Thanks to all who have viewed the Mackayakka Blog, I have finally reached the landmark 1000 views with hopefully many more to come!

The cold weather was really upon us on Saturday morning and having not wet a line in over a week I was suffering from serious fishing withdrawal. I had planned to head west to chase some Saratoga, but  as I finished off my second coffee, I read a post on Facebook from a mate saying that it was minus 2 out that way,  I decided I would try the Pioneer River instead. I arrived at the boat ramp at 5.45am with the temperature sitting at a balmy 6 degrees (much better than minus 2) and paddled off just as the sun  started to peek over the horizon.

To warm up I decided to pump a few Yabbies and after a short time I had enough for a morning session chasing Bream and Whiting with the occasional flick of some soft plastics for Flathead. So armed with my plan, bait and beanie I set off to find some fish.  A quick troll along the rock wall to the V produced nothing but when I arrived there were many birds working the area furiously. Terns, Pelicans and Cormorants all fighting each other for the feast of baitfish just below the surface. I thought I should take a photo of this but instead my fishing instincts kicked in and I casted with anticipation into the maelstrom of birds, baitfish and hopefully larger predatory fish. My soft plastic was hit hard with a single strong strike but no hook up and as quickly as it all started, it went quiet. I threw a few different lures around the area but nothing, oh well thats fishing. I then turned back to my plan and flicked for Flathead while floating a Yabbie out the back. I was rewarded almost immediately with a nice little Bream, I have caught hundreds of these fish but I never tire of their honest fighting ability combined with an aesthetic beauty that some fish just don’t have.

First little Bream of the day

I then paddled down the inside of the wall and had no touches on the soft plastic, I managed to pick up a nice Whiting and a very small Flathead. A couple more Bream also fell to the most versatile bait that is the humble Yabbie. I found a nice little beach and had a bite to eat and took in the glorious day that it was, with not a cloud in the deep blue sky and a light 5 to 10 Knot wind I realised why I haul myself out of bed at 4am to do this.

You may regret sleeping in but you rarely regret going fishing!

“MACKAYAKKA”