Borumba Dam, after the Deluge.. February 2012....
Heavy rains over February have left local rivers and streams quiet dirty and fast flowing, Borumba was the colour of milk coffee with debris covering the water making it almost impossible to fish the surface. It had been six weeks since I fished there despite conditions I fished Borumba on the last day of the month and returned back in two days later. My second visit was in my new kayak, a Hobie Quest 11 on its maiden voyage in a large lake .
At first light with a pink glow over the dam all looked normal untill the sun rose high the water was very dirty with large patches of debris moving slowly towards the dam wall and over the spillway. The first day I managed to find some clear spots to cast a surface lure. It was hard going even though I found Toga it was difficult to secure a hookup with all the rubbish on the water surface. As things went quiet I changed to spinner baits, starting with white then olive green and finally a black white and red spinner. I used a technique where I was casting it to the edge of debris letting it sink for a few seconds, a quick flick of the rod tip to keep the blades into gear then a slow retrieve back to the kayak. This soon paid off with a nice Toga come over the side of the kayak.
The second day started with a heavy fog clearing to a very hot day. I found it hard going in my Quest 11 as its been many years since i fished for Toga in a paddle yak. However I was pleased when a Saratoga came over the side as I remember the first Toga I ever caught was in a Quest 13 some years ago. The conditions were the same as day one, hit and miss on surface lures but the Toga could not be tempted on spinnerbaits this time. The lure that worked today was a red and white hopper, after several hits some almost in the yak before throwing the hooks. In the end I was pleased a few came over the side of my Quest.
Eric Dunshea ..........
At first light with a pink glow over the dam all looked normal untill the sun rose high the water was very dirty with large patches of debris moving slowly towards the dam wall and over the spillway. The first day I managed to find some clear spots to cast a surface lure. It was hard going even though I found Toga it was difficult to secure a hookup with all the rubbish on the water surface. As things went quiet I changed to spinner baits, starting with white then olive green and finally a black white and red spinner. I used a technique where I was casting it to the edge of debris letting it sink for a few seconds, a quick flick of the rod tip to keep the blades into gear then a slow retrieve back to the kayak. This soon paid off with a nice Toga come over the side of the kayak.
The second day started with a heavy fog clearing to a very hot day. I found it hard going in my Quest 11 as its been many years since i fished for Toga in a paddle yak. However I was pleased when a Saratoga came over the side as I remember the first Toga I ever caught was in a Quest 13 some years ago. The conditions were the same as day one, hit and miss on surface lures but the Toga could not be tempted on spinnerbaits this time. The lure that worked today was a red and white hopper, after several hits some almost in the yak before throwing the hooks. In the end I was pleased a few came over the side of my Quest.
Eric Dunshea ..........
