taloyoak Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 "People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love." "If you suffer, thank God! -- it is a sure sign that you are alive." Suffering is the price of being alive, that has helped me live through some of the most difficult things that have happened to me" Well here is a hastily report.. I try my best to be the "journalist in the field" and to provide good reports. However............. This trip was a disaster in many facets, albeit my saving grace was the addition of a new species caught on fly, and another tick in the box on my chalk board of fly catches. I left on Saturday morning, early and was supposed to meet Hooky aka Divoted, but fate sealed this with my F%$@#&% phone not working properly...( So Stewie you said you called me a few times, however I never received any calls and my cell is on me all the time?). Sorry Brendon I didn't mean to stand you up!. So made the long trip out to Kanangra but I left later than usual and by the time I got to Mobbs Soak I was feeling pensive to say the least, so decided to stay there for the night. But my usual "competitive" self said " if you get there before 230pm then keep going....LOL.... I got there at around 3pm, so just decided to doss there. Set up the tent and fly, and then ate some Horses Douvers-as Brendon would call it! Haha (hors d'oeuvre) of rice crackers with Swiss and smoked oysters...oh yeah I also packed in some Bacardi this time so was anaesthetised by 430pm. Then low and behold a group of 13 teens and 2 teachers from a school tramped in...calling out "coo-ee" as they got to the site, and here I am half tanked watching TV on my iPod. We chatted briefly and they went to the cave and set up camp. They were doing Kanangra to Katoomba as part of their Duke of Edinburgh. Nice kids, but funny listening to them griping about "roughing" it. So I went to sleep kind of early, and set the watch alarm for 6am so I could be on trail by 7am. Settled in to the night with a bit of drizzle and watched some documentaries on the Carlyle Group, Scientology and General Field Marshall Manstein of the Wehrmacht in WW2. Yeah my choice of viewing is diverse. Woke up at 6am, cursing and wanting to hit the snooze button...but after some good java and oats, got on my way. Almost to the bottom of the last mountain to the Cox's I passed 4 guys who had spent the weekend in Wilhania and Kanangra fishing both fly and spin. They didn't seem to friendly- of course I quizzed them on where/what they had fished. They seemed kind of secretive on their trip, but mentioned they nailed a few at the junction of K and Cox's ( just like Hooky told me last week). Anyway I asked them if they had seen my cache at the little cleared area and they said " yeah we saw a big black bag in a fork of a tree"- so I was relieved as I had left stove/pots/fuel/waders down there. I felt fairly confident that no-one would take it as this place really is remote and the only people that go past that clearing are either fly fisherpersons or the horse riders from Konangaroo. Finally got there and all my gear was safe- thank-you Allah!. Set up camp and tried to make it rainproof as I knew rain would come. Fished for a few hours maybe total of 1km upstream, and on my second cast nailed a good trout but lost him. This happened 6 times...so that day I landed only a few small rainbows. There were less trout in the stream than last trip- I guess they were done spawning and moved back down to Burragoraang?. Got back to camp...made a nice supper of Singapore noodles with Pad Thai sauce, coriander, chilli, and mushrooms, and TVP. Yeah OK- TVP isn't super desirable however you non-believers remember it is super lightweight, high in protein and actually tastes ok...LOL!. The night wasn't very cold, a bit of drizzle and otherwise ok day. Monday got up at 530am...yeah dark and cold...but wanted to spend the day by working up stream for a few km's then hit the mouth of K ck before 12pm. So as hooky hassled me last time for not taking the mini espresso maker- I packed it in ( are you happy now Brendon?)- A bastard device as to get a good cup of java you need to at least make 3-4 cups. I could go instant but that is blaspheme right? Well to cut the day short it was crap – I caught 2 fish, but lost 5... And spooked at least 10 good fish with my Sasquatch wading. I know K ck well, but these bastard fish were holding in inches of water in places I never suspected. It was the old case of trudging past a slow riffle and then seeing the wake like a Russian Sub exploding away from me and me chortling to myself " well you ruined that once again dufus boy!".But....... at the mouth of K ck I decided to lift up rocks to see what insects were there, and seriously within 2 mins found all these Yabbies. If I had spent the time could have made a huge feast of them, but decided to let them go. I found that the majority of insects in the system were either Mudeyes or Mayfly nymphs. Tehn...on part of the stream, I saw a huge Bow, and tried to position myself to make a cast and seriously right by my feet were a school of these rare Macquarie Balck Perch - which Divoted asked me " If you see any please mark GPS co-ords or take photos"- Well Brendon you ask and thou shalt receive. I dropped my fly right by my feet and hooked this little guy!- another tick to the species you all!. On my way back to my campsite I followed a feint trail made by presumably pigs, and came across a mini clearing similar to what I had set up my tent at, and found all this trash there- this really peeved me as how can anyone not pack this stuff out?- it was feminine products ( soiled) amongst other things. This is why I love getting away from the city- but even in this remote special place, people have to ruin it for others. Got back to camp... made a fire to dry out some of my wet gear, and decide to head back home. I forgot to mention a few things. Well Hooky – you will be happy as you stated " I hope your IPod battery dies" – well amigo I forgot the USB cable for the battery pack so there you go. Also.. I left my head torch at home. F me- the night before I left I was trying to catch one of my parent's cats to bring him inside, so my old man asked me to get him in...so I put my head torch on to search then inadvertently put the headlamp aside and forgot it. It really sucks to try and do anything in pitch dark. Also my cell phone has not been working. I was on my way to Katoomba and Hooky was gonna meet me and we were gonna have a latte ( I would have said the Parakeet), but I never heard back from him. Well last nite my phone wouldn't even work so I had to walk home from Hornsby. Today I went and got a new phone. This is my 3rd phone in 9 months. So.......... anyway guys and gals.. I am heading back in on Friday morning, as I left almost all my stuff there, and to be honest trying to hike out of there in one day is just soul destroying. I won't lie and say it is OK. It sucks!- and 40km's in a day with a pack is not fun. Plus I always don't keep enuff food for the journey out, so by the time I hit Katoomba I am in some kind of pseudo-diabetic crisis. Luckily Aldi was open and I bought a 2lt bottle of Apple and Mango juice, some Slow Cooked Kettle chips( honey and Soy) and some Chocolate Wheatins which all went down well on the train home. LOL...I fell asleep and was snoring so loud that another passenger woke me up...hahaha!. Oh, just a note: I caught a supposedly very rare "Macquarie Black Perch". Divoted/Hooky had asked me if I saw them, then take some photos et al...but I did better and caught one on fly. YAY- another species caught on fly. Only small, but I accidently stumbled upon a school of maybe 8-10 fish up K ck, I was actually just trying to position myself well to cast to a big trout I saw, so was trying to hide myself and literally right at my feet there they were ( see photo). So I just dropped my fly and hooked one ( released)...looks like a freshwater drummer. So I spent today sleeping in....washing stinky clothes and going to shops to buy more food, and then will head back in on Friday morning for another 5 days. This will be my last trip before heading home to Alaska. And just to let everyone know I will be moving back to Australia once I get stuff organised there. Cass has applied for the Canadian RCMP ( Royal Canadian Mounted Police) – like Federal Police or in Canada called Mountie's, and she just got a email yesterday saying they are delaying Depot Training until November ( in Regina, Saskatchewan), so we don't know what we are doing per se. But to be honest, more than likely we will move here for the next 12 months, and she can defer her training for 12 months. Anyway I will keep you all posted, but at this time I will be back in Australia in 6 weeks from departure. I just have to pack everything up, move stuff and sell things. So my usual life as a wondering gypsy continues. Hope everyone is doing well and sorry for the long posts. Big Love, Nan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taloyoak Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 A few more pics...man I hate this 500kb limit imposed!!!!- c'mon Donna it is hard to attach pics this small! Anyway...a few more to add to my post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle ray Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 You r one crazy dude. Massive kudos for the entertaining reading and incredible fishing reports. Have fun back in Alaska. If you ever want to chase some kingies on the fly on the harbour when you get back pm me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Congrats on your NEW SPECIES, Matt!! OMG you are keen!! It'd be bad enough to hike there in summer, let alone winter!!! Shame about people that can't take their rubbish out with them!! Glad that your gear was still there when you got back - hope the current stash is still there for you this next trip!! Gee! For a hiker, you eat pretty good! You should go on Masterchef!~ Love the miniscule camps ..... with mini TV! What about a electric blanket?? Take care Matt, all the best with the pack up Cheerio Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangled1 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 (edited) Another cracking report Nan, well done mate!! I wish i had the get up and go you have (or is it enough balls to trust myself to not get lost), it must be exhilarating to come across these beautiful spots that are in our backyard. Top stuff tangled1 Edited July 28, 2010 by tangled1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut_loose Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Another awesome report. I really enjoy all your write ups they are great. Keep em coming mate. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 A few more pics...man I hate this 500kb limit imposed!!!!- c'mon Donna it is hard to attach pics this small! Anyway...a few more to add to my post Your wish is my command ...... dose increased Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottyscotty Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Looks awesome! You wouldn't happen to own an iPhone would you? haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taloyoak Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Your wish is my command ...... dose increased Thanks D, I want it IV stat push TDS/TID! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElwoodBlues Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Another amazing read thank you. Good Luck on the trip on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taloyoak Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Looks awesome! You wouldn't happen to own an iPhone would you? haha Haha..nope waste of money!. I have better things to spend a $1000 on Android is simply better than any Iphone OS...although I do own a powerbook 17" but will never buy an iphone as no need- they are a huge waste of money in Australia still with the crazy plan options available, plus the cost of internet in Au is nowhere near as cheap or fast as US or Canada. Why do you ask me if I own one???????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robeebee Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 great report as usual what an adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hottyscotty Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Haha..nope waste of money!. I have better things to spend a $1000 on Android is simply better than any Iphone OS...although I do own a powerbook 17" but will never buy an iphone as no need- they are a huge waste of money in Australia still with the crazy plan options available, plus the cost of internet in Au is nowhere near as cheap or fast as US or Canada. Why do you ask me if I own one???????????????? i only asked because you were having problems with your phone. it was only in jest because of all the problems the iphone is having atm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest divoted Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Hey Mat-Your timing back in this week might be spot on.20-25 ml of rain yesterday with more coming tonight.This may prompt the remaining fish to run up stream as the flow might enable them to get over the shallow beds. What is it with people leaving Rubbish,Sorry I am lost for words on this issue.Idiots like this may put a holt to anyone going in their in the future. Great to see that the little black Mac perch were right behind that rock.Thanks for the photo. Always a Fantastic read When you are free give us buzz Hooky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke K Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Please don't be sorry for the long posts. That was an outstanding report and I enjoyed every bit of it. Regards Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 55 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Awesome thread .......... I really enjoyed reading about your trip as it made me feel like I was there looking forward to your next report Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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