north pine

[dingby]

walked in to a spot up near the sailing club on sat arvo, saw a few other blokes on the opposite bank to us. We walked for about an hour and found a good looking bank. Fished spinnerbaits, sliders and spots. Only got 1 fish but he was decent high 40's/low 50's i suppose. The bank looked good though and will be heading back soon. would be keen to hear from anyone who fishes this area and possibly meet up for a fish sometime.

cheers

[bearclaw]

Just keep out of veiw of the sailing club, they will report you. Yes there is some nice ground where you talk about, even better when the lake's water level is higher.

[dingby]

went back in to said bank friday morning got 15 fish on jackalls and beetlespin jigs with sliders. biggest was 48cm but most were small. fished from 0500-0700. went for a look around and have spotted some other banks worth investigating.

any suggestions as to the best method to fish the jackalls?? slow roll, jigged, fast ????anyone.

i now have about half a dozen spots up the dam that are accessible with a decent walk and produce fish, it is a great dam and sooo close to home

cheers

[hardb8]

Hi dingby,
What type of tackle are ya using,Spin or baitcast?Also what type of Jackall,TN/60,70's or Masks'?

[dingby]

Gday Hardb8

baitcast gear and usually tie on a mask vibe before a tn. i seem to do better on these. i have got most fish with a fairly slow retrieve with a bit of flick action every so often.


Fishytales, not enough posts to pm yet, sorry. I havent seen any rangers yet they are probably in bed still.....most of the tracks in are walkable only so i doubt they will leave their vehicle, unless they spot me from the water. In which case i find it hard to believe that i cant be fishing off the bank anyway given the low water level. wouldnt mind coming for a fish sometime. Plenty of deep water where i have been going and have a new spot picked out to investigate that looks good as well. i sent you an image of a few spots that i fish a while back (dinga1 - my id i use on work puter)




cheers lads

[Matt_Campbell]

Are the jackalls worth the extra cost? Did your mate outfish you even tho he wasn't using jackals?

[dingby]

i tend to fish with people with lesser ability so this isnt a problem Matt_Campbell. If this is your real name...

[Matt_Campbell]

I find it hard to believe that a) you have mates and b) you could find someone with less fishing ability than yourself? Although the bloke you went fishing with at North pine that outfished you comprehensively is a person of rare angling talent and ability. So dont feel too bad about it. A bit of practice should help you become a better angler than you are at present. good luck with it.

[black_sheep]

Dingby,

Mate, I just PM'd you about 6 times. I kept getting a debug error so kept pushing send, when I went to my outbox to make sure it was sent, I saw all. Sorry to clog up you inbox mate but hopefully can catch up for a fish soon. Hope the info I passed on helps. If you use jackalls a lot, you may want to start saving your penny's as the spot we fish is probably worth a few thousand dollars to a scuba diver who is keen enough. Reckon it holds about 100 jackalls along with a stack of slugs, plastics, spinnerbaits............. It holds quite a few snags on the first and second drop offs.

[hardb8]

Hi ya Dinga,
# # # # # # # # # Been away for a while so sorry for the late reply.It's great to see ya back at em #.My friend and I are constantly bouncing successful retrievers off each other while we fish,Also trying different stuff in the process.The sort of stuff said in a session goes somthin like this...

Yep! 12 count slow rollin.

Yep! Bottom,six inch hops.

Yep! Mackrel wind. LOL (Yes! Flat stick,As fast as you can physically wind #)

The other angler then trys the mentioned style and usually hooks up.Some times it doesn't matter what you do.Eg :- When they are really on the chew,Ya constantly get smashed in freespool on the drop,Before ya even get in gear.

A few tips and retrieves that have been very successful are as follows :-

Cast out,As the lure hits the water,Engage ya reel and wind up any slack that the wind,Or cast trajectory has put in ya line.Wind it out until you just feel the lures action,Then immediately go back into freespool.You should now have a direct contact to your offering.

Run the line under ya thumb and over ya index finger as the lure freefalls,This way you will detect strikes on the drop 90 percent of the time they occur,You can also slow the freefall with a VERY small amount of friction applied by thumb and finger.(Be aware!) I have been cut by my braid quite a few times from the strike using this technique #.But it is very effective.

Count ya lure down....This simply will give you a rough idea of the water depth available when exploring,And it will also tell you the depth that feeding fish are holding in.As soon as you begin ya drop in freespool start,1,2,3,4.......12 seems to be a magic number for us,Even in water up to a 22 count.We've been smashed everywhere in the column from 1 # to 24.

Retrieve styles vary,Heres' a few favourites that regularly produce:-

Rollin.

Hit the lake bed then start a medium paced constant wind.Half way through ya retrieve,Freespool back to the bottom,Then continue the medium pace to the rod tip.(Usually get hit in the freespool bit)You can also try varying the speed down to a very slow roll.(Continuously bumping the bottom)

Rippin.

From the bottom,Point ya tip at ya lure,Then rip the rod back to about 90 degrees (Left,Right or straight up,Doesn't matter) windup the slack,And repeat.Try in a series of three rips,Then let it fall to the bottom again for a second or two,Then go again.Rip,Wind..Rip,Wind..Rip,Wind,Back to the bottom.This is probably my favourite.It's a killer!This style covers about the bottom 6-8 foot of the column.

Hoppin.

This can be done with great variety in sizes Eg :- From tiny 2" twitches to 6" and 12" hops.Simply hop the lure back with small twitches of the tip.This can be a devastating technique at say a count of 12-15.If an active depth is found,Try to keep ya lure at this depth with Hops,Or short rips (With 1-2 foot sweeps of the rod) through this section of the column,And hang on!

The Mackerel Wind.LOL.

This has happened on brief windows of (Say 10 minutes of mayhem) in some good sessions where the fish are just damn rude!If our lures got to the bottom or the feeding depth,They were just cranked literally as fast as we could wind,Then getting absolutely clobbered!Doesn't happen regularly,But when ya find ya gettin hit every cast,Try it.

Takin it away from em.

Been tryin this over the last few months with great success.After a short strike or half hearted hit,We'd usually,Stop winding,Then twitch the lure to imitate wounded prey.This works quite well,With the culprit returning 50 percent of the time to finish the job.One day I tried something a little different....Fish were short striking and not coming back,Till I started speeding up the retrieve immediately after the missed hit.I presume the Bass think the bait/lure has just sh!t itself (As ya would) and is tryin to make a last ditch dash for freedom.I think this is provoking a natural reaction from the Bass,To make a split second decision to finish what they started,And not waste energy already expended without reward.It has been working VERY well.And makes sense.

Last one...Swim for it!

Jackalls'are quite expensive.And although I don't mind when I'm beaten fair and square by my adversary.I hate losing to snags!First I'll try the tackle back,If I have no joy,I put my outfit on the bank with a loose drag.And swim out with the line running through one hand.I only start to take like from the reel after I am swimming past the point of the snagged lure,About 5-10 meters past give it a firm yank.I've only had one I couldn't get off since using this method.It has saved me literally hundreds of dollars.It's also quite refreshing after walking the bank for an hour or two.LOL.

Sorry m8 just realised I've written a small book.Anyway try any of the above,And be creative,Even mix styles (A medium paced roll,freefall for a five count,Then 2-3 rips,Then roll again) till ya find what they want at the time,As it can change from hour to hour.Sorry for ramblin.Hope I've been of some help.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # Tight lines..... hardb8 # #

[mikedel]

So let me get this right, now you're not only fishing in a restricted area, you're also swimming in a dam where swimming is not permitted.

[robyoung1]

That's a good review of tecniques mate, thanks.

I was thinking about swimming for snagged lures, and I don't mean to be an old man (although that is what I be), you wanna be careful doing it. I've swum for a fair few lures in my time, and don't regret it either, but my dad nearly drowned on seagull rocks (nth NSW) once when I was younger.

He snagged a slug in some rocks just under our feet, and bending down to grab it, he stuck himself on the hook. He was well secured, and unable to stand up when the water returned to it's propper depth (he'd done this as the water surged out). A couple long seconds passed by before he simply tore his finger free and lived to tell about it.

I know it probably sounds like a storm in a tea cup, but it's a serious matter. I wouldn't dive for a lure if I was on my own. I realise this isn't what you said you were doing, I just thought I'd mention it.

A few people have told me that it wouldn't slow them down much, that they'd be able to tear the finger free if need be, but I don't think it's that simple. When I was shunting (again when I was younger), I heard lots of tales of men who'd lost their lives because they simply caught their wedding ring on a carriage, and indeed when I did my training, we were more or less instructed on just how to tear a finger off if such a thing happened.

Anyway, don't mean to be a downer, just thinkin is all.
Thanks again for the tips.

cheers
rob

[dingby]

Thanks HardB8

it is a book but one well worth reading

glad to see someone who is happy to be offering advice to others with out all the secrecy that often exists.

Thanks for the help will be sure to try some of your sugestions Monday morning.

cheers

[hardb8]

No worries m8,
# # # # # # # # # # # #I trust they will work as well for you as they do for me.I have no problem sharing techniques,Knots,Leader systems etc....I reckon the hardest part of the whole game,And the most valuable skill is....

Finding them.

I'll be lurking around Monday arvo.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #Good luck m8.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Cheers

[geebz]

After reading through pages of north pine threads i am still unsure/undecided where i should start off with this place.

I had a quick look out there during the day on the weekend just to get an idea of the area. Im planning on getting out there on the weekend for a session and being new to the area and freshwater it would be much appreciated if someone could give me a bit of a heads up on what area to start in. Im just planning on taking out some spinnerbaits and plastics and walking and casting the banks.

So is Mcgavins or bullocky a better starting point and in which direction should i start exploring, towards or away from the wall ?

Any insights would be great.