Ladies and gents,
After reading the recent report on the Sommerset gathering I thought it would be a great place to take the family for a few days away. Catching a few fish and a few redclaw would be a great way to relax for a few days.
The last time I visited Sommerset was back in 1995 so I asked for and received some great info from Kim, Rodney and Chris. They had all attended the M&G and had some good oil on fishing the schools and finding a few redclaw.
I must say the facilities at Kirkleigh are fantastic, Heaps of camping area and the ability to leave the boat in the water overnight is a bonus. I can’t remember it being this good and Leanne and I have already decided to go back because it’s a great spot – especially midweek when there was no-one else around.
Anyway – it was last week so the report is a bit late but better late than ever.
Fishing – Thanks to Rodney and Kim for the great map – it was pretty easy to find the schools opposite Pelican point. Pity they weren’t really playing the game. Ice jigs, Blades, Jackals all pestered the bass with a few fish coming aboard. The standout was a 56cm horse to Leanne which was as round as a football. There were a few other bass boys out there in their speed machines and they were only picking up the odd fish as well. Like us they would move away looking for other options. I've got to say they were a great bunch of blokes who didn't mind a chat and also shared a bit of info while we drifted and hovered nearby.
If we (Harrison) got a bit bored with the jigging we would head off for a troll which I think in hindsight actually landed more fish over the two days, however the quality was probably not as good. The Voodoo lures particular in black/white were the slayer here. Luc if you’re reading this I’m down to my last and really need some more.
Redclaw – the first night we spread the pots around a bit and probably got around 100 from 8 pots. About 20% of those went back – anything under 5 inches was returned. The second night we concentrated our pots in the areas where the bigger redclaws were coming from. Sure enough we got heaps of biggens with more thrown back the second day because we had more than enough.
In summary it was a great trip and as I say – we’re planning to head back real soon. Thanks again to Chris, Kim and Rodney for the info.
Summary – fishing: The bass were schooled up opposite Pelican Point. Blades in ¼ ounce green and gold was by far the standout lure. Ice jigs didn’t work for me. Trolling in 14-20 foot of water around the bays with a black/white Voodoo lure was an excellent back up and as I say caught heaps of fish.
Redclaw – We found 20 foot of water was optimum and our best came from areas where the bottom was covered in a couple of feet of weed. We tried potato, sweet corn, rockmelon and dog biscuits. Hands down – rockmelon was the best by a mile. Every time the piece of rockmelon was eaten to the skin while the potato was only nibbled. They did knock around the sweetcorn.
That's about it.
Brett
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Some bloody good size craw there also. We're keen to get back out there before it warms up and the pond lice come out of hibernation. It's a great place to camp, love being able to leave the boat in the water too!
