With each session at Enoggera Reservoir getting better and better I was chomping at the bit to get out on the water again. But as it gets dark in Brisbane at around 5pm now its morning sessions only and this was to be a short one - I had max three hours... The weather was spot on, warm, very light winds and only a slight ripple on the water, it was looking good for a bite!

As always, the temptation was to head straight to the previous sessions 'hot spot​' but I had a quick cast around on my paddle out to get my casting eye in. And amazingly, I got my 1st knock on the 3rd cast to some margin lily pads just around the corner opposite the damn wall. And then on the next cast, it was fish on! My favourite kind of bite, the bass took the lure virtually at the kayak which always gets the heart racing.

I gave it 20 or so more casts but with no takers, it was on around the next corner. With such early success, I figured it would be worth having a cast at another likely looking spot and BANG, another cracking bite!

And that really set the theme of the next hour or so's fishing! Every time I hit a new spot, I got a bite - just the one, despite trying the same areas I couldn't get more than one fish but that was fine as the bass were clearly spread out along the margins and more than happy to hit a lure.

Every time the bites tailed off, I moved on letting the gentle breeze carry me slowly all along the right hand margin of the reservoir. I was even getting hits from spots I'd never consider casting to, definitely smaller fish nibbling the tail of the lure but to get this much activity and action was amazing.

And then as quickly as the action started, it completely stopped... It was almost like all the fish disappeared from the area and despite working the margin again, I couldn't get a knock...

The sun was full in the sky by now and maybe that was the cause of the fish leaving the area as the margins were now in dappled sunshine? Thinking this might be the case and that they'd headed for deeper water I decided to hit the pads at the far end of the reservoir where I'd had so much luck on previous sessions. But it wasn't to be, I tried the exact same tactic of letting the wind drift me through the pads casting as I went but despite clipping the edge of the lilies I couldn't raise a bite.

So it ended up being a weird but hugely enjoyable session! To get seven fish in an hour (one jumped the kayak before I could get a snap!) was amazing and it was just so strange how the fishing turned off as quickly as it turned on. If I'd been fishing for silvers in the UK, I'd say it was due to a predator such as a pike or perch moving into the area but I can't think of anything swimming in the reservoir (other than bigger bass!) who may have scared them all away...

Lets see what the next session brings!

If it was chilly out last time it was bloody freezing today! The car thermometer didn't register above 5 degrees on the drive out and there was lots of mist in the fields around the lake. But by the time I hit the water around 7ish the sun was just poking over the trees and warming things up - it was looking like another stunning morning on the water.

The plan for today was to try a few spots around the landing stage and then head up the lake. There were some distinct 'hot spots' on the last session ('Fence Bay' and 'Kanagroo Point' being the main ones) and I'd already decided to maximise my chances by heading there earlish in the day. If they proved to be as prolific as before, it would be a shame to arrive there late and have to beat for home when the fish were biting...

So I spent only 10 minutes casting at the landing stage before heading around the corner to the first spot, a great looking margin at the bottom of someone's garden! With no sounder, I had to rely on memory and experimentation to find the edges of the weedbeds and this was where a bit of prior knowledge really helped me out. So it was amazing when on my 2nd cast I received an absolutely banging hit on the lure - this one tore off, desperately trying to get into the weed and spinning me around in the kayak. But a good tussle latter and it was in the net, what a fish and what a cracking start!

That bay produced another smaller fish but after another 10 minutes of casting it was time to move on, this time to 'Nursery Bay'. This spot was occupied by 3 kayaks last time so I was keen to give it a go. Sure enough, I got a hit after the first couple of casts and landed a number of small bass.

Time to move on again, this time going straight across the water, over the 'rowing highway' and further up the lake. I tried a couple of spots along the way but was having a hard time finding any clear areas so kept paddling up as far as 'Fence Bay'. I had high hopes for this spot and was rewarded by an clonking take on the 2nd or 3rd cast into the bay. But this time, it wasn't meant to be and despite connecting with the fish, it somehow dropped the hook... I kept at it though and managed to pick off a number of fish, all reasonably small but I didn't mind - I was having such a good time!

Having exhausted that spot it was onwards and upwards to 'Kangaroo Point'. This was probably the spot I was most excited about as it had resulted in my largest fish to date, a 38cm beast that sadly I didn't manage to get a trophy shot of. Cruising into the bay it looked absolutely perfect, virtually no wind, not a lot of drift, gin clear water... Cast one and... BANG! That quick?! I couldn't quite believe it, the fish clearly love this part of lake. I managed a good 4 or so fish and a couple of missed runs before I decided to move on. Again, no monsters - the larger fish were illuding me this time around...

As it was close, I decided to give the opposite bay a go on my way back down the lake and was pleasantly surprised by another bass on the first cast and a couple of missed runs. I was equally surprised by the absolutely huge stag complete with massive antlers that was standing in the water! To be honest, I thought I was imaging it, a case of too much sun out on the water but when it moved off into the bushes I realised it was actually real.

It was getting later in the day now so I headed back across the lake and tried a couple of new spots on my way back to the landing stage and again was rewarded with a number of small bass. In terms of fish, the session had been incredibly prolific - but apart from that first fish, I just couldn't seem to find any big ones...

So I have the perfect excuse for another trip! After so many hard sessions at Enoggera Reservoir it really is a blast to hit a water and get so many bites, I think Lake Kurwongbah may become my new venue of choice for quite a while now.

As you may have noticed, March has very much been Kayaking month and I've been hitting Enoggera Reservoir hard to hone my lure fishing skills and work out what the buzz about fishing for Australian Bass is all about.

The sessions haven't exactly been prolific... But after six or so outings on the water I've gradually been getting the hang of things, learning to spot the likely areas, get my casting accuracy on point and along the way I've been lucky enough to get a number of bites and fish per session (apart from the previous blank which we won't talk about!).

Today was no exception, the going was hard and the fish very twitchy - maybe due to the windy conditions? I'd headed to a likely looking spot I'd fished on previous visits which although hadn't produced a fish, had resulted in a solid knock on the last session and just screamed that it should do a bite...

And luckily for me it did! This fish was at least twice the size of anything I've caught to date and gave me a really good run around in the kayak - the bite was like steam train! The other great thing was this was on a lure I'd not caught on before, namely the Rapala Rap-V Blade 'Bud'.

Luckily I'd recently picked up a landing net otherwise I think it would've been a struggle to get it safely in the kayak... I've no idea on the weight/length but it was a solid chunky fish, defo larger than legal size (although of course it went back, strictly catch-and-release for these fish so someone else can enjoy catching them).

Apart a couple of missed bites, the rest of the session past without any more fish - but I think you'd agree this 'beast' more than made up for it?!

Todays session was a complete rerun of last week minus the gale force winds! I hit the water at the same time, around 8ish, investigated the same spots and caught one fish from the exact same spot as last week. I didn't get a knock or a tap anywhere else, it's almost as if all the fish apart from this one lonely bass have been removed from the reservoir...

As it was I was relying on the spot in question to come up with the goods, I'd say it's been the only reliable banker spot on the entire water since I started fishing at Enoggera. I'd had a couple of experimental casts and received what felt like a gentle hit on the retrieve. I stuck with it, finally changing lure colour and position and then got an absolute winner of a cast right on the edge of the lily pads...

And sure enough off it went! Not a big fish but a fish to save me from the dreaded blank. I'm not sure what's going on at the moment but Enoggera Reservoir is fishing hard... One fish does make a session I guess but it's not a lot to show for 3 or so hours worth of casting, especially when you know that there's a lot of fish in there.

Maybe its winter, maybe its the weather, maybe its the water clarity (we haven't had a huge amount of rain but the water level is up and there's a brown tinge to it...) but it might be a good time to put the bass fishing on hold for a couple of weeks and investigate some sea fishing... Watch this space!

And guess what? It was windy as all hell... Seriously, white tipped waves, the kayak being hurled around all over the place, casting virtually impossible and to top it all it was bloody freezing! Why oh why did I listen to the forecast?! Although I enjoyed my session Bream bashing at Nudgee yesterday the conditions would've been perfect for lure fishing on the res!

Although it was difficult I did manage one bass from a spot that rarely lets me down. I somehow managed a perfect cast, right on the edge of the lilies and as I muttered 'that cast deserves a fish' off it went. As normal no monster (there are some in Enoggera but they're few are far between) but as it was a blank saver, I wasn't complaining.

I spent 3 hours in total bobbing around before I called it - the wind was kinda ruining things for me so I headed home and wrote some blog posts! Not a bad way to start the weekend?!