Lizardboy

Not good, they'll get below Lyell before long I guess, and eventually over warragamba and into the Nepean?

I have tried fishing this place once and whilst it looks absolutely epic I wasn't able to catch anything, still worth a visit just for the scenery though and a great spot to camp. I still intend to go back at some stage and give it another crack, but I have done internet searches for stocking records and I couldn't find any records since around 2004/05 which seems a bit strange. I suspect there could be some issues at play as to why it hasn't ( from what I could tell at the time) been re-stocked, possibly something to do with it being in a national park! Gus

Cheers Neil, some great structure!

Good work!

Sorry have been off line, I will see if I can get a couple of screen shots

Dil, I have the sonar phone t-pod and have been impressed by it, it's worth considering as an alternative. It uses wifi instead of Bluetooth ( they say it has a larger range) and has a keel which would slow it to track better on the retrieve, it's stats say battery last 4hrs versus deeper's 6hrs. I bought mine direct from the manufacturer, vexilar in the US who have been making ice fishing depth sounders (i.e. transducers) for years but I see they are now available in Australia. Cheers, Gus

Rich, I am up in Port Douglas that week with my family but staying in Cairns 29th-31st. I know there are better things to catch up there but shore based fishing is challenging, I'm thinking about heading to a nearby stream for jungle perch early on the morning of the 30th, if I go you'd be free to tag along, it would be Boulder hopping and casting small poppers like for bass. The charter / boat hire option probably interests me due to time and $ constraints. Feel free to keep in touch on your fishing plans though. Cheers, Gus

I have a sonar phone T-pod ( portable wifi transducer), I use it with my Packraft and iPhone for hike in trips. I am very impressed with the images I get, arches etc.. I also have a High end HUMMINBIRD sounder for my boat/canoe. I really like the sonar phone concept, I doubt there is a more cost effective way to get a decent sounder with basic features and a large quality screen. I'm not sure how deep you are fishing but I think the sonar phone t-box may not be ideal/ powerful enough for offshore work but should be fine for estuary work. The company that makes them have been making ice fishing sounders/flashers for years Cheers, Gus

Thanks for the report Neil sounds well worth the effort, any pics? I was thinking of doing a trip this weekend to the bidgee around Canberra hiking/with packrafts but I think the river might be a bit high with all the rain in the last week, any idea? Cheers, Gus

Great report It's a beautiful dam I had a chance to fish it for 1/2 a day on the way back from Lake Misery/Monduran in April and was very impressed, (variety of fish, so much structure to cast at) despite the disappointment of losing my first Toga at the boat! Cheers, Gus

Thanks yaraone, it looks like we may now stay on an island, Tolkoriki or Mana, assume your guide is for mainland. Cheers Gus

Hi, I'm heading over with my wife and 10 month old for a week in July, she's keen on the Outrigger on the Coral coast, It's not a fishing trip as such but I was hoping I'd be able to take a travel rod and get out for a fishing shore based or from a kayak for a morning or two. I've had a search of the forums but have only been able to find suggestion shore based fishing isn't allowed but nothing concrete, any info would be appreciated. I'd also consider freshwater options, I've read there are jungle perch. I have a light weigh inflatable packraft ( like a kayak) that i can take but it wouldn't be much use around the coral! Cheers, Gus

Good read guys, thanks for the effort documenting, also a good personal archive to refer back to! We are headed up this Friday for the time since 2008, things have changed a bit since then, floods and 85% v's 18%, smaller deeper suspending lures like squirrels fished with long pauses lures v's big bouyant tropic anglers and b52's. The water level was dropping super quick recently with all weed and lillies dying off, but they had 100mm of rain a few days ago and it shot up 70cm's, so we are hoping its stirred the fish up and hope to target the creeks flowing in and any fish sniffing around the wall. Cheers, Gus

Nanook, I really enjoy reading your reports and great pics. Cheers, Gus

Cheers Guy's, Japan Tackle don't have the right colour, either do charlestown tackle and I've tried internationa; Ebay for the last few months on and off without sucess, It looks like I'm going to have to paint one, i did manage to track one down though not frpom any of the above. Gus

I've been loking on e-bay for the last month or two, there haven't been any black ones. Gus

Has anyone seen any 70mm MATT BLACK Team Daiwa PRO'S VIBRATION WOOFER's left in stock or have you seen any in an online store overseas, second hand ok, HAS to be black? I know the team daiwa silent vibrations are or will be available again soon but i'm pretty sure the woofers (with the large single rattle) are not going to be available. (Far right) Cheers, Gus

Some really fat bass there Darcy, good report on a lesser know impoundment. Gus

G'day Bazz, Yeah, its a Boston whaler, but i think its a bit smaller, 3.5metres perhaps, it used to have 3 bench seats and was used as a tender, perhaps the wood was mahogoney, not sure, but i've modified it now, carpeted the front and rear so it has 2 nice casting decks and a couple of hatches for storage. Its an incredibly stable and really halls ass with a 25hp on the back, it doesn't handle boat wake that well. How much woud you offer me for it? Gus

Good repost and pics allan, love those cod, your yack looks pretty well set up! Where about are you based approximately without giving your spots away of course? Cheers, Gus

Cheers Guy's, Yeah it was an awesome trip, it took a lot of preperation and planning to pull it off though. flattie man, Yes i still target Lizards, that was where my lurefishing started, but i don't target them nearly as much as i used to. Evil as for the gear we used either or 50lb braid rigged with either a twisted and doubled back on itself flurocarbon or 100lb braid as a leader. We used mainly shallow diving hardbodies like the b52 and troipic anglers that got down to a metre or so, the hooked were upgraded mostly to owner 4X or VMC's and we retreivee the lures with regular sharp downward jerks of the rod tip whilst slowly winding to take up the slack...basically a slow overall, but eratic retreive. Cheers, Gus

An unplanned boat purchased in June inspired a road trip to central QLD to fish a new dam rumoured to hold a good population of both barra and bass, what more could a man want! So after a few months of planning and some hard work getting the boat up to scratch Pete and I set off on what is likely to become an annual pilgrimage North. A couple of mates from Grafton were joining us, which made a good half way point from Sydney and we managed to fit in an afternoon bass session on the clarence before setting off for Monduran the next day. Pete landed this one from the bank before we even got the canoe in the water! [br]We got a few more and although small by clarence standards it was great just being back on the mighty river again. Monduran is a lesser know dam 4 hours north of Brissy, its a big dam, but quite narrow and less wind affected than somewhere like Awoonga, which is great when your boat is less than 3.5metres! The secret to tracking down the barra was water temperature, the variation in the surface temperarture while we were there was enormous 19.5 degrees was the coolest we found and 28 degrees the warmest. [br]Lumbar yard in the bay of plenty The second most important thing was finding good structure, theres heaps of standing timber, but you really had to find the horizontal stuff. At a guess the barra we caught averaged about 75cm's, with quite a few in the high eigties, early nineties. Pete's with an 89cm fish that came from the base of the two large trees in the shot above, it did a good job on the lure nearly straigtening the owner 4x's [br] We were really luck with the weather, the days were warm, but still comfortable and the wind was generally light to moderate. All the locals told us to target the dead lantana and the best fishing was in hotter part of the day, but we found mid afternoon and into the evening was much better We managed a few surface hits as well, which really got the heart pumping, this 87cm fish fell to a Cultiva tail dancer that was cranked flat out for 3 or 4 metres before being slowed right down and walked next to some timber. The biggest fish was a 102cm model, whick came from the unlikely looking snag below, he wrapped me round the timber and i had to put the reel in free spool and thumb it until i could get to the log and unwrap it. [br] 33.3 KB[/size=1] Even the forkies go hard The ramp was dirt, but in good condition. We didn't find any bass in the dam, we got the impression they were pretty much a deep water target. Lizard

I'm looking for a cheap GPS but I don't know too much about them or what i should be looking for. I'd be using for fishing trips that involve hiking and canoieing, but also i also want to be able to integrate it with my depth sounder (humminbird Matrix 17x) which means it has to be able to NMEA compatable apparently. I'm also considering buying from overseas because it looks like the savings will be substantial, bass pro or westmarine probably, is their any issues with doing this other than from a warranty point of view. What GP's do other's have and what are your thoughts on what to look for? How important is a background map etc, i know some are capable of downloading new maps/areas? I've had a look at the Lowrance I finder go series and the I-finder go and go 2 they look to be pretty reasonable value. Cheers, Gus

Cheers netic and wetpatch, I bought the sounder from the US already, so I will look at getting another transducer from overseas. Gus

I have a hummingbird Matrix 17x and the transducer cable has been damaged and no longer provides a propper picture I want to know if its possible to be repaired. The transducer was mounted on my electric motor and the cable was pinched in between the mounting bracket on the electric when lowering the motor. Does anyone know if the cable can be cut and re-joined somehow? Cheers, Gus