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dirvin21

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Everything posted by dirvin21

  1. Definitely a little skinny but fish from that area are often leaner than fish from rivers like the Severn Have never kept a cod, love them too much
  2. Good stuff Neil, hopefully a good season ahead🤞🤞🤞
  3. As the title says we headed out for the opening of cod season, unfortunately Amy jad to work so my daughter joined me and we headed off at 4:30am for our 3 hour drive. We started pur hike along the NP trail 9nly to see the river flowing hard and dirty I was a bit worried as I didn't bring many flashy lures Still beautiful spot regardless Started out with my usual weedless plastic, put my first cast along some spindly trees thinking to myself the plastic may not work in these conditions... cod thinking hold my beer, plastic gets annihilated right at my feet first cast, near soiled myself A beautifully marked cod to start the season on the first cast. That pushed confidence up, we got into casting and working along the river, Georgia was running a spinnerbait and I stuck with the plastic. Georgia was getting a few bumps on the spinnerbait but nothing solid, then after she peppered an area first cast with the plastic it gets smashed Love the release shower they give Another nice cod, decided to change Georgia to a plastic, a short cast into some backwater so she could see how it works and it gets smashed straight up Another feisty cod of similar size, the day was going great....... for now! We started hiking and fishing down river, first of all the heat came from nowhere combined with the fish really grinding to a halt, Georgia started feeling unwell and was clearly roasting, not to mention dizzy and shaky. It amazing how quickly things cjange in the bush. After some shade, water and a splashdown she was looking better the decision was made to not go any further then to seal the deal the wind came from nowhere, geniunely causing worry about widow makers. Headed back to the main pool and let Georgia have a break I decided to put a few more casts in and for good measure A final cod to finish the day off, In the end we only cut our day short by probably less than 2 hours which is nothing versus coming home safely Interestingly the fish and hits all came from shallow edges well away from the main current flow, Hopefully the first of many cod for this season Cheers for reading Dave
  4. Don't know anyone that that targets kingies here off the rocks Hat head further north has a well known LBG platform otherwise closer to north haven maybe point perpendicular
  5. Watched video have a better understanding on what you're fishing These are couple of travel rods we have that are close to your budget The vertitas is a spin also comes a bit lighter The daiwa TD is baitcast is a great rod light with serious stopping power I can cast surprisingly light lures woth it
  6. A 2-3 kg coral trout are hard to stop they fight dirty and hard, heading straight for cover ad soon as they're hooked, cod/grouper are no different Personally I used a PE 2-4 rod and it felt a bit undergunned, Queenies are no problem on light gear just got to tire them out
  7. Might struggle to find something for your budget Shimano revolution inshore travel series might have something For coral trout and other tropical reefies you need stopping power preferably something in the 10-15kg line class
  8. Samaki zing travel rods We've got a couple, they've handled some eeioys punishment including the amazon and Thailand
  9. Bream are about the fine details, Personally I use atleast a rod length of 8lb fluro leader Bream generally like subtle presentations, 2.5 inch soft plastics presented on light jigheads, the retrieve needs to be gentler than say flathead, I hop it with 3 small taps or flicks of the rod, watching the line as it sinks for any taps they generally suck it in on the drop Scent also makes a difference The main thing is bream are tough on lures especially from public landbased locations, long cssts are a definite must
  10. I don't live sround Sydney but same principle, I've caught pretty much everything you can in a mid north coast river, tye chance of something different or bigger is always motivation but realistically I love catching fish regardless of the species
  11. After our jungle adventure Amy and I had decided to try onr of the Thsi fishing parks, for snyone that doesn't know these are ponds stocked with fish from all over the world that you can pay to fish in. The park we chose is actually owned by a Frenchman, we even had his driver transfer us to and from our hotel. The lake was looking good not overly large with fish of 30 odd species We could see arapaima everwhere which are one of the spught after fish in these parks having both caught wild arapaima in the amazon Amy and I had more interest in other species After a quick briefing and introduction to our guide Bier we were into it We had 2 rods each 2 predator with chicken hearts for bait and a "carp rod" with some sort of mixed dough bait, both rods are loaded with 100lb braid, the rigs had surprisingly small hooks, it's a matter of casting sitting and waiting. To put it frankly the morning was slow despite the lake full of fish it was tough. We had a few enquiries mostly alligator gar that wouldn't hook up, it's funny how simply watching arapaima cruise in a lake is therapeutic. The first proper take was Amy's rod the line took off and fell slack Bier suddenly realised the fish had b lined under our pontoon but with his assistance Amy was able to extract the first fish A solid red tail cat, we also caught these in the Amazon but this one was much bigger, spirits were high They really take care of the fish lraving them in the net with an aerator to recover and spraying any wounds with anti septic. After that the action really died off the good thing though we sat on our comfy chairs ordering drinks and top quality Thai food we just kept staring at the rods Bier switched one carp rig to a float, I sat aimlessly staring at it Then unbelievably it suddenly goes at ridiculous speed, I was hooked into a powerful fish, Amy filmed a 12 minute fight which included some soul destroying runs and Bier wiping sweat off my face whilst they both laughed. We finally saw the culprit a big Mekong catfish hooked in the dorsal fin, it started to circle in front but I just couldn't get it too the net before the hook pulled.... gutted!!! With my arms sore and my mood low, Amy being the incredible person she is told me to take the next bite, it actually didn't take long. At first the fish came easy then woke up. Thus fish played stubborn just staying out of sight I'd get to leader and off again when I finally saw the culprit my knees buckled, the fish I wanted most.... it took time and patience and when it hit the net there was plenty of celebrating A giant Siamese carp, classified as critically endangered in the wild, these are pretty much the only places to encounter a big one. I couldn't resist getting in for a water shot And to personally release the fish, it swam off strong and left me wet, covered in slime and smiling from ear to ear. With the carp seeming to be feeding Amy had the next shot, the float went down almost immediately but much to our surprise another redtail A nice fish but Amy was eager for a different species, Shortly after my predator rod goes off the fish plowed hard for structure in typical redtail fashion Another solid one for the day, I only caught a small one in the amazon so it was nice to hold a bigger specimen. Amy still hoping for a new species stuck at it, the alligator gar were pestering her with hits but no hook ups but finally Amy hooks up, I recognised the same stubborn fight early on, Amy put in a solid effort and played the fish out into the net, scoring herself a nice Siamese the scale patterns on these fish are undeniably beautiful. With the day pretty much over my predator rod went off one final time the fish instantly running up into some timber, Bier took the rod presumably to bust if off and suddenly hands it back, Ended up with a nice redtail to finish the day. The fishing park was a really fun experience, the fishing was definetly not easy, they were well educated and challenging to catch but the chance to hold a rare river monster was definetly worth the effort. I would definitely recommend this for any fishos visiting Thailand Cheers for reading Dave
  12. Apparently, the striped snakehead are a very popular food fish with the locals
  13. Amy and I just finished a trip to Thailand and of course for us fishing is slways a part of it. We organised a 3 day trip fishing a large lake surrounded by Jungle in Kao Sok National Park just north of Phuket. After a late arrival we had a 5am pick-up and a 3 hour drive to our launch and onto the lake our guide was english (Neil) with a Thai boat captain and his assistant With no idea what to expect we were seriously surprised The limestone bedrock makes the water strangely clear almost like sea water First thoughts the lake was spectacular, we did a quick stop at our floating bungalow accommodation And we were off to start casting the target giant snakehead As we learned snakehead fishing is tough, casts need to be spot on first time especially casting at "fry balls" of baby snakehead with very aggressive parents guarding them, with lots of guidance from Neil we started to figure it out The first session took us to some beautiful areas But the snskeheads proved elusive it was a challenge accurately casting light surface lures long distances but as our casting came good we started to get strikes including Amy getting hammered by a beast. We fished the morning session for no joy so we stopped for lunch and a break (in the heat and humidity it's a must) and headed out for the arvo session in the rain. In the arvo we fished the most remote section of the lake heading up into one of the many small creeks, it was a frustrating session landing perfect cast after cast on fry balls for no joy, finally with dwindling hope and patience blind casting some submersed grass I hooked a fish A juvenile giant snakehead atleast the doughnut was broken With the day slipping away and spirits low and wet about to head back, the Thai captain suddenly appears at my side saying "babies' his eagle-eyes spotted a fry ball many deep breaths later I put a long accurate cast in the zone and was almost surreal when the water exploded, I was dead set shocked with the power and attitude of snakehead it was a serious struggle to wrestle the fish in incredibly nasty shallow water Finally a solid fish, there were high fives all around with that we ended day 1 exhausted but excited for day 2 Day 2 started with spectacular scenary We were soon into the fishing again we again headed into some stunning jungle And were treated to wildlife like "dusky langurs" The morning started with blind casting grassy edges and it wasn't long before Amy was on A nice giant SH to start were off, even at this size they have attitude, and literally next cast she csught another similar sized fish Shortly after I hook into another thinking another juvenile I was pretty excited to lsnd my first striped snakehead A much smaller species but seriously aggressive We then found some balls of much larger babies and actually csught a few As juveniles the giants are stunning fish unfortunately the parents weren't having a bar of our lures, our morning session ended with renewed enthusiasm For the arvo we pushed way up into a creek, after a couple of babies Amy gets blown up by a better fish, the surface strikes are ridiculous Amy's best snakehead for the trip even in there non breeding form they are beautiful fish Shortly after I landed another small fish But the big fish continued to evade us.... for now, Heading out to another spot the old eagle eye captain spots a fry ball, my first cast was a about 1m wide feeling dejected I near soiled myself when the water erupted as an angry parent launched out of the water and did a 180 and screamed off, the fight was brutal as the fish dove for cover there were many nervous moments especially when the fish dove under the boat but held my nerve and unbelievably A cracker of a snakehead this fish was big and angry trying to bite me more than once, being air breathers snakehead can stay out of water for quite awhile so we spent some time searching for the dry ball and releasing her back with her babies, after that the heavens opened and we wree beyond wet but indescribably happy Our final day we went a completely different direction again stunning We spotted hornbills, buffalo, monitor lizards and a troop of long tailed macaques swimming across the river Not to mention freshly destroyed jungke from wild elephants The fishing was tough but I managed a nice striped And a couple of small giants but it was a bit slow, after lunch we packed our gear and headed out for our last session We headed i ti some more spectacular jungle we were unlucky with missee stikes and me dropping a nice hampala barb but Amy managed to put us on the board With a nice little giant, on our last stop of the day my lure gets destroyed in the final minutes and I finish the trip off with a nice giant That ended a truly amazing jungle trip the fishing was tough but rewarding and the scenery absolutely breathtaking, Definitely can't beat a fishing trip away with your significant other part 2 of out Thai trip to come If you want any details on the guide etc send me a p.m. cheers for reading Dave
  14. Nice rainbow Rick Looks pretty green around the river there
  15. They are difficult to specifically target but they do love worm style soft plastics like the gulp turtleback worm
  16. Just drove the boat upriver on low tide at slow speed looking for obstacles figuring out the best passage I mark waypoints on areas like gravel barswhere I need to slow down and trim motor up in case I'm travelling in the dark
  17. Plenty being caught up on the Nambucca, I haven't been able to get up there yet
  18. The last month we've been exploring the upper tidal reaches of the Hastings, it's a treacherous run upriver from Wauchope but we've managed to plot a safe course. With my 1 day off decided it was a day for an early solo run up there. There's a nasty gravel bed with a windy channel but the plus side once I pass it I have the river to myself And you get sections like this without another boat in sight Had a few casts on the gravel bed with a small crank, hooked into a solid flathead which managed to throw the hook and spotted a shark cruising the shallows to start the morning. Moving upriver saw some splashing, then I realise it's actually a bust up, thinking tailor I cast it with hardbodies and soft plastics for not even a follow. Getting desperate I dig out my emergency box of random lures and pull out a 10 gram metal slice, first cast it's annihalated thinking tailor the fish played deep and I was surprised to see a big eye trevally come up (with a shark trailing) Haven't caught one of these guys for ages, didn't waste anytime releasing the trev and casting for more. Things were a little quiet but by coincidence I miss casted and when ripping the lure in the trevs were all over it Found the pattern, they wanted the lure cranking as fast as possible, they were puttting up a great scrap. Then a much bigger trev appears nailing the slug right beside the boat, the fish took off at speed going deep, I was worried it would get sharked but luckily after a drawn out fight of circling and solid runs a much better big eye hits the deck At 45cm a new pb big eye, After a few more smaller ones thet disappeared as quickly as they appeared so switched it up to casti g plastics for bream The bream were happy to oblige didn't take long to get one on the boat Mistly small fish but did manage one reasonable bream About 9 o'clock the bite really slowed, and getting hot decided to call it a day, only a short session but fiery session hopefully a sign of more to come Cheers for reading Dave
  19. Getting bigger Mike Love reading your fly fishing journey
  20. Wash it with freshwater via a fine mist I usually use the hose with the spray setting, be thorough then allow it to drip dry
  21. Zman slim swim 2.5inch bloodworm colour (i have tried other colours but bloodworm is the most consistent), especially when they're prawn feeding The retrieve is a bit tricky but essentially you need to flick/twitch it along the bottom rather than hop it off the bottom like for flatties and bream keeping your rod tip low give it 3 or 4 fast flicks then pause, the idea is to mimic a prawn shooting across the bottom, the hits are generally not subtle Scent is also a must for this technique It can be a bit hit and miss, whiting can be unbelievably fickle when it comes to lures I'm hoping this summer I'll get a chance to film this technique
  22. Rock Ling, Genypterus tigerinus or a Pink Ling, Genypterus blacodes, the tail is a bit off but closest Ican find
  23. I have a nasci and 2 stradics honestly when the stradic dies I'll replace it with a with nasci
  24. Shimano nasci, great reel for the price
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