to protect them from total extinction by making fishing them illegal.
A couple of years ago similar happened to me and chairman at the train the boat came back and knocked us off our boards and whipped use with their fishing rods, you can imagine not a lot you can do when your in the water, when we reported the boat the registration didnt exist. Also fisher men on sandbacks or the beach can get annoyed with you if you get too close, not to metion all the stupid places they leave crab pots, the list goes on. I would say stay 50mtrs from the boat if you can resisit the wake hopping that attracts us all
i bet there are some fishermen in pubs somewhere telling the story "the day we caught a windurfer" better than Marlin!
Brad,
I hereby nickname you Marlin from now on 
BTW - what did the fishermen say about you stealing their lure?
Couple of years ago i was blasting along the broadwater Sandbank channel (near seaworld)where everyone gets a good flatwater run. A boat (3 meter tinnie with 4 hp on the back) pulls up on the sandbank and 3 blokes started casting rods across the channel in front of windsurfing and kitesurfing folk
I told them they might want to move before they get an ear full of abuse but by then they snagged a fellow windsurfer as i was leaving. It got a bit ugly after it but the the boat was seen leaving a few minutes later!
It seems to be common practise for fishermen to throw the line in the best winsdurfing spots. I did obesrved the same and same picture on speed windsurfing Mecca at Sandy Point. At 45 knotts winds a group fishing mens of the bank it made quite difficult to navigate to avoid lines and hooks. Then on Ricketts Point family snorkeling under water in the narrow mouth and only entry conecting bay with open water, one the most popular Melboure spot. If somebody say that windsuring is risky sport I strongly agree. I can only compare this with calling night parachuting festival on the Guy Fawkes fireworks celebratrion. Shold we publish some pictures of the dammiest fishing behaviour.
