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Narrabeen Lake Croc Hunting


drc2076

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Beautiful afternoon yesterday so decided to take the kayak out to Narrabeen lake and see what might be around. Halfway there I realised I’d left my landing net at home. Debated whether to turn around and decided against it. Didn’t expect to meet anything I couldn’t skull drag into the yak. Big mistake. Launched at the back of the lake and headed off to some sand flats where I’d had success in the past. As it can be a weedy environment I started out with a gulp nemesis on a 1/8 oz jig head. On the third cast the plastic was near the surface on the retrieve. About to lift it out of the water to recast. A croc followed it up and grabbed it at the surface and took off. The damn thing actually started to pull the freaking kayak! Took about 5 minutes to subdue. Got him/her to the surface. Well hooked. Wasn’t going to shake it. Without a net I waited for it to tire out a bit. Finally I went to lift it out by grabbing the leader. The leader must have rubbed against its mouth and the line gave way just above the jig head. What followed was language unfit for women and children. My stupid mistake with the landing net had almost certainly cost me a PB flathead. A few minutes later a second big one did me as well. I’d switched to a sugar deep 70F. Never got to see this one. Massive head shakes and pulled a fair bit of drag. But it must have swallowed the lure and the leader parted again. $25 gone. A while later a third one followed the lure up again. Took a swipe and missed. Massive bow wave. After all that (and a second lost sugar deep) I hooked a baby flattie, so at least no donut. A frustrating day but I’m itching to get back to that spot with my landing net and get after them again! Tight lines.

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Hi Again DRC;

Not talking luderick this time.

A tip;

If you are in a kayak or dinghy and you hook a big flattie paddle gently to the nearest shore.

As long as you DO NOT take a flattie off the horizontal you can \lead them around like a dog.

The instant you lift their heads they start shaking and you are in strife.

I have been 100 metres or more of the bank and have led them ashore with no worries.

Give it a go.

Cheers.

Oldfella:lol:

 

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1 hour ago, Oldfella said:

Hi Again DRC;

Not talking luderick this time.

A tip;

If you are in a kayak or dinghy and you hook a big flattie paddle gently to the nearest shore.

As long as you DO NOT take a flattie off the horizontal you can \lead them around like a dog.

The instant you lift their heads they start shaking and you are in strife.

I have been 100 metres or more of the bank and have led them ashore with no worries.

Give it a go.

Cheers.

Oldfella:lol:

 

Cheers Oldfella. You’re right. If I hadn’t had the blood rush to the head I should have thought of that. Tricky terrain but a better option than what I tried. Live and learn.

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5 minutes ago, 4wsboy said:

Bad luck on the 'mamas' ...The water is pretty dodgy eh ! All sorts of fish trying to get out, inc. tropicals. trumpet? trombone fish etc etc.

Aah found em....'smooth cornetfish'...

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, 4wsboy said:

Aah found em....'smooth cornetfish'...

 

 

 

Nice work on the flatties.... 2nd that recommendation to drag them to the nearest beach they are pretty manageable doing this.

You sure you arent seeing longtoms rather than cornetfish? Plenty of them in the lake, they are a serious  hazard if youre in a kayak around sunset...would not want to cop one of those beaks in the leg when they are flying across the surface

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When I go out in the kayak I use lip grippers, just a cheapo pair I got on ebay for about 5 bucks. I never lift fish out of the water with the grippers without supporting the belly, but it is a good way to make sure the fish doesn't bite through your leader while you try to land it.

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47 minutes ago, macbook said:

hey mate cheers for the report. have tried narra lakes a few times in the yak with not much luck you got any tips? 

Back of the lake works best for me. Anywhere west of pipe clay point or Bilarong Reserve. Look for sand flats with adjacent weed beds. Google earth is a great way to pinpoint target areas in advance. Plastics and hard bodies both work well, though the later can be a pain if the zone you’re fishing is especially weedy.

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On 12 March 2018 at 6:50 PM, Short said:

Nice work on the flatties.... 2nd that recommendation to drag them to the nearest beach they are pretty manageable doing this.

You sure you arent seeing longtoms rather than cornetfish? Plenty of them in the lake, they are a serious  hazard if youre in a kayak around sunset...would not want to cop one of those beaks in the leg when they are flying across the surface

Definitely Cornet fish, yesterday a shoal of 25..+ A Purple Flying Gurnard, Banded Wrasse and shoal of Goatfish and all the usual suspects  Most forming similar size fish shoals going stir crazy.

NB Cornets approx 1200 mm long.

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Bad luck on the flatties. I've also found it easy to lead them even on very light leader.

Nice pic of the cornets. So this is different to a long tom? I've had a chase on plastics at the Lake from something that looked like a long tom.

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Top report drc. Good to mention the things we do right when fishing, but even better to admit to being human and stuffing up occasionally. I'm going to look forward to reading the report for the next time you take the yak out, should be a good one. Go get 'em, bn

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On 16/03/2018 at 3:32 AM, big Neil said:

Top report drc. Good to mention the things we do right when fishing, but even better to admit to being human and stuffing up occasionally. I'm going to look forward to reading the report for the next time you take the yak out, should be a good one. Go get 'em, bn

Cheers BN. Keen to get back out there but the weather forecast this week isn’t looking promising for a return engagement too soon.

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