An all night effort on the river seemed a good idea last night (not) seeing as it was July and we were only expecting a minimum of about 13C. It wasn't too bad until about 10.00pm when a cold sou-wester pushed down the river against the slight northerly that kept the temp at a tolerable level. With that out came the gloves and balaclava and not too long after stumps were called and the swag rolled out on shore.

Come the morning I stayed under the canvas until the sun lifted up above the horizon, figuring the fish might just choose to stay dogo until the same time.

Ended up with one after sunrise fish that fooled me by doubling back on itself and made the timber under the boat and upstream of where I expected it to go. The fish was still connected but not able to shake the lure free or wear the leader through. When all else failed to dislodge the fish I got over the top and got as much leader on the reel as I could and asked the question again. This time the front treble that was jammed into the timber straightened up and the fish came free. With the leader on the reel by a turn or two and the rod tip under the water finesse got thrown out the widow as the fish wanted down while I insisted on up.

Finally got it too the side of the boat, though not looking its best with scales knocked off it an a couple of line marks across its head and shoulders. Middle hook was well tangled in the flesh, probably as the fish struggled while the other hook was stuck in the timber. Ended up being not the best of releases but it powered off well enough.

Nice start to the weekend