I was blessed with lovely flat calm conditions this time which was a welcome relief as its been windy as all hell of late which makes kayak fishing a real challenge!

The day started well, with my first hit (but sadly not a fish...) on a soft plastic. I've been watching a lot of videos from Pukka1963 on YouTube and he's been cleaning up of late with plastics, namely the Gulp 'grubs' so it it was defo worth giving them a go. After that encouraging initial hit, I was really expecting some more action on the plastics but it was actually the worms and Rapal Rap-V blades that once again produced all the fish. I'll defo be returning to soft plastics sometime soon but it's hard to ignore such a winning combo.

I had to work hard for every bite and didn't score anything of any massive size but what amazed me was the amount of fish around the edges rather than out in deeper water. It's hard to believe, but maybe the winter pattern is over?!

The weather was looking on point all week and although Friday was set to be sunny it was going to be pretty windy around mid morning. I haven't yet figured out how much the wind affects the fishing at Lake Kurwongbah asbwater temperature and current all play their part. But aside from that it can make keeping stationary in the kayak a complete nightmare! The main challenge is remembering the spot you got a bite from so you can revisit it for another go as if there's one bass, the chances are there'll be more hanging around. I'm wondering if some home made h-block markers are the go?!

So I decided to arrive early and make the most of the calm conditions and weirdly, I couldn't buy a bite! The water was like a mill pond, the sun low in the sky, it all looked perfect but either there weren't any bass around or they just weren't interested - which really surprised me as in past sessions they'd got onto the worms literally in minutes. It's situations like this that a sounder would be an invaluable bit of kit...

And then as if someone had flicked a switch.. the wind sprung up! A lot earlier than BOM had predicated too, before I knew it the kayak was spinning in circles and I was finding it impossible to stay put. Having done 20 minutes at 'Toga Point' I'd had enough so I headed on down to 'Stag Bay' thinking there had to be some fish there. Sure enough, I managed to pick two small ones up on the lure allowing it to sink almost to the bottom before retrieving. But what really surprised me was that there was absolutely no interest at all on the worms.

Again, I'm not sure if there weren't fish around, or my presentation was off but something was up. I wasn't even getting any interest from the dreaded eels! One thing was that the wind was blowing to the south east, whereas on previous weeks where the wind had go up it'd been to the north west. It certainly wasn't a cool wind, I was plenty warm in the sunshine but maybe the chop on the water and the current direction had pushed the fish into new areas?

I stuck it out for a while, letting the wind drift me from the bay out into open water, thinking that being stealthy would trick the fish but no further joy. It was weird, the lake was fishing completely differently and I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. After an hour of spinning in circles I headed around the corner further down the lake (still no name!) and tried the open water and despite picking up another small bass on the lure, I really wasn't 'feeling it'...

And by this point, I'm not going to lie, the wind was really, really beginning to piss me off!

It wasn't worth fighting it, so I let the wind blow me down the side of the lake towards the old boat ramp, casting as I went to see if anything was around. And then amazingly, I stumbled upon some decent fish! They seemed to be sitting in open water just outside a weed bed just off the point in front of the boat ramp and if I could get a lure in that spot, I could nab a bite. It wasn't easy as I needed to cast directly into the wind and constantly reposition the kayak but picking off some bites had completely turned my mood around. It was hard work but worth it for a couple of decent bass from a new area.

The bites did dry up, more than likely due to my splashing due to constantly having to reposition myself so a new plan was needed. I'd watched a video during the week from 'Skulldrag Industries' where a guy had great success fishing down by the dam wall and as it's an area that I'd not fished before, I decided it was worth a go. The other reason was I wondered if it would be out of the wind as despite it being a wide expanse of water, it would be sheltered by the curve of the lake and the trees.

But no dice - the wind was, if anything, worse by the dam wall! I gave it a go for a while but to be honest my heart really wasn't in it... I also realised that my kit wasn't up to the task, if I was going to stand a chance of catching a bass here I'd need something that swam a lot deeper or give trawling a go (which isn't really my thing...).

So another tough day... Rewarding, but tough. Winter bassing is a new challenge, I thought I'd cracked it with the worms but maybe I need to employ some different tactics or investment in a sounder to give me the edge in locating these Kurwongbah bass?!

Although the last session had been prolific with the worms, one hang up I had was the hook holds - the bass seemed to really swallow the hook resulting in some deep hooking and although I managed to get all the hooks out without any damage, it made me wonder if there was an alternative that would result in better hooking. After some searching, I remembered that 'drop shotting' was a perfect technique for predators but would it work for bass and would the hook holds be better?

I've used the drop shotting set up a couple of times in the UK for perch with limited success, the main problem being access - it never felt like I was fishing vertically enough for it to be effective. But in this scenario I was fishing from a kayak directly over fish - you can't get much more vertical than that!

There seems to be a load of different ways out there to set up the rig but I went for around a metre or so of fluorocarbon leader and a size 8 baitholder hook tied with the following knot:

The great thing about this knot is that it's incredibly easy to tie and makes sure that the hook sticks out at a 90 degree angle from the line. This gives the bait a fantastic presentation and pushes the hook away from the line meaning it's virtually tangle free.

But would the bass go for it?!

As todays session was going to be short (I was off on a motorcamping adventure later in the day and the weather was also set to turn around 12ish...) I wasted no time in heading straight up the lake to 'Toga Point' only this time, I was determined to fish further out in the deep water. The wind however had other ideas... I knew it was going to be windy this morning but far out, could I keep the kayak still for longer than 30 seconds?! It didn't matter how far out from the bank I paddled, within 2 casts I was literally meters away from the edge...

Not that it mattered as on the 3rd or so cast the drop shot worm rod hooped round and it was fish on! Amazingly, this one really took off and it was quite a tussle getting it in - but what a fish! And most importantly, hooked right on the lip - the plan had worked, the drop shot presentation resulted in a good hook hold and the bass were clearly on the worms like a shot.

I was convinced there'd be more fish around but finding the spot where I'd picked up the last one was a virtual impossibility... The wind was literally spinning me in circles. I did persevere and was rewarded with another bass, this time on the lure but after 20 minutes or so I'd had enough and it was time to move on.

My plan was to follow the same route as last time so I headed straight across the lake with the aim of drifting down the margin into 'Stag Bay'. Sadly on this occasion the wind literally hurled me along and after a minute or so's drift, I was in the bay and pretty much into the bank. Not ideal, but I stuck with it as it's such a perfect spot!

It was pretty quiet though, right up until the drop shot worm rod twitched and I struck into what I though was going to be another massive bass. So it was a real surprise when a huge eel surfaced next to the kayak! Far out, eels are amazing creatures but an absolute nightmare if you're not sure what to do with them - and this thing was a beast, I defo did not want it to end up in the kayak with me...

After a lot of messing around I managed to wear it out sufficiently to get a pair of forceps on the hook and free the slimy wriggling thing. Luckily for me, it was hooked very lightly on the lip (the drop shot rig really was working!) and after an incredibly powerful flick of it's tail, I got the hook out and it was on it's merry way. Not surprisingly, the rig was a complete mess: slime all up the leader, the hook mangled and split shot gone... So a fresh rig was tied and I set about trying to find the fish again.

I guess when fishing with worms there's always the risk of hooking an eel! Blugh, they are foul!

By this time the predicted weather had begun to close in and looking up the lake I could see a wall of water slowly marching towards me... I had a few more casts, doing my wrap up on the video just as the rain started and amazingly got a fish on the lure rod whilst I was talking! Only a small one, but it's always good to finish on a fish.

The rain hammered down but was short lived but the wind would just not let up. I spent another 20 minutes drifting down the central deep water and managed to pick up another couple of fish on the lure and on with the worms but by this point it was getting on to around 11am and I really needed to head for home if I was going to have enough time to get the bike together.

They say one decent fish can make a session and that first bass had certainly made my day - what a donkey! And I was made up that the drop shot rig had worked so well, despite the tough conditions.

I will be back this coming Friday (when the weather is supposed to be better!), armed again with a pot of worms, the 'elvis' v-blade and who knows... Maybe I'll find some more monsters?! But no eels thank you...

Since my last disastrous session I've been really putting the effort in researching how to catch bass during winter. The change is season definitely means the fish act differently but that doesn't mean they're completely uncatchable, it just means you've got to work harder for the bites. The first thing was a change in tactic, mainly no longer casting at the weed beads but heading to open, deeper water and 'jigging' rather than casting and retrieving. To be completely honest, jigging isn't really my thing... In addition, there's heavy reliance on a sounder to work out the depths and where the fish are and as I don't yet have a sounder, I needed to come up with an alternative method.

Which is when I started thinking about how I used to approach winter fishing in the UK. One of the main methods I'd employ was a 'sleeper rod' that could be out fishing whilst I was concentrating on another rod in a different area of the lake. It could be seen as lazy fishing but the idea of the 'sleeper rod' is to maximise your chances of picking up a fish whilst not actively fishing the rod, maybe targeting a quiet area of the lake and possibly using a different bait, in most cases a natural bait.

So I got to thinking, could I apply the same idea to fishing in Australia from the kayak?! The plan that I came up with was to have a 2nd rod rigged up with a very light sinker and smallish hook baiting with (wait for it...) worms. Yup worms. Seriously, there's not a fish that swims that won't take a worm and I had a hunch that the Australian Bass may well be partial to these wiggling delicacies and as luck would have it, we have a composting worm farm in our garden!

The other benefit of having the 2nd rod with a sinker was I could use it as my depth and fish finder: paying the line out slowly would give me an indication of the depth, once the weight hit the bottom of the lake I'd get an impression of what I was fishing over and if I was lucky to get a bite, it would also act as a fish finder.

But would it work?! I'm pleased to say the answer was a resounding yes!

I got to the lake earlyish around 7am and was greeted by a lovely warm sunrise and virtually no wind. Rather than spend any time in the usual spots at the foot of the lake, I decided to head up to 'toga point'. Due to the amount of weed here I decided only to fish the lure but after no signs of fish, I headed across the lake to work the tree line along to a small bay I've named 'Stag Bay' due to the massive stag I spotted in the water on my 2nd trip to the lake (it was a bit of a double take, I didn't quite believe what I was seeing...). And it was here I got my first bite of the session..

The conditions were perfect, virtually no wind, flat calm... I baited the sleeper rod with a bunch of worms and cast out, feeling the line to the bottom through my fingers. It was pretty deep and the sinker hit the deck with a good donk so I knew I wasn't in weed. I got to casting the lure around but I was only on my 3rd or so cast when I noticed the sleeper rod tip jangle and then hoop over - fish on!

Only a small one, but it was a start and it meant I'd avoided the dreaded blank. I stuck at the area for a while but with nothing to show after 20 minutes I pressed on down to the bay which amazingly produced another fish on the worm rod. After attempting to 'triangulate' my position I recast the worm rod and started chucking the lure in a wide circle to see if there were any more fish around. As the fish were clearly deep, my tactic was to cast, count to 10 and then retrieve, stopping occasionally to let the lure flutter down. If I didn't get a knock after a couple of casts, I'd have another go increasing the count to 20, 30 etc until I located fish...

And again, it worked! I got an absolutely clonking bass followed by a smaller one and a couple of aborted takes. Meanwhile the worm rod was still producing bites, I just had to keep one eye on the rod tip and the moment it started jangling or hooping over - strike! I was so happy the tactic was working, the bass were clearly loving the worms and picking up the bonus couple of fish on the lure was keeping me more than busy.

After an hour or so the bites dried up so I moved on to the next bay around the point (no name yet!) and again, the worm rod produced another small bass after a couple of casts and I also managed to pick up another on the lure. This spot was proving tricky through as the weed beds extended out into the lake a lot further than I figured and due to the wind picking up the worm rod kept getting snagged...

So I decided to give Kangaroo Point a quick go, mainly to see if I could prove/disprove that the fish had indeed all moved into deeper water. After 20 minutes or so of casting around I found out two things: the water was very shallow, probably under half as deep as everywhere else I'd been getting bites and there were indeed no fish (well, that I could find!). So point proven, I headed back into open water again.

Time was marching on by now and with only an hour or so on the clock I decided to head back to Stag Bay to see if the bass had drifted back in and sure enough, I picked up the last fish of the session on the 3rd or so cast on the worm rod. I had a bit of a cast around but with the breeze getting up (as always seems to happen in the afternoons at Kurwongbah) it was making keeping position and casting difficult so having filled my boots, I decided to beat for home.

So a surprisingly good day on the water! It was a bit of a result the 'sleeper-worm-rod' had done as well as it had, I wouldn't have caught as many as I did without it and thanks to it's fish and depth finding abilities I learned even more about the lake. It's a stunning bit of water, I'm really enjoying exploring it and can't wait for the coming months as from what I've been told, it's prime bass fishing time. Bring it on!

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.