Morning at Banyule Flats
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2016 11:15 am
I went out this morning at sun-up for a fish around Banyule Flats in Heidelberg. Last weekend my canoe trolley self destructed as I pushed it back up the hill behind Banyule Footy Club, so I'm land-based until I get a new one. So I loaded up the bike and spent a couple of hours at two spots along the river.
The first spot was just a bit upstream of the old windmill. I've fished there before from the canoe and had lots of nibbles but no takes from around some of the snags there, so I thought it would be a good place to start. With one rod baited with chicken and the other with aldi prawn, I cast to upstream of the snag with chicken and the bottom with prawn. After 15 minutes I had nibbles on both, and then after half an hour a strike on the chicken. Reeling it in, it was an eel... which let go as soon as it saw me - it was only holding on to the chicken, and not hooked at all. So I switched out the large baitholder hook for a #2 circle hook and 5 minutes later, had a 57cm short-finned eel on land.
Back in he/she went and shortly after I decided to move further upstream to what is hardly a secret spot judging by the track and sticks and rubbish left behind by the filthy pigs who have fished there previously. Seriously, if you can carry it in, surely you can carry it out? For those interested, it's the big pool near where the mountain bike riders' trail leaves the main yarra trail.
I came here because when canoeing it I have seen abundant signs of feeding carp. So, baited with corn I settled in and waited. And waited. Then, I waited some more. Finally, when I was getting close to calling it quits, I saw a carp feeding trail downstream of me, and threw a line to it. 2 minutes later I was on and after about another minute of fighting I had a fat 54cm carp on the bank.
Its fillets are now in the freezer as bait for snapper/gummy shark fishing in the future.
After that, my time was pretty much up, so I went home for breakfast, feeling pretty damn happy with the day so far.
Mike
The first spot was just a bit upstream of the old windmill. I've fished there before from the canoe and had lots of nibbles but no takes from around some of the snags there, so I thought it would be a good place to start. With one rod baited with chicken and the other with aldi prawn, I cast to upstream of the snag with chicken and the bottom with prawn. After 15 minutes I had nibbles on both, and then after half an hour a strike on the chicken. Reeling it in, it was an eel... which let go as soon as it saw me - it was only holding on to the chicken, and not hooked at all. So I switched out the large baitholder hook for a #2 circle hook and 5 minutes later, had a 57cm short-finned eel on land.
Back in he/she went and shortly after I decided to move further upstream to what is hardly a secret spot judging by the track and sticks and rubbish left behind by the filthy pigs who have fished there previously. Seriously, if you can carry it in, surely you can carry it out? For those interested, it's the big pool near where the mountain bike riders' trail leaves the main yarra trail.
I came here because when canoeing it I have seen abundant signs of feeding carp. So, baited with corn I settled in and waited. And waited. Then, I waited some more. Finally, when I was getting close to calling it quits, I saw a carp feeding trail downstream of me, and threw a line to it. 2 minutes later I was on and after about another minute of fighting I had a fat 54cm carp on the bank.
Its fillets are now in the freezer as bait for snapper/gummy shark fishing in the future.
After that, my time was pretty much up, so I went home for breakfast, feeling pretty damn happy with the day so far.
Mike