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.

Even with it getting colder (well... cold for Queensland!) and being outside of the school holidays it was really tough to find a campground that met my requirements for a good night away, namely a toilet (I know right?!), firepit with a bag of wood and fishing. Bushywood at Woodfordskilake fits the bill and this was to be a return trip for me as this was the first place I ever motocamped.

After an excellent sesion Bass fishing up at Enoggera Reservoir in the morning I headed home, loaded up the bike and got on the road. The route is amazing, through Samford Village, onto Dayboro then up over the hills to woodford via Mnt Mee. One day I really want to do the trip offroad traveling through the forest but I'll save that for when I've a bit more confidence!

I got to Woodford around 4ish, headed to the campsite and dumped the gear before returning to the Woolies in town to get supplies for the evening. The plan was to do a steak and mushrooms on the new camping grill I'd picked up so a quick stomp around the supermarket and a trip to the bottle shop for some beers and I was back at my spot by the lake just in time to see the moon rise.

It was completely unplanned but my trip coincided with a full moon (maybe thats why the fishing had been so good earlier in the day?!) and it was stunning to see it rise behind the waterskiing lake. With the tent up and the bike sorted out, the only thing left was to get the fire going. Bushy had supplied a big bag of wood for $20 and my spot overlooking the lake had a perfect firepit ring already set up. I'd scanned the area before leaving for the shops and it looked like previous campers had nabbed all the pine cones... Luckily for me I'd spotted a heap of them on the driveway so I had 10 or so in my pannier.

Pine cones make the most amazing fire starters and in no time I had a decent blaze going. So I grabbed a beer, sat back in my camping chair and watched the moon gracefully travel up into the sky. Not bad, not bad at all.

After a couple of hours of constantly feeding the fire I had a good pile of glowing coles so it was time to break out the camping grill. I've been hunting for something to cook over the fire with for a while now as part of the motocamping experience for me is eating well. Noodles, pasta, tuna fish innacan all have their place but if I'm going to spend a night under the stars, I'd rather having something tasty and less carby! After investigating various different options I found a foldable camping grill on Amazon and decided to give it a go. It has two different levels and I decided to use the lower level, positioning it near to the fire and raking hot coles underneath.

Steak on and sizzling away, there was just enough room to fit a large mushroom on the side of the grill - it was looking good! As I wasn't entirely sure of the heat coming off the coles I gave it a couple of minutes each side and then sliced a corner off to check the 'doneness' and as it was looking bang on, I tore off a bit of turkish bread, popped the steak in between and... It was perfect, probably one of the best steaks I'd had in a long long time!

So the evening was spent working my way through steak, a couple of beers and a movie under the stars. It was chilly but I'd built the fire up to a good size and that kept me warm until around midnight when I decided to call it a night.

Even though its winter the sun was up by 5.30 and as my spot wasn't in the shade I was up and about early to investigate the fishing options. From what I've been told, there are plenty of tilapia in the lake and I'd come armed with corn and bread to target them. But it was quickly apparent that the weed had really come up since my last visit and after an hour or so of being wiped out I decided to give it a miss. There are two types of weed in the lake, one if which is the brown floating stuff and as the wind got up it was just moving back and forth up the lake making fishing virtually impossible...

I had a shower, packed down around 10ish and got back on the road home. Another fantastic night under the stars, the camping grill had worked a treat, all my gear had performed perfectly and I guess the only down point was the lack of fishing - but having caught loads of bass up at Enoggera in the morning, I wasn't grumbling!

Today almost didn't happen as earlier in the week I'd found a big puddle of coolant under the car... The garage reported it was a busted water pump and amazingly managed to fix it and get it back to me by Thursday meaning Friday fishing was back on!

I've yet to get a bite anywhere near the launching stage or in the main drag towards the damn so I set to the long paddle to the far end of the reservoir deciding to start at the 'rope swing' section (so called as there's a rope swing high in a tree about half way along the bank - simple!). It gives your shoulders a good early morning work out and preps them for casting which is no bad thing. The weather was bang on, warmish with a slight chilly breeze, sunny with clouds so not too bright and as I arrived at the first likely looking spot I was full of anticipation...

So it was a real surprise when on the 5th cast towards a snaggy bush the rod absolutely busted off! I couldn't believe it, a bite this early on in the session and a really savage one at that?! This was a pretty serious fish, it desperately tried to get into the lily pads but I managed to steer it into open water, then it took a deep dive under the kayak, stripping line and turning me in a full circle (I'm always amazed by how much influence on a kayak a fish on the end on a line has). I was completely unprepared for the bite and the size of fish and sadly this meant I made a complete fumble of the whole process and as I scrabbled to get the landing net from behind me the hook pulled... Arrrrg. Gutted. So annoying! Silently swearing under my breath I got myself sorted out but I'm not going to lie, losing such a good fish so early on in the session on a water that's not known for doing lots of bites and big fish put a big dent in my day.

One thing that I've been really concentrating on is being stealthy on the water (it makes a BIG difference) and with all the commotion, I figured that the spot was now probably ruined. At which point a blue helicopter appeared overhead, shot across to the far side and then appeared to make a dummy landing on the bank - what the hell?!?! It was so loud and slightly surreal, I wasn't 100% sure I wasn't imagining it...

So with my antics and the helicopters noise I was pretty amazed when I got another chance. I'd moved 15 or so metres down the bank, had a bump on a retrieve and on the next cast a really solid bite - fish on! And this time, I was fully prepared, drag spot on, landing net close to hand and after a short tussle the fish was in the net and not a bad one either.

Big sigh of relief, and lost fish almost forgotten I explored the area for another 20 minutes or so but with no more takers and the wind picking up and constantly pushing me into the edge I needed a change of scene.

On my previous session I'd had lots of luck around the rafts of lily pads at the furthest reach of the reservoir so I decided to head that direction and see if there were any fish around. As before, I positioned myself upwind and a fair distance away from the pads and let the breeze and current drift me into and amongst the pads, casting around as I went in an effort to locate the fish.

I actually ended up in virtually the same spot as before, casting to a raft of pads out in open water when I got my first bite, another good size bass. After getting that fish in the net, I rafted up on the pads opposite and set to casting tight to the edge to see if there were any more takers. I got bump after bump, there were clearly more fish around and it didn't take long until I got another chance. But sadly, after a short fight this one came off...

One thing I'm trying to get into the habit of doing is regularly checking my hooks and leader knot during the session and after each fish. As it happened, the main hook point was 'dinked' over and failed the thumbnail test... Five minutes with the split ring pliers and a new hook fitted I got to casting again and bang, another fish on - what is it with this particular set of pads, it appears to be a fish hang out?!

I'm desperately tyring not to out stay my welcome in a swim, its so hard when you've had a couple of bites not to turn the water to a foam with relentless casting for hours on end so after not receiving any more knocks on my next 10 'good' casts (i.e. clipping the pad edges) I decided to move on and explore the other rafts.

The bass were definitely awake and happy to hit as two more spots produced fish and multiple knocks. It was amazing, the reservoir was fishing like a completely different water, I couldn't quite believe the amount of action and activity. I don't know if it's due to it being cooler, or that there seems to be less cover along the edges (the pads have really reduced in size) but the open water spots around the rafts seem to be where the fish are hanging out and I was more than happy to take full advantage!

By this time the sun was high in the sky and a quick check of the phone reviled it was 1.30! Where had the time gone?! It was hard to call it a day but duty called as I needed to pick my son up from school, so I gave the pads a fond farewell and started the long paddle back to the landing stage with a big smile on my face. What a fantastic session, I'm loving kayak fishing and can't wait to be back!

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this session. It was a bit last minute as the camping trip I had planned on the bike didn't happen and the weather was a little all over the place. I knew there was a chance of rain which was fine, but it was the wind that proved tricky... As I rounded the point opposite the dam I was buffeted all the place, with white horses moving swiftly across the open water. It was more like being out on the sea than a lake!

So it was a hard paddle down to the recent hot spot at the far end of the reservoir and my shoulders were on fire by the time I made my first cast. As expected, I just could not keep the kayak in position and it was a real struggle to cast and clip the lily pads... So it was a surprise that I got my first tap after only 10 minutes of fishing (which was probably after 5 or so casts due to being constantly pushed into the bank and having to paddle out again!). And it was even more surprising when I got my first solid bite - perhaps the wind was actually doing me a favour?!

I kept at it along the edges but after 30 minutes with nothing more to show for my efforts I headed into the next bay and had breakfast. I did consider having a cast around but the wind was so strong, the lure was actually coming back at me rather than hitting the my targets...

So after a bit of thinking I decided that maybe an open water spot would be the go. My plan was to head to the rafts of lily pads at the far end, position myself right on the outer edges and let the wind carry me stealthily in amongst the pads, casting as I went.

After a couple of runs through I got my second bite of the day and it was a cracker! I'd cast tight to the pads and had reeled almost to the kayak when the bass hit. I think it's my favourite type of bite as you've almost finished the retrieve when the fish decide to hit the lure, they really hit it.

As it happened, landing the fish 'rafted' me along side one of the bigger sets of pads and I realised that it gave me a perfect anchor point to keep casting to the same area. There we clearly more fish around as I received two more bumps on the next cast and then another absolute banger of a bite, again right near the kayak! Sadly, this fish made a deep dive right into the pads and despite me giving it some stick with the rod it managed to spit the hook... But I got the lure back which was a relief and got to casting again.

In an effort to not fall into the trap of spending too long in any one spot I've started being a bit more strict with my casting, using a counting method - max 15 'good' casts to the area and then move on. So it was a real surprise when on the seventh cast I got another bite, again right by the kayak - this was too much fun! Again, this one went straight into the pads but I was a bit more prepared this time and kept the fish higher in the water meaning it was a relatively easy job to get him in the net.

That fish went back and I got to casting again, and this time it took a little longer to get the next bite, around 12 casts and it was away - this was too good, I was having so much fun!

All four bites came really close to the kayak and I couldn't work out if the fish were following from the pads I was casting to or they were coming out from below me and hitting the lure? From what I've been told, the fish often take the bait on their way back to cover rather than taking it on the drop but these bites seemed to be the opposite, i.e. the fish where coming out of the pads away from me and then attempting to get back to cover.

After that flurry of activity the bites dried up and the wind really picked up, pushing me out of the pads and making casting a nightmare. It'd also started to rain a little so I decided to call it a day and beat for home.

But what a session?! I know a lot of you reading this will think that 5 bites and 4fish over the space of 4 hours fishing isn't the greatest ratio but for me, it was a real result and I can't wait to get out there again.