And Then It Gets Even Tougher!

Last week I penned a little article about my recent trip to the Johnstone River with Keith Graham. Well, last Sunday I had an even tougher day on the Mulgrave River with my partner, Debbie.

We certainly headed off in high spirits....why not, we live in paradise!


Boat Ramp - busy but orderly

The short trip south to the Bellenden Kerr boat ramp passed without incident - even finding the car park chock full was no deterrent as most trailers were of the "reef boat" size....readers will know that I'm primarily an "upstream man". With a high tide of 2.7m at approx. 7:00am it was just perfect for a zoom as far upstream as my little punt would carry us.
 

Allomba Bridge - even at high tide quite shallow

Thankfully the tide was high and still rising as we passed under the Aloomba road bridge - man the river was shallow though, and we badly need some decent rain to flush our river systems. This was as far as I dared venture as with the falling tide, we would have a slow trip back down over some pretty shallow areas I can assure you - not a trip for the unfamiliar!

What a picture...awesome!

Great to just be there!

We found a steep undercut bank with plenty of overhanging trees....their sweet blossom filled the air and birds sang above. What a pretty scene this was!

We tried small poppers / small divers / blades and chrome slices - all manner of things to little effect. We did manage a couple of small jacks & a sootie and Deb also had a sizable tarpon on for a while. It gyrated all over the place, as they do on light tackle, and just as she reached down to gently lift the silver beauty in for a quick pick, the leader broke right at the snap and fish and lure were gone.

By now the tide had just turned, maybe this would be the signal for the fish to start biting but alas...no such luck. Heading back downstream we tied all my favourite spots - weed banks here / undercut banks there / fast runs between sand bars and swaying ribbon grass.

At one stage we counted half a dozen fish scattering away from the shallow weed beds, but they were not the least bit interested in our offerings (and we tried many).



How small do jacks get?

Nice tarpon Deb

We pulled the pin early....the fishing was, er well crap!
But the river scenery was just magnificent, the weather superb and the drift down just a delight.

Back at the boat ramp there was a bit of a line up but ramp etiquette soon sorted it out and we were away in no time.

Jabiru....what a beautiful bird and Australia's only true native stork!

Boat ramp @ 4:00pm

I made a promise to myself - I WILL NOT FISH THE MULGRAVE AGAIN UNTIL WE HAVE SOME DECENT RAIN....or I get bored need a quick fix close to home Ha Ha!
Fisherman - we are a funny lot!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to family / friends / associates......where are we going on Sunday Keith?

Les Marsh
www.fishingcairns.com.au

We did have to wait and cool the tyres down....Fisheries Falls Pub!

Its tough sometimes!

I know that a lot of my readers think that fishing up here might be easy, or that it appears that way.....yes, I seem to catch a few fish and have the pics to prove it!



Now that's a nice river trevor!....it slammed a popper right at the boat...it was exciting stuff!

But have you ever thought that I just don't write about the bad days!
The ones where we really struggle to find fish due to bad tides / high tides / low tides / strong winds / too much rain / not enough rain / water too cold or even too hot for that matter.....YES, up here the water can get too hot for fish to be actively feeding.

Well, yesterday on the Johnstone River, was one of those days.

Keith Graham and I set off with high expectations....it was a beautiful morning, still conditions and fair, clearing skies. The region had seen a couple of inches of rain during the week but certainly the river was very fishable. The water temp was a bit low for this time of year at just over 26c but it should warm up during the day I thought.

And now for that other all important factor - the tides!

Today was going to be a strange one....with a 1m run in till about midday, peaking with a high of some 2.3m (now that's OK) but with a low of approx. 1.2m at approx. 4:00am the next morning. Hell that means only a very slow trickle out at best. Maybe this was the reason, maybe the water was a bit cold and the fish were still in a bit of shock from a sudden cooling from a warm 30c on Wednesday....who knows....but man....IT WAS TOUGH!

Keith a JP

Using the making tide, Keith and I headed up stream. We were a little surprised to find the river so shallow and was even more so when a sudden "clunk" indicated an impact with a substantial river rock. But the auto thing kicked in and the motor jumped up as it should, avoiding any serious damage....just a few little dings on the prop and a bit of a scrape to my pride and river navigation skills. This is as far as we will travel today mate, lets have a cuppa before we start to head back downstream.

Jack....and that reel!

I was still testing the new Quantum EXO 25 spin reel so pinned on a little orange Rapala Scatter Rap. Keith clipped an a Bushy "Stiffy" popper just for variety and off we went....drifting down slowly using the river flow. We cast to likely looking grass verges, to fallen timber and back eddies....and we landed a couple of JP's and a sooty. But it was decidedly S...L...O...W!

We soon drifted down to the zone where the making tide met the river....the water was still with no real flow either way. Time to find some shade and have an early lunch.

Now KG just loves his food and as is the norm on these trips, Keith supplies the food and I supply the boat....great organisation I recon! It wasn't long before we hand down a beautiful fresh roll, Hungarian salami, King Island cheese and mild English relish....yum! The coffee wasn't half bad either. But we had come to fish and not to eat.

Sooty of the Scatter Rap

JP's love em too!

KG and a good solid sooty!

The weather was great, the backdrop magnificent, the river and its surrounds looked a picture....but the fish were just not that interested. Like two old codgers in a pub, Keith & I drifted downstream. We chatted about the Cricket, the footy, the economy, a fishing tournament, our work, our family and loved ones....and every now and again we hooked a fish....a JP here, a Jack there, and archer fish under a tree. We changed lures, tried poppers and deep divers, soft plastics and Zerek prawns....it was just one of those days.

Did this Archer fish want that Zerek?

Well.....this jack sure did!

And do you know what?.....the lack of fish activity didn't really matter....we were two old mates enjoying each others company. Drifting along on a river paradise....and every now and again our conversations were interrupted by that crimson flash of a jack or silver of a JP!

We pulled the pin at 4:45pm, retrieved the boat, washed off the river slime and headed home. The sun was beaming through the building cloud hugging the ranges. Man it was great to be alive!

Take care my friend, have a lovely Christmas and share it with family and loved ones and I will do likewise. I'll catch you on the river in a day or so....or a week...or a month....the fish will still be there and next time, we'll nail em!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

Regards, Les
www.fishingcairns.com.au

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dear readers, friends  & fellow anglers,

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!

Can't wait for the barra season to open ha ha!

My Little Babies!

I love my fishing!
I love my barra fishing!

But I never thought I'd be so excited when my new "babies" arrived this morning.

Keith Graham (from Bransfords Tackle Shop) has been helping me with a little project and it all came together this morning when the guys from Barramundi Gardens delivered my new little barra.

My New fish tank - its a beauty - 240cm x 44cm x 60cm

I'm a grown man right?
But these little 20cm barra really are cute.
They have only been in my tank for about half an hour and they are already playing in the bubble jets.

This should be a lot of fun watching them grow.
I have read numerous article on how people can become quite attached to their fish.

If you look carefully you can see two!

I'll keep you posted with their progress.

Regards, Les.

Now stop being silly and get back to work - its almost Christmas.

Field Test - Quantum EXO 25PTi

Readers will know that I have been using the Quantum baitcaster for several months now. Its a fantastic reel and I just love it. It even looks "sexy" don't you recon?

Well, KG from Bransfords gave me this exciting new spin reel to try out as well - not that I asked for it, much! Its also one of those fancy reels with all the holes in it, space age metals and all that. But will it perform....only one way to find out!

Here it is - The EX25PT1 by Quantum

Last Sunday I headed south to the Johnstone River. Tides were a bit off with a low around 7:00 am. I usually like to fish the tide down but with this timing, I'd have to be in the river about 4:00am and that's too bloody early for my liking.

I launched the punt under the Jubilee bridge at around 8:00 am, putted under the structure for some shade while I applied sunscreen, pulled out a few lures and headed downstream. I'll just toss a few lures around the salt while waiting for the tide to start pushing back in. I found a few jacks and barra working a mangrove corner, landed a couple, and decided that it was time to head upstream.

As this was specifically a field test for this new beaut reel, I'd better head off to where I could put its quality to work (or more to the point - see if its insides were as good as it looked! ). Now this article is not about where to go, what lure to use, how to retrieve it to make it more attractive for my targets....you all know that right. You have read my previous articles about my favourite lures etc.

Coming off the plane I eased my punt towards the grassy bank and set the electric. I clipped on my new best friend, one of those Rapala Scatter Raps in bright orange colour and tossed it far up the grassy edge. Fair dinkum, I had only turned the handle twice before this beautiful bruiser of a sooty smashed my offering.

Now that's a quality sooty!

Now, any spinning reel can cast a mile; all you have to do is flick the bail arm over, right!
As long as its;

• Spooled correctly, just to the brim but not over it
• The right quality braid line is used
• The rod is matched to the reel / line size
• The lure weight is also matched to your outfit
• You can cast a country mile (light lures do not like windy conditions however)

Quantum spin & Green Arrow 6ks rod

But its what happens after you hook a fish that is the all important factor determining the quality of a spinning reel.

1. Does it "feel right", sit comfortably on the rod
2. Does the handle just fall into place
3. Is the winding smooth and without any vibration
4. Does the drag offer smooth release of line under load

Does the EXO 25PTi tick all the boxes - well on this first outing, sure as hell did.

Actually, at first I thought there was a little vibration coming from the reel; a little bit discerning until I worked it out. In fact these new Scatter Raps are so darn enticing with their in-built action (hence the name) that their erratic vibration was transferred right up the line, down the graphite rod and ended up in my hand - I could feel every little wobble - and this made every strike that much more enjoyable too!

J.P.'s smashed my lures too

I had an absolute ball and at the end of the day (I did stay a bit late) had caught;
3 mangrove jacks
3 J.P.'s
1 archer fish
4 juvenile barra &
15 sooties - some real horses to boot

A nice 40cm jack!

Now that's sooty fishing!

I can't wait to give the reel a decent work out on GT's, queenies, tarpon etc. but my guess is that it will perform admirably. I'll let you know.

Catch you on the water,

Regards, Les
www.fishingcairns.com.au

Just a lazy Sunday arvo!