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Nice clear day on the horizon, will I get a chance to wet a line?
With my parents in town for a few days up from the South Coast, running around like a mad man with them was the order for this Saturday ( Forecast for the entire weekend actually ), I still managed to get out for a swift afternoon session and meet a few mates on the water. Rushing to meet Craig turned out to be hazardous for my fishing health, I forgot to pack my trusty net ( Trebles caught in the net are better than in leg ), my homemade rear rod extenders ( Just for secure peace of mind ) and my fishing / paddling gloves ( Which I mainly use to avoid dish pan hands ).
Launched around 3:30pm from Yarralumla Bay into a calmish 10 knot breeze, my favourite weed patch ( Redfin Land ) was contaminated with small sized water craft in various formats from the YMCA A.C.T Sailing Club performing slapdash tacs left and right. After catching up with Craig around said area he mentioned he had a few close calls with these vessels and there blind sailors ( Lucky there were no rowers out, eh? ) so it was determined we venture east of them towards a quieter waterway.
Managed to bump into Leigh on route around the Peninsula, no positive reports of any species ( Including the feral populous ), opting to catch up for a yak later we bid Red farewell and commenced trolling once we exited the temporary marked out buoy course.Craig had arrived 3 hours previously looking to clock up some local fish and produce his first Lake Burley Griffin Golden Perch. Nobody that he spoke to before my arrival ( Including the local tin men ) confirmed fish of any portrayal.
After about half an hour the yacht brigade dismantled there field and left the arena, without delay we moved back into memorable waters, treading the path so well worn by our Canberra moderator ( Red Phoenix ). Craig lost battery power and in due course the use of depth gauged from his sounder, relaying the water temperature once ( Around 14 degrees ) seemed to be all he needed. Looking at the Mr. Squiggle trail of breadcrumbs on the GPS screen lead me to believe we were approaching the infamous 4m - 8m drop off.
Just beforehand I hooked a small Redfin around 15cm and lost in next to the yak ( Much to my disgust ), after retrieving the lure and casting it out yet again my supplementary combo bent with the tell tale sign of a Golden Perch. No screaming drag ( Unlike previous encounters over this area ) but nether the less the ominous tugging match began, turning the fish towards the yak early resulted in a small Yellowbelly in the region of 30cm gracing the kayaks deck for release ( Thanks again for the photographs Craig! ).
A few more trolling passes of Redfin Land produced not so much as a hit so we called it a day… Zilch, nada, nothing. Craig’s mammoth 5 hr effort had taken its toll hard, after ferrying passengers around our metropolitan centers all morning I was pretty keen to head home too, even after only managing an hour on the water ( Kayak fishing providing my only escape plan ).
On the way back we sighted Leigh once more and moved over to converse, He mentioned he had achieved a very poor result ( Any change on this Red? ) while relaying to us that Brad ( Mackrel ) was on the water and had caught only one 20cm English Perch.
