Watching the first sliver of morning sun filter through the low orange clouds, I cast the lure into the gently crashing surf. Letting the lure sink for a second and clicking the bail arm over, I began the retrieve with a sense of calm anticipation. After a few winds of the reel, the lure was back near the surface and…
Category: Fishing stories
Barra lessons in the top end
Only a fisherman knows the feeling. That next fish keeps the addiction alive and we’ll do anything to outsmart a brain the size of a pea. In my case the fish usually win! As a recent arrival to the Territory I’ve been blown away by the amount of fishing options on offer up here. It’s possible to chase Billfish in…
Fishing in south-west Western Australia
Recently I was lucky enough to score a work trip to a conference in Perth. It didn’t take much convincing for my manager to agree to me spending a few extra days after the conference looking around the countryside. Coincidentally, good mate Grazza Fifield was also in WA for another conference. Such good luck could only mean one thing: watch…
Very quick fish in Eden.
I’m in Eden looking after my parents dogs. Haven’t had much time to go fishing, but did manage to get out for a few hours on Saturday. The forecast was for 25-35 knot winds in the morning, so it was a very relaxed start. At about 9 when we realized the winds weren’t going to be that strong, me, dad and a friend of…
Goals for the year- Galaxias, Hoodlums and Jewfish
Well, we are almost at the end of March and life has been getting in the way of fishing. Given I haven’t been out fishing since the beginning of March, I’m getting a little tetchy and am very keen to hit the water. In the meantime I’m going to write up a list of goals for the year. I figure…
Wallaga weekend #2
I spent the March long weekend at Wallaga Lake, on the beautiful NSW south coast. After three or four years fishing this system, I’m starting to get a good feel for it and have been getting consistent and more varied catches. The primary target species are flathead, tailor and bream, but I’ve recently started targeting a few other prevalent species…
Fishing for kingfish in Eden
Well, me and Lee fished Eden on the weekend. It was a quick trip where we primarily focussed on kingfish to the exclusion of all other species and techniques. The fishing on saturday was pretty tough, we got fish but we worked hard for them. Around Greencape the fish were there but patchy with a fair few rats, while at Mowarry when…
Trout at the Cascades
After beating my way through yet another tea tree, sinking my foot into yet another pool of mud and grass and swatting yet another mozzie away from my face, I finally came to the small opening through which, if I was careful, I could get a cast into the water. I unhooked the green celta from the rod guide and…
Wallaga weekend
It was a weekend of contrasts, in terms of the fishing, but I guess that’s often the case. It’s an important lesson too: out of every five sessions, you might have one good one. What many people don’t seem to realise is that you can quickly churn through the dud ones. This is essentially what I did this weekend. Here I…
Kingfish basics
Kingfish basics It all started one day when keen fisho Hamish Webb and I decided to make the bumpy ride out to the spectacular North Head, at the northern end of Twofold Bay, near Eden, to see if we could muster up a few salmon off the rocks. After disembarking from the dusty car, we made the short walk down…
Techniques for dusky flathead
It had been a long morning. Only a few small touches in two hours’ fishing. I was feeling beaten and attributed the tentative taps to pickers: probably leatherjackets and toadies. Hoping they might be bream, and resigning myself to the fact my flathead session had failed, I decided to try a vibe. I had been targeting flatties, but with no…