Tough going chasing trout on the river..
- meppstas
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Tough going chasing trout on the river..
Tough going chasing trout on the river.. 2-10-17
At last we have a fine sunny day with a light breeze with a top temperature of 19 degrees forecast, so I headed off to the the river once again. The reason I headed there was because all the other rivers that I fish are still running too high and fast making them are unsafe for wading at this stage. I thought I would fish further upstream to where I did the last time I fished this river, mainly to see if there was a good number of trout in the upper reaches. When I arrived the river was running at a nice wading depth but it was also dirty which surprised me because it's always a nice tannin colour. It wasn't clear enough to fish here so I headed further upstream past an area that was being logged and that's where the river was being stirred up. Log trucks were crossing a section of river and this was the cause of the dirty water.
I found a small area where I could park the car, then it was only a matter of some bush bashing to reach the river, I felt it wasn't all that far to the river so I was on my way. Well the river was further in than I first thought, the first 300 meters was reasonably thick bush until I reached a massive wall of tea trees. From there I had to crawl on hands and knees for around 70 meters before I finally came to a small opening and spotted the river. It was well worth the effort I put in to reach the river too because it was such a beautiful scenic area and I felt I was the first human to have set foot here. The one thing I noticed straight away was that there was the need for some accurate casting as there's certainly some tight areas ahead of me and plenty of fallen trees too. The fishing isn't go be all the easy this trip, so I'm hoping I'll be rewarded with a few wild browns over the next few hours. As usual I started off working my way upstream with the little #00 gold bladed Aglia spinner all to no avail for the first fifteen minutes. Not a sign of a trout so far, things weren't looking good at this stage. Was all that hard work of getting to the river going to be a waste of time and effort or not. Still it was only early into the session, besides I wasn't ready to bush bash my way back out of here yet. Just when I was having a few negative thoughts about catching a fish I had my first take on the gold Aglia. First thing that came to mind was for this fish to “please stay hooked” until it's in the landing net. After a couple of runs and leaps from the dark tannin water it was in the net, the treble hook held firm in its bottom jaw. All that hard work of getting through the thick bush then crawling on hands and knees to reach the river has been worth it. It may only be one 360 gram wild brown trout that I caught, but to me that's the best reward for making it to an area I have never fished until today.. I kept on working my way upstream and had a few very light touches on the spinner from some very non aggressive medium size trout. The sections of river I fished all looked good for holding fish too, but if they were there they weren't in the mood. The further upstream I fished the tougher it got, just so many fallen trees and branches across the river in many stretches of the river. I can't recall how many times I had to get out of the river and make my way around the tangled mess of trees and branches. In between the log jams there were some nice little runs of river to fish, I did pick up two more browns over five separate stretches of water. Those two 350 gram browns that I caught and released didn't attack the spinner either, all I felt on the retrieve was a light weight on the line as though the spinner had picked up some algae. The trout had mouthed the spinner and swam along with it, that's when I gave the rod a light jerk at the same time raising the rod to set the hooks.. I had been in the river for over three hours before I decided to call it a day after fishing one more small stretch of river. That stretch of river did give up a nice brown but it tossed the spinner on the first leap from the river. My spin session had now come to an end, a tough one it was and also one I thoroughly enjoyed. With just the three wild browns caught & released today, will I do it again, you bet I will... It was a great feeling of satisfaction today in taking a punt on trying another area that I've never fished before. On the walk back to the car along with a little bush bashing to get to it I spotted one very plump Tiger snake.. A reminder it's now time to be alert and keep a look out for them.. cheers
Adrian..
At last we have a fine sunny day with a light breeze with a top temperature of 19 degrees forecast, so I headed off to the the river once again. The reason I headed there was because all the other rivers that I fish are still running too high and fast making them are unsafe for wading at this stage. I thought I would fish further upstream to where I did the last time I fished this river, mainly to see if there was a good number of trout in the upper reaches. When I arrived the river was running at a nice wading depth but it was also dirty which surprised me because it's always a nice tannin colour. It wasn't clear enough to fish here so I headed further upstream past an area that was being logged and that's where the river was being stirred up. Log trucks were crossing a section of river and this was the cause of the dirty water.
I found a small area where I could park the car, then it was only a matter of some bush bashing to reach the river, I felt it wasn't all that far to the river so I was on my way. Well the river was further in than I first thought, the first 300 meters was reasonably thick bush until I reached a massive wall of tea trees. From there I had to crawl on hands and knees for around 70 meters before I finally came to a small opening and spotted the river. It was well worth the effort I put in to reach the river too because it was such a beautiful scenic area and I felt I was the first human to have set foot here. The one thing I noticed straight away was that there was the need for some accurate casting as there's certainly some tight areas ahead of me and plenty of fallen trees too. The fishing isn't go be all the easy this trip, so I'm hoping I'll be rewarded with a few wild browns over the next few hours. As usual I started off working my way upstream with the little #00 gold bladed Aglia spinner all to no avail for the first fifteen minutes. Not a sign of a trout so far, things weren't looking good at this stage. Was all that hard work of getting to the river going to be a waste of time and effort or not. Still it was only early into the session, besides I wasn't ready to bush bash my way back out of here yet. Just when I was having a few negative thoughts about catching a fish I had my first take on the gold Aglia. First thing that came to mind was for this fish to “please stay hooked” until it's in the landing net. After a couple of runs and leaps from the dark tannin water it was in the net, the treble hook held firm in its bottom jaw. All that hard work of getting through the thick bush then crawling on hands and knees to reach the river has been worth it. It may only be one 360 gram wild brown trout that I caught, but to me that's the best reward for making it to an area I have never fished until today.. I kept on working my way upstream and had a few very light touches on the spinner from some very non aggressive medium size trout. The sections of river I fished all looked good for holding fish too, but if they were there they weren't in the mood. The further upstream I fished the tougher it got, just so many fallen trees and branches across the river in many stretches of the river. I can't recall how many times I had to get out of the river and make my way around the tangled mess of trees and branches. In between the log jams there were some nice little runs of river to fish, I did pick up two more browns over five separate stretches of water. Those two 350 gram browns that I caught and released didn't attack the spinner either, all I felt on the retrieve was a light weight on the line as though the spinner had picked up some algae. The trout had mouthed the spinner and swam along with it, that's when I gave the rod a light jerk at the same time raising the rod to set the hooks.. I had been in the river for over three hours before I decided to call it a day after fishing one more small stretch of river. That stretch of river did give up a nice brown but it tossed the spinner on the first leap from the river. My spin session had now come to an end, a tough one it was and also one I thoroughly enjoyed. With just the three wild browns caught & released today, will I do it again, you bet I will... It was a great feeling of satisfaction today in taking a punt on trying another area that I've never fished before. On the walk back to the car along with a little bush bashing to get to it I spotted one very plump Tiger snake.. A reminder it's now time to be alert and keep a look out for them.. cheers
Adrian..
Last edited by meppstas on Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- meppstas
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Re: Tough going chasing trout on the river..
A few more photos from the trip....
cheers
Adrian
cheers
Adrian
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Re: Tough going chasing trout on the river..
Beautiful area Adrian,
That's my younger day's fishing, not now
Although if I could see it, I'd have to give it a go
cheers Gra
That's my younger day's fishing, not now
Although if I could see it, I'd have to give it a go
cheers Gra
- meppstas
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Re: Tough going chasing trout on the river..
Now come on Gra, I'm getting close 72 yrs of age and can still do it mate, though I do pay the penalty for it once back at the car when the body cools downs.. I think I must also be a glutten for punishment sometimes.. my main problem is that I love my river fishing for trout & I want to make hay while the sun is shining, really dreading the day I have to give up this type of trout fishing... Will have to join the ol' farts club and sit back in a chair with a worm, cricket or grasshopper on the line.. :water:
cheers
Adrian
cheers
Adrian
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- Bluefin
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Re: Tough going chasing trout on the river..
Great report and pics as always Adrian!
You're still doing well having to bush bash through bushes and having to crawl on hands and knees to get to your destination!
You're still doing well having to bush bash through bushes and having to crawl on hands and knees to get to your destination!
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Re: Tough going chasing trout on the river..
Great report and great pics.
My pa use to launch and retirve the boat solo till he was 83. He lived his fishing. Moved to bermagui for it and fished every second day if weather was good.
Once his mobility redused he just drive the car amd i do the rest
Then he got sick and then broke his hip and that was it
Dead 2 years after his mobility started to decline.
Keep it up while you can and enjoy every moment while it last.
My pa use to launch and retirve the boat solo till he was 83. He lived his fishing. Moved to bermagui for it and fished every second day if weather was good.
Once his mobility redused he just drive the car amd i do the rest
Then he got sick and then broke his hip and that was it
Dead 2 years after his mobility started to decline.
Keep it up while you can and enjoy every moment while it last.
- meppstas
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Re: Tough going chasing trout on the river..
Thanks guys, that's spot on smile0784, enjoy every moment while it lasts.. I too have a problem with my left hip it's becoming brittle and is now thinner than it should be.. All i can do is to take calcium & vitamin D tablets daily, I also take 4 fish oil capsules and Tumeric/Curcuma daily too.. Doc reckons if I stick to that as well as waking etc I should hopefully still be fishing for many more years to come... I have more trouble with my lower back than anything really and that was from falling of a the first floor of a building when working back in 1972.. It's like every thing, we all have our good days and bad days don't we.. there's certainly a lot of people out there worse off than me that's for sure..
cheers
Adrian
cheers
Adrian
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- mazman
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Re: Tough going chasing trout on the river..
Great write up Adrian. There's just something about a bit of hard work up a river for trout that keeps you coming back, I've been on three trips in the last week and a bit and just keep looking for the time to get out again.
Youtube channel:Hawkesy Fishing
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Re: Tough going chasing trout on the river..
Regardless of age - just wow regarding 70m hands and knees bush bashing. I have pushed through some tough terrain but that's something I haven't ever done or thought of doing - commitment! I wonder how many parts you leave out when telling the wife haha.
Are the first two females and the third male? Quite different colouring and build on the third.
Are the first two females and the third male? Quite different colouring and build on the third.