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This is the first Christmas break I haven't owned my old coffee shop (Bless its soul), so my time off differed from past Xmas periods. Recieving the token couple of days shy of a fortnight I managed to get away to the far South Coast of NSW for a few days and then a local jaunt. With Pambula/Merimbula buzzing with Mexicans fishing the lakes was going to be a little testing, even if they only just managed to open up the new and improved boat ramp (2 days before Xmas, cutting it fine council!).
My options included Pambula Lake, top and Bottom at Merimbula or a dash to Brogo for a morning. After sussing out the attendance and weather I opted for some well needed kayak surf practice on the old Quest and some impoundment Bass action from the Pro Angler. I even packed the long wand in hope that Brogo would hopefully produce my first Bass on fly, I also packed the Hobie rashie so I could look the part at the beach and keep the glass fan bois at bay.
Pambula River Mouth -
The launch site for Stealth school was pretty packed, so much so that I had to park at the top of the hill and walk the Quest down the road a couple of hundred metres (A steep descent). Having surfed Pambula mouth before on a Hobie Adventure and then a longer Perception SIK I was keen to gain some skills on one of my own fleet. A couple of guys were frolicking around away from the bar in assorted kayaks and the beach was ram jam full of bathers, brothers and babes. With a howling southerly, outgoing tide and some decent swell I set up the Go Pro and hoped for the best.
Waves varied from 2 foot piddlers right up to 5 foot dumpers (Complete with sandy effects). With the kayaks deck bare I opted to leash the paddle and wear a PFD (After a risk assessment), stowing my keys and phone in some manner of waterproof zip lock bag in my PFD. The Go Pro has been a bit of a curse so when I told family members I was probably going to have a few spills I had a wicked glint in my eye. After all, this was about managing oneself in the surf zone and it was sure to capture a few thrills and spills.
Water was sucking out the mouth pretty quickly so was a little harder to manoeuvre around between sets than normal. With the rudder down turning the kayak around for a wave was a little easier but once on a wave the rudder threw up a disadvantage compared to being stowed. Rudder down I would immediately turn side on to the white-water and be pushed along at the whim of the wave, rudder up though and I could lock into a waves face and traverse along utilising the Quests channel like features, similar to that of a grommet body boarder.
It wasn't always that easy though as sometimes no matter what you did you went in whatever direction it wanted to, compared to the ski dude who rocked up and would just go straight (Looked boring I might add, but fast). Some of the smaller waves caught me off guard a few times and I went into the drink, basically tipping out a few seconds after takeoff due to balance. The shape of the Quest isn't flared at all so nose dives were bound to happen, leaning back helped but anything with a 4 foot face and it was a given.
With some additional skills under my belt I called it a day, the exertion paddling in the zone was minimal compared to the climb back to the car, couple that with bracing legs on each wave face and I was starting to feel sore. To sum up there was a couple of great waves with even a barrel over the bow, some great slaps and effortless re-entry (Due to mouths shallow depth). Retuning to my parents I peeped the footage and had a giggle, I then discovered my iPhone drowned due to a pin prick in the bag so was a bit of a bitter sweet moment.
Brogo Dam Bass -
The next day I trailed myself off to Brogo at a reasonable gentleman's hour, due to gate and travel times. Bumping along the dusty road I arrived around 9 am to find that a gate/chain didn't exist anymore (Or I had simply missed it) and the car park at the ramp was adorned with a couple of cars. I'm still yet to figure Brogo out due to water depth and existing/decomposed bank lines fluctuating but this was as full as I had seen it and looking super healthy so my expectations were quite high .I set up the Pro Angler and mooched around the weed edges into the smaller bays in hope of a late surface bite, alas my attempts at perpetrating a top water fraud were denied.
Breaking out the 8'6 fly rod, floating line, sinking tippet and some type of fluoro Vampire I firstly negotiated the edge fronds, followed by all manner of associated tangles on deck. Stripping slowly felt promising as the water was clear and the vamp sunk perfectly under a little tension. This was the first time I had fly fished from a Pro Angler and while my deck line management resulted in a few hazards around rod holders and the mirage drive the presentation was there. The shorter rod and Scotty fly rod holder kept things minimal enough but with the sun rising higher and the fish moving deeper I packed it away and commenced the lazy mans troll.
Trolling a Jackall Chubby in Ayu on one rod whilst casting a purple and white Jazz 1/8th oz spinnerbait on another was the only way I could get any attention from the Bass. Two hits in 10 minutes on the spinnerbait whilst slow rolling back in 4m of water and then not a touch for a thousand casts. The Chubby though got absolutely smashed, just as two blokes came paddling by muttering to each other 'Hyukk, he dem knows where da Bass ain't'. Just as quickly though the Bass turned the yak and headed for home, this was a good fish so was a little devastated when it bricked me in its deep snag pile and stole my lure, no amount of hurt or PA weight could stop it.
After 4 hours of throwing my complete tackle and outfit arsenal I conceded defeat. With a bruised ego and a burnt body I notched up another Brogo donut, definitely not for lack of trying though. Speaking to a couple of guys back at the ramp some fish had been caught and as usual with Bass it was low light dawn and dusk which accounted for the majority. My parents house in Pambula is a good hour and a bit away so fishing these periods without camping overnight has always proven to be a little tricky. Its standard Bass fishing fare though and when it comes to quality fishing experiences here the middle of the day just doesn't cut it (I wouldn't have said that if I landed the fish).
Lake G Shebang -
With one day to go before I returned to work for a year I needed a fix, something to keep my mind off the reality set whilst not taking all day to achieve. A trip to the local lakes was in order, and with a plethora of choices I made the decision to search for old mate. Old mate can come in many forms, could be your grumpy neighbour, could be some stranger across the street who is wearing flares ("Hey, check out old mate!") or it could be Old Kent. Make of it what you will but in this case it was definitely old mate the Murray Cod, targetted on on Old Kent's rewarding stomping grounds.
I chose not to visit Lake Ginninderra, kind of have a love hate relationship with that place. Most times I don't manage much at all and I swear it has the smallest Redfin known to man. However, other times I have seen a couple of Golden Perch caught and have read in the past about monster Cod stealing rod, reel and lure/baits from unsuspecting anglers. It was time to give it another shot but I was running later than anticipated, looks like a mid morning tryst in sweltering heat was all I was going to get. Still a gift horse scenario though, 10 minutes from door to ramp, rather than a 5 hour round trip average, talk about hub life.
Trolled along the rock wall and hit the course the GPS had pre-plotted, determined from past routes and marks. Trolled weed edges out into 5m and switched lures to a Poltergeist and Glass Shad Rap (In Koich colour green). Trolled down to opposite the infamous old Police boat ramp, turned around and headed back. Surprising the lack of depth in areas away from the spillway, maintaining 4-5m was easy out in the open, especially with random weed patches that stretched for what seemed like runway lengths (Marked and noted).
Looked for Old Kent and came across a few electric powered tinnies with BCF clad warriors, one crew mentioned a couple of Yellowbelly boated but only after persuasive enquiry and a demeaning glance (On their behalf, not mine). On the return journey with no signs of either old mates the GL3 finally goes off and its got some weight and its playing up proper. No headshakes so rules out Golden, could it be that old mate has found me, hunting down a switched Jackal Suji Shrimp Deep Chubby after the rapping shad whack failed?
Five minutes after the take I start to see colour, scales and one familiar pattern, screw you old mate it's a bloody Carp. Quite a big one too that was going to give my new rubberised NZ Kayaker net a run for its money. A sporting fight considering I was fishing 6lb/6lb and I was taking it easy due to my last remaining Chubby stuck firmly in its gob. Took about 10 minutes all up and was immediately bludgeoned to death with the wrong end of my lip grips. This fish was destined for my garden bed but slipped out my hands after the final photo back from whence it came. For the record, let me assure readers it was dead, dead, dead.
Broke my tiny Redfin PB by -2cm with a whopping 7cm model and believe it or not was fairly happy with how the day turned out (But no old mate, no old kent though either). Nearing the boat ramp I spied a kayak being set up and immediately made my way over to gloat to Kent (It must be Kent!). Needless to say an ex ABT GF boat straight from the local dealer loomed from behind the reeds with no old mate anywhere. Met some nice blokes and the kayaks owner on shore, shot the breeze and pointed them in the way of the forum before one last glance around and one packed up car.
