R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 I thought id do a bit of a review of my fishing from the last 2 weeks of holidays. I had 2 major goals these holidays, to catch my first golden perch, and to catch a river murray cod. The fishing adventures started on the 24th Dec, after an early morning drive out to Windemere unfortunately resulted in hitting a kangaroo, within 200m of my planned kayak launch spot. Unfortunately my vehicle had damage to the radiator rendering it undriveable. The fishing must go on though, so after arranging a tow/lift for that afternoon, I set out on the hobie to target yellas at around 6am. A very very slow day. Cruised the bays casting vibes, Minnows, chatterbaits, and pretty much everything else in my tackle box for not even a hit. After about 6 hours I had a chat with some blokes that came past on a boat, and they had had success trolling brightly coloured stumpjumpers. On went a bright pink stumpy, and sure enough, about 30mins later I had a massive hit. I initially thought it was a cod until a saw the golden slab rising from the depths. A true 52cm windamere football hit the boat and boy, was I happy! Easily a 7lb fish. After a couple of happy snaps, back it went to make another anglers day. I had a couple more hits on the same lure, but landed no other fish that day. My pursuit of a murray cod has been a long grind. I actually caught my first one at windemere in October chasing yellas, but it was only around 40cm. A far cry from the monster I was after! A spare day on the 27th meant a trip out to the central west was in order. After a drive through some stunning scenery I reached the destination on the Macquarie River. Started off throwing swimbaits, but the water was murky so I decided to swap to a 1/2 oz bassman spinnerbait with some flash and vibration. Only 15mins after making the swap I had a fairly subtle hit. I set the hooks and felt good weight. After about a minute of tugawar I saw the colours of a good sized river cod. Lip grips locked on, and out of the water it came for a quick snap. Probably the coolest fish I have caught to date, with the most insane markings! It went 78cm on the brag mat. Big thanks to @big Neil and @dirvin21 for their advice that assisted my cod journey. A lightning snowies trip on the 29th saw 5 nice stream trout on my new Expride trout rod. Biggest was around 40cm but these small stream fish punch above their weight. Bonus drone shot of brumbies drinking from the stream i was fishing. The last freshwater expedition for the holidays was on the 1st of Jan, a kayak trip to Oberon Dam. The goal of the mission was to catch one of the native yellas or cod that have been stocked in the dam for the last 5 years, so the cod gear came along for trolling my pink no2 stumpy, and the trout rod with a daiwa double clutch. Unbelievably, I picked up 2 solid rainbows on the trolled 75mm stumpy (50lb leader!), and 3 redfin, including a battle scarred 42cm model. I also caught 3 bows on the trout gear, including an absolute tank of a male which put up the best fight ive ever had from a trout. Bagged out, with plenty of fish for the smoker. All in all a successful period of fishing. I also had a couple of saltwater forays, most notable (weird) catches being a calamari on a 48mm double clutch and a whiting on a 75mm double clutch. Apologies for the long winded report. Hopefully it's all coherent! 20 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirvin21 Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Great write up mate and dome awesome fish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Wow have indeed been very busy and very successful, Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Don't apologise for the extensive report, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the detailed account of your varied successes.. What you have achieved is very notable and your persistence needs to be acknowledged. Definitely difficult to get Yellas AND Cod in quick succession and from different locations. Add to that the Trout and Redfin and you have achieved feats that most people never get to experience. Very well done. A great read accompanied by some excellent photos, thanks for sharing it. Cheers, bn 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 (edited) Hey @R E G I C Y C L E, you certainly did kick some holiday goals. Well done mate. I loved reading your reports (following you now). A 52cm yellow belly and 78 Cod are 2 meritorious catches. The Redfin was a solid fish at 42 and that rainbow looks like it could be a big buck salmon well done. The miles you covered were well rewarded. Dave and Neil (@dirvin21 and @big Neil) are certainly highly experienced, helpful raiders willing to share their knowledge and info. (Being an inexperienced inland fisho & having a son living at Bathurst now, I might have to hit you up for some input on freshwater fishing the dams around the area). Any time you want to target Bass In Derrubbin (Hawkesbury) feel free to get intouch - I don’t know much about other freshwater species, but usually do OK on Bass and E.P’s). Edited January 6 by Pickles 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 12 hours ago, dirvin21 said: Great write up mate and dome awesome fish Thankyou! 12 hours ago, bessell1955 said: Wow have indeed been very busy and very successful, Well done. Thanks! 11 hours ago, big Neil said: Don't apologise for the extensive report, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the detailed account of your varied successes.. What you have achieved is very notable and your persistence needs to be acknowledged. Definitely difficult to get Yellas AND Cod in quick succession and from different locations. Add to that the Trout and Redfin and you have achieved feats that most people never get to experience. Very well done. A great read accompanied by some excellent photos, thanks for sharing it. Cheers, bn Thanks bn, the next challenge is a cod on surface! 5 hours ago, Pickles said: Hey @R E G I C Y C L E, you certainly did kick some holiday goals. Well done mate. I loved reading your reports (following you now). A 52cm yellow belly and 78 Cod are 2 meritorious catches. The Redfin was a solid fish at 42 and that rainbow looks like it could be a big buck salmon well done. The miles you covered were well rewarded. Dave and Neil (@dirvin21 and @big Neil) are certainly highly experienced, helpful raiders willing to share their knowledge and info. (Being an inexperienced inland fisho & having a son living at Bathurst now, I might have to hit you up for some input on freshwater fishing the dams around the area). Any time you want to target Bass In Derrubbin (Hawkesbury) feel free to get intouch - I don’t know much about other freshwater species, but usually do OK on Bass and E.P’s). Thanks Pickles, im happy to share my limited knowledge so hit me up next time you're heading out that way! The nepean/hawkesbury is actually my local system... I really don't fish it as much as I should. I'll keep your offer in mind, thankyou. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbertW Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Great photos! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaitDropper Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 What a great write up,, thanks for sharing. You were/have certainly kicked some goals Congrats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bennyg78 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Well done @R E G I C Y C L E I really need to get into the freshwater kayak fishing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 2 hours ago, AlbertW said: Great photos! Thanks! 2 hours ago, BaitDropper said: What a great write up,, thanks for sharing. You were/have certainly kicked some goals Congrats Thanks! 29 minutes ago, Bennyg78 said: Well done @R E G I C Y C L E I really need to get into the freshwater kayak fishing Thanks! There's some great spots not far from sydney to fish for bass, then trout and reddies slightly further west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linewetter Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 The pictures of the trout stream area - that is gold. Looks so serene and untouched, like something someone from the 1800s would’ve stumbled upon. Great photos! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 19 minutes ago, linewetter said: The pictures of the trout stream area - that is gold. Looks so serene and untouched, like something someone from the 1800s would’ve stumbled upon. Great photos! Thankyou! It is one of the nicest areas I've been lucky enough to visit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hill373737 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Great photos and report, and that is one very nice cod, well done!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 5 minutes ago, Hill373737 said: Great photos and report, and that is one very nice cod, well done!! Thankyou! They are an amazing fish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoods Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Super report mate. Congrats on the big effort on The Bucket. Maybe we should call you the Curango Kid. That country up there is good for the soul. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Mention of the Stumpjumper lures reminded me to comment on their underestimated capabilities. Many years ago they were the gun lure for Cod and Yellas, great for trawling behind the boat or casting. Fast forward to the present and they have become outdated in many anglers' eyes. So many replacement lures, and the hype that goes with them, have seen the humble Stumpjumper relegated to the lower end of the table of preferred lures. I like to keep things in the memory bank though and, complete with their choice of bibs, rate them highly. They have a 70-degree gait when swimming and a well-defined side-to-side plane. Still well worth keeping a few different sizes in the tackle box. Cheers, bn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 9 hours ago, Hoods said: Super report mate. Congrats on the big effort on The Bucket. Maybe we should call you the Curango Kid. That country up there is good for the soul. Thankyou! Curango Kid has a nice ring to it 😁 When heading down that way the last hour is always driven with the windows down... the smell and atmosphere of the area is second to none. 8 hours ago, big Neil said: Mention of the Stumpjumper lures reminded me to comment on their underestimated capabilities. Many years ago they were the gun lure for Cod and Yellas, great for trawling behind the boat or casting. Fast forward to the present and they have become outdated in many anglers' eyes. So many replacement lures, and the hype that goes with them, have seen the humble Stumpjumper relegated to the lower end of the table of preferred lures. I like to keep things in the memory bank though and, complete with their choice of bibs, rate them highly. They have a 70-degree gait when swimming and a well-defined side-to-side plane. Still well worth keeping a few different sizes in the tackle box. Cheers, bn Couldn't agree more Neil. I used to view stumpys as the cod lure that was sold by stores that had no focus on cod, but now they have a permanent place in my cod/yella tackle boxes. Amazingly versatile too... I've now caught upwards of 5 rainbows and 3 or 4 good sized reddies on the no.2. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 fantastic report mate and well done on the stud catches! The colours on the golden perch looks amazing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 1 hour ago, kantong said: fantastic report mate and well done on the stud catches! The colours on the golden perch looks amazing! Thankyou! It was a beautifully conditioned fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sydney Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 @R E G I C Y C L E I look forward to each of your reports as just when I think you’ve taken photos of the most beautiful scenery in Australia you go and find somewhere even more gorgeous. Stunning photos yet again, and some excellent fish to boot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 19 hours ago, Mike Sydney said: @R E G I C Y C L E I look forward to each of your reports as just when I think you’ve taken photos of the most beautiful scenery in Australia you go and find somewhere even more gorgeous. Stunning photos yet again, and some excellent fish to boot Thanks Mike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizardboy Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Thanks for the report, kicking goals and some great pics, Oberon Dam is on my hit list for the same reasons! Cheers, Gus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 2 hours ago, Lizardboy said: Thanks for the report, kicking goals and some great pics, Oberon Dam is on my hit list for the same reasons! Cheers, Gus Cheers, oberon is on fire at the moment. Let me know if you head out there and I'll tell you where to find the reddies 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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