HI AUSFISHERS
Well I've just returned from 4 days of Intensive I>B>D therapy at Tinaroo ...... What was always going to be a tough fish .... nevertheless still had me chaffing at the bit to get up there & full fill a long held ambition .
.... I flew out of Sydney on Thursday afternoon and arrived to typical humid ( but pleasant) FNQ weather ... Matt "Barraboss"..... my host , was on hand as chauffeur . An enjoyable evening spent with Matt & his wife ...... with lots of barra talk ( plus a couple/ few/several coldies watching fishing DVDs) ..... It was time to hit the sack ...... with the anticipation of what may be ! ( Matt's photo diary ....assured that!!!)
Up bright & early ..... to pack the car .... & my trip has just had its first setback! On removal of my rods from the travel tube .. I feel the sharp end of a rod through the rod cover..... F^@k!!!!! The Loomis BCR855 GLX ( the most expensive rod) has had 1cm of tip snapped off
A dash to the local tackle world to pick up a SIP & a tip replacement ... soon had us on the road for a scenic run to Tinarro
No buggering around ..... straight on the water in the Barron arm to fish the weed beds! . It didn't take long .... & I'm into a feisty little fish ..... COOL! Until I start to hear some running commentary in the back ground :huh: .... 3 seconds later , the barra spits the slick rig next to the boat ! ..... Oh well ( but Matt & I previously did have a discussion .... that new video cameras need to be exorcised) .... Jinxed! ... We then moved further up the Barron to the rapidsAttachment 26817 .. A magic spot but no interest in our offerings ......... A few uneventful hours saw us looking for some shallow warmer water bays ........ Matt manages a small Footy ... as he call em on a weedless rigged frog pattern ...... Well done! After that except for 1 hit that I missed back in the Barron weed beds .... & an introduction to fellow Ausfisher "Wheezer" ..... It was the end of day 1
Checked into the motel ..... A few beers & planning for the day come!
Day 2 saw us fishing an obscure weed covered point .... Around 7.20 & Matt throws his SP into some tight weed & gets smashed! ..... A good leap & Matts calling it for a metery which after a nice little fight ..... & a perfect net shot saw the girl hit the brag mat at $0.98 ..... bugger!Matt hasn't broken his recent lean trot (lack of $1.00 girls) ....... A few pics & back into it!. Not half an hour later .... I'm hit on a 6" Storm Wild eye swim shad (now known as the depth charge) ..... Pricked, the fish porpoises out out of the water .... a good $1.10 missed! "Bugger" Matts more disappointed than I am! ..... We fish this point till the wind makes it difficult! .......
We make a move to another point where fellow Ausfisher "Tinaroo Triumph - Theo" is fishing & has already managed a mid 70s fish .
We tie off on a small broken tree stump & fish towards a weed covered point - - - Not too many casts later , I've landed a long cast in behind some heavy weed & instantly the depth charge gets smashed ..... & I'm solid , A big jump followed by a run sees me moving to the back of the boat & Matt untying us. A good run sees line smoothly coming off the Zillion! ........ Another jump & wow! .... this is a good fish! ..... Another run & I'm confident I've got this mumma ... with the fish high in the water & heading into clearer water ( avoiding the standing timber to our right) ..... I could just lean back on my repaired Loomis & not overcook the fish! ... Matt at that point notices a pause in the line ..... Yep I'm connected ... but its gone around something ...... We motor over on the leccy & see that there is a broken tree trunk a couple of feet below the surface ........ During the 30 seconds or so it takes to work out the line direction ..... the line goes limpThe 80lb leader tells the story ...... The mouth has chewed through it! Disappointment all round ( Matt called it for a big $1.15 ....... I reckon I payed GST on that price
) ........ I think Theo may have managed some photos from his boat! " F-ing cameras!!!!!
After that ..... we moved around ... & the day was uneventful ! That night a long hard look at the situation & a post mortem + way too many Toohey Drys ..... Saw us hit the sack at 1.00am
UP at 5.30 again ...... Had us hung over! & greeted by what was going to be a cold / wet ..... & toughs day fishing! ....... A full 12 hours on the water ..... saw us produce nothing bar thisAttachment 26819 ( one grab on the back of a river rat that was fished deep in amongst laydown timber ....... the marks on the back of the S Factor smeared lure .... clearly showed a fish had grabbed the lure on the back! ...... I'm guessing Sooty ....... We did have a small barra take a look at a frog I'd thrown into some cover! ....... A hell of a day ! COLD , WET & HUNG OVER!
That night .... In bed early & up again at 5.15am (Monday) ..... AS we were leaving that day we packed the gear & tidied up ...... 6am saw us move to some shallow areas ...... where we came across some tailing fish in amongst some shallow weed ..... Tough country! Over the next hour we saw several large fishing moving around but no interest! ........ Matt at one point noticed a large fish that surfaced with its tail & back clearly out of the water some 30m away ....... As I had my 4WD all terrain frog rigged .... Matt wanted me to have a shot at it! ...... I composed my self- - - lined up the spot where I wanted the frog to land "Don't stuff this up!" .... I'm thinking ....... I've made a cast that would make a fly fishoe proud! ........ Landing a meter ahead & behind! ..... A pause .. a little twitch ... & another ( right in front of its nose) ......... Hell! " they are not interested " ..... as the fish slowly swam off! ....... A frustrating but exhilarating session saw Matt miss his only strike on a bony bream
Well that was it! ....... back to Cairns & back home
What can you say about Tinaroo ...... It is most certainly a magnificent impoundment with so many awesome looking locations!Attachment 26820 ......... As we know it is a bit of an Enigma ..... That can be difficult to fish, Even more so right now with the recent heavy aquatic grass growth that extends 5-20M out from the banks! + combined with cool temps ( & it does get surprisingly cold ..... for NQ) ......... However from what I saw ...... The Quality is there & without a doubt worth the effort!
For me ..... It was a case of lost opportunities for sure!
Thanks go to Matt & Kim for their hospitality...... And a new friendship " Hell anyone that can put up with me for 4 days ..... & fish hard + has the passion!( boy does he have the passion) ..... has gotta be a top bloke"
It was also great meeting the FNQ boys ... Tinaroo Triumph & Wheezer
Nagg
PS .... Sorry I cant include more fishy photos , but I'll share the scenery
Next time there might be that pot of gold at the end of the rainbowAttachment 26823
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Originally Posted by Pistol_P
Imagine it!
...... Not joking 