Phil Brumby has been catching a few nice murray cod down at Lake Tuggeranong in his Hobie Sport.  Phil has a memorable battle with a 30 pounder and has promised to send me the pics in the near future.

Derek ‘Paffoh’ Steele wrote in to say that he was disappointed to report captures of small redfin in Yerrabi Pond, a place he says he has never seen them in the past.

These fish are typically introduced by unthinking anglers or by anglers who have been using them for live bait.  Both acts are highly illegal and carry substantial fines.

Redfin are not a native species and while they are tasty and fun to catch they do breed ravenously and cause all sorts of problems including eating lots of native fish fry and competing for valuable space.  Caring anglers should do everything they can to stop redfin getting into new waterways.

SNOWIES

Up at Eucumbene and Jindabyne anglers trolling deep with lures or casting wide with baits have fared best. 

George Vlahos and friend fished in a Hobie Outfitter near Kalkite Point and sounded up some a nice patches of rainbows way down around the 14 meter mark.  Softies and blade lures retrieved through the schools worked best and the lads were pretty chuffed at bagging out

SOUTH COAST SNEAKS SNARE LIONS SHARE

How many readers out there have crossed all those tiny little bridges on the Princess Hwy and wondered if there is any fish in them?

Well in most instances they do contain fish; lots of them, and if you make the effort to explore a little you will usually be rewarded handsomely!

Many of these little creeks open up into deeper water or wider lakes! A half decent map will reveal that there are dozens of these places to choose from.

Because such spots don’t have boat ramps there are zones that are virtually untouched so if you can catch a fish or two in the more popular estuaries you can expect to catch 10 times more in these ‘sneaky spots’ using exactly the same techniques!

If you don’t know where to start a 6 Cm Rapala Husky Jerk fished on 4 pound line is the bomb.  Fish it hard up against the snags with lots of twitches and pauses.  If fishing the flats retrieve it rapidly across the expanses stopping in the small holes momentarily to see where the fish are living. 

Deep spots can be targeted with small 3 cm long plastics fished on a 2 to 5 gram jig head.  When you find a patch of fish you will see how easy the whole gig is.

Some of the creeks holes are just meters wide and some of the lakes are not much bigger than a sporting field.

Of course readers of this web site are in pole position because as you well know kayaks can be launched almost anywhere and traversing the shallows is a breeze with Mirage Drive.  Many of you will know how much easier it is to catch fish that have been un pestered by the masses; if not give it a go on your next trip!

The freshwater reaches contain species like bass and black bream, while the brackish and saltwater reaches contain black bream, yellowfin bream, flathead, whiting and many of the other popular species.

Even during the summer when fishing has been a little tough in the more popular estuaries the ‘hidden lagoons’ along the south coast have really fired.

I can’t handle knowing how much fun it is so I’ll be sneaking back in as soon as I can.

See you on the ‘back’ waters.

Rob Paxevanos