Even though I got to the lake at 7.30am it was already pretty busy by weekday standards - I spied 2 kayaks up by the first point who were already casting around. So I wasted no time, got on the water and leapfrogged them round to my first spot of the day, 'Red Kayak Bay'. In the last two sessions this produced fish for both myself and Peter from PTPFishing but today there were no takers... In fact, I didn't get a single hit in the fist 3 spots I tried which was pretty surprising... Maybe today wasn't going to be my day after all?!

It wasn't until the 4th spot some way up the lake that I got my first and very welcome hit. Its a new area that I'd tried on my previous session and although it was only a small bass, it was encouraging and woke me up!

But it was the next spot, the first point you come to after the rowing buoys that bisect the lake, that things really kicked off. I had a massive bass (the thumbnail for the YouTube video), followed by a couple of smaller ones and then a surprise Saratoga!

I'd heard of these fish but never seen one and far out, they are a strange beast... Almost prehistoric in appearance, incredibly sinuous and powerful it gave me an excellent fight over the weed beds and it was a real challenge to get it in the net. But the real challenge was getting it held up for the cameras! it was so wiggly, strong and slippery and after a couple of failed attempts it slipped from my hands and disappeared back into the water before I could get a decent picture... So it was amazing to catch one but I'm going to have to catch another one so I can get a trophy shot.

And then from nowhere the weather turned! It'd been beautifully sunny and calm but then a huge cloud rolled in, the wind got up and it absolutely chucked it down. The fishing continued to be good, with both 'Fence Bay' and 'Kangaroo Point' producing fish after fish, nothing massive but loads of fun.

By the time I headed out of the last spot, the weather had got pretty grim and a strong wind was blowing up the lake. Although I was tempted to stick it out for another hour I decided to err on the side of caution and head for home and I was glad I did. It got pretty hairy at the last point before the launching station, with waves splashing over the bow of kayak and the boat filling up with water... But I made it back without capsizing, so it all ended well.

So another amazing day on the water at Lake Kurwongbah! I'd filled my boots, probably the most bass I've caught in any session and that bonus Saratoga was just amazing. Can't wait to come back.

If it was chilly out last time it was bloody freezing today! The car thermometer didn't register above 5 degrees on the drive out and there was lots of mist in the fields around the lake. But by the time I hit the water around 7ish the sun was just poking over the trees and warming things up - it was looking like another stunning morning on the water.

The plan for today was to try a few spots around the landing stage and then head up the lake. There were some distinct 'hot spots' on the last session ('Fence Bay' and 'Kanagroo Point' being the main ones) and I'd already decided to maximise my chances by heading there earlish in the day. If they proved to be as prolific as before, it would be a shame to arrive there late and have to beat for home when the fish were biting...

So I spent only 10 minutes casting at the landing stage before heading around the corner to the first spot, a great looking margin at the bottom of someone's garden! With no sounder, I had to rely on memory and experimentation to find the edges of the weedbeds and this was where a bit of prior knowledge really helped me out. So it was amazing when on my 2nd cast I received an absolutely banging hit on the lure - this one tore off, desperately trying to get into the weed and spinning me around in the kayak. But a good tussle latter and it was in the net, what a fish and what a cracking start!

That bay produced another smaller fish but after another 10 minutes of casting it was time to move on, this time to 'Nursery Bay'. This spot was occupied by 3 kayaks last time so I was keen to give it a go. Sure enough, I got a hit after the first couple of casts and landed a number of small bass.

Time to move on again, this time going straight across the water, over the 'rowing highway' and further up the lake. I tried a couple of spots along the way but was having a hard time finding any clear areas so kept paddling up as far as 'Fence Bay'. I had high hopes for this spot and was rewarded by an clonking take on the 2nd or 3rd cast into the bay. But this time, it wasn't meant to be and despite connecting with the fish, it somehow dropped the hook... I kept at it though and managed to pick off a number of fish, all reasonably small but I didn't mind - I was having such a good time!

Having exhausted that spot it was onwards and upwards to 'Kangaroo Point'. This was probably the spot I was most excited about as it had resulted in my largest fish to date, a 38cm beast that sadly I didn't manage to get a trophy shot of. Cruising into the bay it looked absolutely perfect, virtually no wind, not a lot of drift, gin clear water... Cast one and... BANG! That quick?! I couldn't quite believe it, the fish clearly love this part of lake. I managed a good 4 or so fish and a couple of missed runs before I decided to move on. Again, no monsters - the larger fish were illuding me this time around...

As it was close, I decided to give the opposite bay a go on my way back down the lake and was pleasantly surprised by another bass on the first cast and a couple of missed runs. I was equally surprised by the absolutely huge stag complete with massive antlers that was standing in the water! To be honest, I thought I was imaging it, a case of too much sun out on the water but when it moved off into the bushes I realised it was actually real.

It was getting later in the day now so I headed back across the lake and tried a couple of new spots on my way back to the landing stage and again was rewarded with a number of small bass. In terms of fish, the session had been incredibly prolific - but apart from that first fish, I just couldn't seem to find any big ones...

So I have the perfect excuse for another trip! After so many hard sessions at Enoggera Reservoir it really is a blast to hit a water and get so many bites, I think Lake Kurwongbah may become my new venue of choice for quite a while now.

I've heard a lot about Lake Kurwongbah both from Peter, on YouTube and in various tackle shops around Brisbane and from what people were saying, it's probably one of the best stocked water ways in South East Queensland. As its now winter the fish might be a bit more shoaled up and potentially sitting in deeper water but it was defo worth a go.

We met up around 6.30am at Mick Hanfling Park which is the only place you can launch a kayak from on the lake and set out on the water. The first thing I learnt was that my usual tactic of casting to cover was not going to work here as there was a lot of weed stretching right from the edges to maybe 20 or so metres out into the lake - casting into that would result in an instant snag! So after a bit of a look at Peters sounder and some advice on where to cast I got to throwing a Rapala Rap-V Blade around the launching area.

So the approach with this lake was to cast towards the edges until you find the edge of the weed, mark that spot in your mind and cast again. The fish love to sit just off the edge of the weed and in the towers of weed off the main weed beds and if you can get your lure 'plucking' through the clear spots you were in with a good chance of getting a hook up.

I was trying to get my head around this new tactic when I glanced around to spot that Peter was already into his first fish! In fact, he managed three before we'd even left the launching area... Me? I was still getting snagged in weed - there was clearly going to be a learning curve to getting my first bite at Lake Kurwongbah​!

But luckily I didn't have to wait long. We headed around the corner and got to casting at a new spot and bang - my first fish was on! Sadly, it was tiny...

Ah well, the first one is always a welcome blank saver and it had taught me a thing or two about where to cast. Not surprisingly, Peter was already on fish and managed to pick off a couple more before we moved on, including this beast.

The next spot was 'Nursery Bay', so called as Peter mentioned it was generally full of small fish. However as we nosed around the corner we spotted 3 kayaks already patrolling the area so we decided to head across the water and head up the lake. This involved crossing the line of buoys which marked the line that rowers use up and down the lake - it's almost a highway and as there were a couple of craft heading up the lake we had to politely let them pass. This was already turning out to be a very different experience to fishing Enoggera, kayakers have to give way to all other water craft and stick to the edges.

As we got to the next point Peter disappeared off to the bankside to answer a call of nature and I decided to have a cast around towards the centre of the lake, drawing my lure towards the weed bed I was sat above and on the 3rd chuck... BANG, I got an absolutely savage take!

This fish really knew what it was doing and immediately dived for the weed bed, but luckily I'd managed to get it high in the water and although it was a tricky tussle I managed to get the line free, the fish into open water and finally into the net. What a cracking hit and fight, these bass really do go, so much fun on light spinning gear. I don't have a fishing ruler as yet, but I'd give it a good 25cm ish which was a new personal best for me.

Rounding the corner we started working the next bay and got several more bites before the wind picked up and we decided to head up the lake. There definitely seemed to be a concentration of smaller bass around and Peter was keen to head to the top end which is quieter and seems to hold the bigger specimens. I have to say, he was really showing me up, catching fish after fish and some decent ones at that. But watching where he was casting and taking on the advice offered really helped me out and I was slowly beginning to build up a good bag of fish - it's amazing having a guide on a new water!

It wasn't until we got to a bay that I've named 'Kangaroo Point' (due to spotting a load of roos hanging around!) that I finally got my chance at a better fish. We'd had a few experimental casts and I'd managed to find the edge of the weed bed when I got my first hit. That was only a small fish but it was a good sign there were others around so I cast to the same spot and seconds after starting winding I received an absolutely explosive hit! This thing tore off, dragging the kayak in circles and leading me a merry dance in the weed towers. How it didn't get snagged I'll never know but after a decent battle the fish finally slipped into the net and it was a beast. My biggest bass to date, it went 38cm on Peters fishing ruler which was just an amazing result.

The only bugger was that in the excitement of catching it, then transferring it to Peters net so he could tag it, we slipped it back before I could get a trophy shot! Far out... Ah well, you'll just have to take my word for it... But either way, I was over the moon and having one of the best fishing sessions I've had in a long long time.

By now time was matching on and having spent a good 5 or so hours on the water we decided to start making our way back to the launching area, stopping off at a few 'hot spots' on the way. I managed to pick off another couple of bass, as did Peter which meant between us I reckon we'd had a good 20 or so fish throughout the course of the session with at least 5 of them being over 30cm.

So another excellent day on the water. I'm indebted to Peter for joining me, his wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm is amazing and it was incredibly generous of him to show me the ropes and share some of his 'hot spots' at Lake Kurwongbah. If you haven't already, check out his channel on YouTube and if you're planning a trip to Lake Kurwongbah definitely watch his PTP Fishing - Redemption - Lake Kurwongbah video:​

I will be back... very, very soon!

Todays session was a complete rerun of last week minus the gale force winds! I hit the water at the same time, around 8ish, investigated the same spots and caught one fish from the exact same spot as last week. I didn't get a knock or a tap anywhere else, it's almost as if all the fish apart from this one lonely bass have been removed from the reservoir...

As it was I was relying on the spot in question to come up with the goods, I'd say it's been the only reliable banker spot on the entire water since I started fishing at Enoggera. I'd had a couple of experimental casts and received what felt like a gentle hit on the retrieve. I stuck with it, finally changing lure colour and position and then got an absolute winner of a cast right on the edge of the lily pads...

And sure enough off it went! Not a big fish but a fish to save me from the dreaded blank. I'm not sure what's going on at the moment but Enoggera Reservoir is fishing hard... One fish does make a session I guess but it's not a lot to show for 3 or so hours worth of casting, especially when you know that there's a lot of fish in there.

Maybe its winter, maybe its the weather, maybe its the water clarity (we haven't had a huge amount of rain but the water level is up and there's a brown tinge to it...) but it might be a good time to put the bass fishing on hold for a couple of weeks and investigate some sea fishing... Watch this space!

And guess what? It was windy as all hell... Seriously, white tipped waves, the kayak being hurled around all over the place, casting virtually impossible and to top it all it was bloody freezing! Why oh why did I listen to the forecast?! Although I enjoyed my session Bream bashing at Nudgee yesterday the conditions would've been perfect for lure fishing on the res!

Although it was difficult I did manage one bass from a spot that rarely lets me down. I somehow managed a perfect cast, right on the edge of the lilies and as I muttered 'that cast deserves a fish' off it went. As normal no monster (there are some in Enoggera but they're few are far between) but as it was a blank saver, I wasn't complaining.

I spent 3 hours in total bobbing around before I called it - the wind was kinda ruining things for me so I headed home and wrote some blog posts! Not a bad way to start the weekend?!