Mondy Hit & Run Mission - Hit & Miss

[Big_Ren]

I cashed in a few brownies and took the opportunity to fish a brand new lake with Vin - one half of the Brothers of Darkness Inc.

It was a quick trip (May 8-10) but I needed to see the big rise and also test out the new HD vid camera.

Upon arrival, the lake was every bit the colossus of water that had recently been described:shocked:.

It was friggin big but after collecting my thoughts and my jaw off the deck, we hit the "record" button and tore off to find a likely ambush spot.

The stiff southerly blowing for the past few days had given way to an even stiffer easterly, and remembering the words of the good Doctor, we tried to convince ourselves that the wind was indeed our “friend”:rolleyes:.

Water temps were actually okay – stuttering between 24.5 deg C and 26.5 - in some of the small western bays up the system.

We discussed a thousand theories, re-created the universe, and finally settled on a patch of water in a bay with scattered trees, alive and dead.

We fished a nice leeward shoreline in ripply water, using HBs like Barra Baits, X Rap SXR12s and Big B52s. All were tricked in some way with either heavy duty Owners, some sticky weight and a splash of peanut butter for good measure.

Our only concern was the lack of bait, and after an hour or so, there had been no interest in any presentation:undecided:.

No boils, swirls, flashes, bumps, taps, whacks, boofs or even near misses.

Still we soldiered on and in fading light, my X Rap was finally molested.

A good solid fight and plenty of jumps for the small camera strapped to my chest like an ill-fitting bra:wink:.

After a prolonged fight on light drag, we netted our quarry and she stretched a good 113 on the mat.





A quick photo or two and we’re amped.








Especially when she powered back home in a healthy state.





That was it for Saturday.

That was also it for the entire Sunday. Good grief we thought, a full day of nothingness and a range of locations tried, including up North B and in the nether regions of south B. So back to camp we trudged for more thinking and a few cans of HTFU:undecided:.

Monday was go home day so we were up before normal people wake and on the water in brisker conditions.

We fished a different bay which held plenty of bait, bird life and the sweet sound of feeding fish.

Not 20 minutes went by and once again the X Rap is pillaged. I set the hooks and quickly hit the record button in one motion apparently:cheesy:. One jump, two jumps….this is great……looks around the metre mark….then she charged left around a small tree….before we could give chase she greyhounded across the surface and it was all over, with X Rap still in her mouth, no longer attached to my fighting string:cry:.

Hmmm….how did I lose this baby because my connection was solid? I retrieved my limp line and discovered my loop knot had worn right through on the lure tow point. The knot was perfect but obviously the fight from two days prior had started to wear a groove in the line. Must check that next time:undecided:

Bugger, another new way to lose a fish.

Anyway, retied and back into it. 45 minutes later, Vin is hit and calls Catty. Nope, he was wrong and a feisty 78cm barra finds her way into our net and smiling for the camera. Vin’s off the nut too and we’re reasonably happy:tongue:.





No more action for an hour so we pack it in and head back home.

After eagerly downloading my video, I found some awesome footage of the boat at speed travelling up and down the system, some good shots of casting and retrieving, but no fishy video. What the…….@#%^&?:angry:

Seems I was recording when I thought I wasn’t and not recording when I thought I was. A tough lesson to learn but I will be looking to make sure that red light is blinking next time.

Thank goodness for still photos.

Learnt a bit more about the place and I have never ever fished so slow before.

Super slow retrieves (I timed one retrieve out at more than 3 whole minutes) with a series of 20-40 second pauses.

Cheers
Paul

[BR65]

Nice! Some great fish, and a great pic of the eyes in the dark.

Those slow retrieves teach you patience if nothing else!

[Big_Ren]

Nice! Some great fish, and a great pic of the eyes in the dark.

Those slow retrieves teach you patience if nothing else!

Thanks brother. I like the pink eyes too.

Could have rolled a smoke and smoked the thing during the retrieve Brian. Least I don't have a sore casting arm.

[Pete62]

Great read Paul, thanks. She was a fattie mate and sounds like their energy levels are up too.
Shame about the vid, newbie mistake, u will get betta:grin:

Seeya soon.

Pete.

[Peter4]

Good stuff Paul - nice to hear that fish are still being caught, even if there is a bit of time between the action packed moments.

Bad luck about the video footage, perhaps next time...

The new lesson....slooowwwww is good!:smiley:

BTW what colour Xraps did the trick? We have a theory we will explain if it pans out...

Regs

Pete & Kyle

[Big_Ren]

Great read Paul, thanks. She was a fattie mate and sounds like their energy levels are up too.
Shame about the vid, newbie mistake, u will get betta:grin:

Seeya soon.

Pete.

Thanks Pete. I was spewin' when I got home as I thought I had captured footage of all three fish. When I pulled in my line after losing the X Rap I thought I hit "stop record", but hit "start".

See you in a couple of weeks.

Cheers
Paul

[Big_Ren]

Good stuff Paul - nice to hear that fish are still being caught, even if there is a bit of time between the action packed moments.

Bad luck about the video footage, perhaps next time...

The new lesson....slooowwwww is good!:smiley:

BTW what colour Xraps did the trick? We have a theory we will explain if it pans out...

Regs

Pete & Kyle

Thanks also Pete. Slow suits me fine but takes a little bit of mind control to stop the impestuous thoughts to keep twitchin'.

The colour on all three fish was the ghost colour. I swapped over to a blue pirchard colour after losing the ghost one but not a touch.

Does that help your theory?

I thought the olive spotted one might be a better go given the colour of the water.

See you also in a couple of weeks.

Cheers
Paul

[warrior]

grea report paul,least you put some scales in the boat ,pity about the video though it would have been good watching

[Big_Ren]

Thanks Al. I really thought I had some excellent footage, but the footage of the boat travelling up the system is also excellent....very little vibration and no wind noise. She's a beaut little thing.

Cheers
Paul

[Pete62]

Not to hijack Paul but where did u get it?? A few for sale at "the bay"

Pete

[Big_Ren]

No probs at all Pete, off the main system in one of the little bays on the opposite of J.

[Pete62]

My bad, I would never ask such a direct question Paul, I was referring to the Gopro.

Pete.

[Big_Ren]

My bad, I would never ask such a direct question Paul, I was referring to the Gopro.

Pete.

Pete that's perfectly okay mate. We all share so no dramas at all.

Naggsy arranged the Go Pro for himself, me and Gaz. He ordered somewhere from the States and was mailed to McGlue's address.

Cheers
Paul

[robersl]

geat report paul good to see you guys get a few well done

shane

[Big_Ren]

Only three bits of action Shane....2 fish and one miss, so yeah, it was hard going but well worth it.

Cheers
Paul