Fishing rod pulled into the ocean by game fish off Bermagui 40 years ago returns to owner

Australia Broadcast Center

29-04-2025

Labelling your expensive belongings can prove to be a fruitful decision, even 40 years on.
Victorian game fisherman Bob Ellis can vouch for this lesson.
His long-lost game fishing rod was dredged up last week by crew members of local trawler Imlay after spending four decades on the ocean floor offshore from Bermagui on the NSW far south coast.
Luckily, the old fishing rod was clearly marked with Mr Ellis's name.
Skipper Andrew Wintle found the owner of the rod because Bob Ellis's name is still clearly marked.
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ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams
)
The GM custom-made 15-kilogram line class rod had lain dormant on the sea floor for decades until an off-chance moment when the Imlay's net swept it up, returning it to land as memorabilia of a bygone era.
"It's going to go in my trophy room," said Mr Ellis, a Melbourne resident and still keen fisher decades on.
The moment it went south
Mr Ellis remembers losing the rod as if it were yesterday.
He was out on a fishing adventure with friends, including Richard Turossi, who on the same trip set the junior record for the largest yellowfin tuna in the 10kg line class, which still stands today.
Bob Ellis with a yellowfin tuna catch while holding the rod before it went missing in 1980s.
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Supplied: Bob Ellis
)
"There was three of us on the boat and we'd all hooked up on a fish," Mr Ellis said.
While turning his back to hook a fish for a friend, his precious rod took off from its secure holder.
"I remember watching it skip across the surface,"
the keen fisho said.
"That was the end of the rod."
The day it disappeared to the ocean was either April 6 or 7, 1985, according to Mr Ellis, who was skippering the Warringa the day the rod went missing.
The rod was found close to the same date 40 years later, on April 17.
Some parts of the rod have completely deteriorated but overall it's remained in relatively good condition.
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ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams
)
Losing the rod was a financial setback at the time.
"Back then … we were battlers," Mr Ellis said.
"We'd buy a rod or a reel and we wouldn't tell our wives we bought them because it cost too much money."

The rod returns
All kinds of bizarre items appear in trawler nets, including whole boats or even light planes, according to Imlay skipper Andrew Wintle.
Andrew Wintle has been fishing the far south coast since he was a kid.
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ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams
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But this catch was different. Mr Wintle took a closer look to find Mr Ellis's name clearly marked on the rod.
"We were just hauling in the net as usual and the boys pulled out an old fishing rod," Mr Wintle said.
"I was just surprised that it had a name on it and Victoria Game Fishing Club.
"
Victorian families have holidayed in Bermagui for generations and it was just a curiosity thing that maybe someone out there would claim it.
"
The Imlay's net which pulled up the old rod.
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ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams
)
The skipper put the word out to some mates in game fishing circles, who then posted it online.
Serendipitously, Bob Ellis's son and his family, who also live in Melbourne, happened to be holidaying in Bermagui at the time the rod was recovered.
Trent Ellis and son Finn were able to collect the rod personally from skipper Andrew Wintle at the Bermagui wharf.
"It's like finding a needle in a haystack,"
a thrilled Trent Ellis said.
Trent Ellis and his sons Finn and Willow holding the piece of family history.
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ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams
)
Bermagui has been the Ellis family's holiday destination for more than 50 years.
"Fishing is a big part of our family and Bermagui is a real special place to us. We just love this place," Trent said.
"It's just another awesome memory to have in Bermagui."
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