I’ve been fishing Googong a fair bit recently and enjoying good success on the yellowbelly. It has been a lot of fun, and with the lower water levels at the moment it has been possible to explore a bit more water than when the dam is full. I was recently fishing a shallow inlet and came across what I thought…
Category: Fishing stories
Secret creek #2
I wrote a post a while ago about a secret creek. The creek I wrote about was secluded, unknown, wild. Or so I thought. I now know that some others have fished it, but it remains as much of a secret for them as it is for me, as far as I can tell. But it’s not really a true…
Big isn’t always best
A few months ago I was in the mountains doing nice things; things unrelated to fishing, like eating at nice cafes and restaurants, sleeping, reading, doing crosswords, looking in shops and so on. It was really lovely, and I also managed a few hours of fishing. When confronted with a limited window of opportunity the decision can be tough –…
Fanatik soft plastics: product review (plus a few photos from a recent high country mission)
One nice thing about having a fishing blog is that, from time to time, we are sent a bit of gear to review. We have always been completely honest about this, which I think is great in terms of maintaining a sense of independence and objectivity. It allows us to be really critical of certain things, while others may be…
A hunch
There is something special about fishing new water. An expectation of what may be to come, the sense of joy, mixed with trepidation that comes with stepping into the unknown. This goes for water that you absolutely know is going to hold fish, where the big challenge will be figuring them out, all the way through to what I like…
A few days fishing on the Murrumbidgee
Graz and I recently spent a few days fishing the Murrumbidgee west of Narrandera. It was a great chance to catch up with Grazza, who has spent the last year on the sunny shores and tropical mountains of Hawaii. We arrived fairly late after a decent 3.5 hour drive from Canberra. We only had a few km of dirt roads…
Back to basics – bait fishing off the beach
I spent the long weekend at Arugunnu, a campground in the Mimosa Rocks National Park on the far south coast of NSW. It is a special place for me, as it’s where I caught my first fish and spent a lot of time camping with my family as a kid. The thing I notice most when I get close is…
Catch and release: a little perspective goes a long way
The catch and release movement has grown considerably over the last few decades. Initiative like #keepemwet and others have done incredibly well at building strong support for catch and release in some parts of the fishing community. Social media has helped spread the message, driving a strong commitment to catch and release amongst many angling communities. Which is great! The fishing…
What is the future of the Howqua river?
I spent last weekend camping on the Howqua river at Sheepyards flat. It wasn’t a fishing trip. It was a camping, hanging by the river, hanging out with the kids, making new friends trip. The days were filled with swimming, throwing stones into the river, watching horses, grilling meats over an open fire, drinking cold mid-strength beer during the day…
Fly fishing notes from a Tassie holiday
I was lucky enough to spend 10 days in Tassie over New Years with my partners family (and my folks for the first few days), celebrating my father in laws 70th. The trip was a joy, revolving around tennis, walks, swims, food, hanging out and finska and was a chance for the extended family to spend an extended amount of…
BOYS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN
A great little guest write up (and some great photos) from keen fisho, Jay Hayles. Enjoy! ____ It started like many a trip before. Late one arvo I get a text from a mate who says he is heading on a weekend trip with some of the other boys from work and would I be interested in coming along. Now I…
Kayak bassin’
The plan was to chase kingfish, however once we were out of bed it became immediately obvious we wouldn’t be heading out to sea as the wind was howling, whitecaps peppering twofold bay. Time for plan B(ass), which we developed over coffee and google maps. After toying with the idea of an epic 15km car drop in order to fish…