Kariong Dam

[Grantm]

Well I thought id give the dam a go since its only ten minutes away from home. Went there with the understanding that the fish there arent to keen on lures of any kind. That didnt really worry me and I wanted to see for myself.

Got there paid my 12 bucks, the guy said I had virtualy no chance on sp or hb, he wasnt sure why but they just are not interested and never have been. Anyway throwed every type of plastic known to man, grubs, hawgs, grass minnows etc,etc, surface poppers, deep divers, everything. Not a touch. Threw out a handfull of cat food pellets and the fish were smashing the surface for them right in front of me.

Even with this feeding frenzy you could throw anything in the middle of this and it wont get touched.Could not believe it, The rumors are true.

Two old blokes fishing ten meters away caught over 30 fish in two hours using worms and even cat pellets jammed on a hook. Even saw a kid land a 65cm Murray Cod, great to watch he was stoked.

Anyway it could have easily switched to bait but wanted to persist just for the exercise but it was fruitless. Il have a go with bait next time, but its a pity they are not into the lures. Of course its possible they are I suppose, it could just be me But I doubt it. He has only ever seen a couple of fish taked on lures there since last August and since people are catching 30 fish at a time thats not good for lures.

Any ideas why these fish are so un interested in lures ?

[tyrone07]

An unweighted bass minnow might work and a real lite flurocarbon leader might get into some fish. Its a wonder theyre arent eating lures

[Grantm]

An unweighted bass minnow might work and a real lite flurocarbon leader might get into some fish. Its a wonder theyre arent eating lures

29807[/snapback]

GDay Tyrone,

Never tried an unwighted plastic. Was using 1/32 jig and 4 pd Flouro leader about 2 meters. They were smashing the surface so unweighted might be the go.

[tyrone07]

Hey Grantm would you be able to give me directions from copa how 2 get there or where abouts it is i know its at kariong but not sure where abouts Tyrone

[Grantm]

Sure mate,

Come up the hill from Gosford into Kariong stay on Pacific Hwy, go through the first set of lights ( Woy Woy Rd ) then turn right into Mt Penang Gardens off the Pacific Hwy opposite Shell servo at next lights.

Follow this road into the gardens and head towards the Cafe out the back and the dam is there.

Can only be fished on a sunday. Let me know if this does not make sense.

Cheers

[tyrone07]

yeah makes sense might get up not this wk but nxt wkend ill try the weightless plastics as well. sounds easy to get 2

[fastone]

Grantm , can you take your own rod, I thought you had to use his gear & its catch & release?

[Grantm]

GDay Swoff

There's Murray Cod, Silver Perch, Yellow Belly I think thats it. Actually the guy there did mention someone did ok on fly but still not that good.

Fastone

You can take your own gear no probs. Also take your own bait although he has a supply of worms.

Its all catch and release only

Edited January 31, 2005 by Grantm

[fastone]

Thanks GM

[Grantm]

Yeah Swoffa

Im sure someone with a bit more fishing skill than me will work it out. There just to many fish in their not to get one on lure. As said before im a fishing gumbie

[ankles]

he he he

[Grantm]

I'm not saying that you're a gumbie... just that I'm sure I have a plastic that will more closely resemble what the fish are fed.

29845[/snapback]

Yeah I know that mate :thumbup:I wasnt trying to be smart, its true. I think this place needs a bit of finesse which I aint got yet. A more experienced fisho can hopefully show the way. They smash earth worms so if there is a sp that looks like one it might go ok.

[patl]

Why dont we make a date and meet up there one Sunday, especially now as school hols as finished.

I have thought before about having a go there as it is only 10 minutes from home

[Grantm]

Gday Patl,

I may be heading up there on Sunday as well but not sure yet what time. Hopefully I can catch up with you.

Swoffa old mate, if you ever want a fishing buddie up there id be happy to join ya, just let me know.

[Jethro]

I think a pellet fly would hav to work.

Count me in if you guys are planning a trip

[Martin]

That’s a great idea Swoffa; I would be interested in giving it a bash.

[Grantm]

Im sure something can be arranged. Ill ask this sunday if they group deals or anything like that.

Cheers

[tyrone07]

Swoffa id be in it i do think they do like a group thing as well

[Grantm]

Well checked out the dam again on Sunday and tried some different baits. Scored a couple of Murray Cod on chicken gut which I was happy about. Have to say the fish go quiet once the sun gets high and early morning is easily the best. Other guys were going well on the Perch with yep you guessed it, friggen cat food pellets ! Heres a pic of a smallish cod.

Swoffa I spoke to the guy up there who said a group day is no probs, can also give us a discount depending on numbers. It can get a bit crowded on the Sunday so he said if we have enough numbers he will open up for us on a Saturday morning as early as 6.30 when the fishing is at its best. Probably need at least 15 blokes to do the saturday thing. If Saturday is out he can also open early for us Sunday as we.

Here are the details

Paul Kelly ( not the singer )

Ph /Fax 43233887

Mob 0412046969

Email MPGFish@bigpond.com ( love the big pond address )

Cheers

[Grantm]

Heres a pic of the dam, not all of it is accessible and probably wont take a large number at the same time. 20 should be ok id say its hard to tell.

[Weasel]

How big is the dam. Are boats an opion, or is it land based only.

[Grantm]

Bugger my photo didnt come through properly. Oh well, Weasel its not that big in fact ive got most of it in the shot, although the bottom half didnt come through.No boats in here at all.

[Paul Kelly]

Baits do best at MPGFish (Mount Penang Gardens) but :

Most guys are throwing diving lures and I reckon the fish don't readily recognise them. It is a dam and most fish would be feeding on insects, frogs, detrius and other bits and pieces they find predominantly on or near the surface and around the reeds that surround the dam.

Dragging diving lures across the depths in no mans land ain't going to catch much.

Fish are caught on diving lures and soft plastics but not as many as are caught on baits. Reality is you would probably find that to be the case with freshwater fishing in many locations.

As for fly fishing, most of the fly fisho's that have visited have used sinking flies. Surface flies are the way to go. I don't fly fish but I can work that out. In the afternoons heaps of insects (dragon flies predominatly) swarm on the waters surface and heaps of little birds are dipping and picking the dragon flies off. The fish are particularly active at this time and I reckon would have to take flies.

They are fed cat pellets, they love it, and all of them give it a chomp when I throw out handfulls. I often float out bread or pellets without any weight and have a ball, especially with the Silver Perch which fight hard and long.

Bass will be introduced in october.

( Paul advertising is available here - free advertising is not - Ken A)

Edited July 20, 2005 by Ken A

[brettoes]

is mpg a pay to fish park and if so how much is it?

[djmac]

ive fished it once.

for bout an hour

i think they are a bit well fed or too captivated.

they wouldnt hit any lures or sps'

the only thing they seemed to fall too was bits of raw chicken that we got given as part of the pay

got a murray around 40cm.

the fish looked a bit ill and didnt put up much of a fight.

recapture rate on these fish are obviously pretty high and they cant take it too well.

swam away ok though

still good fun when the swell and winds up and nowhere else is fishable.

its worth a look

Edited July 21, 2005 by djmac