Cressbrook Bass on my RDO.

I haven't been back to Cressbrook Dam for nearly a month now. I was putting a lot more effort in at Cooby Dam. With the temporary boat ramp at Cooby Dam now being used, the little dam is chock a block full of fisherpeople getting their bag limits. So I put five hours in at Cressbrook Dam to get a feel of it before the Cressbrook dam weekend.

I arrived at the boom gate at 6am to be greeted by the local red deer. They just stood there watching me with not a lot of fear. Their nostrils were working overtime to see if i was a threat to them. You get to see them a lot when you camp at Cressbrook. Being a bowhunter/shooter for many years it was so nice to get so close to them but only shooting with digital photos instead. I left them to feed on in happiness.

I put my $2.00 in the boom gate and proceed to the launching area. I got through the gate and a four wheel drive turned up with a stink boat. So I would not have the dam by myself today, oh well. Proceeded to get gear ready and launched. Paddled slowly with a jackall and a boomerang black beetle trolling behind. Ten minutes later the jackall got a nice little hit, I grabbed the rod and worked the fish back to the yak. Although only small, these bass fight very well and will pull line of at will. Scooped him up in the net and unhooked him of the jackall. I measured him and got some photos and released him quickly. He measured in at 34cm, legal but still got to see freedom.

I kept paddling as I really wanted some exercise as well as have a fish. It's been approximately three weeks since I've been on the water and it was good to turn my shoulders over. A bit rusty but didn't take long to get back into a rythum again. I wanted to cover a lot of water to see where the bass were schooling. I never did come across any big schools which makes it hard.

I pulled up at the weed beds to try out some weedless soft plastics. It is certainly different actually flicking your soft plastic in the middle of the weed in pursuit of some yellowbelly. I could see that they were there on my sounder but they weren't being fooled today. These weedless rigs are absolutely brilliant.

I moved on and paddled back towards the boat ramp and got another hit on the jackall. The purple jackall is popular with the bass because they didn't touch any thing else. This fish felt a little better and fought harder than the first. The Dawia Sol 2000 is really a great reel, so smooth and light. I netted him, measured him and got some photos and then let him go to fight another day. This bass went 36cm. Before I released him, I had a good look at him. They sure are built for speed, power and catching prey with their big mouths. I am sick of not having a suitable esky/cooler to take with me for bringing back the catch of the day. So I am off now to Kmart to buy a little esky that fits into the swing rectangular hatch. I fish mainly for the pleasure/sport but still love a feed of fish. With the little esky I will be able to bring some fish home to cook on the barby.

I had a great morning and it was far better than sitting at my desk working. It will not be 3 weeks before I hit the water again, as the Cressbrook Dam weekend is coming up, I will be out to find some better areas to fish. Every time I go back the water exposes more land as the water levels continue to drop.