stokecarper12

I'll give you a phone, can't seem to get texting working any more. The boat sounds great. I have not fished for the last 4 weeks. I went and had a look at a new river and big lake today. Not sure if they will be any good. Found out about a stretch of river locallish which has done fish 15lbs + so i am going to have a go at that when i find sometime. I'll send you my number in the pm mail.

Wow thats is a big kipper. Can you send some of them carp to my neck of the woods please.

I fished sunday 6 th march, the day was warm and overcast. After 3 days of cooler weather. The were just not playing ball this day. I tired every trick even using a suspender floater rig, but the fish were spooking on the bait and keeping well out into the lake. I fished well after 10 and touch legered on one rod and managed 14 fish and losing 7. A bit frustrating as i did not get back this weekend, due to to much work. I am going to give this lake and other ones a break for now and go back on the rivers for a few months. Where hopefully i can catch abig carp before the winter comes and the carp seem to move off. Time to get my bait rockets and banksticks and fox chair back out. I might even use buzzers again. tight lines andy

I was going to post some of this 3 sundays a go, but i have just not had the time to get on the computer and get my catches down. Sunday 27th February, i landed 24 carp to 9.1lbs, but lost 11 fish, which one was defenitly a decent double. I had many pulls and dropped bites on the float. In all i fished 5 areas and use many methods from popping up floaters off the lead; which accounted for a few fish. Drifting baits out to the fish. After feeding in floaters for a few hours. The fish were alot more wise to the float and the methods on this visit. It took them along time and alot of feeding to get the fish confidence enough to feed hard on the bait. The best fish of the day was the first fish on the first cast with no other bait in. The fish are a good average for what i have caught recently with quite a few fish in the 7 to 8lbs bracket. This day was very overcast and it had rained for 2 days before this brining more water and colour into the lake, which can pull more carp in certain areas. Carp 9.1lbs the best of the day A small but pretty mirror, shame about the flash ruining the photograph.

Defentily a fish that could put a bit more wait on. Defenitly a big [censored] though as you say. I have been up tonight to put a few kilos in and some other stuff. I saw some fish a round, one nice fish, hopefully get on, on the weekend. I would say now that fish i have seen earlier, in another pond near here would go mid twenty. The only problem is it is quite a big sheet of water and full of sedge and reed and can only be accessed for a quarter of the bank or less. Makes life very tricky, I cannot take a boat on here either. andrew

Cracked it today well had a new personal best over here. I only fished 5 hours today, in some of the windiest conditons i9 have fished in over here for a while. After a week of tropical weather, rain yesterday and wacking winds; gets the fish stirred up. I had no bites from the first area i fished and then moved and covered two spots with two rods. I did not really see any carp today, due to the gusts of wind hacking across the lakes. I had a fish of 8.6lbs first up and then a few smaller fish on the other rod. I could not really get many bites on the float rod, but for less fish meant more quality today. I managed by continual feeding and drifting bread out to get a few more carp. A round the 6 to 7lbs mark. I followed this up with a 10.1lbs, the first double from this water. I had few smaller fish on the other rod and a few double hook ups at the same time always fun to try and play two fish and land them. I then hooked a decent double and saw in with in a rods length out as it drifted a cross the surface the hook then pinged out aas it made a run to the sedges. I then proceed to lose another good fish as the line caught a round some floating sedges in the water the rod doubled over the line sang out and the hook came out. At 8.00p.m i hooked a good fish which proceed to tank out into the next bay. I managed to coke it back a few times and had it over the net at one stage it would not go in and slowly waddled back a way. I did not want to lose this fish as i had seen it. I had been having problems with my net the arms had bend with lifting alot of fish out recently. With a few more heart in mouth moments i got the fish in. It was long and had a good gut on it it went 16.13lbs on the scales a best for australia for me. I ended the session with 20 fish and 4 lost. for 5 hours, which is one of my best catches for time wise put in. enough said great day and the first big fish for 400 odd fish over the last year or so. tight lines andy

Thanks for the offer. If i need a new one i will take you up on it. I use a aqua unhooking mat, it is big enough for fish to 30lbs or so. so i should have no problems over here as finding a double is hard enough. I bought 2 big mats with the intention of using them for when i go big eel fishing. I just have not got round to that yet.

I do own an unhooking mat, have done for the last 20 years in fact. The fish i put down in the net and on top of a wet sack and thick cushioning grass. The fish are in good nick when i put them back. The grass is from the carp rolling quick, when i was trying hold it and unhook it. I took the photo quick, so the fish could go back quick. Enough said thanks for the offer. I walk 25 minutes to this area and i cut down all my gear, soft grass is and has always been good as well as a wet sack, weigh sling and net. You should see what the peligan does to fish of 4lbs, never mind the commorants. I do take on board, what you are saying, fish welfare is top for me.

Fished this afternoon, at new pond and at an old haunt. The first pond i tried is where i had fished a bit over the winter. I had seen some good fish in this bay this time last year. So i fished it today, the fish were quite wary and i had to chuck the float along way to get any kind of bite. I fed particles and other things close in amnd managed to get some carp feeding. I managed a few carp on the float and lost a few. The first fish i hooked at range bent the rod over and headed for the sedges, i stopped the fish, it made one final run, towards the sedges and the line parted. I had checked the line before i started i can only presume the line ran across something under the water. As there alot of rocks in this particular area of the lake. There was quite a few carp a round later, sucking the sedges drifting in and out. As well as sucking insects off the surface. I saw a good fish leap out of the water, i put a float over it and waited, but nothing materialised. I managed 7 fish from this area, but alot of the fish were further out in the reeds and sedges. Beyond what i would land a fish if i put a bait in. Later on i moved to a new lake i fished last week. There i caught 11 fish to 7lbs and lost a few. The average size on this area is good, so i am hopeful of a bigger fish. Defenitly need to get back on the rivers, sometime soon to find a big double. For now thats it

Hi I would say if you are shipping your gear over. I would personally bring your nets in secure rod tubes on the plane. When i sent my gear over 2 years or so both of my nets were lost for 3 months in a quaratine department and my fox landing pole was never found. Insure everything and iti9mised everything single expensive bit of equipment you have. As if your gear does go missing insurance companies can be really hard to get the money back off. I would say you could make your own baits or source ingredients, good enough to attract carp over here or just use maize, cheap and simple. Biggest problem over here is finding the bigger fish and good areas to fish on the rivers. As many rivers are super snaggy and need a boat to tackle them. That said the carping is really un explored and there could be some really big carp out there. It just takes a lot more graft than english carping to find areas with better fish in.

Carp 8.8lbs on the float a rod length out in 3 feet of water. Carp 9.1lbs the biggest of the day and one of the longest carp i have had for it's size.

Hello to everyone, As normal i will say i have not fished for a good while, 5 weeks to be exact. I went out sunday on a new lake i have been looking at for the last few months. I had baited other areas on the lake and had seen carp feeding on the bait. For the first few hours i fed a line of floating bed down on the wind towards the far bank into the sedges. Fish were coming up and investigating some of the bread, but not lots of it. I put floatant on the line and fished bread straight on the hook. On the top and underneath a bubble float. I could not really buy a bite on this set up. A couple of carp came up and nudged the bait, but not with great zest. I then tried feeding 2 areas with maize and other seed baits and float fishing over the top. I had bits after a while, but i just could not hit them. I bought the float further up in the water so the bait was just on the bottom. The presentation was hard, as a strong wind was blowing straight into my face. Over the next 2 hours i managed to hook 7 fish and lose 4 of them. With the hook pulling and on one ocassion; the carp dropping the hook into the reeds. After keeping the bait going in and feeding another area. I changed the float to a leger rod, with a 1/4 o.z leger on. To just hold bottom. On the other area i float fished about a bout 6inches on the bottom. I managed to get the fish going and started to mount fish up. It was bit like match fishing. In the end i managed 36 fish with the biggest going 9.1lbs, 8.8lbs, 8.7lbs and a few a round 7lbs. The stamp of fish was a good average and i hoping this lake will produce a bigger fish. I saw a fish roll last week when baiting up and it looked a big fish. Fingers crossed, hopefully one will come along. I have been looking at a new river, but i have not got a round to putting bait or having a go yet.

fished wedensday night a new lake. I managed to put 2 sets of tackle in a close in bow. So i had to go in for them. I saw a few carp a round. A lot of carp out to where i cannot get any bait to at the moment. I thought i had found a 40lbs carp. Until the carp came nearer and it was a pod of carp at least 10 smaller carp. I put a few kilos of mix bait and hopefully will get a few afternoons to nights this week, fingers crossed. A picture newyears afternoon or sunset after a big fish.

Not fished for the last 2 weeks, due to work and things. I went the end of last week and fished a lake i have not fished for a good while. I fished afternoon to dark and landed 15 fish to 7lbs with most fish under 4lbs. I lost 2 fish in the reeds and 1 at the net, with 3 fish lost on the initial hook up. A good nights fishing really. I fished sunday on an area of river, i caught well from the week before christmas. I fished late afternoon until afternoon for not a knock. I saw 1 small fish come in the swim to take some flies, only a bout a pound or so. The only fish i really saw were way down steam where the sedge type weed, has really grown up in the last 2 weeks. The water level was the lowest i have seen for a good while. So defentily time to find other areas of river to fish. The only trouble been trieing to gain access to these areas. What are the rules on going to peoples land over here. I had heard you could walk down the river from above and fish the river. As you have access rights to 2 metres back from the river. Or something to that effect, does any one know? Or could shed any light on this.

I would defentily go the shimano gt baitrunner the new or older models. The double handled ones been the better reels. More ball bearings etc. You can pick up quite cheap older ones from ebay. I bought 2 8010 gt shimano baitrunners, to bring over to ozz and they are still lasting well. The bigger size gives you more scope for casting or putting heavier line on for those snaggier rivers. Mitchells are great reels, i still have a few, good reliable reels are quite easy to get nowadays. Anything from shakespeare, shimano is a good way to go.

I came past there today at 1.00p.m or so, but kept going. I will try and get down to you. HAVE ago from or go to the road side up to where the sedges are. Fish a rod to the sedges and keep putting the maize in you should catch well off there. I did 26 fish there earlier in the year. Defenitly more cover close in is the key on there. I am work tomorrow afternoon i might come up for a walk in the moring if you are defentily on. let me know and where you might be cheers andy

I am or in melbourne over christmas or until boxing day early. If i get back in time i will go have a go on a lake i have been fishing local. It is not a sit behind bed chair lake, more on a walk with rods an d a bit of tackle and bait in a bag. See what your plans are may be a day on gutheridge would be good or the river, lets us know. andy

Some fish take off the top. On this particular area it is hard to get them going. I regularly feed bread and mixers down stream and follow it down to see if anything takes. I am looking at having a go at two of the lakes the rivers feed into. The only trouble is they are massive. Defenitly bigger fish in the river, i have heard of carp to 24lbs off a good source. Just there is alot of river and many inacessible areas. I am just trying to find some quieter areas the boats are a bit of problem at the moment. Fishing nights would be the answer, but at the moment that is not possible. I have seen some eels a round the last few weeks, so i might have a go for them. I have been reading tony davis patrick book, tonight on when he fished in Australia, for some ideas. There is on some more detailed maps quiet a few reservoirs up from sale terralgon way, they could hold some good fish. So many peices of water and not enough time to fish. The story of a fishermans life. At least i am still catching, just need to try and land more. tight lines andy

I fished last weekend on the saturday. I spent from first light driving a round looking for areas to fish on the various rivers i am looking at, at the moment. Access is a real issue as some quiet areas of the main roads either have no features or are so reed and sedge lined so far out. You just cannot get into the water to fish the area. One of the rivers was upm and looked more like drinking chocolate, which i did not fancy. One area i had looked at a few months a go, which i really fancied has now been bollared off. So there is no parking near it and you are not allowed to park any where near walking distance to it. i settled on an area further up stream, which was actually 3 to 4 feet from the week before. The area was or looked good on the far margin as there was alot of overhanging trees and a small weed bed and 6 feet of water. With there been 8 feet of water in the middle, with quite a muddy bottom. The margins there was old stumps, a sedge bed and a overhanging tree. I float fished on the bottom, lying on the bottom by a foot. I fed maize, mashed bread and seeds and fished bread and sweetcorn on the hook. I bait rocketed maize over to the far margin a bout a kilo or so. + legered maize over the top. For the first 5 hours i had, had 1 bite on the leger rod and saw a few small carp top out. Towards 5p.m some carp moved in and i started to get bites on the leger rod. I got plagued by false bites and lifts on the float. Some which i missed on the strike. It was just one of those frustrating days, when things don't really come together. I managed 10 carp to 4lbs and lost 7 carp and missed a million false bites. The only fish to raise my spirits a nice mirror a rarity. I did not fish sunday afternoon as planned today i went and took the map and we3nt and had a look a round various areas a round the river up and down stream. To try and find some new areas to fish to catch that elusive twenty. For now tight lines

CARP from saturday 8.12lbs Carp 9.8lbs Not the best of photos low light and the flash kicked in.

I have fished two days this weekend, with both been afternoon to towards dark. Today i fished the river near to where i fished last weekend. The conditons were pretty6 good with and air tempreture a round 25.oc and quite overcast, but with a good gusty wind. This really made presentation with the float very difficult. So i ended fishing float leger on the bottom. With the rain this week thew river was up at least a meter or so. The wind was in the total opposite direction to last week, which made putiing floaters out hard and really i could not get the freebies out to where i wanted them to attract fish in. One this rod i had a few lifts on the float, but nothing really to strike at. On the leger i sat for 5 hours, with only a few tremours on the rod tip. I then a small a mount of fish ain a half hour spell. With 4 fished landed the biggest going 3 lbs and lost 2 fish to hook pulls. Which were the better fish of the day. Saturday i fished where i had been fishing over the winter i had baited areas in the week and fed out floaters. With a good wind blowing from behind me out into the lake. I manged to present floaters on the top and under the float as well as float fish on the bottom. I fished until dark and had the best days carping in terms of numbers over here. landing 37 carp to 9.8lbs, with quite a lot of fish in the 5 to 7lbs bracket. I also lost 13 fish, through hook pulls trieing to hold fish off the sedges and 1 fish getting the other side of a reed bed and getting stuck. I think unless i fish a lake stuffed to the hilt with carp this number of carp will take some beating as really i did not stop putting bait out and changing presentation like a matchman for 8 hours. So today i have a very stiff back and an aching right arm. As the carp really fought hard and did not want to get landed. The fish wer in good condition. I bettered my personal; best off that water to 8.12lbs and then 9.8lbs. I am still hoping for a double off there or a twenty. At the end of tonight i had a decent carp on the river head and shoulder over my legered baits. I put bait out and sat there, but the fish moved up stream. I would have put floaters to it, but the wind was to strong coming into my bank.

Maggots should be a mega bait over here. Can you buy them at the tackle shops then? I guess like back in the u.k sometimes you need to feed alot of maggots in to get the fish on them.

Carp 10lbs other side Carp 10.7lbs on the float Fully scaled off the river

Fished today the first day all week with no rain or thunder. The tempreture has been up the last 3 days over 30. So 22 to 24 and overcast and a good wind was great feeding conditions today. I fished a new area and river today and finally after getting through the under growth i found a decent swim i had looked at few months a go. I legered down a margin into 6 feet of water near to overhanging trees and a good weed bed out from the margins. The other rod i float legered and fish up in the water. After feeding out floaters. I did not fish to dark as really, i had had enough and really the small fish had moved in and i can always fish it again. Finally after a lot of months and a 100 + carp or more i managed a double today. Well 2 at 10.0lbs and 10.7lbs, so i am hoping that i have found some bigger fish finally. I also managed a fully scaled off the river the first i have had off a river not massive, but makes a change from a common. I think today will take some beating for a while in all i landed 16 fish to 10.7lbs, with thew bulk of the fish been a pound to 4lbs mark. I pulled out of 7 fish with 3 fish running me right across the river, i saw fish they were 6 to 7lbs. 10.0lbs carp on the leger

Not fished much other than last weekend i managed dinner time to dark on a new stretch of river. I fished a beautiful classic looking swim under a big old eucalyptis tree and float fished the other rod to an overhanging tree. The river had quiet a bit of water and push on it. So bigger leads were the order of the day. The first i fished i managed 1 bite on the float and a bang round on the leger rod, which led to nothing. I saw one fish crash way out into the river and another fish head shoulder in margins right by my float. I tried another swim further up and float fished in 7 feet of water. The other rod i covered the far margin with even a 2.oz bomb, i was struggling to hold the bottom. I cast out and bounced the bait under a tree canopy, which looked a banker for a bite; but nothing happend. Other than a massive thunder storm, the worst mosquitos i have known for ages and seeing a snake zig zag across the river and into the reeds under my rods. To top the day off after getting a hard cast under the trees a boat came along with a water ski guy on the back at 2 million kms a hour, which [censored]ed any chance of fishing. I am not running back to this stretch of river quite yet as you can gather.