# AKFF weekend - Burrill Lake



## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

I just arrived home from another great weekend away with a great bunch of people.
I left home on Friday evening after meeting up with Koich at my house, stopped for fuel just up the highway a little and Squidder saw us parked so he pulled over and waited, just as we left the servo Patwah passed us, so we had an unintentional convoy of 4 up to Burrill.
We found the turnoff for the dirt track no problems because of the massive sign that GregL prepared for us all to make it easier.
A huge thanks to GregL for all the effort he put in to make it a good weekend for everyone, it was a sensational camping spot mate.
I didnt fish Friday night, we all sat around the camp fire sharing stories and having a good laugh while Squidder went on a mission for some prawns and didnt return for a couple of hours.
The fishing was very tough for me, my usual estuary techniques werent working, i tried most lures i had with me but the most successful overall was the Ecogear Vx35 blade.
I found a scholl of big tailor near the mouth of the lake, cast a surface lure into the middle of a bunch of Tailor smashing the surface chasing baitfish and a big Tailor started swiping at my lure, 3 or 4 times it missed but eventually grabbed the lure and the battle started, i only had 2lb line and 4lb leader on so it was a struggle.
Squidder noticed the bend in the rod so quickly paddled over to see what was going on, i told him there was a school of them around so Squidder puts his lure out and hooks up immediately, we had a double hookup on big Tailor.
Squidder was more prepared than i was with heavier rod and line and had his in the yak while i still battled mine, eventually after about 10mins i slipped the net under mine and we went to the nearest bank for some photos and measurement, both of them an identical size at 57cm and very thick.
We cleaned them up and went back out but i couldnt get another one off the surface, but Squidder managed another at the same size, and a smaller one about 40cm.
We left the area after we couldnt seem to find where the Tailor had gone, and found Pescado heading up to fish the area we just were.
He told us of a big bream that bricked him around the bridge pylons, but otherwise not having much luck either.
It was time for lunch so i made the trip back to the camp site for a feed and a rest.
I collected some poddy mullet and launched again at about 5pm, drifted one line with a sinker to get it deep and one unweighted poddy, after about 1klm of drifting, the rod with the unweighted poddy buckled over and line screamed off at an alarming rate. I couldnt get the rod out of the holder and while mucking around to get it out the hook just popped out and the fish was free, i assume it was a monster Tailor, GregL said it was not uncommon to find them in the lake up to about 70cm.
Tried again with a another poddy rigged up but had no more hits so headed back to camp.
This morning looked to be an improvement, only 10mins into the session i landed a 30cm bream on the blade so i immediately thought it was going to be much better, but again i struggled for good fish, covered a lot of ground but only managed a few bream just on and under legal size, and some small Tailor.
The fishing was tough all weekend for me, but i really enjoyed the company, in fact i think i enjoyed the evening camp fire conversations more than the fishing so it was still a great weekend away for me.
Thanks to everyone that came down, DaveyG and Darwin came down from Sydney, and the usual suspects from Canberra joined in the fun too.
Im sure the others will add in their bit to the report, and maybe some photos too, ill add mine a bit later on.
Thanks again Greg, and to everyone that came down 8)


----------



## Revo (Aug 3, 2008)

Great to see the first report from the weekend - thanks Craig. Really disappointed that I couldn't join you this weekend cos of a conference I was committed to. But I'm looking forward to reports and pics.


----------



## granpop (Mar 23, 2007)

Nearly too knackered to do this, so it may be edited tomorrow :shock:

I arrived about lunchtime Thursday and had the choice of sites - set up my hoochie and unrolled the swag, then carted everything for the yak down from the truck before rolling the yak down. An evening prowl around the arm we were in resulted in a nice bream, a flatty and a tailer - nothing outstanding, and as I had food in the fridge,they all went back to be caught later. Had some stale bread, so threw some of that in near the camp, before long I had a huge school of tame poddies nearby. Greg came down after putting up the sign and we had a bit of a yarn before I had tea and crashed.

Friday morning was a pedal up to the far end of the lake. First in the bag was a nice tailer (had it with kangaroo that night) then came the occasional bream and a lot of just legal flathead. Just settling down for an afternoon nap, when DaveyG showed up. We both headed off for more exploring (and more flathead). Lost track of who arrived and when, but there seemed to be a reasonable crowd around the campfire after dark.

Saturday morning had Yaks scattering in all directions - fishing was generally tough. The flatties I had been consistently catching headed for cover as the zoomies towing people on planks roared around. Lots of small bream and a healthy population of small snapper were found (and I caught my first legal yak snapper (35 cm). AND the small tailer were particularly savage - went through two packets of SPs

Sunday dawned rather damp and I put in some hard yards for little result (4 undersized snapper), but Davey G scooped the pool with a nice 40 cm whiting and a 69 cm flattie (I may be corrected here).

Will now let those with a better flair for writing add their bit (come on Paff), but a big thanks to Greg for the organisation and for all who attended to make it memorable for me.


----------



## granpop (Mar 23, 2007)

More pics


----------



## Rstanek (Nov 5, 2007)

Damn! I wish I could've made it to this one, looks like it was a great trip... Can't wait to see more photos!


----------



## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

I think I'm going to be crying by the end of this thread.


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

Guys,

having problems publishing my crazy ass movie, Windows Movie Maker gets an error message saying 'WIndows Movie Maker has stopped working' when I try and publish, then closes and restarts ( There is no other option like 'export' ). Wish it would hurry up and work as I took more video than I did piccies, report will come with that...

EDIT : Fixed, fixed, fixed... Standby for Patwah Shenanigins!


----------



## Blackant (Mar 19, 2007)

So far it sounds like everyone had fun.
Can't wait for more stories and pictures.
Looks like a top spot.


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

A great weekend indeed, fishing was hard though...

Got lost for an hour in the bush behind the site, too dark and arrived too late to see the sign on the otherside of the road... A few panicking phonecalls guided me through in the end. Thanks to those who helped pitch tent in the dark then pull it down on Sunday in the rain, the Taj Mahal and the Sultan thanks you. Good clean site and the weather was brill for 90% of the time, its a real pity that creek was so far away Greg ( Great spot but terrible paddle ).

Caught about four Flathead, half a dozen legal Squire, half a dozen Tailor and some assorted fish including suicidal Tarwhine and treble crushing Puffer Fish ( Ending my Flathead lures reign of terror ). Was great to meet some new faces and I apologise to Kevlar in advance for not sticking round till you got back, that rain and weather and the fact you were way up the creek ( With a paddle ) pushed me and most others home early... How did you go with Greg?

Last but not least a double fatality occured just above Poo corner on the Clyde Mountain about 11am, delaying many members trip home. Speaking to a guy at the local Servo he mentioned they really havent had any good rain up there for a month or two and the roads would be slippery as, no doubt a wake up call to all that viewed the sad site. My thoughts and prayers go out to their families and friends, please take care on the roads this year members...






( *More pictures to come )


----------



## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Paff , love the vid fantastic so clear and music is great , gee this forum is getting interesting thanks to guys like you mate , i am ROFLMAO at paddys kayak and pfd colours , hes a wizzard , he has much magic to be able to change colour like that , i'm impressed , nice flathead Paff well done mate


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

OK, here goes.

Another great AKFF weekend away however the weather was far too good (I'm used to getting blown away and drenched in rain on normal AKFF weekends!).

A huge thanks to Greg L who was a great host..from organising and raking up the campsite, putting out signs so we didn't miss the turnoff (with the exception of Paff :twisted: ), digging the longdrop, showing us around the lake etc etc. All this on top of entertaining 2 of his other mates who had come up from Melbourne to fish for Marlin with him. A big thumbs up Greg - cheers!

I arrived on Friday early arvo after stopping in to drop some more coin at Gregs mates tackle shop. Found Granpop having a bit of a midday siesta (sorry if I interrupted your snooze time Dave  ). Set up the tent and my tarp mahal and rigged up the yak for a late arvo session. Gathered some poddies and took off across the lake on a 'get my bearings' look around.


















Third cast with a popper and I see a good bream (est low 30's) swoop up from the depths and nail my Bubblepop... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz goes the reel and a short fight ensues, then slack line. :twisted: :twisted: Bugger. Reel the lure in and note that one of the treble arms has been snapped off. Hmm, must replace my rusty hooks...idiot 

As I'm tying on a new popper, my drifted softy goes off with some good headshakes and a decent weight. A reasonable fight ensues on the 4lb line and up comes a flattie (tangled in a huge clump of weed). I whack a gloved thumb in his mouth and lift him aboard. Not bad - around mid 50's. So, after 5 minutes of fishing I've been slammed by a good bream and boated a good flattie - Burrill Lake is the bizness!   


























Unfortunately that 5 minutes of action was about it for the next 36 hours.....  

A few tailor were caught that arvo and I paddled back at around 7pm to see a few cars and new faces starting to rock up. Said my g'days and cooked up dinner then got stuck into a few beers, and crashed out around midnight. Woke up at about 3am to hear my esky getting scratched to pieces and went outside to find a possum inside my esky chewing on an apple. Little bugger. :lol:

Woke up a bit dusty and was first on the water at around 7am - with perfect glassy conditions. How good is this! The lake just screams 'fish' as there's a huge amount of bait activity, millions of poddy mullet, prawns and schools of tiny baitfish skittering around as far as the eyes can see. Not to mention the suicidal bull mullet who were constantly doing their aerial leaps (one even bouncing off the front of my kayak).. Started poppering along one of the near banks with the trusty live poddy mullet drifting out the back. 50 metres from the camp the trolled poddy goes off with a 40 ish cm tailor coming aboard to say goodmorning. Good start! Popper, popper, popper for the next hour or so with a few half hearted swirls but no luck. Tied on the PX45 lure that Squidder had kindly given me (thanks Jase!) and had an immediate hit. Unfortunately it was another pesky tailor and I soon changed lures (didn't want to lose this great little surface lure to a chopper!). As the sun started coming up I realised that I had an empty water bottle, so with a beer parched throat I headed back to fill up the water containers. Met Chris (Pescado) and Kev (Kevlar) who had just arrived and were getting ready to launch. Headed off up towards the river mouth and spotted plenty of fish (bream, luderick etc) but was constantly frustrated by the floating ribbon weed which would foul every lure/plastic that I threw or trolled. Headed back to camp around lunchtime with only a few tailor caught this morning..


















Had a cat nap and headed back out mid arvo for the late session. The wind was up which made poppering a bit trickier so I started fishing plastics and caught a smallish bream and some more tailor. Met up with Squidder and GregL and just as I arrived Greg hooks up to a good bream. Naturally I asked 'how the f#ck did you do that?' and he advised that he was fishing blade lures away from the bank. So I tied on a blade (never fished one before) and started trying to copy Gregs (aka Burrill master) technique. He proceeded to catch a couple of good flatties, snapper and bream and I was getting nothing however finally cracked my first ever fish on blade - a small snapper. This was followed by a small bream and another snapper and then a freaking pufferfish who squashed the trebles&#8230;..


















































Back to camp, headed into town to get some more ice, had a few beers and again in bed by 11.30 ish.

A few raindrops were hitting the tent in the morning and due to everyones (lack of) success on Saturday, it was a slow and subdued start to the morning. I think I was last on the water today and wasn't really sure where to go, but I followed Greg's advice and headed for the small creek at the far end of the lake. Caught a few obligatory tailor on the way and arrived at the creek, which was very protected from the strengthening wind. Popped a few casts in and then decided to explore the creeks deeper section with the blade. 2nd cast came up tight and the headshakes and heavy fight alerted me to mr flathead on the end of the line, worked him up slowly on the 6lb leader and hoisted him aboard. At that stage he decided to go nuts in my lap&#8230;..eeeek. Anyway, finally got the lipgrippers onto him and into the bag. Passed Craig450 and Patwah who weren't having any luck. Paddy was waving his wand around but not conjuring any magic.. ;-)


























50 metres past Pat I reverted to the popper and threw some casts in tight to the grassy bank where there were a few baitfish skipping about. At this stage I'd probably made more than 500 popper casts over the weekend so I wasn't exactly holding my breath for any action. However a big swirl behind the popper got my attention, fast and I surprisingly retained my composure and let the popper sit, giving it another twitch then SLAM&#8230;&#8230;zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Popper fishing over the weekend had been very underwhelming but when it is good, it is VERY good!. Heart in the mouth stuff as I slowly worked the fish towards me. At first I thought 'good bream' but then saw a long body and thought 'tailor' however I then caught a looks at the bronze colour of the fish's flank and thought perhaps it may have been a bass or Estuary Perch up in this arm of the creek. Then I realised that it was a freaking huge whiting&#8230;.










Lifted him onboard and had 2 fish in the bag&#8230;.. Had a few more casts in the area and decided it was about time to paddle back to camp into the wind and rain&#8230;.










It was a great weekend and despite tough fishing I learnt a new technique (blades) and met a whole bunch of great guys who I would never have met without this forum.

Thanks to all who turned up and can't wait till the next one..


----------



## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Davey G said:


> ...50 metres past Pat I reverted to the popper and threw some casts in tight to the grassy bank where there were a few baitfish skipping about. At this stage I'd probably made more than 500 popper casts over the weekend so I wasn't exactly holding my breath for any action. However a big swirl behind the popper got my attention, fast and I surprisingly retained my composure and let the popper sit, giving it another twitch then SLAM&#8230;&#8230;zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Popper fishing over the weekend had been very underwhelming but when it is good, it is VERY good!. Heart in the mouth stuff as I slowly worked the fish towards me. At first I thought 'good bream' but then saw a long body and thought 'tailor' however I then caught a looks at the bronze colour of the fish's flank and thought perhaps it may have been a bass or Estuary Perch up in this arm of the creek. Then I realised that it was a freaking huge whiting&#8230;.
> 
> ..


G'day Dave et al

Sounds like a great weekend -- well done. One of the wonderful things that technology (in the form of AKFF) has done for us is to facilitate such group outings. And that popping is addictive. And that's a stonker of a whiting -- must be close to HOF stuff. Great stories from all. Thanks for telling us about it.

Meanwhile, up here the rain's bucketing down and the wind and sea are picking up, all courtesy of Hamish. No outside fishing for a few days at least -- time for some yak maintenance.


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Paff - just checked out your video. Nice bream handling skills there mate... :lol: :lol: :lol: Didn't get the chance to check out your camera setup rig, but it looks to be working well.

List of attendees:-

Granpop (Dave)
Davey G (Dave)
Scleburne (Scott)
Baitwasta (John)
Kevlar (Kev)
Greg L 
Craig 450
Paffoh (Derek)
Pescado (Chris)
Patwah (Paddy)
Koich (Josh)
Darwin
Squidder (Jason)
Lur3 (Nev)
Caught2 (Kim)

I think that's about it...apologies if I missed anyone?


----------



## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

:mrgreen: 

For a weekend that was slow, there were certainly a lot a decent fish landed. Nice video Paff, showing the true dangers of undersized bream ("great big nasty teeth"). It's also good to see Paddy in his true colours. He has cuttlefish in his ancenstry, and Highschool Musical in his veins.

Thanks for the reports everyone. Yet another (relatively) local fishery is now on the to do list.


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

Was a great weekend.
After "working" hard on the water Saturday morning I came in first for lunch. Casting out a couple of hunks of freshly caught tailor on what resembled a paternoster rig but with a sliding star sinker.
Paffoh would never let me hear the end of "The huge star sinker Scottie's using!"
While I relaxed in the shade of Darwin's umbrella 15 minutes later I got a huge hit which made me jump, inadvertantly striking hard and smacking my light shimano catana on the umbrella. My 10 lb leader (Jervis walker brand donated generously by Patwah) had broken in a random place leaving me with a single hook and the star sinker. The 5 lb braid held strong however!

Casting it out again (not hard to get a good distance with such a heavy sinker and light line) I left the rod in my grounded yak and got back to relaxing.
about 30 minutes later with some more company turning up for lunch we were all startled by my rod buckling over and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, ZZZ, ZZZZZZ!
Running over there I quickly gained an audience of experienced fishermen offering advice and the pressure was on for me not to F#$% it up.
Holding the rod high to absorb any shocks I gradually begun to wind him in.
"That's a decent sized flatty!" I heard and everyone agreed.
But no; as my reel began to re-fill there was nothing long and flat approaching me across the sand.
Instead a nice fat bream decided the join me onshore!
Fearing a mistake John took a quick photo with me clutching onto it with white knuckles, then a nicer photo (I hope!) after washing him down and a quick measure on Patwah's official AKFF truth-teller it got extremely close to Paffoh's(?) estimate of 39cm. 38, and a bit, from tip to tip was the accepted measurement.
So maybe not ABT + kayak competition acceptable, but a great catch, PB and release none-the-less!

Catching 7 undersize pinkies while yakking around later that afternoon (most in the last 3 minutes right out from our camp...) fishing with bait and actually getting some action was a nice change. On the lure front I managed two tailor between Friday arvo and Saturday morning while bringing in the donut on Sunday in the rain.

So you might be asking; where are the photo's of this cracker bream!? :?: 
Well I hope John will be online soon and post them up for me!
I hope Ado doesn't give him any idea's!!! :twisted:


----------



## Gassa (May 19, 2008)

A magic weekend by the look of it and thanks for the top quality video very enjoyable. You brought back many fond memories born and bred in Ulladulla and fished burrill lakes many times as a kid. Thanks again
might have to go down and visit the reletives in the near future down that way lol
:shock: :shock:   :lol: :lol:


----------



## Kevlar (Nov 7, 2008)

Well, finally a moment to think back tot he weekend that was.

Up at sparrow fart on Saturday morning, red bull for brekky before jumping into the pre packed car with the aim of meeting pescado at Braidwood bakery at 7.00am. Made it with time enought to spare to have some quiche and a pie , oh and a strong coffee for the real (or 2nd) breakfast. Pescado rocked up and convinced me that a danish would be a good thing too, for the trip you know, so with danish in hand (and mouth) we took off to Burrill.

Fairly uneventful trip - up until I attempted to let a crazy hyundi driver pass me on an overtaking lane and they almost rear ended me for lack of paying attention. So I thought *bleep* it, I like this road and took off ahead and waited for pescado at the roundabout before the bay (about 5 mins ahead of crazy excel driver).

Next was taking the plunge through the mud pool and seeing how the lowered lib would cover the track to the camp ground - no probs in the end andeven had some fun churning a little more mud on the way.

Kim, was at the camp about to head off so i said a quick hello and then pescado rocked up having got some ice. We set to work prepping the kayaks and were in the water not too long after 8 I think.

I caught my first fish after a little guess work at what would eat what lure and what exactly i would catch. First in the bag was trolling a flick bait not far from the launch spot. I pulled in a lovely looking fish that I had no idea what the hell it was. Paddled over until I spotted a fellow kayaker and asked what it was, apparently a smallish Taylor - first one, happy as Larry. Tried unsuccessfully to catch anything else and finally ventured back in for some sangasfor lunch.

Second session saw me venture a little futher out and I caught a couple of "pinkies" - again a first for me. One the way back closer to the camp siite I landed a leather jacket that put up a good fight - first one ever (again). Flamin spike coming out of it's head got caught in my pants and I almost squealed ! Quite funny really. Then on the way back across to the camp sit I dropped out an SX40 I picked up only a week earlier and managed a slightly bigger taylor than the first one - a keeper for me ! LOL !! Oh, and I realised it somehow snapped one of the hooks off the rear triple.

Sunday came after some good chat around the fire, some beers - too few for how wrecked I felt, and some rice and beans for dinner spare no expense. Headed off up the the bridge, stopped in at some shallows to see what was what and had some chasers that looked reasonable - had no idea what they were, since seen that a few were whiting. With nothing laned I kept on paddling up to the bridge and with a strong head wnd and nothing on the bite headed back. Met up with our host heading to the 'creek' and went along for the ride. We hit some deep water and I threw out a deep diving red stup jumper with black stripes and withing a short time had another taylor landed - happy days.

The creek, well, biggest damn creek I have ever seen. A lot of the crew at the mouth trying their luck - some crazy guy was even whipping his wand around cursing at the snags (that's how I saw it anyway|). I'd paddled that far so the invite to head upstream some more was a goer. Greg landed a huge bream, let it go and said he probably should have measured it then he discovered he has his camera on him as well (he he he). He kindly lent me a pencil and I might as well hjave written 1000 lines of "I can't catch fish but I paddle well" because that was all the good it would have been. We hit the snags up along the way and at one point passed a fella in a tinny that reckoned he had a good day. A few minutes later he was being led around by a 70+ cm flattie ! Nice one. Anyway, many more casts, snags, snapped line and lure changes and I had had enough. Started to head back - stillhitting the snags in a vein attempt to regain some pride. Discovered pride is costly and with the stomach rumbling from a non event brekky I took to the paddle again. Hit the deep stuff and popped out ol stumpy again and a minute later was onto another taylor - I like taylor, favourit coastal fish - and Greg was back with me.

The rest of the trip back entailed chop, head winds, paddling, cursing etc etc. Made it back to a deserted camp ste and packed up in an eerie silence and then made the trip home.

|Cheers to all and sundry for the weekend. I just finished a meal of crumbed taylor and it was bloody well worth every aching muscle in my body. Hope the next trip is as entertaining if not a little more productive.

Kev


----------



## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

what an enjoyable read, top photos and great video. Davey's whiting though... far out what a fish!


----------



## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, there was kaliedoscopic klingon....

But seriously, nice work Paddy. It's about time the forum was embellished with poetry, to add to the combined artistic talent (that seems to be strangely centred around Canberra ... whi would have thunk). I can't wait for the photos.


----------



## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

Wrassemagnet said:


> . Davey's whiting though... far out what a fish!


I agree, fish of the weekend in my opinion  Well done Davey.


----------



## baitwasta (May 24, 2007)

well it's official, i suck at catching fish!! Tossed lures, hard bodies, soft plastics, deep divers,shallow runners, sx40's etc etc and not one decent fish landed. i'm thinking i should have wasted some bait, i did enjoy the company though, the beers, the chops, the lake and the weather - 2 days of oppsites hot and then overcast. some nice scenery to take in, i actually feel i was a tourist on the weekend and that's not all bad. yeah got a photo of Scottys 44cm bream but you can't see it, you'll have to wait til tomorrow night - my card reader failed and won't read the sd card tonight. thanks Greg, top campsite, loved the way you organised the mozzies at the longdrop - no hanging around - make space for the next guy? we're all brothers now. cheers JohnO


----------



## T-curve (Feb 19, 2007)

Awesome report guys...looked like a great trip and loved the video Paff. Well done ;-)


----------



## Squidder (Sep 2, 2005)

A fantastic trip for sure and mega props to Greg for a great organisational effort: signage, toilet hole, and camp site were all first rate, with special praise for Greg's prior raking of the camp site to clear up any broken glass ;-)

It was great to meet a few new faces and catch up with some old ones, with great cameraderie in the camp. 

I found the fishing pretty tough, but rode Craig450s coat tails to some tailor success down the near the mouth of the creek. Craig showed great prowess to land his fish on 2lb braid, I landed a couple on heavier 10lb gear casting a big Maria slashbait before busting an irreplacable Black Diamond rod by smashing the lure into the rod while casting  Speaking to Pescado later I learned that this was not the first Black Diamond claimed by the Burril lake demons  


















I didn't catch any other fish of note but was lucky to fish alongside Greg for a while Saturday arvo and see the local master at work, with numerous bream and snapper caught on blades while Davey and I plugged away.......... :shock:










I had no excuse whatsoever, but I think Davey's afternoon (Paffoh-style) "Nanna nap" might have left him a little sluggish in that session ;-) :twisted:










I headed back Saturday evening so missed out on Sunday's action at Burrill (monster whiting Davey, damn!  ) but I passed Scleburne, Granpop and Paffoh on the way back down the mountain with Squidette on the way to Murramurrang. We passed the accident not long after it happened, shocking tragedy.

We had a great night at the resort, and how lucky were we that they had Sunday night karaoke at the bar, with many happy renditions of "Who let the dogs out" long into the night :? We came across a bower bird's nest on Sunday, he had assembled an array of rubbish near his bower, of all the exact same shade of blue - lolly wrappers, straws, bottle caps etc. Never seen one up close before so was stoked. 










Had a quick spearfish before lunch for a nice flatty and a couple of abs before joining the snake and heading home.

Thnaks again to Greg and everyone that came along, looking forward to the next one 

EDIT just watched your video Paff, LOLOLOLOL   Sensational work


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

Not sure the Wu Tang Instrumental does it justice though Jase,

Apart from Patwahs section, dont think he could make up his mind on what Kingfisher club he wanted to be part of! :lol:

Great reports guys ( Davey's in particular ) and those Tailor photos look demonic Jason, someone get Craig a new AKFF hat, was once blue and is now a deeper shade of what exactly? Havent viewed the Tailor HOF for a while but surely those identical specimens would have to come very close to entry. That was a big Maria slashbait, very drool worthy man!

Great weekend once again guys...


----------



## Darwin (Jul 25, 2008)

Burrill Lake bring back some memory for me! It was and it is still a beautiful place. It was roughly 10 years ago. I went down there with my next door neighbour. They are the best couple I ever meet in Australia. As a migrant from Hong Kong, I know nothing about Australia at that time. I was working for leaving and wish bring up my kids in this peaceful place. I was a stranger to them. One day I moved to next door to them. There were no cultural barrier and friendship began to geminate. They were so kind and invited my family to their holiday house at Burrill Lake. We had wonderful time there. Nick took me to fishing. We were fishing at ocean side. He took me to the rock and gathering some sea weeds and shown me how to catch blackfish. It was so easy for him. This is how he trigged by fishing bugs. Although Nick has already pass away and Hassle is over 80. She is a bit physically fraggle now but when I holding her hand. It is still warm like before. Although I didn't catch any legal size fish, I enjoy every moment. Here I am with all people I never meet. They are all so kind to me. This second visit of Burrill Lake will be wrriten in my diary as a success!


----------



## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

Squidder said:


> .. before busting an irreplacable Black Diamond rod by smashing the lure into the rod while casting


Are you sure it wasn't due to previous human bight marks inflicted in the cause of a good photo Jase? Great report as always, and some slashing greenbacks.

That was a really heart felt post Darwin. Very moving.

I'm getting more jeolous by the moment, which is a good thing. Cec is on the improve, and Xavier is doing very well (he's a very grown up 1 month old now). It seems by re-launch may not be too many weeks away.


----------



## GregL (Jul 27, 2008)

Hey guys!
Well from the sounds of it, the weekend was a success! Phew....
It was great to see so many akffers on the water and catching fish. I really enjoyed catching up face to face with those I've not met before and I look forward to catching up for a fish with you again soon - I hope to see you down on Burrill again in the future.
Although just about everyone scored a fish, I was a bit surprised not to see too many flatties getting around amongst the pack though - and the good sized bream were also a bit scarce - thats fishing I suppose!
I was gutted not to have been able to say goodbye in person though - I didn't realise that everyone would be heading off at lunchtime - I got back to the camp with Kevlar not long after lunch and couldn't believe that the camp was empty! Nevermind though, the glowing reports have made it all worthwhile (and Pats glowing yak - nice work Paff!)
I really wish I'd got to guide those who made it up to the creek, up a bit further and into the guts of the creek where the fishing gets really good. I dragged Kev up there and pulled a couple of reasonable bream out of the snags and got completely bricked by a thumper. I also witnessed a (local) guy in a boat pull 2 of the 4 flatties over 70cm that he landed from the creek, from the same stretch of water. :shock: That was good enough for me, so I took my mates up there in the tinnie later that afternoon for a flattie sesh, and we pulled a heap of good flatties and some more good bream - and again I was smoked in the snags by another thumper!
I scored the fish of the day though with a cracking 82cm croc, which somewhat unbelievably, has matched my 4 year old PB! That fish also came from the same stretch of water that the guy who pulled 4 over 70cm was fishing - I told you that the creek was the spot!! ;-) I'll be heading up there in the yak again soon for a crack at the biguns!
We also went out again yesterday arvo (after a mammoth surf session down on wairo beach) and I pulled a couple of stonking bream up from in front of the houses at Kings Point - 35cm to fork, and a ripper 38cm to fork! Piccies below...

































Anyway guys, thanks again for the effort and I look forward to the next one. I apologise that I was late on the water each day, but as you know I was having to look after my mexican mates as well! I wish I'd got to specifically put a few of you in some spots, as I know that it is often hard work sussing out a big new water, but hey, there is always next time!
Tight lines, and thanks for coming...
Smeg


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Yes mate, that creek was sensational and I would have loved to have hung around in there longer but I knew my car had parked a couple of guys in at the campsite and needed to get back so that they could get their cars out... Would have loved to spent the day poking around right up that creek - what a great spot.

Anyway, next time!


----------



## Kevlar (Nov 7, 2008)

Davey G said:


> Yes mate, that creek was sensational and I would have loved to have hung around in there longer but I knew my car had parked a couple of guys in at the campsite and needed to get back so that they could get their cars out... Would have loved to spent the day poking around right up that creek - what a great spot.
> 
> Anyway, next time!


Indeed, well worth the paddle for me. I will be heading back with some of the lures Greg mentioned and see how my luck goes when I have a bit more time for a relaxing fish. Was tops seeing the local fella get towed around by a flattie though. :lol:


----------



## pescado (May 17, 2007)

Well, the weekend was going off for me. Baby squire, tiny bream, mini tarwhine, small flatties. Don't think I got a legal fish apart from the flattie that spiked me in the hand then jumped overboard. A great gathering though, got to meet a few members. A big shout out to Greg for his supreme organisation of the campsite and LONG DROP, also to Davey for the goodies...

Arrived at 8 on Saturday with Kevlar, danishes in hand, ready to do battle. Met Davey at the ramp who was coming in for a bit of water and a leg stretch. Commenced poppering the fringes for nada. Saw Koich at the racks where i got the aforementioned flathead. Then went the long paddle up the mouth getting frustrated as floating weed and surface lures don't mix. Got to the highway bridge, tied on a gulp shrimp and flicked it right up in the shaded bit....sink sink....WHACK. This fish pulled a bit if drag, zipping left, gain a bit of line then it took off right through the pylons to the other side. I could still feel it on the end of the line so passed the combo underneath to Koich but by the time i got around the fish was gone! Mucked around a bit there for some small bream, nothing like the first tho. Saw squidder and 450 coming back with solid tailor from the mouth area which moved on by the time i got there. Great photos of those fish tho boys.

Back to camp, got a nice feed from a takeaway place in town and hit it again for the arvo. Greg and Davey were getting into a few. 450 lost an estimated 20kg jew on his live poddy.   Nev got a flattie, things were that slow (for me anway) we all crowded around for a look. Few bevvies that night and into bed.

Sunday morning drizzle. I just wasn't feeling it. Paddled around, a bit lost really. More squire on sx40 this time cast to the edges. Another tarwhine. I'd had enough of the speed boats so headed in around 11 for some sandy sausages and bread rolls. Next thing Davey rocks up with a honker whiting and a nice flattie to boot. Great stuff man. Felt a bit bad taking off with a couple of the boys (Greg and Kev) still out there, sorry I didn't get to say hooray fellas.










It seemed my luck continued yesterday at Googong. After loosing a $20 mumbler to a snag and not a bump after almost 3hrs i got out the Oargee for a troll back to the ramp. Quick prayer to the cod gods and not 100m into it hooked up to something nice. A lovely cod of around 55cm soon joined me in the yak. My camera was playing silly buggers and for a split second i removed my hand from the lanyard on the lippies to change the setting. Next thing the cod (which are usually quite sedate once out of the water) does a full flip straight off my lap and takes off with my grippers still in its mouth. Not really too concerned about the grips more about the fish - hope he is able to shake them.










So there you have it, a few ups and downs but thats fishing! Have really enjoyed reading the reports from all at the event, keep em coming.


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

Twas a good weekend. I am absolutely covered in mozzie bites though  Fishing was a bit rough, with me not landing anything but Tailor and squire. Oh well, such is life.

Nice catching up lads.


----------



## Marty (Mar 18, 2007)

sounds like a great trip guys ... unfortunately I was unable to make it up there 
Definately is a nice spot to camp   
Dont tell too many people about that little creek , been fishing up there for years 
Have caught some stonker bream up there and been smoked by many more , also some big mutha lizards too


----------



## Blackant (Mar 19, 2007)

Well done to everyone who attended. Sounds ike a fantastic weekend. Having missed out SWMBO has informed me I have to use up brownie points, so I'm

heading to Repton - south side of Coffs Harbour. Come hail rain or shine I'm fishing.

Anybody up that way, look out for an orange Hobie.


----------



## baitwasta (May 24, 2007)

sorry for the delay guys, but obviously i work on coast time, so here's a couple of pics of Scotty with his 48cm bream....ooopps i mean 38cm bream or was it 37.5 - who cares - nice fish - happily released by Scotty -cheers JohnO


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

Nice Cod Chris,

Unfortunately that fish is doomed, you wont make that mistake again. 

Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard...


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

Yay! Look at me go! haha
thanks JohnO.


----------



## Revo (Aug 3, 2008)

Enjoying the reports and pics - thanks everyone.


----------



## lur3 (Apr 1, 2007)

Greg, thanks for all your effort for the weekend.

Headed down Saturday morning and arrived just after 7:30, full of confidence, enthusiasum and high expectations. Most of the crew were out on the water already. After about 10 minutes fishing, my 3" gulp was slammed moments after hitting the water tight up against some snags. After a short by tense battle, I landed my first fish, a 33cm bream. My confidence that this was the first of many saw him released after a few quick photos.










Unfortunatley, my next battle was with a toad fish, who kindly modified my trebble into a double. From then on I only managed a few small pinkies before lunch.

After a short trip into town, I was back on the water, looking forward to making up on my poor performance form the morning. Seeing Scottie land that bream boosted my motivation. Things were quite for a while, when finally I hooked up. Another small pinkie. Next cast, I was on again, landing a 39cm flattie. Although leagal, I was still confident of better, so back he went.










About an hour later, I was onto something a bit better, upsizing my last flattie. The feed I was planning to take home to the family was still a bit light, but there was still tomorrow.










On Sunday, I think I was on the water before anyone else had risen, still full of confidence. Unfortunatley, it wasn't to be, only landing 1 under sized fish for the day.

Pescado had decided to give Durras a bash for a few hours on the way home, so I decided to join him. By this stage I was a beaten man, and fished without any real commitment, and this was proven with my result. A donut. Chris how ever, did manage a nice flattie just over 50cm, which he kindly donated to me and my bruised ego. Thanks for that mate. That fish may have just got me my leave pass for the next trip.

It was a great weekend, and thanks to all who attended. Looking forward to the next one.

Nev


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

paffoh said:


> Nice Cod Chris,
> 
> Unfortunately that fish is doomed, you wont make that mistake again.
> 
> Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard...


Hopefully they were cheap berkley ones. They at least have a chance of breaking off at the hinge when the cod bashes them against a rock. I broke a pair at the hinge dropping them on the ground.


----------



## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWRUneOsAACzfgAAQQIcACLEsUIA/79+gMAEVgiKehqaabSDQaNNAAIU9TYpoAAA0NNAam0Q0KbRTynohtIaeTUMVIe/mA6R5nzqECs4JgPiVsBLZDAFVI3XEDevARGkJIYrmEVlQD4GSgrTSbl4i/RMRUOSHA29gG2cECXjy0QkUJWc1f+KLOHwwZt7bL66KlUjqZt44Pms9+Oa2wppztnqg0uBuiiNvuihkhlfvFWEcS6FF7PR5Tk7qreS/4wvYYoqYmZqFs1JEfQOfqtooDCJMSAwRq9OKB7TGUucp6jvoqUulr3kqn3QygjPtgmIND7ULkKhVAH7dcDGUITiVcEMomMszXFMXAa3VQf4u5IpwoSAqTvHW


----------



## pescado (May 17, 2007)

That last photo is a cracker Nev!



paffoh said:


> Nice Cod Chris,
> 
> Unfortunately that fish is doomed, you wont make that mistake again.
> 
> Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard...


Paff, i know. Feel terrible. Always have made it a policy to have my hand through the lanyard for that very reason and the one time i dont look what bloody happens.

Josh, they were the berkley mini lip grips which werent all that great at gripping cod to start with. Yakside and a shake of a cods head was sometimes enough for them to disengage...so im hoping (really hoping) he was able to shake them.


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

Ahh, the fish a heaps better chance of survival. Thanks Berkley for having poor quality control.


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

Troll your lures ultra slow and maybe the hungry cod will take it, being unable to catch much of a feed the last few days with the grippers hanging out of it's mouth.
Am I the only one who feels good that at least with bait fishing the fish usually gets a nice reward for joining us for a nice photo?


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

Hijack-

Not with natives Scotty, they tend to suck bait down harder than they do with lures. Most natives caught on bait are gut hooked.

Nothing like Canberrans to turn a salt water fishing report into a cod thread.


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

Thanks for the info - I haven't got much experience with Natives. Sounds like they are hungry buggers.. maybe carry some bread with us when we go out and stick a hunk in their mouth when we release em? lol. teach them that if they take a lure they get a treat? haha. :lol:

Well it's nice to "chat" and not be bound by a subject. 

I chose to ignore those who told me I would have to post my bream in the off topic session since I wasn't technically on my kayak when I brought it in... ;-) 8)


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

The only people that said that *ahem* didn't catch a bream that big.


----------



## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

Nice Cod Chris.
He should be ok i reckon, those mini grips dont hang on too well, couple of good headshakes without a hand attached to the grippers would have shaken them free.
Did you find that launch spot at Durras ok?

Great Bream Scottie


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

whats a cod? :shock:


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

Short for Codger.
According to Webster:
an often mildly eccentric and usually elderly fellow

Google suggests it is most often used as an accronym for "Call of Duty" - the video game. 
Or "Chemical Oxygen Demand"


----------



## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

Davey G said:


> whats a cod? :shock:


It's often referred to as a vegetable and usually comes in pairs.

That's my experience anyway.


----------



## pescado (May 17, 2007)

craig450 said:


> Did you find that launch spot at Durras ok?


Yeah mate, had to stop on the main road a few times to get the right one. Good fun in the beast tho. Whiting were strangely quiet that afternoon??!! Some big tailor tho hammering into bait schools..


----------



## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWbJ6xy4AABVfgAAQcKWAGqyAkAoubf+gIABkRU96ptFP1J6mRtTI8Rqep6I9Qij0mmmTCDTRoAB6eGAupptaW9IqxXQ5tzhdz0Bz2pmRrD9ByEHsM5e93zqzjIXgUW2IKqJ+yVDCzrpLVjXjvg3p2S+xKOP1xI75Go5gYBhICEqRzkLuSKcKEhZPWOXA


----------



## Revo (Aug 3, 2008)

Davey G said:


> whats a cod? :shock:


(C)atch (o)f the (d)ay whenever caught during a fresh water session! 8)


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Oh, and for those who were wondering how the weekend's little friendly 'comp' (paddlers v pedallers) went, it was officially declared a tie.

Again..... :lol:


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

It was?
Did you guys actually count it all up?


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Yep it was a tie. These comps are ALWAYS ties.... ;-)

That gives us the excuse to go back again and have a REMATCH :twisted: :lol: :twisted:


----------



## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

Davey G said:


> That gives us the excuse to go back again and have a REMATCH :twisted: :lol: :twisted:


Im keen for a rematch anytime :lol: would love to do that same trip again asap 8)


----------



## Kevlar (Nov 7, 2008)

craig450 said:


> Davey G said:
> 
> 
> > That gives us the excuse to go back again and have a REMATCH :twisted: :lol: :twisted:
> ...


Yup, same same.


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

How about we organise an offshore trip? I've never been offshore with a group.


----------

