Nick's Fishing

Trip to Arthurs

2012-01-02T09:43:00.000+11:00

Went to Arthurs with Cameron. Water level was 1m under full, and we went to the top of the cowpaddock. Near some waterlogged trees we found a bunch of risers. Cameron got 5, looking for 'sippers'. I got one, looking for rising fish. All on the highland dun.

Lessons -- long leaders (12') are necessay. No action on the wets -- though did miss one hit. Also, sunscrean in the backpack and not in the car (ouch!)

Tyenna

2011-11-29T13:14:00.000+11:00

Got up at 4:30, on the water by 6, home by 10. 7 fish, plus lost another. Biggest was 18", and 2x 16". Lots of activity in the first hour before the sun hit the water.

Goal achieved

2011-11-09T18:55:00.000+11:00

One of my Fly fishing goals was a 'bag limit' -- 12 fish over 10 inches -- on the fly. Finally achieved it on last Monday on the Tyenna. Got 15 fish -- one was 8", one was 8" and foul hooked. But the other were legal to much larger. Biggest landed was 22", with another 3 x 20"+. For each fish hooked, failed to hook another 2 on the strike.

Also lost two motable fish. One was easily bigger than the 22" fish. I had it to the bank, but couldnt land it. Another was 20"+ foul hooked on a size 16 pheasant tail. It went airborne about 5 times, took me downstream, and went under a log. I could touch it, but not get it out.

All fish were on bead headed nymphs -- size 16 with tungsten bead heads was the killer, though the really big one was on a simple possum bead head.

Four Springs

2011-10-05T10:41:00.000+11:00

A bluebird day. Walked further up the shore line. One hit that broke the line at a wind knot. Otherwise it was flat calm, and nothing much happened.

Four Springs

2011-09-22T09:17:00.002+10:00

Tried a stick caddis, dragonfly, and wooly bugger. All to no effect. I am planning on taking up knitting.

Low Head Pilot Light

2011-09-21T12:10:00.000+10:00

High winds made it unpleasant. Tried berley, but no response. One foul hooked toadfish. A group arrived to squid fish, but had no luck either.

Four Springs

2011-09-21T12:09:00.000+10:00

38mins from car park to lake. A bright sunny day. One 12" fish in the last light on a dragonfly nymph. There was some movement before that ignored the bugger, so a change of fly was the key.

North Esk

2011-09-15T05:51:00.000+10:00

28 mins from car park to first access point. 31 minutes till the 'bridge'. Fished above the bridge. Had a platypus swim right past me while standing on the bank. 2 fish -- one 11" and one 14". Then back to Launceston to pick the kids up from the redline bus.

Brumby's Creek

2011-09-15T05:49:00.000+10:00

34 minutes from car park to the creek. Two good hits right below one of the weirs.

Brushy Lagoon

2011-09-13T10:15:00.000+10:00

Brushy lagoon was stocked with 1000 rainbows a week ago. Left at 4:00. Took 52 minutes to get there via the highway (i.e., not via Exeter). Not a touch. Saw one taken, and heard of another two.

Four Springs

2011-08-18T00:03:00.000+10:00

After work. 1x 18" Brown that fought well above its weight. Its fins were damaged -- possibly from the transfer from Great lake.. When the line tightened another one just near the line surfaced in fright. Weather was rain and wind.

Four Springs

2011-08-11T13:28:00.001+10:00

Got there after work. Perfect fishing weather, but no fish. Wind was southerly for a change, so I fished the other side of the weed beds -- but no sign. Not a rise, or touch.

Brushy Lagoon

2011-08-10T13:26:00.001+10:00

The lagoon had just been stocked, and there were a ton of people. However, the wind was cold, I was only there for an hour, and I, like everyone else, didnt see a fish.

Four Springs

2011-04-21T08:14:00.000+10:00

Last night, and the night before, went to Four Springs for the evening. In both cases skunked. First night saw a few rising fish as the lake calmed to mirror smooth. Second night had a fair ripple, but no action, not even a rise!

Four Springs

2011-04-12T20:19:00.000+10:00

IT was pissing down. Even got soaked through my Orvis waterproof jacket -- rain getting in through the air vents and the cuffs.

Lost two (broke off the fly on the strike on both). Missed one. Got a 14 / 15" rainbow that ran twice -- fought well above its weight. Lost the bugger when unhooking it.

Four Springs

2011-04-12T10:33:00.000+10:00

A 3 to 4 lber hit the wooly bugger and went airbourne. The tippet broke, and I lost my last bugger (I left the right fly box at home!)

Spoke to a guy in the car park that lost a massive fish on a mudeye fished just below the surface. He also recommended a stick caddis.

Leaving the car park there was something on the road. I stopped and looked. It was an owl. It turned its back to me, lifted its tail, and pooped. Then it flew away.

Four Springs

2011-04-06T09:43:00.000+10:00

Left work at 4, on water at 5, dusk at 6.

One brown, 16", on a redfin wooly bugger.

Four Springs

2011-03-30T21:44:00.000+11:00

After work. One 10" brown.

Four Springs

2011-03-24T21:45:00.001+11:00

Raining cats and dogs. 2x 20" Rainbows.

Four Springs

2011-03-23T21:46:00.002+11:00

1x 16" Rainbow

Learning Fly Fishing and Platypuss spotting

2011-01-10T09:56:00.001+11:00

Took Madison, Patrick, and Alex to the Tyenna to spot platypuss and to learn to fly fish. Got all three casting, and then went to below the salmon farm. We tried there with soft plastics, and had a few follows. Then up to Tyenna Rd to catch some small ones. No luck. Finally, back to the weir to spot platypuss. Fish were rising everywhere, and the kids fished excitedly. Patrick switched to fly, and then Alex. Patrick ran off with Madison to try the opposite bank. Alex tied on a white moth, and after some false casts got a trout -- hooked perfectly in the mouth. His first trout was on the fly, on a dry, on the first day. It took me a year!

St Patricks River

2010-10-18T21:49:00.002+11:00

At the campground -- 40 mins exactly from the office.

6 on a green woolly bugger. One was large -- over a pound. (Large for the St Pats!)

St Patricks River

2010-10-13T21:13:00.000+11:00

Headed up for a quick fish after work. 3 on a green woolly bugger.

St Patricks River

2010-10-11T21:14:00.001+11:00

Got lost getting there, but finally found a spot to fish with an hour before sunfall. Got two nice fish on a green Woolly Bugger

3 days, 3 locations, 3 big fish

2010-09-12T20:02:00.000+10:00

The family were off in Sydney, so got Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday to Fish.

Friday afternoon I went to Brumbies creek. I started off fly fishing. First fly was a wooly bugger, but I soon lost that on a snag. Looking in the fly box, I chose a fancy yellow and black matuka, on the theory that it would never catch a fish, but since I never catch anything in Brumbies that didnt matter, and if I lost it that wouldnt matter either. 10 minutes later I had two trout and was amazed. It was getting dark, so I went back to the car and got a soft plastic. Fishing in the same location, I got a big trout. It would only have weighed 2lb, though was big enough to be a 3 lb fish. It was all head and a skinny body, obviously recovering from spawning. (Its the fish in the pic)

Next day I went to Brush lagoon and set up the fishcat. I rowed up the lagoon, trailing a fly as I went. It was hard rowing, as while the sky was grey (good), the wind was fierce and blowing back down the lagoon. About 1/2 way up I got a nice 2lb brown on the fly -- a green sculpin imitation. I was amazed at no redfin, even though the lake is full of them. And every man and their dog was there looking for the released Salmon. Left about 4 after a good 6 hours of rowing and fishing. Great exercise. And it was nice to get a reasonable fish on the fly.

The Sunday started at Four Springs. This was only my second visit, and like my first visit it was blowing a gale and you couldnt cast a fly or lure. I drove away, but a mile away decided to turn back and at least give it a try. I waded the shore near the boat ramp. The wind was howling onto the shore, and all I could do was wade out as far as I could and cast back towards the shore. Amazingly, and despite lots of wading warnings, this part of the lake had good wading and a gentle slope, so I could get a fair way from the weedy shoreline. Casting into the weeds I got a savage take from a 3lb fish that fought well above its weight. A spectacular fish! No more touches so I gave up at Lunch and went to Brushy Lagoon. The wind was worse their, and I managed one tiny redfin. I headed back to Four Springs and tried the shoreline again, this time going to the right of the boatramp. Got another trout, but this was a small 1/2 pound fish. Finally, as it was getting late I got another savage take from a large fish that broke me off. Called it a day and went home to pack for Sydney the next day.

Openning Day

2010-08-08T14:27:00.001+10:00

Went to the Tyenna. Got there at 7:00 -- there was already a car at the salmon farm. Went up to the weir. Got a nice fish on the first cast, and got 3 more in the next 10 minutes. Someone else arrived, so I went home at 7:30

Elizabeth wanted to go fishing the next day, so I took her. We had a platypuss swim past, and she got a nice trout on soft plastics.

Tilting at windmills with a fly rod!

2010-06-10T21:07:00.003+10:00

Met up with Jeroen for pike fishing in Holland. We were supposed to be casting large gurglers for big fish. Unfortunately, the weather had been cold, so the pike werent co-operating. Even worse, the day was bright and sunny. We did see lots of carp spawning. And lots of Rudd. I finally caught some Rudd on a unweighted nymph. They were surprisingly hard to catch -- they would rush the fly and engulf it, but there was no line movement to show that a take had occurred. So I missed the vast majority of strikes.

The day was fantastic - -I got to see lots of Holland, and Jeroen was a great host. A most memorable day!!!!

A fantastic day with Eric

2010-03-14T22:59:00.001+11:00

Went out in Eric's boat with Eric and Elizabeth. (No -- I didnt just take Eric's boat and leave Eric behind!)

The day started off windy and choppy, but the wind calmed down and the day was fantastic. Clear, Blue, Warm. Just perfect!!!!

We started at South Arm, near the pidgeon holes, and drifted as we fished. Got a few little flathead, and then Eric got a reasonable Couta on a soft plastic that was at mid depths. Also managed some wrasse and gurnards. Elizabeth got something strong that jumped -- we suspect a salmon.

Eventually we motored to the iron pot and anchored, and Eric threw out the berley pot. A TON of fish suddely appeared at the back of the boat. They looked like some sort of mackerel. And underneath them were couta. I couldnt resist, and got out the fly outfit to try. And all of a sudden all the fish disappeared! It was like a switch had just turned them off. Eric surmises that something large had swum up for a look. I did get a bite off on a fly, but no hookups.

With no action, we went over to Blackmans bay, and got some more flathead and an octopus. Then in and home.

A fantastic day though -- just fantastic. And Elizabeth caught more fish than I did :)

Further Brushy Lagoon trials

2010-03-10T22:36:00.000+11:00

Managed to sneak out after work. It was bright and sunny with no wind, and the lagoon was packed -- I counted 5 other cars! There was a kayack and two small aluminium dinghies out on the lagoon, with the rest fishing off the bank.

Tried out in the middle near the sunken timber, for 2x small redfin. Moved over to some reeds, and got a bunch of redfin and something larger. The something larger swam into a weed bed and flicked off. Got another 8x small redfin before it got dark and had to head home.

Brushy Lagoon

2010-03-06T15:47:00.002+11:00

Tried the outcast fishcat for the first time. Awesome. Though I need a rod holder. 10x small redfin, but the trout were rising near me, so there were fish to be caught! Day was bright and sunny with no wind.

Getting wet with Eric

2010-03-06T15:33:00.002+11:00

Eric called, and amongst work stuff we decided to go out for a fish on the Saturday morning. The plan was we would calle ach other at 8:00 am and decide what to do.

I had a tense Friday night (lost my Maharajah wargame), and woke up at 4:00 am on Saturday. After some early morning putzing, I headed down to Erics place, to be there at 8:00 am on the dot. The river was mirror calm - perfect for fishing / boating. I got to Erics, planning to call him and announce I was outside. But shock horror -- I didnt have his phone number in my mobile. And the house looked asleep. No worries -- I went to the end of Kingston beach (a few hundred meters away)and fished off the rocks. Got a follow from a small squid when using a yellow soft plastic.

Eric called, and said he would get the boat out and come around and pick me up, but that the wind was picking up. I walked towards the beach, leaving the rocks. In the 100 meters I walked the wind picked up dramatically. Suddenly you couldnt see the other side of the channel. Eric called to say it was too rough, and we decided to go to the fishing shop, and then down to NW river.

Fishing shop was fun. Eric bought a new life-preserver -- something I need to do too at some point.

Went to NW river. There was a guy fly fishing at the carpark, but he hadnt had much luck. We walked down stream and fished, but no luck. We kept going down and fished the estury. Eric got a descent flathead. The we walked back to the car, picking blackberries. The path went right along the river bank, and Eric joked about what would happen if he fell in. I volunteered that I would make sure his equipment had a good home. Then not 50 yards later, I wasnt paying attention where I placed my feet, and I toppled in. I remember thinking I have a choice how to fall, and twisting my body so my upper body landed on dry land, but the bottom half was soaked.
Like all good fishermen, I had a change of clothes in the car, so I change clothes and we went home. All in all a good days fishing -- lots happened!

Conningham

2010-01-26T22:05:00.000+11:00

Went out in the morning while there was still some cloud cover. Slowly drifted around past the sphinx. Got 25 flathead and 1 gurnard. While fishing for flathead all of a sudden the water behind me started boiling with blackbacks. Cast out and lost one. The water went quiet. And a strong wind came up. Started rowing back to conningham, trolling as I went. It was HARD going. Then the rod went over -- with a squid! Another squid was trying to eat the first one as I bought it in! I had to anchor and rest for a while. While anchored I span from the boat, and got a blackback. Finally rowed back against the head wind, totally knackered.

Went out in the late afternoon, after the wind had quieted down. As I walked down to the beach a school of blackbacks went ballistic right off the sphinx. I rowed over there toot sweet but no salmon to be found. Got 30 flathead and 4 octopus (or possibly the one octopus 4 times!). Finally started rowing back and trolling, and got two blackbacks.

Got home and Elizabeth and Saranya wanted to go out. So off again. Just off the beach. Elizabeth got 8 flathead and a cod. Saranya got 4 flathead. And I got 4 flathead and a cod. All small.

Conningham

2010-01-24T10:04:00.001+11:00

Went to the beach again at night. This time just with spinning gear. Elizabeth hooked about 5 before I got one. I switched to a soft plastic, and even though I could only cast out half the distance, I was getting a fish a cast. Stopped at 8 fish each.

Conningham

2010-01-23T22:00:00.001+11:00

Went to the shack. On the previous evening at dusk we saw a fisherman on the shore. I had to go and speak to him, and as we watched he hooked something large that ran out to the middle of the bay, breaking his 40lb line!

I got the surf rod, some bluebait, and Elizabeth and I went down for the evening to try to replicate the trick. Chucked out the bait, but got nothing. But Elizabeth and I span of the shore and got a bunch of fish. At least, Elizabeth got a bunch of fish :( lol. All small flathead.

St Pat's

2010-01-19T22:30:00.000+11:00

Drove to the St Pat's river. Drive is 15min to the first fishable spot, and 30 mins to the last spot on the highway. (40 mins if you go up the road into the state forest). Fished at the last spot on the Tasman highway.

Got one small brown on a nymph, and had 2 small rises I missed. Found a pool FULL of rising fish, but no response. Then got a rainbow on a royal wulff. Saw a platypuss up close.

Had two sheep come up close to say hello -- very affectionate! No eating lamb anymore!!!!

Secret Spot

2010-01-17T10:18:00.000+11:00

Figured out someone elses secret spot. Always a danger if you post pictures on the internet!

They had lots of pictures of big fish caught on soft plastics. I managed to get to the spot, but was using fly gear. Managed one nice fish (25cm) of a wooley bugger. Was broken off by something bigger -- but who knows how big. I guess not that big -- it was in fast water and I guess it was an aggressive rainbow. Then worked upstream and found some large pools with very slow water movement. No results there -- but the water was fishy. Also, it was hard to fly cast into some of the pools -- far better with soft plastics.

Moved on to the Meander. Got a small fish on a wooley bugger. And found a great stretch to fish for the future.

Huntsman Dam

2010-01-12T22:20:00.000+11:00

Went to hunstman dam after work. Almost an hour to drive there from Launceston. A smallish lake surrounded by hills. Not too windy -- but windy enough to make my casting abysmal. Fished the north shore, where the Meander River came in. At this point the Meander is small pocket water, with no pools for fish of any size. Didnt see any fish in the lake, and lost a lot of flies to the drowned scrub. The dam is not particularly fish friendly -- it is gated with electronic gates that close at 8:00 pm. So its hard to stay for the evening rise.

Left and stopped at the Meander river at the town of Meander. Saw fish rising immediately, and tried with the dry fly. Got two takes on a Royal Coachman, and one on an Elk Hair Caddis. But missed them all. Switched to a wooley bugger fished down and accross, and almost immediately got a nice fish (30cm), followed by losing another nice fish.

Bellerive Bluff

2010-01-02T09:15:00.001+11:00

Went for a 1/2 hour at 6.30 am. No fish, and despite the water being mirror calm, a fair swell. So I left before I got too wet!

Bruny Island

2009-12-20T12:46:00.000+11:00

Went to Bruny on the Friday night. It was blowing a gale. A quick trip to the jetty showed it to windy to fish.

The next morning it was still squally. Span off the beach with a metal pilchard for Salmon. Caught 25, plus a tern. All released unharmed. Later got two flathead on the jetty, and saw a dead octopus in the water.

Brushy Lagoon

2009-12-11T10:38:00.002+11:00

Brushy Lagoon is a smallish impoundment to the West of Launceston. It took me 50 minutes from office to dam wall to get there -- so its not that convenient for an after work fish.

I got there at 7 pm on a gray rainy day. I rigged up a 5 weight intermediate line with a green woolly bugger and started fishing near the dam wall.

After 10 minutes I had a soft tug, and connected to a small redfin. Some people dont like redfin, but I love the action a school of redfin provide, so I was happy! But there was only one reddy -- normally you get a ton once you find a school. Another 10 minutes later I got another soft tug. I struck gently, so I wouldnt lift the fish out of the water, and someone let a grenade go off at the end of my line! I saw a brief flash of belly -- it was something in the 5lb +/- 2lb range. I suspect it was a stocked atlantic salmon.

Tried the other end of the dam wall, and started connecting regularly with redfin. By this time I had switched to a red and black woolly bugger. I cast the line out and before I could grab the line and start retrieving something big smashed the bugger and broke the line.

Eventually it got dark and the line got tangled, so I put the rod in the car and tried the spinning rod. But the spinning rod kept connecting with weed -- definitely better as a fly water.

Four Springs

2009-12-10T11:49:00.002+11:00

Went to Four Springs after work. An interesting lake. But the wind was blowing a gale (as it does on most Tasmanian lakes), so it was virtually unfishable. Used a cobra for 10 minutes and then gave up.

Timed the trip from the office -- it was 40 minutes door to boat ramp.

North Esk

2009-12-08T22:51:00.001+11:00

Fished about 1/2 way up at an angler access point. Got one on a nymph. Calculated the drive in was 40 minutes from Launceston, and I could have got to Brumbies in that time. The spot was very pretty, but I stupidly didnt take a picture.
Saw a black cockatoo and several wallabies, and a flock of wild ducks.

Low Head

2009-11-26T09:48:00.005+11:00

Set the alarm for 2:30 a.m. Slow getting up, but out the door by 3.30 a.m., and got to low Head by about 4:30 a.m.

The tide was high and there was no wind. Under the light at the pilots pier there was an amazing number of fish. At first they all appeared to be toadfish. Then I spotted a large puffer fish. And then a narrow grey fish -- some sort of mullet I guess. A little later a school of small pike went by. Then I noticed a perch like fish with black and white vertical stripes -- just one small one -- feeding in the deep water. A little later a narrow eel shape went past -- a small couta (which I caught). And as the dawn broke a large parrot fish appeared.

Ater a while I went to the other end of the jetty and fished around the small beach. At a fraction past 5:00 am Got the largest salmon I have had in a long while on a paddle tail minnow soft plastic. The fish was large enough to break the line when I tried to lift it out of the water -- it was a good 2+ kilo fish. Unfortunately, salmon are normally fantastic fighters, but this one was just a weight, so I am guessing I gill hooked or otherwise damaged the fish.

As the light appeared I went to the breakwater and fished there. A cormorant in front of me got 3 or 4 minnows. But I had no luck. Left at 6:00 a.m.

Brumbies Creek

2009-11-18T09:45:00.000+11:00

Got up at sparrow fart and checked out brumbies before heading into work. Saw a fish move behind a willow, but otherwise drew a blank.

Tyenna River

2009-10-29T11:19:00.002+11:00

Went for a fish with Cameron. A civilised start at 9:00. The river was almost perfect -- clear, low enough to wade, and not cold. We fished the lower reaches near the saw mill. I got one smaller fish on a bead head nymph, and got another strike I missed. Cameron had no luck (an unusual result!)

Then went to the Salmon Ponds for coffee and pancakes. Home by 5. Didnt actually fish that much -- spent a lot of time just catching up.

Low Head

2009-10-21T07:04:00.003+11:00

The fishing report in the paper recommended the pilot jetty at low head at night -- stating it was impressive to see the couta / squid under the lights. I was anxious to give it a try, so off I went after work. Got a 40cm couta at 8:00 pm, which was just about low tide. The lights came on then, and suddenly the water was full of toad fish. The wind was high, an nothing else was visible, so left at 9:00 pm. Note to self -- try again in the morning / middle of the night, when the tide is high or at 1/2 tide. Even at low tide the currents were impressive!!!! Didnt see a couta or squid under the lights -- but the number of toadfish was astounding!!!

Brumbies Creek

2009-09-16T21:58:00.002+10:00

Went to Brumbies after work.

The water was low and minimal week growth at the sides of the banks. No fish (though may have had a touch). No pics as the camera was left in the car, and when I got back it was very dark.

Need to fix the fly line -- take off the last foot that is very tattered!

Tasmanian Ballroom Dance Competition

2009-08-15T21:38:00.000+10:00

It was the Tasmanian Ballroom Dance Competition. And while the rest of the faimily was involved, I got a free pass!!!!! The plan was to head to Arthurs or Toombs. On the morning I discovered i was supposed to act as transport for the family. And whats more -- Alex had lost his bow tie. So I had to hang around till openning time for the shops to buy ALex a new bow tie. Once the tie was sourced and dropped off, I headed North. It took almost 2 hours to get to Arthurs, so I didnt arrive till just before noon. The weather was warm and still in Hobart. It was blowing a gale at Arthurs. And the lake was down -- the cow paddock was a shallow ditch! Despite massivce rain that had filled lakes elsewhere -- I guess this means Arthurs had been really down!!!!

No fish at the cowpaddock, and the wind was so strong it was getting dangerous. Went to Jonah Bay campground and fished there -- the bay was sheltered from the wind and was relativly calm. No luck. Gave up and went to Penstock -- again found an area sheltered by trees. No luck. The lake was flooded with water up in the trees, but no movement in the trees either.

In summary -- didnt see a fish all day or get a touch.

Openning Day

2009-08-01T22:55:00.002+10:00

Went to the Tyenna at 7:00 am. Got there at 8:00 -- there were a good 1/2 dozen cars spread along the river. Fished below the salmon farm -- but the river was high and couldnt get the fly down deep enough. Got one bite (struck three times) on an egg sucking leech -- but the fish must have been small. Another fisherman got a great one at the same spot on a hard body lure. Tried downstream drifting a soft platic under a willow on the fly line, and hooked another small fish. But then had to go home.

Fishing with Eric

2009-01-25T12:14:00.000+11:00

Took Elizabeth out on the boat. A beautiful sunny day.

Fishing with Eric

2008-09-06T05:48:00.000+10:00

Eric tried out his new boat. We tried NorthWest bay. Frist tried near the powder jetty, and got a small flathead or two. Moved over to conningham for no real result. Moved over to Bruny for no real result. Finally fished near tinderbox (outside the reserve) and Eric got something large that took the soft plastic and broke the line. Work called and the day was over :(

Tyenna, 16/2/2008

2008-02-23T10:27:00.000+11:00

I just survived two days on the Tyenna.

Day 1 was a mental health day. I shot up there before the weekend crowds. The plan was to fish the river hard, and see what I could do. I started off up at the Tyenna Rd bridge (where the track is into the falls). The day started off in fine form, with fish frequent. I was fishing a dry with a nymph dropper. At one point I had a fish on each! But after and hour of lots of action the river suddenly went quiet. I explored a bit, and then decided to try some other locations. But it seems that plenty of fishermen had decided to try Friday afternoon as well. I tried below the fish farm, where I saw the leviathan. It looks like the secret has been discovered. Instead of the large number of big fish, I saw one 3lber, and that was it. I also saw lots of lures, line, litter, etc. Final score for the day was 6, with as many lost in the fight. One platypus that came within a rods length. And a narrow miss of a kangaroo on the way home.

Day 2 was take the kids into town day. No sooner had they got in the car than they started fighting. As we were driving in I tried to get them to stop. Instead it escalated. By the time we were in town it was full scale war. So I turned around and drove home -- telling them they could walk in if they wanted to go into town. This caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Being teenagers, there was even some interesting language. When I got home Susan said that to show that I meant it, I should head out and go fishing -- to really drive the point home. So back to the Tyenna.

Every spot on the Tyenna had a car. I didnt get there till 1:00pm, but still -- the river was being hit hard. Went back up to the Tyenna Rd spot -- there was even a car there. So I parked near the bridge and bush bashed through to the river. After 50 meters of sweat I found a track, which I followed to a magnificent pool, full of fish. Tried fishing with hoppers, and got one almost straight away. Tried other flies to no response. Back on with the hopper, and lots of looks. The key seemed to be the hopper with a yellow body -- I had some with tan and grey bodies, and they were ignored. I worked upstream from the pool, and had some more luck with a hopper in the next pool, and missed a few in some fast water. Eventually I came to a very long, deep, pool. At this point I decided that it was getting late, and I should head back. I wasn't looking forward to wading back down the river. However, the forest by the pool seemed to be open gum forest, so I thought I would try walking through that for a bit. I climber up the bank, and found the train track was 4 meters away. Once I was on the train track, I decided to walk upriver a bit and explore some more, and found a couple more pools at a bridge nearby. More luck with the hopper at this pool, fishing until dark and walking back along the track. Final score was 3 on a hopper and one on a bugger, with a good 6 or more missed on the hopper. Also missed one on a royal coachman wet.

Cairns Trip - Day 11

2007-09-18T16:08:00.001+10:00

Went to the top end of Trinity beach again. No luck. Went to the jetty that evening, but again little luck. By this point I had probably given up fishing in Cairns. It is really only good if you have a boat -- which I didnt have.

Cairns Trip - Day 10

2007-09-17T16:03:00.002+10:00

Went to the top end of trinity beach. Got a meter long ribbontail. Lost a lure, and (foul?) hooked a milkfish but didn’t land it. (Pic is a ribbon tail caught on the jetty)

Cairns Trip - Day 9

2007-09-16T15:57:00.001+10:00

Went on a fishing charter with Alex. Alex was HOT – he got a flounder, a big fingermark that we kept, a toadfish, a grunter, and a queenfish. I got a grinner. The rest of the party (5 people from NZ) got two toadfish, a small fingermark, and a small trevally.

The wind was coming from the North. I went to the jetty to try for the afternoon – lots of bait fish to be seen. I got a follow from a large silver thing. Not much catching though.

Cairns Trip - Day 8

2007-09-15T15:53:00.001+10:00

Went to the palm cove jetty with Elizabeth. Got something large that ran for a while and then spat back ½ a soft plastic. Got a hit immediately after that cut the line. Then it went quiet.

Cairns Trip - Day 7

2007-09-14T15:52:00.001+10:00

Went to Yule point really early to see what I could russle up. Nothing. Went to Port Douglas and fished off the rock wall at the park. Got nothing. Tried 4 mile beach. Got nothing.

Cairns Trip - Day 6

2007-09-13T15:50:00.001+10:00

Went to Yule Point first thing in the morning. Lots of bait, but nothing hit the fly. Tried spinning and got 2 small fingermark? and a flathead. The tide was rising, and Yule point is a falling tide fishery.

Cairns Trip - Day 5

2007-09-12T15:47:00.001+10:00

Got up early and went to Four Mile Beach (at the bottom of Port Douglas). The plan was to fly fish the shallows at dawn. But it took me a long time to get to the beach and find access. I got the spinning rod out for a quick recon fish. Started wading out in bare feet towards a sand bank– the water got up to my knees, and then started getting shallower . Saw a splash to the end of the sand bank, and let fly with a tassie devil. Bang – something reeled off line. Eventually it tired, and I started gaining line. Saw a long thin fin flapping – thought it must be something exotic. And it was – a ray hooked in the tail. I broke the line and let it go. Noticed two rays on the bottom within sight – suddenly the bare feet didn’t look so good.

The tide was coming in, so I moved closer to shore. In the gutter behind the sand bar I got a trevally. Moved into shore and down the beach. Saw some bait so I tried casting near the bait – got a small flathead.

Came back to the apartment and took the kids shopping. Hit ‘Erskines’ tackle and asked about shore based fishing – to be told there was bugger all in the Cairns area.

Rigged tip a clear tip 7 weight tropic line for the next day

Cairns Trip - Day 4

2007-09-11T15:40:00.001+10:00

Went to the creek at 6:00 am. Right where I had been the previous night there were 3 slides from crocodiles – each about 40cm across. The crocs appeared to be about 1m.

Tried a Pop-R. Heard a splash and, looking across, saw a reed move. Dropped the pop-R right next to the reed and got a hit. Popped it once more and got another hit. Nothing more though, Finally got a tarpon on a soft plastic – and it went straight up – lots of fun for a small fish. But, when all is said and done, they were using bigger fish as bait off the jetty.

Went to the jetty and got a small ‘scad’ and a ‘sort of flathead’

Drove up the coast and scouted out the fishing.

After dinner went to the jetty and looked. About 40 people, many drinking beer. Not much catching.

Cairns Trip - Day 3

2007-09-10T15:28:00.001+10:00

Kurandra train and Skytrain.

Got back and tried the jetty. Got a cowfish on a gulp. The weather was windy and the water was murky.

After it got dark gave up – no fish appeared under the piles of the jetty. Went down to the creek and heard losts of activity, but got nothing.

Cairns Trip - Day 2

2007-09-09T15:24:00.001+10:00

Got up early and went to the Jetty to fish. It was calm at fist, but by 10 a sea breeze was starting. Fished using soft plastics – gulps. Saw another fisherman doing the same. We got lots of nibbles, and I lost one without feeling anything – the line just went slack. Eventually got a small stripped fish with lots of spikes.

Went to the fishing store at lunch time to get gulps and some rattle based lures for the murky water. Eventually found the owner, and got some good info on where to fish. Hot spots were Port Douglas – the bottom of 4 mile beach, the palm cove jetty, around the point from the palm cove jetty, a headland between Port Douglas and Palm cove, and finally a creek near Palm cove which had its outlet to the sea blocked.

That evening went to the creek (pictured) – got 3 hits, but no fish. Had an audience. Went to the jetty for 10 minutes and tried the rattletrap, but no luck.

Cairns Trip - Day 1

2007-09-08T15:17:00.001+10:00

Got up at 4:00am for the flight to Cairns. As usual, there was mass panic and waving of arms involved in the trip. We got to Cairns at about 2:30. By the time we got a car, got to the hotel, and settled in it was 4:30, and I was dog tired. I walked down to the palm cove jetty to check it out – there were 20-30 people fishing. Not much catching though! There was a strong sea breeze, and the water was cloudy.

NZ Trip -- Day 8

2007-07-27T15:03:00.001+10:00

Went to a river near Taupo. Found the fish were in, and got a bunch!!!! There was a nice one right under the current in this pool. Turning the corner, there were 4 or 5 fish below the trees at the end of this pool.

NZ Trip -- Day 7

2007-07-26T00:53:00.001+10:00

I got up early and walked down to the Tongariro. Fishing under the bridge, I got 3 nice fish.

Got back to the van at about 9:00 am, and headed upriver with Dad. The aim was to fish the 'secret spot' near the Blue pool, but someone was already there! Went to the Blue Pool, and it was virtually empty -- just one other fisherman. Decided to give it a try, but Dad spent time getting rigged up, and three other cars drove up and went down to the pool. So we walked upstream -- and found some magic fishing holes (with no fish). The holes were deep, and I couldnt get Dad to wade in deep enough to get a fly into the deep fast water on the far bank.

After some lunch we went to the stream near the jail to try for some fish. Dad was far more comfortable with this stream -- the wading was simple, and the fish would be in obvious lies. The big, brawling Tongariro had him intimidated. I had no luck, but as we were finishing up and slowly fishing back to the van Dad tried under some overhanging banks, and had an aggresive take. he didnt even need to set the hook. After some spectacular splashing, the fish swam under a log, and Dad broke his Orvis 8 weight trying to horse the fish away before it got under the log. Thank goodness for the Orvis rod guarantee!

After a break to re-rig we tried the small stream some more. I saw several large fish in pools upriver -- but I only saw them as I spooked them.

Of to Turangi to try the local Chinese takeaway!

NZ Trip -- Day 6

2007-07-25T00:32:00.001+10:00

Met the guide for our 1/2 day introduction to the area. He explained the basic tackle (floating line, 10-12 feet flat leader to a bomb, 18" dropper to an egg or other fly), and took us to some points. We drove up the river and pulled in at various pools, where we got the good oil on what to do (take the right path and go upstream 1/2 a km until you get to the X pool, etc.). We drove up to the blue pool to be shown a secret sure fire spot -- only to find a party of fishermen wading through that location, right where the fish would be!

Drove back down and tried the braided area below the bridge. I got a touch from some pure silver on the second cast into a nice pool. But there were fishermen eveywhere. After trying some of the braids we moved on to some small streams. We tried two, including one near the local jail. No fish seen, but also no fishermen.

We went back to turangi for lunch and said farewell to the guide. Then we headed back to the 'secret spot' near the Blue Pool to try for something in the rested water. No luck, and Dad found the aggresive current hard. As dusk approached we went back to the camper, but I tried fishing through the Blue Pool with a down and accross wet -- no luck though.

So back to Turangi for dinner -- take away Pizza.

NZ Trip -- Day 5

2007-07-24T00:10:00.001+10:00

Leaving the Rotorua area to head down to Taupo.

We spent the night at a recommended large trout lake. I got up a first light to fish, but had no luck. Another guy showed up -- he also had no luck. A father and son showed up, but grabbed rifles and went into the bush. I did see a potoroo / bandicoot sort of creature -- not sure what it was though.

The drive to Taupo took a lot longer than it should have. As usual, the van was a terror to drive.

We got to Turangi at about lumch time. Turangi is an interesting small town -- an ex hydo scheme construction town kept alive by the fishing and skiing. We couldnt see any snow, but there were several people who were obviously skiing. More fishermen though -- the river was packed.

We found a camping ground and booked ourselves in. Then we connected with a guide and discussed our plan for the next days fishing. The plan was for the guide to show us where and how to fish -- not necessarialy to lead us to a fish.

After the preliminaries were over we went and bought up 'bombs' -- sinkers disguised as flies.

And finally we fished for an hour under the bridge, but with no luck.

The off to a restaurant for a steak dinner!

NZ Trip -- Day 4

2007-07-23T20:00:00.001+10:00

This day was devoted to boat fishing on lake Rotoehu.

Got to the lodge at about 8:30. The lodge was right on the lake, and we got into the guides dinghy to troll around the lake. The weather was breezy and cold, but not absolutely freezing as it could have been. The equipment was sinking fly lines trolled behind a slow moving dinghy, with a Tassy Devil as a lure and a fly dropper. The fast sinking fly line got the lure down to about 5 meters deep. The technique was to troll around at the 5 to 6 meter depth mark -- the fish were down deep. There is no spawning stream on Rotoehu, so the fish are all in good condition. The fishing started slow, but got progressivly better and soon we were catching plenty of fish!

Dad kept one for dinner. The guide filletted it, and removed the bones. But, when all was said and done the mess that it made in the camper when we cooked it required a stop at a supermarket to buy cleaning supplies, so it cost more than eating out!

In the end, not my sort of fishing. The guide caught a lot, and I just reeled them in. The skill was in the guides trolling.

Day 4, and still only 2 hours of real fishing. I was starting to get REALLY anxious.

NZ Trip -- Day 3

2007-07-22T09:01:00.001+10:00

After a restless night sleeping in the van in gale force winds, we woke up to a grey, windy, rainy day. Dad wanted to go to the hot springs at Rotorua, so we packed up and headed out.

On the way we stopped at the 'Outdoorsman', a small looking fishing store. But each room openned onto another, and another, and another. This place had fishing, skiing, climbing, camping, etc. etc. There was a good selection for each range. A marveleous place! The sales staff were helpful too, selling us fishing licences, suggesting flies, and giving us locations to try. In particular they suggested lake Tarawera, and gave us detailed directions as to where to fish and how.

We headed into Rotorua and found the hot springs. We soaked for a while. Dad wanted to soak longer, but I was anxious to fish -- we were well into day 3 of 9 and I still hadn't even wetted a line.

Leaving the hot springs we went to another fishing store -- they again suggested Tarawera. We shopped for a bit and got souveniers, and then had lunch at McDonalds.

The clouds lifted and the sun came out, so I convinced Dad to drive up to Tarawera and have a look.

We drove down and there were a couple of people fishing from the shore. I decided to have a fish and got rigged up. Dad hadnt bought his licence yet, so he watched, but finally decided to go and phone in and get a licence. While he was arranging this a guy on the shore got a nice size rainbow -- though it was beatten up from spawning. I was watching his approach -- cast out, let the line sink, and retreive incredibly slowly. I emulated his technique, and got a couple of hits, but no hookup. After moving around a while I found a tiny creek running in to the lake, and tried casting into the current. I had no luck, but moving away from the creek I noticed a swirl right where the creek enterred. Another couple of casts and I was in on a white egg sucking leech. My first NZ trout!

A local came to help me net the fish. Turned out he was a guide and casting instructor. He pointed out some other spots, and also indicated that we were a month late for the best Rotorua fishing, but spot on for the best Taupo fishing!

NZ Trip -- Day 2

2007-07-21T21:10:00.001+10:00

Got up bright and early and headed off to get our camper van. The shuttle bus to the camper van service left at 9:00 am, so that was the earliest we could leave.

Got to Britz and picked up the van. The bastards required a $5,000 bond or charged an extra $20 per day -- so we had to cough up another $160 (as I didnt have $5K free on the credit card). They did offer us a chance to upgrade to a 4 berth camper van for another $9 a day. As it turned out I was so glad I didn't upgrade -- the van we had was a bastard to drive as it was.

Drove out of Britz to a supermarket and stocked up for the trip. Got fruit, ham, bread, mustard, salad stuff, chocolate, cereal, etc. And, in a tribute to Hitch Hickers Guide to the Galaxy, a towel.

We needed to head south on highway one. It should have been a simple drive from the supermarket to the highway. It wasnt -- the van had no visibility out the rear, swayed like a drunk every time we got near a corner, felt like it took up two lanes, and was, in general, a bastard to drive. We got totally lost because we saw the turnoff sign too late, and the van wasnt going to change lanes in anything less than 1km. Ended up weaving through the southern suburbs of Auckland, navigating by feel. (Thats a big road going in the right direction -- maybe if we take that we will hit the highway ....)

Eventually got on the highway and got the behemoth up to a terrifying 80kph. Traffic was shooting past left and right. But I wasn't going to get into the far left lane incase it had to merge with the middle lane -- given my visibility I would have wiped out three cars if I had attempted merging. And I wasn't going faster -- I was having a hard time controlling the beast as it was! By this time I needed some Chocolate just to keep my blood sugar up. Got dad to crack open a bar and pass me some chunks. I ate tentativly while holding onto the steering wheel with white knuckles. He kept making comments along the line of 'This van is great -- its got all the amenities we will need ...'

Heading down through Hamilton towards Rotorua, we had to negotiate what seemed like 50 roundabouts. Roundabouts are OK in a car. But the van was a trickier proposition. Given the slow acceleration and my propensity to stall, I had to wait until there was a VERY large gap in traffic before attempting to go around the roundabout.

After Hamilton we pulled over at a roadside turnout to eat a sandwich. And I had to have more chocolate.

Continued down to Rotorua. We needed to get fishing licences, so we drove into the town to find a sports store. We got to one at 4:10 -- but it had shut at 4:00. The streets were quiet, so the beast wasnt too terrifying. But Rototrua was also full of roundabouts :( After some searching, Dad picked up some KFC for dinner, and we headed out to find a camp ground. We were going fishing in lake Rotoehu the next day, so we drove towards the lake, looking for a camping site. We found a place on lake Rotoini. The supervisor was happy to see us -- it seems we were the only people there!

The campground had a TV room. We went in to watch the news. It was all about rugby. Apparently, in NZ world war III could break out, but it would get second string to the Rugby. And netball -- everyone was excited about the netball test with Australia being played in Melbourne. But as one reporter noted, the Melbourne Age had 14 pages of sport, and not one mention of netball. To most Australians netball is a game for high school girls, not an international competitive sport.

The guide for the next day's fishing called to delay for one day, as the weather was going to be a gale the next day.

The temperature plumeted, and the wind started to pick up. We hit the sack. So far two days travel and no fishing.

NZ Trip -- Day 1

2007-07-20T21:01:00.001+10:00

Got up at 4:00 am to meet Dad at 5:00 am, so we could get the 6:00 am flight to Melbourne. Once there we had a 4 hour wait before flying to Auckland.

Had to pay excess luggage to get on the plane, what with all of my fishing gear. The problem was I took an extra pair of neoprenes, as I wasnt sure Dad would have some, and the water was going to be cold! We were, after all, going for the winter trout runs in NZ.

We got to Auckland at about 5:00 pm (3:00 pm Hobart time -- I didnt realise NZ was two full time zones away). The airport was packed -- there were tons of people coming over for the trinations cup rugby final. It was hard to believe so many people get excited about a leather ball!

We got out of the airport and went to a hotel. Day one spent traveling. Got to a hotel room at 7:00 pm Auckland time -- a good 17 hours of travel :(

Bicheno Bust

2007-03-12T05:05:00.000+11:00

Went to Bicheno for a week. Fished morning and evening. The wind was gale force, but in a different direction each day. The swell was massive. And the fish non existant.

Had to go to St Helen's, and the fishing shop there said the coastal fishing was hard. The better fishing was in Georges Bay. I didnt have the time or a boat to let me fish in the bay, so no luck there.

Finally got a 1m couta on the light plastic rig -- that was a good fight! But for 5 days that was a bust!

Kids'n'Squid

2007-03-11T23:59:00.000+11:00

We were chatting with Bob H about finances for our new house. After getting through the details, Bob invited us out on his boat for some squid fishing. I t turns out that he needs an excuse to get out too -- Sheila isnt too keen on going, and doesnt like him going alone. Susan was having a kids free weekend, so I took both kids.

Got to Bob's place at around 9.30 am. Drove down to cremorne and launched his boat -- a smallish twin hull boat with a 40 hp engine. We motored about 300 m offshore and started squid jigging. There werent many tentacled monsters around, so we switched to bait for flathead. Then we started getting squid -- they were on the bottom.

Ended up with a mess of squid and flathead. Susan called right when Alex was bringing in a large squid. She got to hear lots of screaming and laughing on the phone as the squid was squirting and inking all over the place.

Left at 1:00 pm and got home at 3:30 pm after cleaning the catch. We have a mess of squid and flathead in the fridge.

Breaming with a guru

2007-03-10T23:59:00.000+11:00

Andrew was a new visitor to the wargames club. Turns out he is a keen bass fisherman too. We got in two early morning hours of bream fishing/ I only had a morning, as I was taking both kids blackberry picking and then overnight at Conningham.

Met at Rosny point at 6:00 am. Andrew showed me a couple of spots -- which was embarrasing, as I grew up on the point! We were tossing soft plastics. We each got 3 or 4 flathead, but no bream. Andrew also showed me a loop knot -- which made the trip more thn worthwhile!

At 8:00 I had to leave. Just as I was about to go a bass boat powered up and started fishing right along the shoreline where we had been fishing. There was a bream tournament, and the pro's knew where the hot spots were. They didnt do better than us, but at least we know we were in the right spot!

An expedition into the wilds...

2007-01-13T12:20:00.000+11:00

Cameron and I have been singularly unsuccesful in arranging fishing trips. We finally managed to get away.

Originally, the trip was billed as 'an afternoon on the Tyenna'. But speaking to Cameron the day before, he wanted to try the Weld. Our last trip was a disaster, but armed with a map, we new exactly where to go. So we packed up the pajero and drove down towards the airwalk at Tahune. Cameron's plan was to go via the forestry roads rather than the bitumen, so we got to see a lot of nice country. We were looking for the turn off back up to the other side of the weld river. When we hit Tahune we realised we had missed the turn off! A discussion with a forestry employee revealed that the road was shut for forestry operations, so we had to go the plan B.

The Picton river joins the Huon at Tahune. There is a short walk to a swinging bridge over the Picton, so we decided to walk to the bridge and try the Picton near the bridge. Cameron had a pack with him, but I only had my wader bag, so I stuffed all into the bag and slung it over my shoulder.

The walk up the trail to the swinging bridge was quite pretty. After a short distance we encountered a sign of a parent holding a childs hand and a side trail. A bit further there was another sign with a picture of a ball, and another side trail. But the main trail was easy to see, and we followed it along. There were several more side trails, but then the main trail just pettered out, with no swinging bridge. We kept on, but the trail by now was more of a game track. After a bit we turned back, but when we got to the main trail again, there was no bridge or fishable water. We decided to try the 'game track' for a bit longer, and walked a good 500m further up. With no swinging bridge in sifght, we turned back to just find somewhere to fish. Just then we met two travellers from Denmark, who were also looking for the bridge, and had a map. We were all confused, with no bridge or good trail in sight, so we continued on. Eventually the trail hit the Picton river and ended. Still with no bridge.

We fished for about an hour, but we couldnt get up or down the river. There wasnt as much as a sign of a fish, though I thought I had a strike. It could just have easily been a twig sticking up that my fly nicked. Stymied, we packed up and headed back.

Getting back to the air walk we looked at the swinging bridge on the map and the associated pictures very carefully, only to see they were an 'artists impression'. The Bridge hadn't been built yet!

New years Day part 2

2007-01-01T12:58:00.000+11:00

Feeling grumpy, I decided to just blow the coop and go fishing. Went up to the Tyenna, only to find every man and their uncle was fishing their. Found the weir was covered in bait fishers, so I parked and went upstream. In the first pool I dropped a royal coachman in the shade behind a willow and immediately got a nice brown. In the next pool I got no results, but a bit later spotted a bunch of fish and got another immediate rise -- another beautiful (but small) brown. After that I missed a couple, but found the river overgrown, the weather hot, and another horde of fishermen had arrived. Tried a couple of new spots, then went home, grumpy mood removed :)

New years Day part 1

2007-01-01T12:29:00.000+11:00

Got up early and drove down the Bellerive Bluff. Was thinking of trying for bream -- but just couldnt get up the motivation. Tried letting soft plastics sink to the bottom. Got 4 flathead in short time, then the tide changed and the fishing suddenly stopped. Decided to go home after an hour.

baby sitting

2006-12-30T11:25:00.000+11:00

Had to watch a child while his parents worked at the taste. Took him to bellerive bluff along with Alex and Ella. There was another family there tying into flathead with depressing regularity. We tried soft platics for salmon but got nothing -- till we got a tangle and I let a plastic really sink. An immediate flathead. We tried that for a bit and lo and behold started getting a few salmon too! The day was gorgeous, so we upped sticks and went to Cremorne -- only to discover that there are no dogs allowed on Cremorne beach after 8:00 am. So we went home and had a long cool drink.

Bellerive Bluff 24/11/2006

2006-11-24T12:59:00.000+11:00

Had to drop the kids off at scouts, so I went of for 2 hours at Bellerive Bluff. Got there at 7:15, and fished to 8:45. Conditions were good, with a heavy broken cloud, and a downstream wind that was sheltered by the bluff. There was one other fisherman. The tide was very low. Fished hard, and was about to give up at 8:30 when I finally got a nice fish. I was bored, and was trying different casting techniques to see what got the best distance. After one not so good cast I was reelling in as fast as possible when the fish hit. It was under 0.5 kg -- but nice and chunky.

Tyenna River 17 & 18/11/2006

2006-11-17T12:59:00.000+11:00

Took the kids camping at the Tyenna

We got there about 3:00 pm. Set up the tent, and then tried to get the kids to fish. They got bored, and wanted to play in the tent, so I walked down to the river. Got two hits in quick succession, so I tried to convince the kids to fish. Finally got them motivated, and went to the weir. Saw a platypus, but didnt manage any fish. Got back, cooked dinner, and went to bed.

The next morning I got up early and went down to the river before the kids got up. Got a small fish, but nothing of note. Then packed up with the kids and came home so Elizabeth could get to her horse riding.

Cremorne Canal 11/11/2006

2006-11-11T12:59:00.000+11:00

Alex and Elizabeth had to go over the Lauderdale to play, so I dropped in and fished for an hour at Cremorne canal. Tide was dropping, but the wind was howling! Fished at the lagoon side of the canal. Got one very small salmon after a lot of work.

Bellerive Bluff 29/10/2006

2006-10-29T12:59:00.000+11:00

Went to the bluff for an hour first thing in the morning. No action, so went home. It had been unseasonably cold, with snow the day before, so Iw asnt surprised that there was no action.

After the fires

2006-10-15T01:29:00.000+11:00

The winds were still strong, but the temp had dropped from 30+ to 16. I went for an early morning fish at Bellerive Bluff. Got 4 small cocky salmon -- two on a silver Tassie Devil, one on a 65mm silver minnow soft plastic, and one on a fluro green Tassie Devil. The last fish threw up 3 minnows as I was realling it in -- they were about 75mm silver fish.

Got home at 10 in time for breakfast. It was at that time that I realised my hard disk had crashed. Going to the PC shop to get a new HD, I caught a car panel in the parking lot and almost pulled it off. Not a good day!!!!!!!

First Attempt at Cremorne

2006-10-07T13:59:00.000+11:00

The cremorne canal is supposed to be good for Australian Salmon. So I thought I would give it a try. I snuck away while everyone was asleep, the plan being to fish and be back by 9:00 am.

Got to the canal at 6:00 am. The tide was high, but going out. It must have been just after the turn of the tide. You could see the shallows where there was about a foot of water, before the drop off into the canal. Another fisherman arrived - -it was his second time at the canal. He was also planning to use soft plastics. Following his advice, I took off my shoes and socks and waded out along the sand flats, in about 6 inches of water. Suddenly a wave came in -- just a normal wave. But the water kept rising and rising. All of a sudden I was in almost 3 feet of water. It must have been a tidal surge. My guess is that the current flowing out of the lagoon had pushed back the sea water, until it suddenly rushed back in.

Anyway, wet and dispirited (and fishless), I drove back to bellerive Bluff. I managed two small salmon on tassie devils. I tried soft plastics and had a hit, but failed to hook up.

Last Day at Dunk

2006-09-24T12:59:00.001+10:00

Got up early and went to the jetty. By early I mean early -- 4:00 am. There was no wind and the water was clear for a change -- you could see about 6' into the water! Got to the jetty and the pike from last night were still in the lights. I hooked two in a fly using the 7 weight -- but the 7 weight completely overpowered them!!! I then lost the fly due to their teeth, so I switched to soft plastics.

The lights on the jetty went out (at 5:00 am I think), and the pike dispersed. I got a few tentative hits on the soft plastic -- but they were obviously pike that were scattered about the jetty. As the dawn light appeared over the island the fish reappeared under the jetty. A pile of pike, but with trevally underneath. Hooked a nice trevally, but it wrapped me around the pilons. Had some heart stopping moments as I tried to get the trevally interested in the jerk bait -- but I had no more success.

I tried close into the shore, where the tide was rising over the rock bank next to the shore. Using soft plastics (3" jerk baits), I got 2 x marbled cod, 2 x (small silver fish with a yellow tail and a black spot), and lost the barracuda that was sitting under the jetty looking for a victim. A family came down for their morning walk and they pointed out a flounder, and a lionfish. The lionfish stalked by jerk bait, but didnt bite!

Alex came to get me and it was time to go. I was late, and in the dog house -- but what is a fishing trip without a late return!

2nd last day on Dunk

2006-09-23T05:59:00.001+10:00

Getting desperate now. All that effort and no real fish to show for it!

I planned to get up early and go to the jetty. But we had snorkling booked on the reef. I assumed the snorkling was like the fishing trip -- it would start at 8:00 am. Hence, I didnt go fishing. But the snorkling started at 10:30 -- so I missed a great chance.

The snorkling was fantastic! The pic is Elizabeth with a 'sea pineapple' -- a type of sea cucumber

When we got back I was sunburnt, but it was my last evening! So I hobbled down to the jetty with my 7 weight and my soft plastics. The pilot was there again. I tried the fly rod, and got 3 pike in 3 casts. Then they figured out my fly was dangerous, and the fishing went quiet. I tried soft plastics, and eventually noticed some small fish fluttering right next to the pylon. I dropped the plastic as close to the pylon as I could, and was rewarded with a small batfish -- all of 5" long. The pilot took it for bait! Also caught a small silver fish with an upturned mouth -- very similar to a US shad, but only 5" long!

The pilot hooked a large fish on my batfish bait. It ran out to sea, eventually breaking the line. We think it was a ray -- it just kept going at a slow pace.

At 11:00 pm I gave up and went to get some sleep -- got to fish again in the morning!!!!

Dunk Island Day 6

2006-09-22T05:59:00.000+10:00

A missed chance.

The weather was clearing up. I wanted to rent a tinny and go out. Alex wanted to go too, so I waited till the afternoon, as he had horse riding in the morning. The riding was good apparently! Then we wanted to walk to the top of the mountain -- a good walk! But it took too long, and I got back at 2:00 pm. As the tinnies had to be returned at 4:00, it all seemed to hard. So I gave up on the boat idea.

I took the gear and walked past Muggy Muggy. By clambering over rocks, I got to a nice steep drop off with relativly clear water. Some people in a rental boat were obviously having no luck, and seeing me with all of my gear, followed me to where I was going. Little did they know -- it was the blind leading the blind!

After much trying of soft plastics, tassie devils, etc. etc. I hooked a coral trout. All of 8" -- and on a 4" soft plastic! But it was a beautiful fish.

The people in the boat moved and tried several spots within eyesight. I did not see them land a fish in 2 hours.

Got back for dinner, and then tried the jetty. Hooked a couple of pike on a minnow jerk bait. There was another guy there who had been on the fishing charter that morning, but had caught very little! Like me, a lot of effort for minimal rewards!

Dunk Island Day 5

2006-09-21T12:59:00.000+10:00

Got up early and went to the jetty. Water was clearish. Managed a barracuda on a soft plastic -- though it was a small barracuda. Also managed a small tuna type fish with a bright yellow tail and 3 horizontal lines. Suggestions are that it is a 'saury'. Didnt fight hard, but then again, the rod overpowered it!

Could have rented a tinny, but Elizabeth was riding. There was some issue with riding last time, so I wanted to hang around. Ended up throwing boomerangs with the kids. Got tired and went to bed -- no evening fishing.

Dunk Island Day 4

2006-09-20T05:59:00.000+10:00

The fishing Charter.

Went with Alistair Pike on his charter. It started at 8:00 am with Alistair catching live bait with a throw net. I had never seen one of these before -- an interesting contraption. After 3 throws we had a live well full of hardyheads!

The trip out was an adventure. I always thought the water was calm behind the reef. Bulldust!!! There was a 1 m swell rising to 1.5 m. The boat pounded through the swell, having a hard time in several sections. Finally we got to 40 foot rock -- a rock with a channel between it and the main island. The channel was sheltered.

We baited up and started fishing. Two rods had unweighted live baits drifted out the back. Two rods had livebaits on paternosters. And two rods had squid on paternosters. I cant remeber who got the first fish -- but I was succesful early, with a 10" marbled cod. It was covered in spikes!

In the meantime, the front of the boat got a couple of black trevally. They were colourfull and, according to Alistair, had poisonous spines. They were released back over the side. The fishing was quiet, so we moved backk down the channel to where the current enterred the channel. We anchored about 20' away from the rocks, and wer in about 30' of water.

I got a 'madfish' -- obviosly a member of the tuna family. It was a nice fish -- 2 to 3 lb in the old scale. Alistair said 'bait' and attached a big hook to this fish. He attached a baloon and let the line out the back of the boat. The madfish swam all over the place, eventually settling in the front of the channel.

In the meantime the crew at the front of tghe boat using squid started getting regular hookups on squid. They were catching batfish. Soon we all switched to squid and started pulling up batfish. And at 3 kilos for mine they were some big batfish!!!!

All of a sudden the rod with the madfish went off. Another angler (Paul I think), had not had too much luck, so he was given the task of reeling in the fish. But it was big, and it took the madfish out to the deep blue. Alistair recons it was a shark.

Eventually Holly (an older teen in the front of the boat) was getting sea sick, so we up anchored and moved to a new position -- the wreck of an old bomber from WWII. Things were quiet on the bomber. There were 3 small (50cm) sharks caught. But I had no bites!

We moved to a reef just behind the small island in front of the Dunk Isdland resort for the last 20 minutes of the charter. No luck. I got another marbled cod. I cantt remember much else being caught, though there were a couple of other fish landed. But nothing remarkable!

I asked Alistair what his advice would be for someone staying at the resort. he suggested the Jetty at first light -- an appraisal that seemed to be correct! Alistairs web site is http://www.fishaustralia.com/ . In general, I thought Alistair had a well run operation -- it was the weather that was preventing much in the way of fish!

Dunk island Day 3

2006-09-19T05:59:00.000+10:00

Elizabeth was devasted that I didnt take her out yesterday morning, so I woke her up and we went down to the dock at 6:00 am. The garbage tender was there until 7:00. Elizabeth fished with a soft plastic -- eventually it came in with its tail removed. I tried a bendback minnow fly, and got two small fish that grunted. They looked like queenfish -- but they were so small they could have been any predator that was silver, 6" long, and travally shaped. No more success, and Elizabeth got bored, so we went back to the hotel.

The day was hot, but with high winds. The water was whipped into a mess. I was booked on a fishing charter, but it was cancelled.

Tried in the evening and no luck. There was another bait fisherman there on the jetty, and he had no luck either.

Dunk Island Day 2

2006-09-18T12:43:00.000+10:00

Got up early and went to the jetty. The bait from last night was still there, but no squid. The water was still murky -- it was chocolate milk close in, and milky (50cm visibility max) further out. A trevally took a large soft plastic -- a lot of fight for a 30 cm long fish! Another one hit and missed. But that was the action for 2 hours of effort. Tried fishing off the spit of sand nearby in the current seam -- got a flathead. Travelled 2000 km, and still all I could get was flathead! This one was different from Tassie fish -- it had a large yellow spot on its tail. I suppose its like hawaiian shirts -- when in the tropics wear something colourfull :)

Went out on a catamaran after breakfast. We had a brief lesson and then headed out towards a small island off shore. I wasn't going fast, but Alex was scared. We were tacking back when a boat near us flipped. The guy started doing his maneuvers to right the boat, and suddenly he stood up! Despite being 200 m off shore, we were only 1 meter deep! But the water was so murky you couldnt see bottom!!!!

Tried going snorkelling in the afternoon. Got the gear and walked to Muggy Muggy beach. There was a fair drop off from a sandy beach, with rocks near by. But the wind was blowing onto the beach, and the water visibility was down to 30 cm. Gave up after trying to swim out past the murk and getting no better visibility.

Back to the jetty after dinner with Alex, still trying with soft plastics. There was a tender in to load garbage from cyclone larry. There were big floodlights on -- you could see a ton of small fish in the shallows. I hooked two spangled sweetlips about 6" long on soft plastic grubs. But the action was, well, non-existant for me. There was another fisherman on the dock. Turned out he was the pilot for the airline that flew into the island. He had two rods and 3 handlines out. Suddenly one of his handlines went off. A big fish swam off -- after 15 mins it broke to 40lb line on the handline. The fish fought constanly, running up and down -- it was exciting to watch! After the excitement Alex was bored, so we went back to the hotel.

Dunk Island Day 1

2006-09-17T05:59:00.000+10:00

Got up early for the trip to Dunk island. We were eating breakfast when the bus driver appeared at the hotel -- we had a two hour bus trip down to the resort!!!! I wanted to get some more gear -- I was sure that I was low on fishing gear! But no time :(

We got to the jetty to go over to Dunk at 9:00 am. While we waited for the boat I explored the beach along with the kids. Found some interesting 'star' patterns in the sand where something had been digging!

When the boat arrived we loaded in, and headed over to the island. The trip was rough -- there was a 1m swell, and the boat was heading accross the swell, so there was a LOT of pitching! Susan and the kids grabbed seats -- and there was no room for me. So I had to stand in the sun for the trip across. I didnt have my hat, and when we got to the island I was sunburnt -- after only 20 minutes!

As the boat pulled in I looked under the jetty. There were thousands of baitfish in a big shimmering ball! This looked good! Hopes were high!

I spent the day walking to the farm with Elizabeth, eating lunch, and playing tennis and squash with both kids. It was, after all, a family holiday. There was a stiff breeze, and the temperature was not too high. In fact, it had been 19 the day before in Hobart, and it was only 22 or 23 in the tropics! But it was pleasant.

Went fishing on the jetty after the kids had gone to bed. It was dark, but the jetty was light. I tried soft plastics. Lost 3 to 'toothy critters'. Had a large fish (possibly a barra) grab one and go airborne. All I could see was the flared gills of this nice fish as it shook the lure free!!!! As an added bonus the bait under the jetty was being pursued by squid. I watched the squid stalking the bait for a long time. I couldnt get the squid to take my lure though -- they did try a couple of times, but no hook up!

Dunk Island Day 0

2006-09-16T16:59:00.000+10:00

Flew to Brisbane and waited in the lounge to join the family, who had spent the last week at Surfers for their school holidays. We all joined up and flew to Cairns, where we got in late (about 9:00 p.m.) Went to bed early, as we had to get up early for the trip to Dunk island! N0 fishing -- but I bought a new reel for my 11 weight to try out on the big tropical fish! Apparently there are toothy critters swimming off the beach in front of the resort!!!!!

Conningham

2006-08-28T13:31:00.000+10:00

Went to Conningham with Elizabeth. Got the boat out, but no action. The water was freezing!!!! Maybe the fish are in Queensland! Gave up after an hour.

First Bream

2006-08-20T17:15:00.000+10:00

Got up at 6:00 am, and got to Bedlam walls by 6:30. It was a beautiful morning -- cold, clear, and still. The tide was running out, and was reasonably powerful. I was using soft plastics -- a silver minnow 65mm long on a 1/8 oz head. I couldnt cast too far, and was having no luck. I slowly worked along the shore, until I came to a deep bay. Fishing in the bay, I got a hook up from a fish. It was not a flathead -- it didnt have that characteristic head shake. It could have been a bream, small salmon, or sea run trout. There was no more action, so I assumed it was a small sea runner, as bream school and cocky salmon were not in season.

I kept working around the shore until I found a small beach. I saw a follow from a small fish -- but I couldnt see what type it was.

It was getting late, so I started back. I decided to have a few casts where I had hooked up, as I had rested the water for 30 mins. I was about to give in when I twitched and the minnow suddenly ran at full steam in the other direction. I had to adjust the drag. And then I noticed some line incorrectly spooled, and I had to walk backwards and release the line to prevent a tangle. After straighting that out I still had a fish! And a feisty one it was. Eventually I saw colour -- the golden colour of a bream from brackish water. And what colour!!! The bream was massive! I remember in NW river seeing a school -- whith lots of little bream and two or three large solitary fish. This fish was just as large as those in NW river. I can't estimate size, but it was BIG! (1 - 2 kg -- which is big for a bream). I released the fish -- but I can still see it in my hand, with its dorsal fin sticking up to make itself look big. What a fish!!!!

Season openner 2006/2007

2006-08-05T11:54:00.000+10:00

Got up early and went down to Northwest River at Margate. Walked down the river, trying soft plastics. Saw a sea runner in the tidal section -- but it wasnt interested. Got home in time for breakfast.

Looked at a house on the river after lunch. THe picture is from the advertising brochure.

Nick.

2006-05-28T22:07:00.000+10:00

Went on an adult education course 'fishing with soft plastics'

The course was OK in terms of instruction. What was absolutely priceless was the fact that we then drove around for 3 hours and tried differnent spots! Worth every penny!!!

For the day I caught one flathead at the bedlam walls, and one mackerel at the collegiate rowing club.

2006-02-19T10:42:00.000+11:00

Went to the Tyenna for a days fishing.

Turned out the Tasmania state fly fishing championships were on the river. Every hole had a fisherman. And the fishing was tough for me in the areas left open. Got one good strike on a green woolly bugger. Found a pod of fish regularly rising -- but I couldn't attract one. They seemed to be focusing on small insects on the river -- but I tried everything to no response.

In consolation, the blackberries were ripe.

2005-12-18T07:31:00.000+11:00

Went to Bellerive bluff at 6:30 am -- left about 7:30 am. One flathead caught when I had a tangle on my reel, and let the lure sink to the bottom. No cocky salmon. A fisherman there had caught a couta before I arrived, and apparently had seen a 10lb sea run trout there the week before.

2005-12-18T00:40:00.000+11:00

Went to Arthurs on the way to Launceston. A COLD and rainy day. There was a massive front I had to drive through, with driving rain and high winds. But I saw blue sky behind the rain, so I kept on driving.

Tried to fish the Lagoon of Islands, but couldnt find the road in (I bought a map to figure that out later). So I went to the cowpaddock.

Got a fish on an olive wooly bugger. It was small and skinny, with not much fight. It eventually got off. A bit later I was fishing between some trees. My cast hooked around a tree, and a nice 1.5lb brown slammed the wooly bugger. Lots of fight, and a strong, healthy fish! My first Arthurs fish!!!

A little later my line was tangled. As I was untangling the line a fish hit the stationary fly and peeled of line. But I couldnt respond due to the tangle, and lost it.

Saw 5 kangaroos and a bunny.