hazelmere dam 7/11/2010

[cranky]

we decided to go fish at hazelmere this afternoon...woooooow never seen it that low before...that dirty yes plenty of times...fishing so bad plenty of times.

the dam is so low you cant even get the car close to the dam because there is 5 metres of clay between the slipway and the water...when you step onto the clay you sink 500mm deep...the river is just a stream

we decided to start at the top of the dam near the river...not a bite...went in and out the bays...noticed the locals with gill nets catching fish.

when i got to the bouy line which seperates the boats from the jetskis... i caught my first dink...the bass are white...maybe because the water is so dirty.

tried along the rocky bank which is out the water...using a weightless junebug fluke...managed to get a couple little ones...then i tried out my new crank i got from luremaniac...first cast retrieved at a steady slow pace i felt the crank stop wobbling...so i pulled pressure on the line and knew straight away i had a big fish...it swam out towards me then past...it started pulling down like the barble do...tug tug tug...i thought darn a barble and i dont have my lipgrip...anyway i didnt want to loose my new crank bait so i played it until it came up and jumped...eeeeeeiiish then i saw it was no barble just a nice size bass..too ka pic with my cellphone which didnt come out so great...then released it.

i havent caught a nice bass like that in a while...and also realised why i dont crank that much anymore...it just not as exciting  as watching the bass hit top water lures or come up on a jerkbait when the water is clean.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

[Glen Robbins]

nice afternoon fishing it seemed, what size was the bass, i have never fished hazel would like to get to know the place let me know when you go again would like to join if that is possible.

 

Glen

 

[cranky]

i dont carry a scale on my kickboat...taking a wild guess between 2 and 5 kg...the actual size of the fish is not important to me when fishing off my kickboat...or social outings on the boat...it is only important on the day of a comp...like in the last comp i fished the fish  weighed 4.4 kg...it also depends on the day which comp you are fishing...if it is a big fish comp then a 4 kg + is normally a good size...but if fishing a bett where the bag weight is important...catching one 4 kg + doesnt help much because you need an  average of at least 7 kg + on a bad day and a 9 kg+ on a good day to be in the top 5.

what is important is am i getting strikes on the lure i am using...which means i am retrieving the lure correctly and selecting the correct colours...it is not as important when the fish are small because they go for anything at any time.

i also note which rod i am using with a specific lure because the rod tip softer or hard can chage the action of the lure...with a softer tip it might run with a wider wobble...i believe when fishing dirty water this kind of stuff is important because the fish is using other senses to locate its food rather than just sight.

 

 

[cranky]

Glen Robbins wrote:

nice afternoon fishing it seemed, what size was the bass, i have never fished hazel would like to get to know the place let me know when you go again would like to join if that is possible.

 

Glen

you are welcom to join us...

i fish off my kickboat there...i now have a 36 lb trolling motor which is fast enough to take me to any location i want to fish...i even went to the other side of the dam and towed rory back to the cliffs

 

 

 

[cranky]

i forget to mention...if anyone wants mark off any exposed structure now would be a good time even the hump in front of the river is fully exposed...next trip will be purely to mark stucture and take pics...i have heard of some good fish being caught on the point of the hump...

i plan on walking around the hump with the gps and marking the important points close to drop offs etc..

there also tyres which someone put down a long time ago and tired tyre frames together at various points.

 

 

 

[cranky]

we are busy setting shannons website (boatstuff dot coza) as the official puddlehoppers kzn site for small craft fishermen and women...we are going to load info and try get others to load where they are fishing before hand so if you want to join us or other fisherman at the dam we are going to fish...we will put a date and time...like we did this weekend...i the dam...meeting time and location to meet the night before...i do realise it was a bit late but next time i will try load it a couple of days before.

we are also goin to look into social days for small craft fisherman in kzn...

i believe there is a demand for small craft socials and just need people to commit and tell us what they want.

small craft being anything from float tube...kickboat...canoe...up to say a tug 10 which is not motorised...trolling motors are welcome.

we will also put pics of the members of the puddlehoppers so you can identify them on the water.

the puddlehoppers have been around for some time now but due to lack of interest and work commitments we have never expanded it...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr.Cheese]

Hi there besides a lure what is the best types of bait to use at hazelmere?