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?!

I've still not figured out why the seasonal change from summer to winter in Australia is so sudden but the long and short is that it goes from being light until gone 7pm to being pretty much dark by 5pm in the space of a week!

And I guess it kinda crept up on me this year... Despite getting on the water and arriving at the current 'hot spot' by 5ish there was a distinct chill in the air and the sun was already dipping behind the trees...

So I made the most of the time I had! After working the faithful tree line that has been producing the bites for over the last sessions I was quickly rewarded by a solid bite after casting tight to the lily pads.

No monster but a welcome fish. And as luck would have it, 5 minutes later I got another explosive bite from the exact same spot! But at that point, I realised that the sun was disappearing fast and if I didn't get a row on I was in danger of being out on the water in the dark...

I managed to get back to the landing stage as the last of the light went and had to drag the kayak back to the car park and load in the pitch black! Worth it? Defo, it was a real buzz to get those two bass in the near darkness but lesson learnt - it gets dark quick! I think it'll be early mornings from now on...

An early start was in order as the reservoir gets crazy busy at the weekend, so I was up before sunrise leaving the house at 5.30am and getting on the water by 6am - just in time for the sun to pop up over the dam wall and treat me to a glorious yellow glow across the water.

As predicted, it was busy with the lower car parks already bustling with other kayakers and stand-up-paddleboarders.​ I also bumped into two other angers... but more on that later...

As it was already busy around the landing stage and main drag down to the dam wall I decided to paddle hard and make my way right to the other end of the water. It was at this point that I had my first mishap of the day in the shape of forgetting to put the scupper plugs in the rear storage section of the kayak... Luckily I hadn't sunk but I had drowned my bag, my shoes, my food... Lesson learned, don't always be in such a rush!

Sadly 5 minutes after that, I had my second mishap - I'd made a few casts to get my eye in and was going well when the line went slack when chucking to a set of lily pads. Weird I thought, I wonder if I'd hooked something behind me or forgot to tighten the clutch when 'sposh' the lure landed a couple of metres in front of the kayak. I've no idea how but the knot had slipped and the leader had completely unraveled from the mainline! What the hell?!?! That was a brand new lure, it's first outing on the water and it just whistled over my head into oblivion. Second lesson learnt, always check your knots - not just when you tie them but after you've cast them as once they're wet they may let you down. 

I tried a few more spots along the way down the lake but it was hard to resist the temptation of hitting the 'hot spot' from the previous couple of sessions early on to see if there were any fish around. But on this occasion, there weren't - I gave it a good half an hour, probably longer than I should've but with no takers I decided to head directly across the water to another spot we'd checked out last weekend.

Luckily for me, this new spot produced my first bite of the day! By no means a monster, but very welcome. The bite came from casting tight to one of the rafts of lily pads in the area and I really thought that once I'd hooked one, there'd be more waiting. But no dice. After a good 30 minutes of casting around to every likely spot I decided to head to some much needed shade, rest up for a moment and eat my now soggy breakfast...

I figured then it'd be worth moving onto the next spot which is pretty much as far as I've paddled down the lake and again, casting to the rafts of lily pads produced the second bite of the day! As with the previous fish, I really thought it would kick off with at least one more bite but after another solid half hour of casting around with nothing to show for my efforts it was time to move on again.

This end of the lake had given me a clear view along the length of the water and I'd noticed the other two anglers I'd met at the landing stage making their way along the far side. As they were so close, I figured it would only be polite to check in on how they were getting on but sadly they too were struggling and hadn't managed to snag a fish.

From what I can tell, Enoggera can be a very tough water! 

By this time the sun was high in the sky, the temperature had shot up and a steady wind was blowing down the water making it hard to keep the kayak from drifting. So I decided to call it a day and make my way back to the landing stage. By this time, there were loads of people on the water including an incredibly noisy group of 10 or so girls on paddle boards. As they were next to another one of the 'hot spots' near the point opposite the dam wall I almost considered not bothering having a cast... But I was really surprised when I had a couple of missed bites! I think the noise and commotion on the water may have made the bass wary and they were only really nipping at the lure but it was interesting that it hadn't pushed them completely out of the area.

So there you go, another enjoyable morning up at Enoggera Reservoir with a couple of fish to show for it. There's defo some bigger fish in there and from what I've been told, they may start showing themselves once the weather and the water starts to cool down a bit. But for now, I'm simply loving being regularly fishing again and to be that close to the water on a kayak is just excellent.