Fish of course! Despite feeling like absolute garbage when I woke up at 5am on Friday there was absolutely no question - I've been stuck at home for the best part of two weeks, I need some outside time, I need to go fishing.

Kurwongbah was the easy choice, I really needed a water way that didn't require a lot of brain power (I was experiencing the COVID fog...) and to be completely honest, everywhere is fishing so badly at the moment it seemed kinda pointless to put myself through a long drive somewhere new.

Despite BOM's prediction of 'light winds by mid morning' it was freezing cold and blowing a gale when I arrived at the late. Another bloody kick in the pants, I've literally been up every morning this week gazing at clear blue skies and completely still trees... But hey, what can you do?!

As with all the sessions over the last couple of months, it was incredibly tough going. The weed has receded a lot from it's absolutely crazy takeover but there's still a lot about which makes finding fishable water a challenge. I kept a keen eye on the sounder but it didn't reveal any fish until I got much further up the lake. Not surprisingly, the windy conditions weren't really ideal for worm fishing and the 5 bass I managed to scrape were all caught on the gangbanger g2 or the Rapala Rap-V Blade 'Halloween'. I only had one fish on the worms, an absolutely blistering take completely out of the blue along the bay near the dam wall.

I decided to call it a day around 2pm feeling pretty sorry for myself - 5 fish from around 6 hours of fishing is a pretty poor result! But it does give you an idea just how tough it is at the moment... And despite the wind it was glorious to be out on the water, it really lifted my spirits after the misery of the last month.

But I'm home now, still testing positive for COVID, still feeling like crap, still can't talk... Good golly, I hope this is over soon!

It might not seem like much but it's a significant change which might improve the fishing. Things have been crazy tough since the relentless rain pushed the water levels up to spilling point and that coupled with insanely quick weed growth has severely impacted the bass fishing.

The other bit of interesting news was an alert from SEQ Water about aquatic weed management. This is really welcome as after the weed explosion about a month ago it's been pretty much out of control making some really productive areas virtually unfishable. The treatment is taking place for 3 days between the 23rd and 25th of May 2024 which rules out fishing for this week.

So who knows, maybe things will improve on the fishing front? Looking back over my blog posts and videos I'm coming up on the first anniversary of fishing at Lake Kurwongbah and so much has changed in that time. I had some amazing sessions through June and July last year so fingers crossed I can bag some decent quality bass before the winter pattern well and truly kicks in. Watch this space!

As you'll have seen from most of my blog posts and videos my main lure of choice has been the excellent Rapala Rap-V blade which has served me well at both Lake Kurwongbah and Enoggera Reservoir. But on recent sessions I had a feeling it wasn't getting down deep enough to where the fish were sitting. After a chat to the chaps at BCF about deep water fishing for bass, they suggested a much heavier lure in the form of the amusingly named 'Gangbanger G2', to be specific the 'Hot Bite Gangbanger G2 Jig Lure 20g Lickety Split'.​

Far out, this thing looks weird! But according to the blurb, it's:

• Ideal for fishing in impoundments
• Mimics a Bony Bream with its unique swimming action
• Rear weighted to improve casting distance and balance
• Bottom treble hook and top twin assist hooks to dig in
• Ideal for slow retrieve

All of those criteria matched exactly what I was after: according to the sounder, the fish were shoaled up in deeper open water and if I was going to have a chance in catching them I needed to get something down in front of them that had a slow enough retrieve that it had time to grab their attention.

A quick visit to Jason Ehrlich's YouTube channel to watch the aptly named 'How to use Gang Banger G2 Spoons to Catch Bass' and I was good to go.

As usual, it was a slow start... The lake was very calm with only one other kayaker on the water but it wasn't until I reached 'Toga Point' that I eventually found a group of fish. A worm bite quickly came and then out of the blue, I hooked a fish on the new lure! That was a bit of a result, both fish were smallish but it was a start.

And then the dreaded Kurwongbah wind got up... Pretty soon, there were white tips and ripples galore on the water which made keeping in the same spot virtually impossible. To add to my frustration, I somehow managed to completely lose sight of one of the H-Blocks I'd thrown out to mark my spot. It took me what seemed like an age to find it and if it hadn't have been for the eagles hovering and swooping on it I think I'd still be out there looking for it...

So I decided to move on up the lake and see if I could find a calm spot. The weed in 'Shed Bay' is still crazy thick and although some of the weed has receded in 'Kangaroo Point', both spots are still virtually unfishable. So I opted to head straight for the only reliable spot I've had in recent weeks, the margin towards the entrance to 'Motorsport Bay'. It wasn't easy, but I managed a couple of fish, two on the worms and another on the new lure. Again, pretty small but it was fish in the kayak which cheered me up.

And then from nowhere the wind got worse and dark clouds started to roll down the lake... Rain?! It wasn't forecast but then again, neither was the wind! It was time to beat a hasty retreet for home but luckily for me I spied a big group of fish just off the point at 'kangaroo Point' on my way and decided to have a few casts, keeping the lure close to the kayak and letting it rise and fall on the retrieve and... bang! Fish of the session! I've not got a measuring tape on the paddle at the moment, but I gave it a guesstimation of around 38cm. A top quality winter bass to wrap the day up.

By the time I got back to the launching area it was blowing a gale and I was soaked from a rain shower - but I'd caught fish in tough conditions using a new lure which put a big 'ol smile on my face! Fingers crossed the weather will hold for next week and I can give it another go.

I guess it's a combination of the terrible weather we've been having since Christmas in Southeast Queensland followed by the recent drop in temperature as we've begun moving into winter. Either way, the edge bites have pretty much dried up and that can mean only one thing: worms! Last year they proved to be an absolute blank saver and this year appears to be no different.

As today wasn't going to be a long session I headed straight up the lake to 'motorsport bay', pretty much the only location on the lake I've had semi consistent action in the last couple of sessions. There seems to be a channel in the weed that's been carved out by the ski boats and although it's only around 10 metres long and 3 metres wide, the fish seem to be happy to school up there.

This is were the sounder is an invaluable bit of kit as it allows you to 'see' were the weed starts and finishes along with showing the schools of fish. It didn't take long to find them, hugging the bottom in around 10 metres of water and true to form them were on the worms in seconds. The takes are blistering, the drop shot paternoster rig giving the most amazing hook holds in the top lip - it really is the best presentation for fishing directly down from the kayak.

As long as I could get a worm around the fish, my cheap-as-chips AliExpress bargain $40 telescopic rod and reel combo was screaming away with each fish buckling the rod right over (the tip is crazy soft, perfect for having a 'sleeper' rod out as it really absorbs the initial run).

What really surprised me though was I actually managed a couple of fish on a black soft plastic grub that I was casting around while waiting for the worm rod to roar off! It's the first time I've got fish on plastics at Kurwongbah so it was a bit of a bonus.

I left once the wind got up having had 7 or so fish with a couple lost which wasn't a bad result considering the conditions.

After paddling up the lake I found a school of fish near the motorsport park and it was a fish a cast! The conditions were perfect for the drop shop with virtually no wind meaning for once I could keep the kayak pretty stationary. I just wish I'd had more worms with me or could get them to stay on the hook for longer... The ones I'm using are from our compost bin meaning they're very spidly (but clearly tasty!) and the moment they come into contact with any weed, they have a tendency to come off the hook.

Maybe some imitation ones are worth a try?!

The good news is that there doesn't seem to be as much weed around and there are channels forming which makes it easier to locate the fish. However they continue to be at the top end, I've literally not had a bite at the south end for weeks now...

Sadly the boat traffic was crazy, I guess to be expected on a long weekend. But do they have to come that close and buzz every bay?! I was the only damn kayaker on the whole water! You know they're close when you can spot what brand of beer they're drinking 😳

Apart from the relentlessly ski boat activity, it was a beaut arvo on the water with a handful of fish and a stunning sunset 👍