To be honest, after the crazy windy end to my previous Kurwongbah session I wasn't relishing the idea of another session being nearly tipped out of the kayak... But I was so desperate to get out, I decided to ignore the predicted 35kmh winds and get to the lake super early in an effort to avoid the wind as much as possible.

So I got to the lake in the dark at 5:15am! The car was showing 28 degrees already and there was a very stiff breeze blowing down the lake. It also became apparent that I was going to have company on this session as 10 cars pulled into the carpark as I paddled up the main drag...

Plan wise, I figured I'd try and find calm water so I headed straight across the main basin to boat ramp bay, one because it was relatively sheltered and two because it was the main area I picked up fish in the previous week. But try as I might I couldn't get a bite. There weren't any fish showing on the sounder and despite paddling around and exploring all the areas that previously held fish there just wasn't anything around.

It was the same story at Toga Point and at Stag Bay.

Clearly a new plan was needed as the current one wasn't working! On a hunch, I headed down past the massive weedbed to the far end of chicken coup bay and gave the edges a go. Believe it or not, I got a bite on the first cast! Only a small bass but it was a start. Then another. 

The fish were around the edge again?!

The action dried up after 4 fish, a missed bite finally backing the fish off (which quite often happens, it's almost as if 'the one that got away' warns the rest of the shoal). But it was encouraging and spurred me on to investigate the edges around the top end but weirdly, not a thing showed itself. All the spots that had produced fish over winter were completely devoid of activity and with the wind hacking in circles I just couldn't stay in one spot to properly investigate anywhere.

A little frustrated I decided to drift on down into Fence Bay. I wasn't overly hopeful as I've not had a fish in this spot for months on end. So it was a real surprise when I got a bite! Not a big fish by any stretch but another one to chalk up. Even if there were some more fish around, the wind was maddening by this time and I'd all but given up and was starting my paddle back to the launching area.

But something made me stop in at boat ramp bay... It might've been the calm water, it might've been that 4 speedboat's had turned up and we're racing up and down the lake or it might've been a sixth sense...

But I scored an additional 4 bonus fish in the space of 10 minutes! All from the edges, all pretty small but all more than welcome.

The sun was high in the sky by now and as it was blistering hot and the action dried up as quickly as it began I decided to call it a day and head for home.

So another interesting session at Lake Kurwongbah. I'm not going to lie, the wind has been a constant pain over the last couple of months and today was no exception. But it was really encouraging to get some fish around the edges and who knows, maybe next week's session will be millpond calm and the takes will be fast and furious!

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.

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 👍

The day started amazingly, with this stunning 50cm Golden Perch on the 3rd cast! Pretty nuts and certainly got us excited for the day ahead.

But sadly despite putting in the hard graft and really exploring the water, it proved a tough nut to crack... Peter managed a number of bass but far out, I couldn't buy a bite!

It was some 5 hours later that I got back in on the action with a couple of tiny bass!

It's an interesting water though and from what I've been told it can really kick off. I'll defo be back sometime soon but in the mean time, check out the video from PTPFishing of the same session:

I was on the water by 6am and as I had to be off by 11am so I wasted no time heading up the lake and around the corner to a productive spot. The first thing I remembered was how accurate you need to be with casting! Kurwongbah is pretty forgiving but Enoggera requires you to get that lure right on the edge if not in the lily pads to stand a chance of tempting a bass to come out and strike...

My first chance came surprisingly early with a fish grabbing at the lure as it hit the edges which sadly didn't result in a hook up. But it was a couple of casts later that I got my first decent hit. And what a fish it turned out to be, I've never seen a bass like this before - it was a deep as it was long and the tummy on it!

As usual with Enoggera, the spot went dead after that one fish so I began moving down the margin. This side of the lake has been by far the most productive to date and true to form I managed to pick off a number of fish including yet another weird one. This guy looked like he'd ran into a wall, defo a face only a mother could love!

Working down the margin continued to produce fish but the wind that had been gently blowing me along began to pick up and with limited time I decided to head over the lily pad rafts at the far end of the lake for a go. This are is great if the wind has got up as you can anchor yourself in a set of pads and cast around to the others with minimum disturbance. I swear that 9 times out of 10 you get a bass from under where the lily pads you're sat on rather than the ones you're casting too...

I managed to picked one more off from my favourite margin on the way back up the lake before calling it a day. So not a bad session! The fella right at the beginning was defo 'fish of the day' and it still puts a smile on my face when I think about him, just the weirdest looking bass ever!

If you're after some tips about how to fish Enoggera, check out the videos from PTPFishing on YouTube - Peter is a bit of a guru when it comes to this place, I wouldn't have caught half the fish if it wasn't for his advice!