South East Queensland

Kayak Fishing

Lake Samsonvale (North Pine Dam)

Date:5th June 2005
Time:8:30am - 10:30am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics and bait
Report:We did a quick run today to check out our new "Rosco Cayat" (double Kayak) and paddled about three kilometres upstream just past the powerlines.
 I was surprised to see how many stumps had appeared since last time I was up this way and this territory would be worth prospecting next time the lake fills.
 While in this area we had a brief fish and my wife caught a solitary Eel-Tailed Catfish on a worm rigged above a SP Jig.
 There were four other boats signed in to the site this morning but they had all headed towards the Southern boundary obviously chasing the large Bass that have been reported from there over the past few weeks.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:27th March 2005
Time:6:30am - 8:30am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:Fly, Hard-bodied, Soft Plastic, lures
Report:After observing lots of Gar splashing around the weedy edges of the lake over the past few days, I thought I'd have a bit of fun this morning and target them on fly.
 By using a floating line with three-metre leader attached to a small Nymph, and employing a medium paced retrieve, I caught ten Snub-Nosed Gar over a period of about an hour. A hundred or so Snub-Nosed Gar were originally stocked into Lake Samsonvale but they are breeding well and a large population now exists throughout the Lake and can be easily caught from the shore at the public parks as well as from boats in the Permit Area. This morning's specimens were in the 20-26cm range so I kept a few of the larger ones to try a taste test on.
 When I'd had enough of Fly-fishing (it can be a bit "tangly" in a Kayak), I tried my spinning rod with a small Hard-bodied Lure to see whether the preceding activity had attracted any larger fish but, with no result after half an hour, switched to small Soft-Plastics. The only minor attention I attracted with the SP's was a few "Snubbies" having a crack at the tails on the way in.
 Heading back to Boral Landing I checked the four Crayfish Pots and took 10 reasonably sized Redclaw.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Important Note

"Tilapia" aka "Mozambique Mouth Brooder" (Oreochromis mossambicus) are listed as a noxious species in Queensland as they are not native to Australia but have been accidentally introduced into some waterways by irresponsible aquarists and, in a couple of cases, deliberately by people with more serious agendas.

Because Tilapia breed prolifically and can dominate and displace some species of native fishes they must never be returned to the water. Neither should they be left anywhere near the water's edge as the young can survive in a parent's mouth long after it has died.

Any Tilapia caught by anglers must be killed and properly disposed of, for example, in containers placed for this purpose at some lakes or deeply buried well away from the water. There are significant penalties in force for possessing or translocating Tilapia in Queensland.

Date:25th March 2005
Time:6:30am - 9:30am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:26°C
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lure and "Opera House" Pots
Report:On arrival at "Boral Landing" I was pleased to see that the PRFMA had yesterday extended the ramp so that those Permit Holders who have Tinnies can easily reach the rapidly receding water's edge (like most lakes in SEQ, Samsonvale could do with some good rain).
 After trolling deep-diving lures for a couple of kilometres in the deeper channels without a hit I switched to my light rod and worked small lures along the weed beds. This tactic yielded a 33cm Tilapia which hit a 40D Micro-Min very hard and put on a couple of good runs before conceding and coming to the surface to be easily swung aboard on 4lb Fireline. The Tilapia, being a noxious species, was not returned to the water.
 It was then time to check the pots and I took 16 Redclaw to add to the 19 I had taken yesterday which ensured the family now had something tasty to eat on Good Friday.
 An unexpected visitor in one pot was a White-Tailed Water Rat which must have been partial to crustaceans. Even though I was using regulation size openings in the pot somehow the Rat had squeezed through the ring, and, as it had apparently been there for some time, did not look very well.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:23rd March 2005
Time:6:15am - 7:15am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lure
Report:The prime purpose of this morning's quick run before work was to set four Redclaw Crayfish pots with the intention of harvesting a seafood lunch for Friday.
 On the way back to the ramp, however, I decided to briefly stop beside a weed bank and have half a dozen casts on my new ultra-short rod using 4-pound Fireline.
 This was a good decision as I immediately hooked and landed a feisty Silver Perch of 41cm on a Predatek Micro-Min in Black Beetle colour.
 Unfortunately I was already late for work so couldn't hang around to try for more on this occasion.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:9th December 2004
Time:4:15pm - 5:15pm
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:"Opera House" Pots baited with Dog Biscuits
Report:Caught another 24 Redclaw Crayfish today and, as they were fairly typical of what I've been catching lately, I decided to apply some metrics for future reference (used a cheap tape and kitchen scales so accuracy was rough).
Number
caught		Tip of Spine
to Tail (cm)		Max weight
each (g)
319165
318130
317115
41680
51570
21460
21345
11235
1810
 After cleaning, the 48 raw halved tails weighed in at 720g all up.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:6th December 2004
Time:4:15pm - 5:00pm
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:"Opera House" Pots baited with Dog Biscuits
Report:I switched back to Dog Biscuits as bait and left the pots for only two days this time.
 The pots were placed in slightly deeper water than previously and a few metres from the edge of the weed bed with the result that I took 22 Redclaw Crayfish on this occasion.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:4th December 2004
Time:4:00pm - 4:45pm
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:"Opera House" Pots baited with Garlic Bulbs
Report:As it had been five days since I last checked the traps, coupled with the fact that I was re-baiting them late in the afternoon, I didn't expect to catch anything today.
 Redclaw forage for food at night and seek shelter during the day therefore it is best to check the traps first thing of a morning before they get too much time to find their way out. I was therefore a little surprised to discover that four Redclaw were still in the pots and had been attracted to the raw Garlic baits that I was experimenting with for the first time.
 I guess the fact that several other permit holders had recorded hauls of over twenty each from traps pulled earlier in the day means that there are still a few of these well-sized crustaceans about at the moment.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:29th November 2004
Time:4:15pm - 5:15pm
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:"Opera House" Pots baited with Dog Biscuits
Report:I checked and re-baited the permitted four pots that I had placed on Saturday afternoon around weed beds along the Eastern edge of the lake.
 Ten Redclaw Crayfish were taken and one Eel-tailed Catfish that had found its way into one of the pots was released.
 One problem with opening a Crayfish pot on the deck of a sit-in Kayak is that when a Redclaw flicks free it lands in your lap so, after the trauma of having this happen to me last trip, I now carry a heavy duty bag which is placed on my lap so that I can grab each Crayfish and carefully place them in one at a time. The top of the bag is then folded over to retain the critters whilst paddling.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:23rd August 2004
Time:7:15am - 11:30am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:17°C
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures
Report:As it was a perfectly calm day I spent most of the morning "experimenting" by trolling five different types of lures between the launching ramp and the southern boundary of the permit area in various locations including both shallow and deep water.
 The lures were trolled at depths between 9 and 25 feet with the only hit being at 9:00am on a slowly trolled deep-diving brown coloured "Viper" running at about 20 feet in 45 feet of water at the southern area between the point and the dead tree.
 This fish hit hard, took more than the usual amount of line on the first run, and put up a really good fight in the deep water before I could get it to the net. It turned out that it was hooked on top of its body between the head and dorsal fin and was therefore able to keep its head down and swim more freely than if it had been conventionally hooked. This nice Australian Bass of 55cm (fork-length of course) and 2.5kg was not as heavy as some of the Bass that other anglers have been pulling out of this lake recently however it was my longest Bass to date so I was happy enough with this catch.
 As I'm sure every Kayak Fisher knows, one of the disadvantages of fishing from Kayaks on your own is that photos are hard to set up with limited space and only two hands available to organise rod, landing net, fish, tape measure, paddle, and camera. Particularly if you are releasing the fish, it is difficult to bring it on board without hurting the fish (or yourself for that matter) so I've been trying a large "fish friendly" landing net. Unfortunately, when I left this Bass in the net to weigh and take its picture, the angle and background didn't do the fish the justice it deserved in the photos.
 After releasing my Bass I spoke to three other blokes in separate electric powered boats nearby and two of them had caught several 50+cm Bass on live shrimp during the morning with the third showing me an excellent Yellowbelly of around 3kg also taken on bait. Later in the morning on the way back to the ramp I saw another good-sized Bass brought into a fourth boat.
 I guess the quality of the fish on offer at the moment explains why there were eight boats out on the lake today.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:28th June 2004
Time:7:30am - 10:30am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:17°C
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures
Report:It took about 40 minutes to "exerfish" my way 4.5 kilometres down to the dead tree (without a hit).
 I then did several slow trolling runs using deep diving lures between the tree and the boundary marker on the Whiteside bank. There were small schools of baitfish in this area holding at between 35 and 45 feet but my lures trolling at around 25 feet didn't tempt any predators up.
 Locating the baitfish schools and jigging from above them using a large "prawn star" did not work for me either.
 I decided to start trolling my way back to the launch site and, at 9:45am, picked up a 40cm bass on a "Zebra" coloured "Boomerang B80-UD" just as I was passing to the left of the marker buoy north of the dead tree. After releasing the fish and slowly trolling on for another 30 minutes, a cold North Westerly sprang up, so I stowed the rod, removed the transducer suction cup (to reduce drag), and paddled back at a brisk pace to get home as quickly as I could for a warm cuppa.
 Five electric powered boats were on the lake today but I only got to speak to the occupants of two boats with one pair reporting that they took some nice bass of 50+ cm on bait.
Submitted by:Ross
Date:19th April 2004
Time:7:00am - 11:15am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:25°C
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures
Report:I trolled around the edges of the lake and threw a popper into weeds and water lilies without success on my way down to the dead tree at the southern end of the fishing area.
 I then switched to trolling deep diving lures near the marker buoy north of the dead tree and picked up two bass of 40 and 43cm in 10 to 15 metres of water. One was taken on my favourite Boomerang B80UD lure in "Mulga Frog" colour and the other was taken on a red and green Voodoo lure that I had found on a previous trip after it had endured a long immersion attached to a snag.
 It was another perfect morning on the lake with glassy conditions and only one other boat on the water. The two blokes on board said they had caught just one bass as I paddled past them on my way back to the launching site.
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:10th April 2004
Time:7:00am - 11:00am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:24°C
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures
Report:I set off briskly trolling a Predatek-Jindivik medium depth lure ("Fire Tiger" colour) around the edges on the sunlit side of the lake in 3 to 5 metres of water and within 15 minutes had landed and released a 35cm bass.
 As there was no wind and I could see a few surface splashes I switched to my light rod and moved along several weedbeds repeatedly casting and retrieving a popper but nothing showed any interest in it.
 So I then reverted to slowly trolling various types and colours of medium to deep running lures through the deeper channels and finally, at 9:30am, caught and released a 40cm bass (on a Boomerang 80UD in "Mulga Frog" colour).
 I did a few more runs where schools of baitfish were showing up on the sounder at 5 to 8 metres and then trolled my way back to the launch site with no further hits.
 To catch two fish in four hours of paddling peacefully around on a perfect Autumn morning is not a bad way to start Easter Saturday (and the best thing was that there were only four small electric powered boats and one canoe quietly sharing about ten kilometres of pristine waterways with me).
Submitted by:Ross C.
Date:29th March 2004
Time:7:00am - 11:00am
Tide:n/a
Launch site:PRFMA Launch Site (access to Annual Permit Holders only)
Water temperature:25°C
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures
Report:Located fish on the sounder over a couple of hundred metres section of the lake in 7 to 10 metres of water and trolled a Boomerang B65UD in "Bronze Bass" colour for half an hour then changed to "Hot Tiger" for another half an hour trolling back and forth without any hits.
 Moved on trolling the same lures for about 4 kilometres further down the lake, again without any luck.
 Returned to the original spot about 10:00am and slowly trolled a B80UD in "Mulga Frog" colour for half an hour during which time I landed a golden perch of 40cm, a bass of 50cm, and a bass of 52cm.
 The three fish were in excellent condition and are testimony to the success of the stocking programme run by PRFMA (Pine Rivers Fish Management Association).
 All fish were, of course, released.
Submitted by:Ross C.
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