Posts
A new species PB from the kayak,
I had some unfinished business at Jindabyne and needed it taken care of ASAP; having a relaxing, non fishing weekend spent at home was on the cards initially. Doesn’t take long for me to agree with my mate Squidders Troutin’ ideals, killing two birds with one stone was far too tempting to refuse (as long as it’s a late start, ok?). Alarm went off at 5:15am, so much for that Mr Sleepy head… Rise and shine!
The drive from Canberra to Cooma is as boring as hell and quite dangerous in low light, Kangaroo’s mingle on the roads edge threatening to jump out at any stage. Cooma to Jindabyne is much easier; it’s something about the first glimpse of water when you meander down to the Kalkite boat ramp that just plays over and over in your mind (Even before you get there), makes passing the startled roo’s effortless.
Very Trouty looking conditions, overcast, still, drizzly and cool and to top that off, over a dozen rises spotted easily before I had even jumped out of the car. My orange Juice from I misplaced after purchasing from Cooma McDonalds was eventually found on my bumper bar, still there 70kms or so later. Surely this was the work of God, signalling for a great day on the water (And that luck was on my side).
We headed out and tried some new techniques, or more specifically focused on some cast and retrieve staples. Our persistence started paying off early; Jason nailed a few Rainbow Trout on soft plastics with finesse work while I slugged away with my hard bodies. Being of cunning mind (Or pretending to be) I switched lures to a Rebel Crawdad and tried suspending my presentation with some added split shot weight.
First cast and I came up tight, fishing in shallow drew the Trout into spasmodic mode prematurely as it had no real place to go. It got confused and took to the air multiple times before thrashing the surface area like an over balanced washing machine. A nice, hefty Brown appeared and was in desperate need of a lemon detox diet, my 1kg Heartland strained under pressure but came out of the scrap better for the experience.
Measuring a Gatesy stretch under 55cm it was a sure fire contender for 1st place in the AKFF hall of fame (And a new PB off the kayak). Not to be outdone Squidder then hooked something even greater, taking 50m of line on its first run and evoking thought provoking foresight. Jason did well but was up against it from the start, soft mouths and little hook sets spell disaster for even the most experienced (Equalling lost fish).
We were both gutted, the fish would have been gutted too (Literally). Somehow this entire solemn fishing quandary had appeased the Jindabyne lords, the god of predicament threw its weather change like a predicted forecast and the winds grew stronger. This somehow drew our lure bight to an end; even trolling amongst the rises brought no fish undone. I spied our infamous Powerbait bank and headed over for some shelter.
With an ENE direction the wind was manageable but dirty all the same, causing bank erosion and muddy wind lanes. The usual suspects were deployed with a couple of slabby Rainbows turning up for a chew on the gum. Lime Twist, Chunky Cheese and Sherbert Burst the stand out colours / flavours, Scrub Worms once again did not receive a touch. I found a bubble float on a snag with a massive Yabby foul hooked in the line, I released it after some fiddling (Probably been suspending there for weeks).
A quick bank side siesta (Using a rock as a pillow) was rudely interrupted with a massive crunch; some idiots in a boat had decided to sneak into the parched creek arm. Quickly retreating they turned our way and commenced throwing lures to within 3m of our four lines out. A golf clap and some quick words later and they moved off, these guys were absolute idiots with no etiquette (No fish by the look of their skills).
The wind died enough for us to commence back to whence we came, stopping at the newly termed ‘Rainbow Rubber’ bay. Jason dropped three more before landing a similar model to the morning’s efforts; I won’t even try and explain his technique but it works well with any stick bait or wacky worm / tube bait. My T tailed minnow skills and Squidgy Fish were ignored all the way back to the ramp (Such is life Cousins).
Bumped into Rokko / Rory back at the ramp for a quick chat, seems like his day was ruined before he even got up (Much like my Friday was). Home style Shepherds Pie was on the menu so the 2hr drive home was fairly easy with an empty stomach. All in all the weather was brilliant, sour and unpredictable (Just the way I like it).
I had some unfinished business at Jindabyne and needed it taken care of ASAP; having a relaxing, non fishing weekend spent at home was on the cards initially. Doesn’t take long for me to agree with my mate Squidders Troutin’ ideals, killing two birds with one stone was far too tempting to refuse (as long as it’s a late start, ok?). Alarm went off at 5:15am, so much for that Mr Sleepy head… Rise and shine!
The drive from Canberra to Cooma is as boring as hell and quite dangerous in low light, Kangaroo’s mingle on the roads edge threatening to jump out at any stage. Cooma to Jindabyne is much easier; it’s something about the first glimpse of water when you meander down to the Kalkite boat ramp that just plays over and over in your mind (Even before you get there), makes passing the startled roo’s effortless.
Very Trouty looking conditions, overcast, still, drizzly and cool and to top that off, over a dozen rises spotted easily before I had even jumped out of the car. My orange Juice from I misplaced after purchasing from Cooma McDonalds was eventually found on my bumper bar, still there 70kms or so later. Surely this was the work of God, signalling for a great day on the water (And that luck was on my side).
We headed out and tried some new techniques, or more specifically focused on some cast and retrieve staples. Our persistence started paying off early; Jason nailed a few Rainbow Trout on soft plastics with finesse work while I slugged away with my hard bodies. Being of cunning mind (Or pretending to be) I switched lures to a Rebel Crawdad and tried suspending my presentation with some added split shot weight.
First cast and I came up tight, fishing in shallow drew the Trout into spasmodic mode prematurely as it had no real place to go. It got confused and took to the air multiple times before thrashing the surface area like an over balanced washing machine. A nice, hefty Brown appeared and was in desperate need of a lemon detox diet, my 1kg Heartland strained under pressure but came out of the scrap better for the experience.
Measuring a Gatesy stretch under 55cm it was a sure fire contender for 1st place in the AKFF hall of fame (And a new PB off the kayak). Not to be outdone Squidder then hooked something even greater, taking 50m of line on its first run and evoking thought provoking foresight. Jason did well but was up against it from the start, soft mouths and little hook sets spell disaster for even the most experienced (Equalling lost fish).
We were both gutted, the fish would have been gutted too (Literally). Somehow this entire solemn fishing quandary had appeased the Jindabyne lords, the god of predicament threw its weather change like a predicted forecast and the winds grew stronger. This somehow drew our lure bight to an end; even trolling amongst the rises brought no fish undone. I spied our infamous Powerbait bank and headed over for some shelter.
With an ENE direction the wind was manageable but dirty all the same, causing bank erosion and muddy wind lanes. The usual suspects were deployed with a couple of slabby Rainbows turning up for a chew on the gum. Lime Twist, Chunky Cheese and Sherbert Burst the stand out colours / flavours, Scrub Worms once again did not receive a touch. I found a bubble float on a snag with a massive Yabby foul hooked in the line, I released it after some fiddling (Probably been suspending there for weeks).
A quick bank side siesta (Using a rock as a pillow) was rudely interrupted with a massive crunch; some idiots in a boat had decided to sneak into the parched creek arm. Quickly retreating they turned our way and commenced throwing lures to within 3m of our four lines out. A golf clap and some quick words later and they moved off, these guys were absolute idiots with no etiquette (No fish by the look of their skills).
The wind died enough for us to commence back to whence we came, stopping at the newly termed ‘Rainbow Rubber’ bay. Jason dropped three more before landing a similar model to the morning’s efforts; I won’t even try and explain his technique but it works well with any stick bait or wacky worm / tube bait. My T tailed minnow skills and Squidgy Fish were ignored all the way back to the ramp (Such is life Cousins).
Bumped into Rokko / Rory back at the ramp for a quick chat, seems like his day was ruined before he even got up (Much like my Friday was). Home style Shepherds Pie was on the menu so the 2hr drive home was fairly easy with an empty stomach. All in all the weather was brilliant, sour and unpredictable (Just the way I like it).
Keep a look out for the next ‘Yak Fisher’ magazine for more tips and tricks of the trade.
