Peregrination

[taloyoak]

Another chapter unfolds in the Bluies....

Finally got my backside into gear and left a day later than I wanted to...was feeling somewhat lazy for a day or so, and coaxed myself to set the alarm for 4am. Who gets up at that hour anyway?. Caught the 5:17am train which got me to Katoomba at 0750am and started the laborious chore of that long pilgrimage to my home away from home. Of course nothing new to proclaim about this long journey, although I was actually feeling motivated so jogged the flat sections and down-hills so that I got to my tent at Kanangra right on the 7 hour mark. I had left most of my gear down there and thankfully no-one had decided to claim it for themselves!. I just carried in food, 5 litres of H20, stove and fuel and a few other bits and pieces so my pack weighed roughly 10kg's give or take. Set up the stove, made some soup and got the camp setup, and was very relieved that all my gear was still there. At the Cox's crossing there was a tent pitched on the near (Katoomba) side but didn't see anyone. Settled into my tent and was watching some "TV" then heard some voices. 3 guys came through the site- 2 guys around early 20's and an older guy maybe 50 y.o. They had fished up Wilhania and Kanangra for 2 days, winding down their trip this afternoon. They were spinning, and said they hadn't caught all that much, just a few to maybe 2 pounds. It was good to see other people for a change. On my way in to my camp I passed through the Konangaroo clearing and checked the rain gauge as last trip I had emptied it and saw there had been 30mm in the previous week. Kanangra was noticeably flowing faster. Settled into my sleeping bag with some moderate rain for maybe 2 hours. It was actually pretty warm which was a welcome change.

Sunday dawned, a cloudy but warm morning. Rose late at about 9am, as I deserved the sleep in for the unjust early morning the previous day, fired up the stove and made some espresso.

Note to self- get a plunger as the little espresso maker takes too long and uses too much fuel to get a full cup of "black gold". The usual oats with dried fruit and got my act together for the day, with the plan of hitting upstream for a few hours, then checking the mouth. Tied some leaders together which I forgot to make beforehand and started my way up the creek. Disappointing day. Although on my 2^nd cast I hooked a decent fish, lost him within seconds. Adjusting to the faster flow took some time and getting the right drift and slack out of the line proved a bit troublesome for me.

So ended up hooking maybe 3-4 fish landing none. A skunk for the first few pools.

Then got to my favourite pool, which I call the spawning pool as during the last few trip there are always a bunch of eager trout sidling up to each other on the shallow lead up to the pool. I tried to approach as stealthy as possible, but of course spooked a good fish by my feet and that sent the rest into flight mode. Managed however to get close enough to take a few close up pics of a few maybe only 3-4ft from me.

Started casting into the deep pool and got some good drifts but no takers. Switched up to an orange beaded egg ( which are bastards to cast!) and got 2 good takes but again couldn't set the hook in time. Gave up on that pool and moved upstream. Again no joy, but saw plenty of good fish in the 3-4 pound range, but nothing was interested in me.

Then there is this one big pool that present a big "issue" for me.

It is really difficult to cast into as you cannot get a good drift as you have to cast laterally across the rapid, which means unnatural drift plus too fast, also it is very easy to get snagged on the end of the pool. And there really is no other "reasonable" way to cast into the sweet spots. I have nailed some good fish in this pool before but now with the faster flow it is very frustrating...or should I say more challenging. I know there are some good fish in there. Just up from there I spotted a fish rising, so switched up to a parachute and got a rise but no take...damn!. Yes Brendon I agree with you that dry is a lot more fun that indicating!.

Headed down to the mouth for a quick look, and nothing. In fact I have yet to see anything there, even though it looks picture perfect for likely gold. Checked under rocks and pretty much all I saw were small mudeyes, and a few yabbies. Thought to myself seeing as there are so many yabbies I wonder how a yabbie pattern would fare- need to find some yabbie flies this week, as I am sure some big fish would love that. Found a single Stonefly- hardly a hatch!.

Got back to the tent, dinner, TV and an early night- all that was missing was some Mexican guitar players and a Señorita!. Was quite windy, and was awesome to listen to the wind building up and then barrelling down the valley to finally shake the tent. It's a pity you can't describe it fully in words.

Monday- this time up at 7am, quick breakfast and hit the pools early. This time I just spent most of the day working on lesser targeted pools and riffles. I am always amazed at how trout can be in the most unlikely areas- and I always am learning more and more about the creek and being able to read it better each trip. I take nothing for granted, meaning that even the most unlikely spot can and does have trout in it. I enjoy catching the little palm sized guys as much as the big ones, as just being able to make a good cast into a spot is just as good as nailing a huge fish. Plus these little guys are very feisty and acrobatic, and they have my respect.

Landed around 8-10 small trout during the day, and again lost a few bigger ones, however all in all a good day and the weather seemed to stay with me although the clouds looked ominous. Monday night was really warm, almost didn't need my sleeping bag?!.

Tuesday- another slow start, and I was tossing up between just doing a big mission up towards Wilhania where I haven't really been, but opted for a lazy day similar to the previous day. Mostly déjà-vu but managed a nice female at the end of the day. I had spooked 2 fish and just decided to wait for 10 mins and then see if I could entice anything to take my fly. First cast a brown seals fur ½ a dozen times with no result, then changed up to a multi-coloured Czech Nymph which worked a treat and got this nice solid Rainbow.

Decided to end the day on that note. On my way back to camp, went by the pool that I had seen/caught the Black Macquarie Perch last trip and to my amazement there were still maybe 8 of them in the exact little nook I had seen them last time. Brendon- I am sure you know this pool. Back to camp, made a fire- this time I brought down a hand saw to cut some logs up, as there is hardly any wood right at my spot, and so I made a big fire and sat staring into the flames and enjoying the quiet crackle of the wood and the cacophony of birds. Every time I hike into the place along the Narrow Neck Road I see a bunch of Black Cockatoos at the exact same spot. It is the first winding uphill from the locked gate- maybe 15 mins walk from there. Every time. I love those birds as they are so rare. And I also always see a few Lyrebirds- they are a treat and always are very inquisitive. Anyway, the night was quite cold compared to the previous nights and decided to call it a trip. I was going to hike out over 2 days- as I hate the long haul out. I could get up late, have a leisurely breakfast/brunch then make my way to Mobbs Soak and stay there overnight, and then do the rest the next day, but I set the alarm for 6am making the decision to do it in one push...uggghh!.

6am...hit the snooze, got up at 7am, and hit the trail by 8am. Missed the train by 4 minutes...an hour at the station with nothing to do. Got out a fishing mag that I had taken but didn't read, and was enthralled by a story on fly fishing for monster Brown's in Argentina. Hmmmm may be time to learn some Espanola ?. That is what I dream of- remote places fly fishing: Seychelles, Mongolia, Russia, PNG...that's what it is all about.

The most essential factor is persistence – the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come......

[bassboy888]

nanook another awesome report, its always great to read about your trips. and you got a couple of nice trout there aswell. congtrats

[Daniel Frost]

The photo's are always so good in your reports , I love the shots you take of the river , it makes me want to give it a crack . Im not really that into trout and rarely use a wand , I probably would take a spin outfit and give it a crack for the experiance as much as for the fishing . You must absolutely love troutfishing as you do seem to target them a lot and make the effort to trek in and out whilst camping with mininal gear , do you fish for anything else or do any saltwater ? Personally ive only fished dams for trout , but it looks like the experiance would be a lot better when hiking a river like the ones in your reports . Bass fishing is my favourite freshwater fishing , but I will wait until it starts to heat up before I get back into that .

Keep up the awsome reports mate , always a good read and great photos

[ElwoodBlues]

Another amazing trip. It is always a pleasure to read your threads.

I am glad all your gear was still there on your return trip.

you took some very beautiful pictures of the river and trout.

Good work and thank you for posting

[taloyoak]

The photo's are always so good in your reports , I love the shots you take of the river , it makes me want to give it a crack . Im not really that into trout and rarely use a wand , I probably would take a spin outfit and give it a crack for the experiance as much as for the fishing . You must absolutely love troutfishing as you do seem to target them a lot and make the effort to trek in and out whilst camping with mininal gear , do you fish for anything else or do any saltwater ? Personally ive only fished dams for trout , but it looks like the experiance would be a lot better when hiking a river like the ones in your reports . Bass fishing is my favourite freshwater fishing , but I will wait until it starts to heat up before I get back into that .

Keep up the awsome reports mate , always a good read and great photos

Hi Dan,

Yeah I fish for other species besides trout. I am a fly obsessed man so pretty much only target fish on fly - anything really. I also fish for Blackfish and Drummer and enjoy ice fishing when I can't fly fish. I like fishing remote places as I enjoy the outdoors and hiking as well. Kanangra Ck is a great place, and a good place to challenge you as it has everything from wide open easy casting to tight spots that require roll casts and also it is varied in the way it runs. Sometimes the fish are everywhere, other times you need to spend all day just to get a good fish. My big desire is to tackle big GT's on fly, and Bonefish, so hopefully soonish I can get that under the belt.

Thanks for the reply,

Nan

[Luke K]

Wow, another outstanding report.

You certainly know to describe your experiences Matt.

I used to take groups into the mountains for duke of ed hikes but its been a long time between drinks.

I think you may have awakened something within me.

Thanks for the great report

Luke

[arpie]

Wow! Beautiful looking fish there, matt!! Would have been a big f-f-freezing up there, wouldn't it?? Beautiful looking rainbow! Well done.

Hey Luke - I did one of my D 0f E hikes in the mountains! Great fun! The climb back up behind the waterfall was terrific!

Cheers

Roberta

[Ray R]

What a top story, congrats to you buddy and great pics of your adventure.. Top stuff

[Guest divoted]

Hi Mat-Great report,looks as though some nice water was coming down.

Give us a buzz when you are free

Brendon

[robeebee]

yet another great report mate

you should have your own tv show

[tide'n'knots]

wow matt that was awesome to read, almost makes me want to get out there myself - NAH! im too old, fat and lazy and unfit these days!!!! and i think my body would breakdown, thats the sort of stuff i loved doing when i was younger and fitter!

There is some really good water right up in the grose river that i have fished years ago and done very well for bass, and one time spotted some big browns but couldnt get them to eat anything, reading your report brought back memories of my youth!

Pete.

[Centrepin]

Hey Matt,

Great report.

Yeah got back from Honeymoon last week.

Looks like the Kanangara has better resident fish than the Jenolan or Kowmung in the winter.

The Czech nymph is interesting. Did this do better than other nymphs?

When you heading back to Alaska?

See you,

Geoff

[GregL]

Reading fishing wild?? Cracker read that one.

Great trip, read and pix Matt, another top mission completed.

Greg

[Lizardboy]

Nanook,

I really enjoy reading your reports and great pics.

Cheers,

Gus

Edited August 10, 2010 by Lizardboy

[Hodgey]

Another great report Matt. The solitude, the scenery and the fishing all point to another memorable sojourn into the mountains. Keep 'em coming, mate, because I never tire of reading them

Cheers

Ian

[dogtooth]

What a great read ,

I have often thought about fishing that stretch of river i guess one day i will have to make the venture in and give it a fish , I guees its all about getting out as you cant fish in your lounge room now can you . Once again im sure you have inspired a few raiders next year, it may be a raiders couple of days away camp and fish seasion .

cheers Dogtooth.... John....

[pmak]

Great read. Keep them coming - I like the whole being alone in the wild thing but can't imagine doing it myself!

[luderick -angler]

That is one awesome report buddy nice bow's I am envious! It is on home turf! Waiting for the season to open here it is only 5 weeks away just hope the rivers are at an acceptable level! So when are you going to come over and doa few day trips in Welly with me?

[Day's Fishin]

What a great read. I feel as though I was there with you. The pic's say it all!

Regards Jeff

[stoney]

What a great report. I want to do a trip like that one day.

[shred]

you should read his other reports Stoney! Just as good!

[W4z]

That's a top read. Have been meaning to do some trout/hiking trips. Really good inspiration

[diesel]

well done Nanook, thats a great read and even better dedication, nice bow in the end, beautifull country to do it in as well.

[Kram]

Thanks, great read, great trip!

Kram..

[thefisherman6784]

Great fish mate

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