Port Douglas Estuary

Date: 19 December 2016
Weather: Hot and sunny
Crew: Dave, Kellie
Target Fish: Bream, Trevally, Saltwater crocs

Bait: Pilchard, Prawn, Squid

Catch: 2 bream, 1 grunting trevally
Report: Hired a little pontoon boat at the marina. Hit a few of the spots the hire guy recommended, and a few spots that look the goods. Lots of bits on the pillies, but no hook-ups on account of bait being too soft. Prawns worked a treat, nice hardy bait for bream. Grunting trevally is interesting, actually grunts when out of water!

Report: 7/10

Glenlowren top dam

Date: 6 November 2016
Weather: Fine 24
Crew: Toon and Jax
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: Worms
Catch: 1 massive rainbow
Report: Bought Jax his first fishing rod, so had to christen it. Went to the farm in search of trout. 

Got the big pitch fork out and drove it into the ground in search of some worms. After about 10 good ones we headed to the top dam to cast out a line. Throw some rolled up bread balls in the water as berley, and after 15 minutes a monster trout walloped the worms. Float went under and we pulled up, to which "fish on" occurred. A tremendous fight for Jax, with the trout literally jumping out of the water 10 times about a meter in the air every time!! I coulnt believe it. The trout gave some good runs by the pier, but we managed to miss him snagging it. Then as it tired we couldnt bring it to the bank to land it as it was overgrown with grasses, i had to pull it onto the pier (no net) and just before i could get a hand to it, he broke off. He got away, but he was the biggest trout i have seen! This dam is stocked with monsters!

Report: 8/10

Tagger

Date: 3 September 2016
Weather: Overcast, rainy
Crew: Dave
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with/without Copper John Nymph)
Catch: 2 browns, 1 rainbow
Report: Season opener! Started the day with a visit to Bob Jane's for some new All Rounders. My tyres were worn down to the steel belts, and I didn't want a blow out to ruin my first fly fish in almost nine months! Started the session off with a relaxing riverside cup of Blend 43 before rigging up my new Orvis 9ft 3wt. Action was OK, Two fish caught on the nymph, the other on dry. Had a quick poke in Mary and Steve's on the way home.

Report: 7/10

Hudson Canyon #2

Date: 7th August 2016

Location: Hudson Canyon, Atlantic Ocean NYC

Weather: Sunny, moderate seas trending calm. 

Crew: Toon, Yac, Steve, Mike, Liz
Target Fish: Tuna, Marlin, Mahi Mahi
Bait: - Trolling lures and live Peanut Bunker
Catch: 9x Mahi

Report: A trip out to the canyon is always a memorable expedition, however this one came with its highs and its lows. 

Headed out to sea at 6am, to what was a 4 hour journey out to the 65nm mark at the tip of the canyon. We put the lines out and began trolling. Immediately dolphin swarmed the boat and the depth sounder went from 300ft to 2000ft! We continued to troll the waters for 4 hours, but failed to get onto any tuna. We were hit twice, however no hook ups which was slightly disappointing. Despite that, it was absolutely unreal to be out there in the middle of nowhere chasing such fish. Dolphin, pilot whales, bird life, skipjack etc all around us. Unreal. 

At about 1-2pm we headed to the lobster pots which are scattered throughout the canyon. We cast baits around them in search of mahi mahi. This was where the fishing success began, and it was very difficult to pull up stumps as they were everywhere. We ended catching 9, some monsters, others quite small. We even saw a sunfish that came up to the boat and mahi were under that which was wicked. 

As it came to 4pm, we had to reluctantly pull up stumps and began to head back to port, where after 15 minutes the portside engine broke down and we were left with 1 functioning engoing and another 10% functioning engine. We couldnt strain the other engine too much, so we went from 28 knots on the way to the canyon and 7 knots on the way home from the canyon. A 4 hour trip turned to 12 hours! It was certainly frustrating, but there was not much we could do - just thankfuil that we could chug our way back in without being stranded in the middle of the ocean. We ended up getting back to the dock at 4am. 

Pretty epic journey. 

Rating: 6/10 - 2 points lost for no tuna, 2 points lost for engine dramas. 

Special thanks goes out to Mike and Steve! 

Glenlowren

Date: 13 March 2016

Location: Glenlowren top dam

Weather: Fine

Crew: Toon, Jax
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Spinners (green)
Catch: 1x Rainbow

Report: Took Jax out for a fish in search of his first catch. Threw spinners out in the water casting from the pier, got hit a number of times but struggled to set the hook. The fish hit the lure occasionally, but dont own it, so trying different techniques eventually snagged one. He took on a good fight, and eventually brought him into the bank. Poor bugger swallowed the hook good, so not worth putting him back. Sorry fish. Fish in the dam are huge too!

Rating: 10/10 Jax's first fish. 

Hot Box/Keys

Date: 2-3 January 2016

Weather: Overcast, rainy

Crew: Dave
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with/without Copper John Nymph), parachute hopper #12
Catch: 5 rainbows, 2 browns 

Report: Things did not look good early on. As I arrived at what was supposed to be my first spot it started absolutely pelting down. The Hot Box River was swollen and discolored, and for a second I considered going home. I drove another 30 mins upstream, to find the west branch crystal clear water. Session one produced two nice rainbows. Session two (day two) I hit the east branch. This is a much bigger stream, very open and nice to cast in, ending with two nice fish. Unhooking the second wasn't overly successful, so he made a tasty addition to my lunch.

Session three involved a drive into the unknown, a spot I'd been keen to check out for a while. Was absolutely outstanding.

Rating: 10/10

Bitwenjopit

Date: December sessions

Weather: Sunny
Crew: Dave

Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with Copper John Nymph)\

Catch: 2 rainbows (1 each session)
Report: I've found this river to be a little slow this season, The first session was hot as buggery, the second followed a torrential downpour and the water was very discolored. Always nice to get up there though. Did see an echidna, and a cluster of caterpillars feasting on a leaf.

Rating: 7/10

Brighton Yacht Club

Date: 28 Nov 2015
Weather: Overcast, cold
Crew: Toon, Reinhard
Target Fish: Flathead
Bait: - Soft Plastics
Catch: None
Report: Left home at 5am, arrived at brighton yacht club at 5:40am to catch sunrise. Cast into the channell for an hour and a half. No hits, but good spot. Should produce flathead, but this time no luck. Next time, look to hit this at an hour either side of the tide changes. 

Rating: 5/10

Bitwenjopit

Date: 12 Nov 2015
Weather: Sunny
Crew: Dave, Ross
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with Copper John Nymph), Celtas, Rapala CD5
Catch: 2 browns, 2 rainbows
Report: Early Sunday morning session, starting off at the section just downstream of the first campsite. Managed one hook-up on the nymph, losing the little guy during the aerial performance. 

Went back to the trusty old farm spot, which produced a couple of healthy looking fish. I suspect Ross' next big purchase will be a fly outfit.

Rating: 8/10

Tangip

Date: 15 Nov 2015
Weather: Sunny
Crew: Dave
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with Copper John Nymph)
Catch: 3 browns, 3 rainbows
Report: Had another crack at the spot where I got the car stuck, decided to walk in this time. Stumbled across a nice little feeder stream that was absolutely teaming with fish (see if you can spot one of the buggers in the second pic - he was actually chasing a little brown around that pool). The main river was a lovely stretch of water, with plenty of healthy fish. Looking forward (as always) to hitting again!

Rating: 8/10

Tassie Streams

Date: 6-9 Nov 2015
Weather: Sunny

Crew: Dave, Easty
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with Copper John Nymph), Parachute Adams #12
Catch: 9 browns
Report: Trip was looking very promising early on, managing 3 very nice looking fish within 20 mins of pulling the car up at the campsite next to the river. Streams hit include the St Patricks River, Cambden Rivulet, Patersonia Rivulet, North Esk River and Nile River. All streams produced fish except the Patersonia, which I attribute to heavy handed fishing. Looking forward to getting down there again for some more exploring.
Rating: 10/10

Tangip

Date: 4 Nov 2015
Weather: Sunny
Crew: Dave

Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with Copper John Nymph), Parachute Adams #12
Catch: 1 brown
Report: I have come to the conclusion this is my favorite river in Victoria. It rarely produces big bags of fish, but I always leave pondering when I can next get back. This time I was intending to try a new stretch, further upstream on the west side. This led me to finally find the Camry's off-roading limit, getting stuck on a ridge. After some creative use of my jack, I headed back to a familiar stretch. Only managed one brown before the heavens opened. Can't wait to get back there!

Rating: 9/10

Ronnies Creek

Date: 24 Oct 2015
Weather: Sunny
Crew: Dave, Easty
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with Copper John Nymph), Parachute Adams #12
Catch: 2 rainbows, 1 brown
Report: Session was looking good early one, with a nice brown taking the nymph in the first 10 minutes. Pretty slow going for the next couple of hours. Easty succeeded with the 'catch a cray by hand' challenge, not before the little bugger let him know he was a force to be reckoned with. Easty also managed to pull 2 solid rainbows from a nice run.
Rating: 7/10

Tag Dog

Date: 3 Oct 2015
Weather: Sunny
Crew: Dave
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #12 ( with Copper John Nymph), Parachute Adams #12

Catch: 10+ rainbows and brown
Report: This is the site of the 2015 winter cookout. Absolutely cracking afternoon, action was on right from the start. Most fish took took the nymph. Nice rise going on next to the carpark on the walk back, managed to fool a lovely size brown with a Parachute Adams.

Rating: 8/10

Naughty Mick

 Date: 27 Sep 2015
Weather: Sunny
Crew: Ross, Dave
Target Fish: Trout
Bait: - Fly - Royal Stimulator #14 ( with Copper John Nymph), Parachute Adams #14, Celtas, Rapala
Catch: 1 rainbow
Report: Quite an adventure! Access to this river took two hours on foot, and involved passing through someones property, a river crossing and some gnarly bush bashing. Looked like a very promising stream, however the fishing was a little disappointing. Rainbow smashed the celta, was released (albeit with only half its scull). Unlikely to hit again.
Rating: 8/10