I just couldnt help myself - with what promised to be a perfect weather period , off I went to Mondy (via a quick stop at Borumba)
Now while the craw were in numbers at Borumba . My trip was off to a horrible start - 1) Id somehow shorted out the fuse holder (no electronics) 2) I left all my barra lures at home . Except for a lone slick rig & a storm suspending shad - So with a few bucks in hand I called into Foxies a picked out a couple of X Raps a stiffy twitch bait & a pkt of slick rigs.
So I managed to pick up a fuse holder in Gympie .. first priority replace the stuffed one , set up camp & on the water for a quick look
Water temps had risen to 24 deg . A pleasant surprise & with conditions looking ideal in south B I was confident .. but with my location occupied , I moved a few hundred meters away .. & tied off focusing on some rough water over a shallow point .. As the sun began to set my X rap was engulfed with big head shakes & those flared gills .. the stuff that gets us excited - certainly a good fish my task at hand was going to be a tough one - strong winds , tied off , lots of standing timber - an out of control fish & solo . Throw the rope spin the boat , free spool & chase the fish .. already some 50M away & behind me - yet I had to go the opposite direction first smashing into a tree I eventually got to a point where I could re engage the reel & continue the fight - CRUNCH! my beloved HLC seized . all I could do was try some handlining .. but a few seconds later the braid parted ..
So with a fish lost & down a X Rap my day was done
Camp ground news was not real good with only a couple of fish taken .. surely with improving conditions the fish would come on the chew.
The following morning ..Driving through the early morning fog - I headed up to north B , C & D but nothing really motivated me till I hit the 2 mile . With an intensifying northerly wind - which created a wind lane that was blowing into the back of a small bay I cut the motor & drifted the 300M toward the bay & once the depth rose to 4M I fired off my first cast with a 110 yakka slick rig .. a two second count down & a lift of the rod tip ..the water erupted - I was on with a good barra rampaging toward some timber . Some quick leccy work and changes in rod angles had the fish in open water where the fish was subdued & landed . All the misfortunes were suddenly forgotten .
Just as quickly as the wind picked up it dropped off to what was quite a warm still afternoon . & not really feeling like firing a gazillion casts I did some exploring. Attachment 60424Running into Al on my travels - we had a bit of a chat before continuing on our ways.
Now Ive got to say .. when fishing solo - Im not overly enthusiastic about continual casting . So I did more looking before finishing up in bird bay .
Sunday continued to offer up good weather but after only fishing a couple of locations I decided to head up the Kolan & enjoying the magnificent wildlife before having lunch in the shade of the Bruce Hwy .Attachment 60425
As I made my way back . I saw the 3 little pigs foraging on a prickly pear - I was amazed at how close I got Attachment 60428 but constantly aware the mum & dad could be nearby.
I fished several little bays off the Kolan between Walily Creek & 2 mile for no avail .. before fishing some lantana in the back of Rainforest Bay - here in a 10min period I had 3 hook ups & jumped all of them on a popper that Al gave me to use - not big fish 60-70cm but a bit of a surprise .
When it went quiet I decided enough & headed back in .. pack up for an early morning run back home.
An interesting trip not a lot of casts thrown though I would have expected much more action than 5 hits / hook ups & 1 landed in those conditions (24.8 Deg North winds ) I was pretty undecided on where to locate fish except when the wind was howling - fish were often spooked in the surface layers in deep open water - 2 mile , Jacks & Bird bay .. Maybe the fish havent decided whether they should be cruising around or warming up.
Certainly the wildlife have moved into spring with eagles nesting , plenty of roos , swans nesting , piglets . & with a little more unseasonal weather more fired up barra Attachment 60429