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Lake Awoonga Nov 2010

Rain, Rain Go Away!

 

Inconsistent weather troughs bringing rain and adverse weather patterns continue to hamper angler’s efforts along the Eastern Queensland Seaboard which are greatly affecting the inland impoundments in these areas. Particularly Lake Awoonga! On and off rain periods have soured the waters of Awoonga and in the last couple of weeks the continual cloud cover has not let the sun prevail to warm the dam’s waters to a comfortable level.

A month ago, after some immature discrepancies with a sponsor we decided to call it a day and move on to bigger and better things. Wells Brothers can now proudly say we are happily fishing for the Wilson Tackle Company. As a result we only thought it was fitting to start off with a road trip to Lake Awoonga and in sarcasm we couldn’t have picked a better week for it. 24mm of rain fell 2 days before we arrived and 20mm of rain fell whilst we were there. Some nice fish were landed but not without effort. A thousand casts for no enquiries were thrown and our arms and shoulders were beginning to feel the no fish fatigue. But once again time on the water did provide us with some awesome moments.

After numerous requests as to what gear we employ on our barra trips we’ve laid it all out for you here! Firstly a few quick hardware details!

To begin with all of our fishing is performed via spin setups. Why?  Stealth = Distance. This means allowing the angler to maintain a comfortable distance from a desired location. It’s quite amazing the amount of times we enter a tackle shop to witness staff flogging off the dearest baitcast setup and heaviest braid rating known to man. Unfortunately this advice is given by types who could write all their fishing knowledge on their thumb with a fat texta and still have room for their biggest fish stories.

 

Gearin up for Barra!

·       Wilson Live Fibre (Sport Fishing Series) Blade ‘N’ Tails Heavy 7ft Spin Rod fitted with a Sure Catch Cinza 3000 reel spooled with 20lb Bionic Braid.

·       ATC Hard Stick 7ft Spinnerbait 5-9kg Spin – a heavier gauged rod but handy if fishing points containing timber. This being fitted with a Sure Catch Remy Custom 535 reel, spooled with 20lb Bionic Braid.

·       ATC Hard Stick 7ft Spinnerbait 3-6kg Spin Rod fitted with a Sure Catch Morex 635 and spooled with 20lb Bionic Braid

·       Wilson LCS Snapper Medium 7ft Lure Casting Special matched up with a Sure Catch Cinza 3000 spooled with 20lb Bionic Braid. ( this was one of the first Spin Rod’s we bought several years ago when good mate “ Harro” introduced us to the Barra  “Spin phenomenon”)

·       Wilson LCS Snapper Medium 7ft Lure Casting Special fitted with the D.A.M Quick 2000 Spin Reel spooled with 20 lb Bionic Braid.

 

My Favourite Time

Just as the sun lowers behind the hills, the confidence grows. Such a magical time! A metre plus barra looks supreme when pulling of its mid air antics in fading light.

 

 

 

A selection of Hardware

Top-Live Fibre Heavy Blade ‘N’ Tails 7ft Spin Rod fitted with a Sure Catch Cinza 3000 spooled with 20lb Braid.

Middle- ATC Hard Stick 5-9kg 7ft Spin Rod matched with a Sure Catch Remy Custom 535 and spooled with 20lb Bionic Braid

Bottom- ATC Hard Stick 3-6kg 7 ft Spin Rod matched with s Sure Catch Morex 635

 

 

 

Top - Our very first barra spin rod.  Wilson LCS Snapper Medium that’s about 4 yrs old and it’s done some hefty work on metre plus fish.

Middle – A newer Wilson LCS Snapper Medium attached to a D.A.M Quick Fire 2000 reel. Very Smooth!

Bottom – ATC Hard Stick 6’ 4” 6kg matched with a Sure Catch Ghost Baitcast Reel. This is a combo we prefer to use in our local rivers casting for cod.

 

 

 

Wet, Wet, Wet! This solid metre Barra was nailed just before another heavy deluge using a Wilson Live Fibre Blade ‘N’ Tails 7ft Spin Rod fitted with a Sure Catch Cinza 3000. The rain in the background often funnels down through the Iveragh Creek area.

 

Trev “Ferret” Day with a feisty fork tail catfish! These fish are extremely aggressive during breeding season and always give the heart a flutter when working the weed beds.

 

Trev “Ferret” Day with his first Barramundi (in the boat) Trev lost 2 solid fish earlier in the session, but the smile on his dial indicates one happy angler.

 

 

Now we’re talking. This horse was nailed on the drop fishing a shallow weed bed. Once the slack was taken up rods and reels went everywhere.

 

Lake Awoonga Caravan Park is where we call home for our Barra trips. The park is located 2km from the boat ramp and the kiosk is open 7 days. For all enquiries phone Ryan or Kylie on 07 4975 0155

 

Applying the heat! The ATC Hard Stick 7ft Spin Rod 3-6kg matched with a Morex 635 easily handled a metre plus fish on this occasion.

 

 

Mooching around the shallows just on dark is very productive. At the moment the weed beds in Awoonga are 3-5 metres off the bank. As daylight deteriorates, Barra relish in shallower waters and thick weed beds.

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Season set to be a cracker

November 2010

 

 

Our impoundments have climbed to levels that haven’t been seen in many years. Lake Keepit has reached 90% which hasn’t been witnessed for nearly 15 years and level progression there will depend on the construction currently being undertaken in the main basin. Split Rock Dam up on the Manilla River has reached 16% as waters continue to rise. This is level which hasn’t been reached for nearly 4 years. Chaffey is continually hovering at its 100% level which has fluctuated frequently for the last 12 months.

Golden Perch are active in all of the dams at the present with some nice fish being taken at Keepit around the trees, Chaffey around the floating weed and casting spinnerbaits to the banks at Split Rock. Some nice sized Silver Perch have also been giving a fair account of themselves at Chaffey.

 

October 2010 - Nick with a couple of Yella's taken at Chaffey Recently.

 

Matt with a cracker of a Silver Perch taken at Chaffey recently on a Wilson “Slick Back” 50mm lure. These lures come in 3 different sizes of 50, 80 and 90 mm with a fantastic colour range and are proving to be dynamite on fish.

 

 

 

Spring into it

The flora is flowering and the bees are buzzin’. Springtime is here and what a turnaround in water levels and river health. Northern NSW as with many other areas recorded their best winter rainfall in over a decade and according to the experts this wide spread rain is not over yet. Dam levels soared as raging rivers replenished their thirsty needs. One of the biggest rises was Keepit Dam. It’s levels climbed from 28% to 72% over a very short period. Split Rock dam on the Manilla River received a small recharge rising from 2.2% to 8%. Split Rock desperately required a drink but lying in an awkward catchment system unfortunately means it’s a long time between drinks. Both Pindari and Copeton also had some good inflows. Pindari is currently 101% and copeton is sitting 21%?. To the south and the swollen Hunter river saw Glenbawn near 80%. The fishing has been slightly finicky their over the last month due to rising water levels but a recent outing seen us land a few nice bass.

 

 

 

Mick "Toots" Walker with a nice bag of glenbawn bass

 

 

Nick with a nice glenbawn bass. These fish were caught slowly rolling soft plastics down gently sloping banks

 

 

Winter Woes

 

With winter well under way our local impoundments and rivers are starting to produce some good solid fish. Both Split Rock and Keepit Dams have been fishing well with some good catches being reported. Anglers must remember that in the cooler months targeting the shallower waters is the magic method. Spinnerbaiting the shallow points and bays should be considered and not overlooked. The biggest mistake anglers make is targeting the wrong depth at the wrong time of year. On a recent trip to Copeton dam so many anglers were targeting fish in depths of 60 feet and deeper! Whether this is due to inexperience or misguided information, most probably the latter, this is nothing more than a dead end option. All our fish were caught in no more than 20 feet of water and most of all in 10/12 feet range. Surprisingly with the water temperatures only being 15 degrees some good sized yellowbelly were also boated. When fishing the shallower water with spinnerbaits, head weights of 5/8 ounce are more than sufficient. Casting hard bodied lures is also an option and Mudeye lures have a superior range to cater for all your casting needs. Jamie Fletts cod knowledge is definitely apparent throughout his range of lures. Some of the biggest Murray Cod boated in northern NSW have fallen victim to a Mudeye lure.

Matt with a nice Copeton Yella taken on a Bassman Spinnerbait

 

Nick with a 17Kg Cod taken in a local impoundment

 

Nick with a couple of late afternoon Copeton Yella's

 

Cold snap Cod

22.5.10

Matt with a 25Kg Murray Cod taken on a Bassman Spinnerbait in a local impoundment

 

With some morning frosts starting to grow thick across our region, the Murray Cod have started their usual winter feeding patterns in the rivers and dams. In what some could call a rather healthy weekend of fishing, we had the chance to fish a few sessions over a period of a couple of days .We landed 10 Cod for the weekend, 8 of those being legal length with all of the fish taken on Bassman Spinnerbaits’ Codman & DT Series. The rivers produced us 7 Cod, and a local impoundment the other 3 with the biggest going 102cm and a hefty 25kg.

Nick with a 6Kg Murray Cod taken on a frosty morning session

 

 

Matt plays a 6Kg Murray Cod taken in the shallows

 

 

Get amongst it...

When looking for the ultimate weapon when chasing your next dream catch, then look no further than Codmac! This awesome website not only offers expert advice, but also allows angler's the chance to purchase some of the leading tackle available on today's market. Codmac is run by Australia's foremost authority on Murray Cod, Rod Mackenzie.

THE KING AND OLD MAN MURRAY

From Signature series spinnerbaits to the ever popular deep diving hard bodies, this site will ensure anglers the dream of catching that once in a lifetime fish is one step closer to becoming a reality. A link to the Codmac website can be found on our links page.

Flying Blind!!!!!

When it comes to planning that perfect fishing trip especially to a new location, " Flying Blind" can sometimes be a fisher's own worst nightmare. The best example is Lake Awoonga. So many times over our last four years of fishing Awoonga we have seen so many people fail to raise a scale. All it comes down to is not knowing how to fish that fishery and especially for Barramundi. These fish take alot of time and patience and after all there are some trophy fish in Awoonga, But! one must remember they dont attain their size through stupidity. These fish are cunning and very, very finnicky. Our advice to any first time anglers or anglers visiting Awoonga for the first time would be to hire the services of an experienced and professional guide.

Harro is one of Australias foremost authorities on Barramundi and also guides on Lake Awoonga. He can be contacted on 0418 892 600

HARRO ENJOYS A DAY ON THE WATER WITH THE WELLS BROS!!!

Barra on the chew

FEBRUARY 2010

A LOVELY METRE SPIN FISHED BARRA

 

The Barra had been firing at Lake Awoonga up until the first week in March, which of course had to be the week we had arrived there. During the seven days of fishing 90mm of rain fell over several days and 60mm of that was in one afternoon alone. As if this wasn't enough to add to the already massive total of 620mm for 2010 so far. Awoonga's levels crept from 77% to 82% overnight. Not a huge increase in total but when you take into consideration the surface area that Awoonga boasts, it's quite a fair quantity of water.

 

MATT CASTS INTO ANOTHER MAJESTIC AWOONGA SUNSET

 

The day we departed the dam was nearing 100% with only 2 metres to go before pouring over the spillway. Despite the wet weather affecting the latter part of our trip, we were lucky enough to boat some nice fish in the first 4 days. Funnily enough both our metre plus fish were landed during a massive storm which was the starting point of the 90mm fall. But the Barra at this stage were still on the chew and it wasn't until the cool water run off and the nasty S, SE winds started howling, which chilled the water surface temperature, gave the Barra lock-jaw. The problem angler's will now most likely face is that the dam has risen nearly 10m in height which will give the Barra a lot more freedom to embrace and concentrate on finding new stomping grounds, as opposed to feeding and frequenting the wind blown points and bays as usual.

 

AWOONGA NEARLY FULL TO THE BRIM!

 

At the end of the day it was a fantastic trip. We managed to boat 14 Barra with 2 of them going a metre plus. Another positive outcome of the trip was running some new products from Gladiator through their paces. All of fish were landed on spin gear and our preffered combo's were the XO Skeleton rod 7" 4kg matched with a Banax SiNew 700 reel spooled with 20lb Bionic Braid. The other being a Gladiator Impact Pro Rod 7" 6-8kg matched up with a 750 SiNew reel again spooled with 20lb Bionic Braid.

 

THE GLADIATOR XO SKELETON ROD GETTING PUT THROUGH ITS PACES!

 

DECEMBER 2009 - Cod Opening

Cod season has finally opened and as with many fellow anglers we also awaited with eager anticipation! The "Murray Cod" is Australias largest freshwater fish and is also the holy grail when it comes to freshwater fishing.

 

 

Early December was very hot and dry and a far cry from a healthy start to the season, particulary in the Tamworth area. River health and water levels were rapidly dwindling as was fishing success. But in the last few weeks our region amongst other areas of the Murray darling basin has recieved good rainfall, which will aid in the revitalisation of the river systems, but in due course. Some rivers can take up to and beyond three weeks to receed and then comes the patient wait for the water clarity to be right. None the less rain events such as these were a welcome addition by many.

Lake Awoonga Trip

NOVEMBER 2009

 

 

Awoonga can be a hard fishery and one that has many triggers in dictating a successful and unsuccessful trip. Weather, water temperature and wind! These are the highest factors to consider when trying cracking the code. Barramundi crave warmer water temperatures and on our recent trip to Awoonga the temperature factor played a major role in our success. A trip that endured plenty of various patterns made it quiet hard to get into one set method of fishing. There were forever changing wind movements that contained really gusty south, south easterlies and sometime just flat easterlies.

 

 

 

When we first arrived it was in the middle of an unusual weather pattern, well unusual for November anyway. The water temp was steady at 23.8-24.0 degrees for a couple of days until two days of intermittent showers and storms really gave the barra “lockjaw”. Water temperatures remained steady at 22.8-23.0 degrees for a couple of days until some much anticipated traditional Gladstone heat started to warm the water temperature. As the water temp began to climb like clockwork the fish began to chew. 26.5 -27.0 degrees was our key temp range so finding those warm waters were imperative and of course looking for windblown points or bays. Wind is a major part of barra fishing as it concentrates all the baitfish into schools and blows them over sunken points and into weed stricken bays. Soft plastics were once again the gun method this year and all up we managed to boat 19 barra with 5 being over a metre and provided a fair few sore mouths to the fish on which the strikes didn’t stick. Perseverance is the key to fishing and in times where fish are shut down and the weather is up and down, patience is a virtue.

 

 

We recommend when planning a trip to Awoonga that seven days be your absolute minimum time to stay as trips around 4-5 days are way too short especially in situations where you could come on the back of a fish shutdown and it will probably take 2-3 days for fishing to improve. Another reason is that it will take a couple of days to find the best fishing areas to target. Impoundments can rapidly change and let’s say what worked well for you in previous times won’t necessarily be the case next time round.

 

 

 

Mates rates....

OCTOBER 2009

The latest edition to the Wells’ Brothers fleet is our new 4.95m Blue Fin “Thundercat”. Originally back in late June it was decided that a new, bigger & faster vessel was needed for our styles of fishing. After researching for what kind of hull we required a final choice was selected and the order placed. Several weeks after the order was placed we contacted the company to enquire about the progress or to see if the construction had begun and after talking with the so called manager, they” Not mentioning any names” to protect the companies already shonky, time wasting approach of meeting the needs of Australia’s boating industry, not only effected our fishing career but other people in the industry!

Three weeks out from our Awoonga trip and the company still didn’t have a boat started was a bit hairy especially when we ordered it back on the 20th of July! We were left with the only option of swimming the lake with lures tied to our feet.  That’s when we decided to cancel our order from this pathetic Victorian boat building firm and contact Coorparoo Marine, Brisbane. Where we were looked after like kings!  Theo one of the head honchos there and a bloke who has decades of experience in the marine industry, bent over backwards for us and together with Bluefin boats they came clean with a first class boat on a deadline that was rapidly decreasing.

Owner of Coorparoo Marine “Mick” showed great customer service accompanying us to the Gold Coast to ensure the Thundercat was prepared for us and up to specifications. Then after realizing the trailer needed to be adjusted to suit the hull Mick then led us to Gold Coast trailers where the team there adjusted the trailer to suit the hull. It is no wonder why companies like Coorparoo Marine are industry leaders and Blue Fin’s dealer of the year. Our new vessel and the rush work involved to ensure us of our much needed trip is a credit to both Coorparoo Marine and Blue Fin Boats. We highly recommend both companies when searching for quality and service.  Wells Bros greatly appreciate your time and effort spent on this rushed project and after the first incident with the other mob this has been the best decision we have made to date.

 

Wells Bros Matt and Nick pictured with Theo and Mick from Coorparoo Marine.

AUGUST 2009

31.08.09

All good things come to an end…..

Once again cod season has come to an end, and this year has been our best to date by far tallying over 300+ Murray cod probably of which 100 or so were legal size. Whilst the smaller fish can sometimes be a nuisance especially when hoping for that trophy fish it is also a good indication that the stocking and breeding process has definitely taken a turn for the better. Another major contribution to a healthy fish population is the ever increasing practice of catch and release. Although this touchy subject with many from the heart fisherman is striving, some indiscriminate fishing practices still occur. Disappointing  to say the least especially when so many of us strive to keep an ailing river system in front of the eight ball. Now cod season has closed we can now target other species such as Barra, golden perch, aussie bass be sure to read our latest
Updates and articles….

Above- SCOFFED!!!

24.08.09

The last hit out...

Our last hit out before the close of cod season was an enjoyable and exciting one. We landed 13 cod, 7 of which were landed in the space of twenty minutes.While all our fish were caught on spinnerbaits several different colours were used and they all proved deadly. Even a double hook up provided us with a laugh when both fish became snagged!...

 

15.08.09

Cool water doesnt deter the natives......

Matt with a couple of cod from a recent river trip these two fish were caught within 20 metres of each other and were very aggressive fish probably females that are ready to spawn murray cod become very aggressive at the time of spawning and do provide some very exciting fishing but must be released as stress free as possible to ensure no harm is done to the fishes breeding pattern. the damage this time was done by a 5/8 oz codman series spinnerbait from bassman and rigged with a Bozo 4in mullet in the galah colour, a combination which has proven deadly of late especially once a fresh containing snow water comes down the river bearing a grey/slate type of colouration.

 

It doesn't get much better than this...

JULY 2009

24.7.09

A few nice natives from a recent afternoon outing. After a few days of scattered showers a typical winters day prevailed, early morning frost followed by a magical afternoon. Once again Bassman done the damage with three Cod being caught on the Codman series spinnerbait and one falling victim to the infamous DT(double trouble)! While Matt couldnt make the trip to due work committments, i was accompanied by a good mate Blacky! Who not only enjoyed a nice afternoon on the water but also racking up a PB Cod of 870mm and 25 pound.



Above: Blacky takes first blood!

Above: Blacky with his PB Murray Cod

Above: Nick with a typical winter Cod taken in the shallows

Above: Pulled from the rocks, another nice Cod

Independence Day...

4.7.09

A few nice cod from a recent river trip. We also lost a few nice fish with two solid hook ups but that’s as far as it got, but all in a day’s fishing. These nice cod fell victim to the one and only Codman series spinnerbait our only choice when targeting Murray cod.

Rollin on the River...

JUNE 2009

Above: Matt with a nice cod

Below: A majestic Robinvale sunrise

Late June once again seen us rollin on the mighty Murray River. A ten day fishing adventure with plenty of casting, trolling and not to mention some ordinary weather. But all the same the trip did provide some highlights and excitement. We not only enjoyed catching up with our good mate Rod Mackenzie for a few days, but also landing some nice cod. The biggest being 107cm. Two long days from dawn to dusk at Wentworth and still nothing. On the last day we were ready to throw in the towel when we decided to do one more troll on this deep corner. Not paying much attention for a few seconds, my rod got absolutely belted. I actually thought Matt had grabbed the rod as he usually does, but not this time. I knew it was a decent fish with plenty of weight and not to mention the bend in the rod. A couple of minutes later a 107cm cod that weighed around 50 pound, a solid Murray monster. The biggest satisfaction I got was not only my personal best cod, but all the hard work had paid off.


Nick with his PB cod