# QLD: Hinze Dam 22/1/14



## ZeroSecta (Jan 16, 2014)

This was my second trip out in my new Hobie Pro Angler 14, the first being up the Coomera River a week ago where i got the feel for the new toy. I decided to explore Hinze Dam for a number of reason. It's a big area with lots of inlets, it's freshwater, and there's no motor boats. Also, I live at Tamborine, and the dam is about a 45 minute drive from my place. I brought my fishing stuff, not so much because i was intent on catching fish (I'm a terrible fisherman) but i did want to get the feel for where i might want to start fitting some accessories.

I'd stopped in at Go Camping/Go Fishing at Nerang the day before and purchased an annual permit for the dam for $40. I had a quick chat with the guys there and they told me that the water level in the dam had dropped a lot. My mind went straight to thinking the dam was only half full. Later that night i check the dam capacity online and saw that it was holding a fraction over 92%. I later saw that it looks like there's a metre or two difference in height between 92% and full.

Travelling through Canungra, i stopped off at the bakery next to the Caltex service station and bought a salad roll, then arrived at the western ramp at about 6:20am. The dam is only open for access between 6:00am and 6:00pm, and the gates to the boat ramps are meant to be locked. The car park has a bit of a slope to it, and i was worried about the yak sliding off the roof racks when i undid the straps. I parked facing downhill in the spaces assigned to cars. Thankfully my concerns weren't realised, and i actually had little difficulty in unloading and rolling the yak down the ramp and into the water. I was the only person in the car park, and the marks from a number of burned-out cars made me wary about leaving my car unattended.





The only problem i've been having with moving it around is the cuffs on the cart keep sliding down, which means the wheels rub against the bottom of the hull and leave scuff marks. I can't get the cuffs any tighter because the nuts start to spin in the plastic housing. I expect i'll just get a piece of pvc pipe and insert it on the upright poles between the collars and the cross bar, keeping the collars from sliding down. I could also just drill a hole through the uprights and insert a bolt, but then i'd compromise the chrome seal over the metal.

There was a warning on a sign at the top of the boat ramp which talked about the possibility of blue-green algae in the water. I've no idea what that looks like, but i saw there was what appeared to be flecks of algae suspended in the water everywhere i went. It was only really noticeable when i looked down into the water, and was certainly not what i'd call an algal bloom.

The conditions were pretty much perfect for being on the water. It was about 26 degrees, and no wind meant the surface was like glass. The intermittent cloud cover kept the edge off the intensity of the sun.



Here's a map showing the area i covered. I worked my way to the south along the edge of the shore, flicking lures into the stands of submerged and semi-submerged trees, before moving to a small patch in the middle of the dam. The area that looks like an island is actually all semi-submerged trees. I paddled through part of it before it occurred to me that there were lots of dead branches above my head, just waiting to drop on me. Then i moved to the eastern side of the west arm of the dam and explored the inlets. I stopped in the second inlet and devoured my ham and salad roll. Feeling a bit tired, i moved myself between some trees, lifted up the seat and pulled out the mirage drive and lay down on the deck to fall asleep to the sound of the bird calls and cicadas.

I woke up a couple of hours later, cracked a cold coke, and kept paddling back towards the north. The wind had picked up a bit by this time. Maybe a steady 10 knots from the north east, gusting to 15. I had thoughts of heading around to the next inlet to the north which i knew was pretty big, but with the forecast for storms in the afternoon, i thought it prudent to stay close to the boat ramp. On the way back i saw a couple of other people fishing with kayaks in an inlet just north of the boat ramp. I was curious to know if they were having any luck, and if so, what was there secret. I decided to leave them alone though, and continued on to the next inlet. I spent a solid forty minutes in there, really working the soft plastic and spinner bait. I packed it in at about midday and returned to the ramp. No problems hauling the yak up the slope, nor any putting it back onto the roof. I was going to stop in at the pie shop in Canungra on the way home, but there were no car parks available, so i continued on to the Bearded Dragon and bought a six pack.



Throughout the day i tried a variety of poppers, hard body shads, paddle tails soft plastics, and a spinner bait. I never got one bite. The only fish i saw were the fingerlings hanging around the boat ramp. I've got no idea what i was doing wrong. I'd like to think that the fish just weren't on the bite, but i worked the bottom, sub-surface, and surface. At one stage i had half a mind to dive down into the water and see what was what. I guess i'll just have to wait until i get a fish finder. Then i'll have the frustration of seeing that there are in fact fish underneath me, and i'm the weak link. 

I was actually quite impressed with how well the PA14 responds to the paddle, and i had no problems manoeuvering through tight areas. It could stand to be about a foot longer, but given that the paddle isn't the primary means of propulsion, it's not really an issue. Also, paddle resulted in a fair amount of water being splashed over what would otherwise be a dry deck. I don't mind getting wet, but i've found that the deck is not shaped in a way that effects good drainage to the scuppers, and the end result can be a bit of free surface water sloshing around over the rods and reels. Not a big issue in fresh water, but less than ideal in salt.

I expect that in the coming weeks/months (hopefully not years), i'll fit a fish finder into the sail holder, as well as a couple of rod holders. I'm looking at getting out again soon, and have my eye on the Albert River north of Stanmore Road. Wyaralong Dam is also on my radar.

Thanks for reading, and i hope this info is useful to anyone looking to visit the dam, or buy a Pro Angler.

Mike


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Nice report, how was the salad roll?


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## Mootly53 (Feb 21, 2011)

I have recently purchased a P.A. 14 used and with a lowrance 5x already installed and it is fantastic ,  I don't really know how to set it up so I just turn it on and it shows the fish mainly on the bottom which in some parts of the dam is over 60m . I just charge the battery up the night before and it has lasted 3 trips before recharging . It is so easy to pedal around and I don't get tired at all , I paddled probably 3/4 around the dam and found bass in that submerged island out in the middle on spinnerbaits . 8) I also have a little 3m sit in for creeks , but the P.A is the best .


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## ZeroSecta (Jan 16, 2014)

scater said:


> Nice report, how was the salad roll?


It was delicious, though a little small for $4. I could easily have downed two.



Mootly53 said:


> I have recently purchased a P.A. 14 used and with a lowrance 5x already installed and it is fantastic ,  I don't really know how to set it up so I just turn it on and it shows the fish mainly on the bottom which in some parts of the dam is over 60m . I just charge the battery up the night before and it has lasted 3 trips before recharging . It is so easy to pedal around and I don't get tired at all , I paddled probably 3/4 around the dam and found bass in that submerged island out in the middle on spinnerbaits . 8) I also have a little 3m sit in for creeks , but the P.A is the best .


I was looking at the 5x. They seem to be pretty well suited to the PA's. 
You reckon it'd be worthwhile pushing further into those trees? Do the fish wrap your line around the trees? Do you use a leader?

Mike


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## Kahuna (Aug 9, 2010)

Hi Mike. Thanks for the report, an enjoyable read.

Perhaps you could try to fit some thin rubber (slice of bike tube) in between the cuffs and the cart frame. Alternatively, you could slide a a section of pool noodle onto the cart frame above each cuff. I'm sure there are some pics of that on here somewhere. :?

Look froward to a report from Wyaralong.


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I'm not one to be drawn to impoundments but that first photo made me wish I was heading out there for a fish, love it!

I bet you do the lie down and relax thing more often, never tried it myself but reckon you could easily blow zzzz's for a couple of hours and not feel bad about not fishing.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Mike an enjoyable read of a favoured spot of mine.

Re the burned out cars, have no concerns as that was shortly after that car park opened and no issues since.

On the cart, can you put a packer on the cart's cross bar so the keel is taking the weight? on my cart the keel takes all the load.

Looking at your map track the lowest point visited was Bass Bay, and the highest point was near Perch Point.

Fish hard against the trees is the best at present, a 35cms bass caught on Tuesday this week in the trees on the eastern arm on a SB and the first in quite a while









Also think you get a better feel for Hinze by watching the spillway level changes instead of the water capacity, the stain you see on all the tree is the spillway level approximately 
http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/wrap_fwo.pl?IDQ60285.html

Algae was everywhere on the east arm as well earlier in the week, been slowly increasing for weeks.


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## Mootly53 (Feb 21, 2011)

I paddled through it twice and just backed up a few times because of the wind but I used 20lb leader and kept the drag pretty tight , cast as many times through trees and reeled back slowly , quite a few snags that you have to flick through but when you hook up the fun begins :lol:


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## grinner (May 15, 2008)

great report, never get sick of looking at pics of that place (lake advancetown..hey dodge)


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## Daveoh89 (Feb 8, 2014)

Did you see 2 other talkers out that day? We parked behind you. Got one singular bass all day and it was my mates not mine.


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## ZeroSecta (Jan 16, 2014)

How could i not see you? We were the only people around  I did think of coming over for a chat, but you guys were doing your thing and i didn't want to stick my beak in.

Nice fish.

Mike


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## Daveoh89 (Feb 8, 2014)

You should have said g'day. We were admiring the record speeds you were getting on the lake. It was a nice day on the water pitta the fish weren't nice enough to get on the lures a bit more


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