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22nd December
Saturday Morning – Top Lake, Merimbula :
Weather was looking poor with squall lines moving across as far as the eye could see, decided to go out anyway considering I came down a few days early for my yearly fishing and kayaking extravaganza ( Bloody hybrid sports ). Launched at Top Lake Boat Hire around 6:30 and commenced a lazy troll towards the Millingandi Creek area, picked up a few tiny Squire on the infamous Chubby ( Is there anything this lure cant catch? ) before nailing a 50 cm + Flathead as I came to the weeds in front of the Oyster leases.
Went down and into the area of the creek mouth entrance to find very shallow and drift able sections, along with a mountain of fish activity. Bream and Mullet were scattering on every paddle stroke, tried poppers and walked some stick baits for no follows / action. As I exited this arm the heavens opened up, the wind dropped to around 5 knots and it bucketed down for an hour constantly ( As expected, was donning waterproof gear ).
The Ecogear CK40 ( No less than 3 weeks old ) on the other rod appeared to snag up until I felt some weird reoccurring weight issue. The mother of all Puffer Fish swam next to the yak, complete with my lure in one side of the mouth and spilt ring and treble in the other. Confused as to what had happened I decided to remove someone else’s solo treble first before attempting to remove my lure, it was during this period I noticed my lure had been completely destroyed and that was my solo rear treble… You owe me $20 fish!
Saw some bird action in the vicinity and moved over, trolling my other prized CK 40 and the faithful Chubby in tow. Caught some sort of banded gold Trumpeter / grunting thing that was very pretty and also foul hooked some Whitebait retrieving through a school on the surface, Tailor and birds churned the water to bits while the rain continued to pour. My journey had brought me round to the Oyster factory’s behind Acacia Ponds with more fabulous racks to troll and cast along, I have seen guides and fisherman such as Stuart Hindson, Steve Starling and Chris ‘Slick’ Wright fishing here for Bream before.
With that in mind I placed a fair bit of expectation on my little, wiggling, counterparts so slowed the troll down to around a quarter walking pace. First fish was a feisty 22 cm Tarwhine with beak like features making identification easy, second fish was a small 20 cm Bream and the third was a an undersized Flathead that put up a good account for itself. While releasing the Flathead and parking the other lure to a halt, my Sol combo peeled line towards the racks… Was this the big Breambo I was looking for?
Turns out it was a foul hooked almost legal 28cm Squire, the headshakes I eventually picked for a monster Flathead turned out to be reversed tail beats, made evidently worse due to burying me in the weeds. The rain got heavier and I could just make out the channel markers in the distance through all the droplets, with the tide heading out of the Estuary my arms were looking for a break, perhaps I will just sit in the tidal current and flow towards the bridge via the sand flats and deeper sector.
The tide rips through the shallow sections dangerously fast and caught me off guard, one minute I am trolling past a channel marker, next minute my last Ck 40 has snagged on it. Paddling against the swift current while trying to flick the bail arm over proved difficult, just when I thought I had enough playable room I flicked it back over only to be rubbed off almost instantaneously ( I guess the first resistance caused massive leader damage ). Decided to hug the flats and head back to launch location to end the morning’s effort, saving some energy for an afternoon exploit if the weather gives me an opportunity.
22nd December
Saturday Afternoon – Pambula Lake :
Managed a quick snooze and awoke by 4pm, looked outside and the wind god was still on a mighty warpath with nature. Cruel and unkind are words that spring to mind, nether the less I had a 3-hour window to try and secure more Boxing Day food for the family. Have read some great reports recently of decent Flathead being caught in the main basin, once off the launch site I had to change plans as I was pushed down towards were the Lake and the Yowaka river meet. Tried to fight the wind but with gusts of up to 25 knots and decent headwinds I was at a loss as what to do.
A few small Squires took the Chubby for a ride while I tried to battle the elements and head to the original destination, the SX48 in Whitebait managed a Tailor duo on return under darkened skies and my watchful eye. Paddling hard beyond the channel markers was about all I had left in me before I gave up in despair and quickly drifted back to base. To my surprise a 43 cm Flathead gobbled up the Chubby and gave me some stick before head displacement caused him to buckle on my deck. Packed up and headed back to my parents lay with another keeper for post Christmas, just in time for a yummy feast.
23rd December
Sunday Morning – Yowaka River :
Forecast was for a slightly better day but the wind had other ideas, made the decision to paddle the Yowaka ( Hoping it would be out of the wind ). With the river at high tide it gave me a chance to explore some sections I have not been in and around before, namely the lower section near the previous afternoons outing. First I headed upstream trolling some Sx 40’s for one small touch and not much else, also tried casting at structure with plastics and drifting them on the bottom too but no dice around this higher sector today.
Flowing with the wind under the bridge I snagged up often, most of the time when not paying attention to my rod tips as the scenery was beautiful. Some big ( And I mean super huge ) rogue soundings pinged back to my finder in between the schools of fish sighted by eye and screen, could have been lonely Sharks, Stingrays or monstrous Mullet. Headed halfway to the Lake but was forced back due to the outgoing tidal influence and wind, on the way back to the car ( Paddling in narrow, rocky water ) my Lively Lure Micro Mullet was beleaguered by a new PB blue lipped big river Black Bream of 34 cm.
The Bream I caught was almost the most satisfying fish I have caught off the kayak to date, might not have been a monster but was my target species and put up one hell of a scrap on my super light Redfin gear (4lb Fireline, 6lb Vanish Leader ). Stopped for some photos and a celebratory cigarette before returning to my awkward launch spot ( Now occupied by a family foreign tourists ), they helped me load my yak and ogled my Bream while the kids caught Blackfish and small Bream on Beach Worms, Prawns and Cockles.
Returned once again to my parents abode and found my Sister Sarah had arrived from Canberra, with my Stepbrother Chris and his Wife Carrie enjoying doing zilch for a few weeks ( Before they move to Albury / Wadonga ) I was pleased to have a fishing buddy willing to share an experience on my Hobie Outfitter. Poor Claire was still in Canberra, destined to work on Monday ( Christmas Eve ) but gave me an early coastal leave pass due to 350 days solid work without a day off this year ( Minus 50 weekends ).
23rd December
Sunday Afternoon – Pambula Lake :
The wind had abated enough to try the lake again and virtually stopped upon our arrival, with the twin power of the Outfitter’s double Mirage Drives and a Sister used to hard water work ( Think Outrigger canoe racing, yuck! ) we easily moved to the far reaches of the waters body. Many Oyster leases line the edges of the system and I am pretty sure it is still commercially fished ( Please correct me if I am wrong ). This made some sections slightly devoid of sounder life but Sarah quickly picked up some tiny Squire on the bleeding Micro Mullet lure along with another big Puffer Fish ( Destroying the rear treble, but this time leaving the main part of the lures hard body unharmed ).
We were pressed for time due to my daily Nanna nap so rounded the bay section and headed back to base along the edge. I caught a decent Skippy around a lease as we headed towards the channel, then nailed a 44cm Flathead in the exact location as the previous day ( Marking the sandy lair beyond as a possible Wendesday Flathead drift zone ). With some more keepers ready for the cooler and the fridges Boxing Day limit slowly increasing I knew I needed to enlist more help if we were to summon enough fish for all.
24th December
Monday Morning – Bega River, Tathra :
Dad was keen to get the Quintrex out and finally enticed my Stepbrother ( Minus Wife ) out for a fish, Sarah was also keen but he gave me a choice of 5.4m Quintrex Spirit or 3.8m Hobie Quest Kayak ( Probably to free up space onboard ). It’s like dangling a carrot to me and I jumped at the chance to be shown a new spot. 25 minutes later we arrived just outside of Tathra at Mogareeka boat ramp . Pretty quiet ramp and is not recommended for boats larger than 5m, but the ramps descent allowed deeper water to pool on its foot.
Gearing up quickly I watched them power off around the first bend from the bridge, I was told this is one deep channel but that information proved inconclusive as soon as I set about trolling towards the bend. With two shallow river arms, the main rivers depth could have been no more than 8m in the deepest section ( Close to the cliff faces ) with the shallowest being around 30cm, did I mention before that we were fishing at high tide? Looks like perfect Flathead country ( Dad saw images of 80cm Flathead from here recently ) but we must have been there on a bad day, pity as the weather had finally become perfecto!
Stayed within hollering distance of the boat while trolling the river up and down over 3 hours for nothing until I decided to play hopscotch with my lures over the sandy arm entry points. Had a few hits then managed a small bream, which was a welcoming sign. We were all due back at base camp by 11am and knowing that the Quintrex would chew up the distance quickly I set off back to the ramp trolling the Deep Chubby parallel to the cliff faces. A small Leatherjacket was caught and promptly released, had some more hits over another sandy section before being slammed at the main rivers drop off point.
This fish was giving my drag hotter curry than my favourite Indian restaurants Beef Vindaloo, It sure gave the Sol outfit a run for its money. Took about 2 minutes to spy the colour of a decent 40cm Blurter heading for cover, being in the deepest section gave the fish plenty of room to move and he constantly circled below the yak. I have never managed to catch or fight one in deep water ( All my previous Silver Trevally captures were in the 2 –3m mark ) and now fully appreciate there fighting qualities more than ever.
Landed said fish and beached next to the ramp to pack my gear, the others roared back with a lonesome Flathead Chris caught ( Found in the location I was previously frequenting ) and a nice Bream my Father boated. Sarah caught close to double figures of undersized Bream but had a ball out fishing the families male population, all the fish ( Except mine due to my trolling fetish ) ate freshly pumped nippers while drifting slowly. Loaded the yak and the boat and convoyed back to Merimbula, Tathra is a lovely looking town and coastal area… A picture postcard waterway just screaming ‘Explore me!’.
26th December
Wednesday Morning – Merimbula Bottom Lake :
Needed to work off my Christmas belly rather quickly ( I am such a Piglet / Swine / What have you ) so ventured into the channel towards the mouth, have done well here in the past but never know what to expect due mainly to excessive boat traffic. The Bottom Lake was a bottle Green colour and rather translucent, kind of an immaculate early morning start if I do say so myself. Maritime and Fisheries were out in force checking licenses, bar crossings and alcohol consumption. All I got was a wave, a smile, a hello and some stares in awe at my safety first approach ( Rear raised Scotty light, Tektite all round white light, Stohlquist PFD, Uniden UHF, Garmin GPS, Humminbird Sounder ).
The thing about here is on a calm day, like this day, you can actually see the fish you want to target quite easily. Having no bait and no urge to fish Soft Plastics I trolled my Chubby and various Sx 40’s up and down the channel, hugging the edges of the markers as I went. A new species from the yak came aboard after a perfect photo opportunity presented itself, never caught a Blackfish on a lure before. Unfortunately the tide started ripping in through the channel and I decided to call it quits early ( We had already managed enough fish for today’s Boxing Day lunch, I just needed to catch some chips ).
26th December
Wednesday Afternoon – Yowaka River :
How does one get through the day without a Nanna nap? ( Apart from downing 20 litres of Cola and some red Bull ). Boxing day lunch was grand but left me feeling very sleepy, dragged myself off the couch and grabbed Claire by the hand pulling her towards the car. Drove to the local Service Station and spent $5 on some frozen Prawns, took off to the Yowaka River again but this time just wasted an hour fishing off the exposed banks at low tide.
The bite was slow and we both had some serious hits but nothing worth writing home about, Claire managed a few small Bream ( One was extra small and extra hungry ) while I landed a few small ones too. Big Mullet jumped in the background, scaring the hell out of us on numerous occasions. Claire was very impressed because I let her use my Sol outfit, she remarked on how I never let her, or anyone, use any of my good rods ( I was kicking myself hard, I left her $50 Daiwa Shock combo for everyone else to use at home ).
Went for a drive up to the Nethercote region via some dirt tracks, looking for the furthest part of the river ( Having heard there is Bass ) before it reaches the falls. With fading light and grumbling bellies I turned the Forester around and headed back down the river towards which we came. One day I would like to get a topographic map / general map of this area and do some exploring on foot in decent light conditions, perhaps next holidays.
27th December
Thursday Morning – Pambula Lake :
Claire and I went for one last fish on the Outfitter before we had to make the journey back to boring Canberra, I say boring as I really enjoyed having the freedom to visit all these locations at the drop of a hat. I rigged up the rods for bait and we used the remaining frozen Prawns in one of the further channels in deep water. On the way I trolled a new Sx 40 I got for Christmas, scoring my first legal Tailor from the yak ( 39cm and kept for dinner ). Squire after Squire, Bream after Bream ( All undersized mind you ), they just kept coming aboard for the free frozen breakfast that we put on for them.
A few hours ticked by before we attempted the Flathead drift for no result, fearing a plague of Nanna naps and all round tiredness before, during and after our passage home we left for my parents one last time to pack our cars and say farewell. I was looking forward to another lengthy holiday ( Weekend trips down here just go so fast ) next Christmas until I realized we are going to visit Claire’s family in St.Helens, Tasmania.
From one pristine location to another… Life is just so damn hard some times!
