River recon and unusual sights...

[big Neil]

 

Had a trip to the river on Friday for a bit of a recon. The river was in perfect condition for bait fishing, but not so for casting lures in pursuit of the elusive Yellowbelly. Although the water level is still low for the time of year, there was a reasonable flow happening. The first unusual thing spotted was dozens of various sized Carp feeding on the surface. They were cruising around in a backwater and got me thinking that it would be great fun to try catching them on the fly rod. Something which I shall investigate in the coming weeks. The second unusual thing which I spotted was a kangaroo swimming across the river. Not an uncommon event, but rarely witnessed. Here's a few pics for those who have never seen a roo in the river. Cheers, bn

[masterfisho7]

Nice report and some top photos Neil 

[Green Hornet]

One of the spin offs from fishing is we quite often get to see wildlife doing things most other people never will.

Eastern grey kangaroos are quite good swimmers and where I mostly fish, I've see a few swim from Sanctuary Point to the eastern shore of St Georges Basin, about 1.5km. 

The weirdest thing I saw a kangaroo do was while beach fishing. It jumped down to the waters edge, followed a receding wave out and got absolutely pounded by the 1.0m shore break, washing it up high and dry. To my amazement the kangaroo got to its feet and did exactly the same thing again. Too far away for a photo, I watched it do it again and again, at least 10 times before hopping back up the dune and off into the bush. Since then I've seen it happen a couple of times more. I guess it must be their way of ridding themselves of parasites. Either that or their dumber than I originally thought.

[kingie chaser]

Well at least if you don't catch any fish you can still get a feed 👍

[Ryder]

Hi Neil, nice pictures. Like Green Hornet, these kind of experiences are one of the perks of being a fisherman.

Carp on fly would definitely be worth a try. Some of the big ones could turn you inside out.

[Green Hornet]

27 minutes ago, Ryder said:

 

27 minutes ago, Ryder said:

Carp on fly would definitely be worth a try. Some of the big ones could turn you inside out.

They don't call them hillbilly bonefish for nothin'.  😁

[big Neil]

4 hours ago, Ryder said:

Hi Neil, nice pictures. Like Green Hornet, these kind of experiences are one of the perks of being a fisherman.

Carp on fly would definitely be worth a try. Some of the big ones could turn you inside out.

The main concern I would have is that there's no opportunity to play Carp in the river environment. Heaps of snags for them to get into and the very flexible rod may not be able to keep them out of the snags. Gunna give it a try though if I happen to see them feeding like that again. Might berley some up in the irrigation channel and try that instead...fewer snags to contend with, bn

[Green Hornet]

15 hours ago, big Neil said:

The main concern I would have is that there's no opportunity to play Carp in the river environment. Heaps of snags for them to get into and the very flexible rod may not be able to keep them out of the snags. Gunna give it a try though if I happen to see them feeding like that again. Might berley some up in the irrigation channel and try that instead...fewer snags to contend with, bn

Hey BN. If you're going to give them a go in that environment, try saltwater fly tactics.

Keep your rod angle low so the bend is in the stronger, lower section of the rod rather than the tip. It's surprising how much hurt you can put on a fish this way. The only time you need to raise your rod high is to avoid your line on the timber.