I was doing a down winder from CB to Brighton yesterday and passed some fishermen at the pipe, but didn’t fall off or go too close in because of them.

About 50m downwind of them, I felt a yank on my arm and I was snagged on my elbow by a fish hook on a line. I left my board and body dragged in like a hooked fish. Luckily the hook hadn’t gone up to the barb as it poked the elbow bone, so I got it out my arm but had to rip it out the suit. When I got to the beach there was also a different size one with a sinker attached round my foot, which I also had to tear out of my suit.

The worst is, I don’t know where they came from – whether they were from a fisherman casting at me or whether they were from a lost line floating in the water – if it was from a lost line, how did it get to my elbow when I never fell off?

Can anyone doing a down winder at the time throw any light on this, although I am not sure I should ask, as I probably did something stupid?

Ive been hooked by a fisherman at Currumbin Alley kiting and also surfing next to the Sand pump Jetty at the spit. Fkrs

Not sure if it's overkill but I know Military Helicopters (ie the UH-1 Iriquois) have special hooks just above the cockpit to sever any powerlines they may fly under, so they don't take out the rotor assembly. You may be able to mount a couple of hook knives on the front of you board, that way if you happen to kite through the lines, it slices them away and the fisherman is none the wiser ;-)

You could also carry a hook knife on your harness to get rid of the line on your person also.