Recently, a few days were spent touring some of the dams located to the north of Brisbane to not only check out the fishing but also do some trials on using a kayak as an alternative to dragging a boat around.

Cania Gorge Dam

Cania is located near Monto about 5 to 6 hours drive from Brisbane on good sealed roads apart from a short stretch of dirt of 10km on a shortcut that takes 50km off the trip.
There are two camp grounds, the main one is 10 minutes from the dam and offers cabins ($90/night), powered and unpowered sites ($22 and $24 respectively), hot showers, BBQ areas and pool. It also has a small kiosk for essentials such as bread and milk. The management also provides tourist activities that include bird and kangaroo feeding in the evenings, wine tasting, open air movies and morning teas with the traditional Aussie damper. If you feel like some exercise between fishing, there are well established walking trails for all levels of fitness.

Although the dam is at the 25% level, the fishing is still good. The main species are saratoga, bass and golden perch. For me, the big attraction of Cania is that the saratoga (and some are monsters around the metre mark) readily take surface flies during the early morning and late afternoon. A 6 or 7 wt rod fitted with floating line and any fly pattern that imitates a grasshopper is a good starting point. “Plop” the fly onto the water up close to the grass and brush on the bank and twitch the fly slowly. Many times the strike will come as soon as the fly hits the water. Catching bass in Cania is much the same as it is in many of the other impoundments. Look for drop-offs in bottom formations in 4 to 6 metres of water and you will usually find fish.

Use full sink or sink tip lines and “vampires” or any fly in black or olive. A weighted black “SLF 90 Degree” snared a 55cm bass that I was very pleased with.

Lake Monduran

Monduran is located just north of Gin Gin about 4 hours north of Brisbane. It is stocked with saratoga, bass, barramundi and other species. The popularity of the destination is attributed to the many articles published recently about the huge barramundi to be caught there. During the week, there will be as many as twenty boats towing lures while the weekends are chaos.

On the Saturday I departed, I estimated that there were over 75 boats as well as jet skis. Not a pleasant place to enjoy a quiet weekend. It is a huge body of water and consequently difficult to find fish. Barramundi is the only species that appears to be targeted. All others appear to be ignored and in the three days, I heard of only one fish caught. The camping grounds are well kept and offer full facilities including a kiosk.

Lenthalls Dam

Lenthalls is located just north of the turn-off to Hervey Bay - about 2.5 hours from Brisbane. It is not a big dam but is very picturesque with masses of weedbeds and lilies. The best time to fish is early morning and late afternoon using surface poppers or subsurface patterns worked along the edges of the weed and lilies.

Camping facilites are limited however there are plans to improve this situation. Access to the dam is via a very rough dirt forestry track - this is probably an advantage in that it keeps the numbers down. I was there on a Saturday and there were only three boats. There are recent reports of barramundi to 75cm being caught as well as saratoga and bass.

Borumba Dam

Having been raised in the area, I have a soft spot for the dam. Two days before I arrived they had a huge storm that finally filled it to the point where water was going over the spillway - first time in years. Its close proximity to major population centres means that it has become very popular with the skiing fraternity. Stay away on the weekends - as many as fifteen ski boats with scant regard for rules or other users of the waterway will be in attendance. Over the last few weeks the powers to be have stepped up policing so hopefully the situation will improve.

At dawn, the prime spot for Saratoga is amongst the standing timber (the sticks) towards the top of the dam. However don't ignore other likely locations. I have caught them and bass on the drop-off near a weedbed straight across from the boatramp. Always prospect the dropoffs and weedbed corners at the entrances to small bays.

With the high water levels, also look for areas where the scrub overhangs the waters edge and in particular where it drops off into deep water and there is no weed to foul the fly. Again in this situation put the fly right against the bank and twitch it out. As the sun comes up switch to an intermediate line and swim a sub surface pattern in black or olive along the edge of the weeds. A slow twitching retrieve seems to work best. For bass, switch to a full sink and fish the edges in 4 to 6 metres of water around the points at the entrances to the inlets.

In Summary

This has been the first time that I have really tested the kayak as an alternative to a tinnie as a fishing platform and it stands up as well if not better in many respects.

• On rough dirt roads on many of the shortcuts between dams, you don’t have to worry about the trailer and boat being damaged.

• A canoe allows you to fish areas where normal boats have difficulty accessing.

• The motor doesn’t need servicing or batteries recharging. I my case a couple of gin and tonics or bundies of an evening were enough to keep me in working order.

• You can launch in areas where there is dubious or no ramp facilities.

• The lack of noise is definitely a bonus in getting in close to fish seen working on the surface.

• In large bodies of water it takes longer to cover the distances so some fishing time is lost moving from one spot to another. The boredom can be removed by having a light spin rod on board and towing a lure between locations.

• Using floating and intermediate lines is quite easy even though you are sitting close to the water. You just have to modify your style a little by tilting the casting stroke more upright and lifting your elbow to get more clearance on the backcast.

• Deep sinking lines are more difficult to use particularly if a wind is blowing. While you are counting the line down to depth the wind blows the canoe over the line or out of position.

The kayak used is a Hobie Outback which is a “pedal” variety that leaves both hands free for casting. It is particularly easy to cruise 20 feet off the bank and pop a fly in along the edge. It becomes interesting when a “green toga” jumps on the short length of line and heads straight for your lap. There is no requirement to be super fit. 3 to 4 hours of steady peddling morning and afternoon did not result in any major muscle stiffness.

I did find that it was necessary to wear long trousers and flats booties for added protection from sunburn. Because your position and restricted ability to change position, legs and feet tend to be more susceptible even though liberal quantities of 30+ were applied.

Maximum speed is quoted around 6km per hour however this tends to be a little strenuous. A comfortable speed is more in the 3 to 4 km range and this can be maintained quite easily. It is surprising what distances can be covered at this speed. For those who know Borumba Dam, the distance from the ramp to the sticks can be covered in under 40 minutes and that allows for a couple of stops along the way to have a quick fish in productive spots.

Specifications:
   Length: 12' 1" / 3.68 m
   Width: 34" / 0.86 m
   Weight: 60lbs / 27.21kg
   Capacity: 400 lbs / 181.8 kg
   Price: Single seat about $2,300
   Double is a touch under $3,000
   More Info: www.sunstatehobie.com.au
 

Sandstone escarpments are a feature of Cania Gorge.

Saratoga taken on the “Freshwater Gurgler” fly.

Sunset over Monduran.

 Masses of lillies and weed beds.

A glassy early morning in the “sticks”