Here are 4 excellent videos that come from the leading experts that are involved with research on the potential introduction of the carp herpesvirus in Australia. Be informed and have your say.
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Giant Winter Cod
First of all, ‘I take my hat off’ to anyone who has dragged themselves out of a nice warm bed at some ridiculously early hour to go fishing. I congratulate you because I too feel your pain. When you are addicted to fishing it’s not as though we have a choice right? Surely you can see the bind we are in? In my case my addiction to the big green fish (Murray Cod) had me drive several hundred kilometers to a place where, like on The Game of Thrones- “WINTER IS COMING.”
The cod tend to be most active at the bookends of the day so 4am to 7am and again at 4pm to 7pm tend to be the best bite times. Awaking to a 4am alarm when temperatures are minus 4 degrees celsius and dragging oneself out of bed is no easy feat. Speaking of feet, if you happen to have left your shoes outside the tent they should be nicely frozen solid along with the car, the boat and and all your tackle (hopefully not the wedding tackle). Once in the boat and on the water as you are speeding into the black abyss your ears will soon match your frozen shoes.
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- Frozen sounder
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- Frozen gumboots
But the challenge has only just begun. In the pitch blackness and the sub zero temperatures you soon discover that cod fishing is ‘a game of one thousand casts.’ This basically means that perhaps every thousand casts you might expect to catch a fish. After many years cod fishing, I think that estimate is sometimes a little ambitious. But cast our lines out into the abyss we do. We cast and cast and cast and cast………..and with each retrieve we envisage a huge fish attacking our offering. Perhaps more often than not we go back to our tents empty handed. “Did you catch anything?” they ask. “Nope” you bluntly reply, “I think the barometer is too low” or “it’s the wrong moon phase.”
Later that day and then again the next morning you head out into the cold determined to catch the big one. You can’t give up now, you have driven too far, spent way too much time, money and planning this trip to simply stay in a warm bed. In fact the more time you spend chasing the fish, the more determined you become. It is an obsession now, you are thinking about it every minute of the day. Everyone else you speak to in the camp ground has caught fish. “So and so got a metery last night…… and two the day before. ” Their words are like poison to your ears.
108cm Copeton Cod
The next night you are sitting out there in the dark. You are retrieving what has been ‘the last cast’ (for the past 27 casts) and you are dreading heading back to camp where you will hear those spiteful words “did you catch anything,” when KERSPLASAAAAAASH!!!! the water explodes around the lure right in front of you and a massive piscatorial beast inhales your lure and heads for home. A small tight lipped “yep” is all that escapes your mouth as you struggle to perform a reality check on what just happened. After a few dogged runs the fish surfaces near the boat and you swiftly swim it to the net. As you try to lift the fish into the boat you realize the enormity of it’s bulk and prey the net doesn’t break before you boat the fish.
Once on the deck you gaze in utter amazement at the size and beauty of this mottled green thing. Lifting and holding a 25kg plus fish for a photo is not easy, but it is the happiest moment you have felt since the birth of you own children. All the effort has now paid off. All the time and money spent, all the blood sweat and tears, the 4am starts, the frozen shoes and testicles have all been worth it in the end. Now you can finally go back to camp with your head held high. This time you eagerly await those wonderful words “Did you catch anything?”
Later that night as you lay there in your bed with a huge feeling of satisfaction and a smile on your dial as you drift off to sleep, a small part of you knows that tomorrows another day and the addiction starts all over again.
Easter 2016 Fly Fishing at Clarrie Hall Dam
Have you noticed that bass seem to like low light conditions? Whether your fishing in the shade under a tree, at dawn or dusk or on overcast days, the bass appear to be more active in these situations. My theory is that predators such as birds of prey can see a fish better on a bright sunny day, because the light penetrates deep into the water column. But low light condition appear to give bass the extra confidence to move closer to the surface to feed. Perhaps evolution has played its hand here and any sun bathing fish have been quickly dispatched from history. The wiser more cautious bass have lived to pass on their genes to the bass we see today.
With a thick coverage of clouds my fly of choice was always going to be a surface fly. Twitched in amongst the cabomba weed it was only a matter of time before my frog imitation drew a response. After landing one fish and dropping another, the heavens opened. As the rain poured down I noticed I could no longer hear the popping sound of bass inhaling the gudgeon against the surface of the lake. Perhaps the rain had scared the baitfish down deeper and the bass may have followed. I quickly switched to a deeper presentation.
A lead eye clouser is such a versatile little fly that can be worked at a variety of depths. Retrieving the fly along the edges of the weed resulted in a couple of feisty bass attacking the tasty looking morsel. After some perseverance another fat bass was in the live well. By now I was soaked to the bone, so I released the bass and made a hasty retreat for home. But rain hail or shine Clarrie Hall Dam always offers up some gold.
Happy New Year 2016
With the first rays of light on the first day of the new year I was in my happy place. Happy New Year to all 🙂
Pindari Dam
Pindari Dam is a horrible place. If you live on the North Coast it is way too far to drive to get there. The dam is filled with too many huge rocks and snags for the Murray Cod to hide under. Due to it’s remoteness, hardly anyone goes there and there are no amenities with the free camping on the lake shore. To top it off the beautiful scenery and wildlife distracts you from your cod fishing addiction. So don’t go there! Best you leave it all to me.
A Stripping Basket for the Kayak
For me the biggest challenge when fly fishing from a kayak is line management. During the retrieval of the fly, the line must be stripped into a pile somewhere. Once the fly is retrieved and a subsequent cast is made the line inevitably becomes tangled around any conceivable nook, cranny or edge that the line can find. This can be very frustrating. So let’s look at some options.
My first preference is to strip the line into a clear space. But with a pile of tackle, rod holders do hickies and gizmos that I like to take fishing, this is usually not an option. My second preference is to use a towel. A simple towel can easily be draped across any rod holders, sounders, pliers etc preventing your line from becoming snagged. In addition a towel serves a number of other purposes when canoe/kayak fishing. It can be used as a rudimentary bailer, mopping up every last drop of intruding water. It is amazing how much water even a standard bath towel can hold. On long sunny day trips I often use the same towel to keep the sun off my legs.
A more familiar choice for fly anglers is the stripping basket. This can be any container that simply collects you line as you retrieve. I have seen fisherman using everything from their hats to a washing basket. However if you are fishing from a kayak with very limited space such as a pedal kayak, you can’t go past a personal stripping basket.
I recently tried out a new basket from South Pacific. 
The basket is easily fastened around the waist using the plastic buckle. When in the standing position the basket sits nicely around the hips. When in the seated position you can just slide the basket up your torso a little and collect the line just above your lap. At first it took a little practice to deliver the line into the basket, but it became second nature after a short while. I must say I was very impressed with this bit of gear and will be sure to bring it with me on all Fly Fishing Charters in the Native Watercraft.
October 4, 2015
Had a great trip to Clarrie Hall today with Tim and Tyson. An early start saw us on the dam which was completely enveloped by the mist. I believe the low light conditions the mist provides usually gives the bass the confidence to feed near the surface for as long as the mist hangs around. However the fish had other ideas today and we saw very little surface activity at all.
By around 9am the mist had dissipated revealing a picture post card day at the dam. Not a cloud in the sky or a breath of wind all day. All around us was mirror images of the horizon and each others boats as we persistently peppered the edges of the lilies with our lures. As the sun rose we switched to deeper presentations. Tim ran a 1/4 oz Slider across the points and flats and Tyson chose a 1/8 oz Revehead Jig Spin with a Slider Grub.
All 3 of us got a number of bites but on this day the bass appeared to be apprehensive in committing to an all out attack. Tyson came up trumps with a solid bass of around 36cm. Once hooked it gave him plenty of curry and soon Tyson had his first bass on a soft plastic/spin. One of many more to come no doubt. Another great day on the dam!
Shimmer Stik
I tried out Austackles ‘Shimmer Stik’ today at Clarrie Hall Dam. After first hearing about its ability to swim backwards away from the angler, I was very keen to give it a go around the edges of the weed. Sure enough when cast out to the edge of structure, as the lure slowly sinks it shimmers backwards away from the direction it was cast. I have always thought that if a someone invents a lure that swims backwards they would surely make a million dollars. Because by casting to the edge of a tree or weed like lily pads, the lure will actually swim under the structure where the fish are!
Once the lure has rested on the bottom I would slowly lift the rod and impart a few twitches. This provided an excellent darting action that I imagine would be very tempting to a hungry bass. I would then wind up some slack before letting the lure flutter back to the bottom. To a bass the whole show must have looked a bit like a wounded bait fish trying to regain its senses between epileptic fits! Whatever the case I was very pleased with the action and the bass appeared to like it too.
There are plenty of lures on the market that wiggle or shimmy on the drop but most are either too light and don’t cast very far or too heavy and sink too fast. The beauty of the Shimmer Stick is it casts a country mile but sinks at quite a slow rate. This allows the lure to hang in the face of the target species which should improve your strike rate considerably.
After giving it a go today and catching a couple of bass I am convinced it is a great addition to the tackle box. The Shimmer Stik is no magic bullet, but it certainly comes close.
Check it out here Shimmer Stik
Tweed River Bass
Here is the latest video showing some highlights catching bass on the Tweed River. On a still day this place is heaven on earth!
Post Spawning Bass
I fished the Tweed River on a solo mission today. I am pleased to say the bass are starting to make an appearance back in the freshwater. These bass move back into the fresh after they do their spawning business in the estuary over winter time. Over the next month or so I expect they will be showing up in ever increasing numbers so now is an excellent time to book a charter.
I must say that fishing these waters in the Slayer kayaks is an absolute pleasure. Not only is the scenery on the Tweed River picture postcard, but the versatility and comfort these kayaks offer just makes the day effortless. Having the ability to sit back and maneuver around the waterways hands free is just ideal.
I managed 4 solid bass for the day with two around the 39 & 42cm mark. They were all too eager to snaffle my Destroyer jerk baits from Austackle, one of my favorite lures for targeting bass around the snags.
Post Spawning Tweed River Bass
Post Spawning Bass
Tweed River Scenery
Post Spawning Bass
