arpie Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 (edited) Hi guys I was up at Port for 6 days whilst Keith competed in the 1/2 Ironman up there! He did really well & won his age group & as the oldest competitor, still had 200 behind him when he finished! Not bad for an old fella! I naturally took the opportunity to toss a line in & had brought some stringy green weed & cabbage from Forster, to hopefully tempt them onto the hook! First outing was Thursday afternoon for 2 hrs, after we arrived. I got a nice one ( a deep bellied fish about 30cm) fairly quickly (much to the amazement of the 2 boys fishing beside me!) and then had plenty of 'downs' but no hook ups for the next 2hrs!! I was determined to get another one, as I knew they were down there & finally, persistence pays - and I got my 2nd one! It went just over 35cm but wasn't in as good 'condition' as the first one. Got a quick snap of them back at camp & gutted & beheaded them & gave them to our caravanning neighbours! They were happy! I went back the next morning & got nothing!! The weather was a bit inclement & kept threatening to rain, so I was dodging showers, too. Went back after lunch & after trying for a couple of hours, put on a bit of prawn that was left behind & scored a nice little mullet! Beautie! Fresh Bait!! The rain was setting in, so I headed back to the campervan, where it proceeded to bucket down with rain! Had a bit of a rest on Saturday, but wandered the breakwall & the big jetty, chatting with some locals. They use wire weed or that Black Magic stuff - both of which I have none!! They rarely use green weed, so I suppose I was lucky to get the 2 on the Thurs! I saw a huge blackie patrolling one of the pylons in water about 18" deep. Also huge bully mullet above the weed bed in the same area. The blackie was very skittish & the mullet would have been a good meal if caught! Up at 5am on race day & wandering past the boats docked near the Co-op, saw some huge bream lurking under the catarmarans there! They would have been well over 1kg! It was top of the tide & nice clear water. Could see some huge blackies as well, but was on a mission to watch the race, so had to pass. The race took up the whole day on Sunday. Went back to the jetty on Monday & got some good info from a local (but still had none of the 'special' weed) and got hooked onto some stray line around a pylon, busting my float off! Bugger!! It was heading towards the main channel & I didn't want to lose it, so asked Keith if he fancied a swim! By the time he had stripped to his undies, the float was heading towards the breakwall & almost heading out to sea! Keith really is a legend - he jumps in & retrieves the float, enjoying the swim in the process! This is the day after he has swum 2km, biked 90km & run 21km & been on the go for over 6hrs! He had also had a 1hr bike ride followed by a 1hr walk at 6am that morning! Tough, eh? I continued on fishing for a while with no success & had to finally admit defeat - I even resorted to using some of the mullet,but only got throwbacks! I eventually gave the other half of the mullet to another fisho & had to admit - I wasn't going to catch anymore fish on this trip! I was just so pleased that I managed to catch the first 2! Next time I go to Port, I will take some of the wire weed that grows here & also some of the 'berry weed' that has been likened to the Black Magic stuff! Cheerio for now Roberta Was hoping to hit the high tide this morning, but it started raining early & has been doing so on & off all morning!! Hopefully tomorrow ..... Edited November 7, 2007 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Great report as usual Roberta...It must have been tough fishing if you couldn't get more than the 2 blackies and the poddy. Boy..your hubby sure puts in the hard yards..I'd like to be 1/1000th of that fit. And a float rescue hero too. Keep frightening the local blackie population...they must quivver when they see you arrive now. Cheers, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 Hi Pete He really is amazing - Keith is up at 5.30am every morning for a run or bike ride (or both), then usually has a swim in the afternoon - makes me tired just watching him!! Don't know how I keep up with him ..... I wish!! I look forward to getting back to my known haunts ...... always feel like a fish out of water when fishing a new area!! Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosterman Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 (edited) Hi Roberta, well done on the blackies.... i know why they were so quiet............ someone told them you were coming so they all went into the deep quivering and too scared to eat... gee keith is one fit fella.... making me tired just reading what he did ... he sure sounds like one in a million and to beat guys alot younger regularly must be a big buzz for him..... can i give him a buzz next time my fav float starts heading for newzealand...i recon if he started from forster he would still beat me to it .... cheers.... steve..... Edited November 7, 2007 by roosterman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 Ha Ha Good one, Steve Yesterday, Keith decided he now wants to do the Canberra 1/2 Ironman in mid December ...... will be taking my fishing gear & hopefully my yak along as well!! May even have to do a detour via the Snowies & take my fly fishing gear along as well!!! Mind you, I reckon the float would work just as well & be less energetic! CHeers Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Two is better than none!!! Good report as per usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Great report Roberta, and boy you make us envious as to how much fishing time you get in.Good stuff. How good is it when you have a float retriever at your fingertips. It is heartbraking when you sit their and watch helplessly as your favourite float goes on it's way. Thinking about training my canine friend to fetch a float. Problem is, he would not give it back. Cheers BART Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 (edited) Ha Ha Good one, Steve Yesterday, Keith decided he now wants to do the Canberra 1/2 Ironman in mid December ...... will be taking my fishing gear & hopefully my yak along as well!! May even have to do a detour via the Snowies & take my fly fishing gear along as well!!! Mind you, I reckon the float would work just as well & be less energetic! CHeers Roberta Roberta, I used to fish Eucumbene with a float and a mudeye suspended about 18-20 feet down. You can drift the bait around the fallen trees and various snags. It is a really relaxing way to catch trout. I am also keen to give soft plastics a go.. Edited November 8, 2007 by Ceph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 (edited) Thanks for that tip, Ceph - I actually have a couple of fairly realistic looking sp mudeyes!! Will give them a go under the float, if we get there!! I have lots of really small sps to try out, too. Hi Bart - I like my automatic float retriever ... it is not the first time he has done that for me!! Cheerio Roberta Edited November 9, 2007 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosterman Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 hi roberta, what ceph said reminded me of one of the few times i have targeted trout.. me my cuz and his best mate went up oberon in the early 80's and me being a newbie and not able to fly like them used my luderick gear like ceph said.... would you believe i had triple the bites of them but sadly my landing ratio left alot to be desired as i only ended up with a couple... was bloody but fun.... doing it that way for a period will sort out that float fettish also...... you know i think if i couldt get near the water to fish for too long i would prob fill the bath and get my float fix that way ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted November 9, 2007 Author Share Posted November 9, 2007 Good one, Steve - I will be taking all my Kiwi flies with me as well as the fake mudeyes, altho after all this rain, there should be mudeyes in all the puddles, even here in Forster!! I will definitely take my spin & black queen rod too, in case my fly casting is just too rusty! It is over 5 yrs since I fly fished. Mind you, the stream (funning into Lake Lyle at Lithgow) was wide enough to step over! Not quite like the mighty Tongariro that I was used to fishing! Shame your landing method wasn't honed at the time ... what did you have under the float? Real mudeyes or other bits? I reckon the blackie outfit should work a treat, even with wet flies under it - especially if just being blown around behind a yak! Not sure if I will take the yak tho. A buddy has invited us to stay with them in Canberra & we hope to shoot off to Jindy for a couple of nights at a lodge whilst Keith babysits the house & dogs, prior to the race!! Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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