Hodgey Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 GDay all, The rain has finally fallen on all the right places, and the Lake has swollen with muddy water. There's a fair bit of floating debris and a lot more trapped along the bank This gives a whole new meaning to water frontage We've got water in places that havn't been wet for a loooong time Looks like I won't be having a hot coffee at the boatshed for a while The boardwalk and jetty in front of Laing's boatshed is completely underwater The boat ramp boardwalk and jetty in front of the boat ramp is submerged, and only the very top of the cleaning stations can still be seen But .... the good news is that they are now working frantically to capitalise on an incoming tide, in order to OPEN OUR ENTRANCE! The fishing will be woeful for a while, but the upside should be: A rejuvenated Lake and river system The big flathead will be able to get out to the open water (as will the bloody dolphins I hope! ) A tidal flow in the system again Two days ago, the majority of this area was sand! Man and machine working to open the entrance It's not just the humans that are heading for higher ground! I will head down in a few hours to check on developments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Time to get out the big lures Hodgey The jewies will on at the beach after the lake opens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Wow... spectacular pics Hodgey. Maybe all those crocs have been sensing the coming deluge and lining up for a quick dip in the ocean Hope to see some pics of the lake open shortly. Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnno Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 (edited) OMG awesome Skip you have had a little bit of water Now with some added mixture of water to the lake it would be supurb for the future of the lake It is also a little said to see the damage to the surrounding structures there Man i can only remember fishing off the boat shed wharf and the ramp you can see the top of the rail. man there has to be 1.8m in raised height to the lake Edited February 6, 2010 by johnno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosterman Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Wow... How good is that... This will rejuvinate the system and hopefully as you said those dolphins will get their freedom. Hope the properties were not too affected by it. I'm with iceman on this. I was told and shown on a few occasions as a kid about flood tides and land locked waterways opening and the way mother nature let's the predators know. Gone are the days of using chair leg poppers etc and trying to get poddies. If I wernt busy I'd love to be there tonight on dusk tossing some big lures near the opening. Keep us updated on how it goes... Cheers... Steve... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Great info and terrific shots Hodgey, same as our little lagoon up here , it becomes very fish active when it is opened to the sea. Hope you score a few rejuvinated fish.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 They have cracked the entrance open The DWL is clearly visible from One Tree Point. I reckon these are the conditions The Iceman/roosterman were referring to. In a matter of minutes, the water clarity went from this: to this The dirty lake water sneaking along the coastline. This photo was taken from the esplanade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahajo Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 YIPEEE about time Where has the entrance opened? Near the caravan park where it use to be or somewhere else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Thanks for the heads up Skip! Great pics! You've had some rain alright. The next push of water from the runout should see great fishing at the now open mouth. Should be a cracking prawning season in the lake next summer as well. All's looking good for the future of the lake even if she'll be a bit quiet for a while. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 WOW! Amazing! Great photos too Skip. Keep us updated with what happens over the next week or so. Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut_loose Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Wow.. Awlsum photos !!! Well done i love the one were you can see the dirty water running up the coast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Wow what a few days in the life of a lake! Hodgey, how long has the lake been closed and what does this mean for your fishing over the next few months...a change of tactics and species??? Has anyone been fishing down on the beach since the opening? BTW great pics and a bit of cleaning up to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 OMG!! That is amazing, Ian!!! Definitely get the jewie gear out!!! Glad to hear the lake has been opened to the sea - but such a shame those houses & businesses had to bear the brunt of it!!! Shame they didn't do it as soon as they realised there was lots of water coming into the system! Gotta feel sorry for Obriens!!! If they hadn't opened it, You may have had a waterfront property!!! Hope the dolphins go out & the flatties stay in (sort of!) Or do they need to go out to breed? Can't believe this has all happened virtually within a year or so! When we were down there in Oct '08, the lake was open to the sea & a matter of weeks (or couple of months) it shut!! Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHorse Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 HOLY COW! Wow Hodgey, when you said that you had a bit of rain you weren't wrong. I was just showing the missus your pictures and to see such a massive difference in less than a week is amazing. I just can't believe it. It is so hard to comprehend. I hope everyone is ok and the damage is not too bad for the cafe etc. Did you have much warning of the rising levels to get things to higher and drier ground? Going to have to book another trip after it settles. Cant wait to show the difference to the children! Let me know if you need anything. Regards, Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 The entrance is holding good numbers of salmon at the moment. The morning after the entrance was opened, several sharks were caught, as was a 6kg jewie. All fish were taken on slab baits. The water has now receded to normal levels and the 'mop up' is continuing today. I spoke to a couple of boaties yesterday who went out on the lake and they said that the undercurrent was extremely strong and there was a lot of debris floating on the surface and suspended in the water. There's been no word regarding the dolphins yet. Hopefully they have swum to freedom and clean salty water. The DWL is still clearly visible off the coast and will probably linger for another week or so. It seems these conditions are ideal for snapper! A couple of locals enjoyed a terrific snapper session on Sunday, fishing the DWL, and Moruya locals lined the Moruya breakwall on Sunday afternoon for some quality snapper once again. I picked up some larger divers on Sunday and hope to have a look at the entrance during the week. As one door temporarily closes .... Cheers Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Just amazing seeing such a radical change. This is when I wish I had a private jet and no job so I could just zip down there and throw a line with you. Fantastic series of posts and pics, Skip. Keep dry. Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendong Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Ian, as massive fan of your water way, its great to see things should be back to normal for you in the very near future......long live the dolphins (I can't see those 3 returning to hunt up river any time soon)...good bye smell, good bye salinity...hello Jews, trevs, big crocs, sambo's and best of all flowing water!!!! ....that's awesome news and hopefully the boat shed can get back to selling the best chicken burgers on the south coast very soon....whith getting their feet wet..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 (edited) Hi Ian My buddy Kim (you met her briefly when we were in Tuross '08) was at Kangaroo Valley on the weekend, planning on yakking & maybe fishing ..... but the camp ground she was planning on staying at was evacuated due to flooding & the whole valley almost was inundated! She had chatted with several Tuross locals & they said the flooding happened only a week after the council had decided there was no need to reopen the lake, despite the protests of the locals! If that was correct, methinks the council may have a lawsuit on their hands!!! She took this pic of the Kangaroo River - those little trees in the middle are actually BIG trees!!! Cheers Roberta Tons of prawns & other small fish would have been sucked out in that initial rush of water out to sea ... hence all the other predators hanging around for a free feed! Edited February 8, 2010 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajun Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 G'day Hodgey, As you know we left after two weeks late in Jan, and had a great holiday. More than enough fish to keep me happy. I was talking with one of the Oyster Farmers who told me - "We'll get a flood come next month. Won't be pretty around here" Sometimes I reckon the council should listen to these old timers who have lived in the area for ever, and earn their living by being in tune with nature. PS - I was flicking small sps around the weedbanks to the SE of the cardinal mark, and had a nice jewie scoot past the boat. Only got a quick glimpse, but it was a bit bigger than a schoolie. I hope there is some follow up rain to keep the entrance open. Cheers Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tide'n'knots Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 no wonder you get so many big lizards - its the same fish trapped in the lake and cant get out!!!! hopefully the opening will make the fishing better in the coming months! great photos hodgey. pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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