There is still a lot of water up on the plains around Corroboree but with the 'Dry' arriving, the water should come off around the time of the Cup with luck. That usually means a lot more fish on the edges, so you need to watch for the birds feeding on the edges where the last of the fish come off the plains.
Another little lurk was to watch when the wave from a passing boat came through onto the edge and where the barra held, they would start boofing as the baitfish were stirred up.
Apparently the count is 36 with some teams made up of three, and a couple with one on board, but that will all sort itself out. Make sure you adhere to the NT Boating Rules and be crocwise!!!
For SARATOGA Lord Jim advises that you will need some good weed guards, and he fished well into the lillies with a floating line, and the fly right up into the shallows at the back. In the good old days, Wayne Hinton used to say "A 10wt for Toga" and like Jim would put his fly right back up into the lillies, then when the fish hit on the surface, he would drag it out over the lillies which required a pretty good rod, otherwise as many of us know, the fish bites onto a lily stem and usually beats you.
Have a look at the Corroboree Cup teaser in the April blogs or on this link ....... TEASER ....Dottie does the same and have a look at the fly!!! This little video really does show you a lot.
If you don't tie your own, or don't have time at this stage, young Liam at HD FLIES may be able to assist, just click on the link. I remember one year when Wayne cast a slider fly right up into the back of the lillies, probably only a few inches of water before the bank, and the fly hooked up in a tall lily about two feet off the surface of the water. Before Wayne could shake the fly off the lily, a toga leapt up out of the water and took the fly.
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| Fish like this one of Mattie's, really take some getting out of the lilies |
Make sure that you tie good knots too, have a look at the links at the top for an easy way to learn or click on this KNOTS. But even those of us that know how to tie them and have been tying them for years slip up, often in a moment when the fish are going crazy, take you time with them and tie them properly. That way they won't slip or come undone (You hope!).
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| Rick with an 80cm out of the fresh |
Drop in and say gidday if you are passing.
Unfortunately i will be working hard watching other people catch fish and drink beer again this year so won't make it.
ReplyDeleteMy tips for the comp are:
Barra:
Plenty of smaller barra just above the S bends area both the left, deeper bank around the pandanus, lotus and floodplain drains and the always reliable smaller red lillie bank and dead lotus just above and on the right.
Bigger barra have started to push up from Shady into palm lagoon and through the cutting to catfish. Fish slow and deep amongst the ribbon weed and you should find half a dozen 60 odd cm fish a day at least.
Toga: There are always good sized and good numbers of toga around isolated pandanus. Some good clumps can be found above the S bends, up inside palm lagoon and in the car park billabong as you take the right hand arm once inside. fish extra slow and deep and strip strike HARD!
There are also some big toga cruising the faces of the weed beds and run out drains right up the top of palm lagoon on the right hand side. The trick is to not even use the electric but try and create a drift where you end up in the right spot. The water is shallow, weedy and clear and even the electric shuts them down for 10min at a time.
Tarpon: Lets just say there are gazilions of tarpon in the billabong this year, the trick will be finding the bigger ones.
I have found good sized poon consistently in the lower reaches of the river again around catfish and palm lagoon. Remember tarpon gulp air and feed deeper. You can stir them up by hooning up and down a stretch of water and then fishing it deep with a sinking line and fast sinking small clousers with white and green a reliable colour. Just think of other boats while doing your hooning!
I had a small encounter with the cheeky croc in palm lagoon the other day where he blew all his air up under my boat. No big deal but it still prompted me to get punters from the cast deck to the floor and change sides. Just keep it in mind.
Really wish i could be swathing the wand but someone has to work…
Watty
I hit Corrobree on the last 2 afternoons after the wind dropped and literally could not raise a scale. In fact I have never seen the place so dead. On Wednesday I had the lagoon to myself. Not one other car in the carpark. Whether that means the place is quiet and even the FTOs are having a hard time, I don't really know.
ReplyDeleteTheories? The rapid shift between stinking hot and bloody cold may have something to do with it. The sheer numbers of mini tarpon and rainbows may also be a factor with a lot of full fish swimming around. Tell you what though, I have never been on Corroboree with no other boats in 27 years of fishing that waterway. It was a erie experience, but a great one nonetheless.
I fished everywhere that has produced fish for me in the past from Marrakai to Palm lagoon (I didn't get approached by any cranky crocs which was a good thing, pity I can't say that about the Adelaide). The only place I didn't get into was the Rockhole. It was starting to get dark and the mozzies were hammering so I bailed out with a duck. Hopefully the conditions will settle a bit over the next week for the Cup. Who knows, maybe the mornings are a bit more productive.
Cheers,
Dion