The Sweet and Sour Waters of Lake Mac - 03Nov12

TR by Gemini

Participants:  Gemini, Mangrove-Mac
Conditions: overcast with occasional shower, wind varied with rain periods

I arrived at the launch just before 5AM to find Mangrove-Mac already unloading. Conditions were forecast to be a little iffy, but a weekend warrior has little choice about these things. This was Mangrove-Mac's first trip onto Lake MacDonald, and little did he know he was going to get a show. Loaded and ready, we entered the water...

We proceeded across the strawberry patch, casting at the gaps in the weeds as is usually the custom at Lake Mac. Another usual occurrence is having my first strike within 15 minutes of launching. The "little" bugger gave me some curry, diving into the weeds and trying to bury himself in the bottom. I had to apply some pressure to get him up (which can often result in pulling the hooks), but he cooperated enough to get him into the net.



He was a whopper. Easily the biggest bass I have ever caught. I estimate he was close to 50cm and FAT. Now when I say "estimate", there's a reason for that...when attempting to remove the hooks he decided my breath was too bad and bailed over the side of the yak. If Mangrove-Mac hadn't been there to temper my fury I suspect I would have sterilised a vast portion of the surrounding landscape with my bad language. It was a heartbreaker, but hey, that's fishing.

After composing myself, we continued our journey. Not far from the last strike, I was fortunate to have another. This fish was undersized, and went back (by choice) to fight another day.



We headed around the bend and up towards mango tree. I had a strike or two during the journey, but no takers. Mangrove-Mac was testing out some different lures, but had so far been without a hit. As we proceeded past mango tree, I had another strike. This fish was a decent size, and it refused to come in without half the weeds of the lake tangled around his body.



He was about 36cm, and went into the hold for consumption.

This was a breaking point for me. Three fish landed was my usual result for a day at Lake Mac, could I do better today?

We moved into Toga Bay. I had just finished telling Mangrove-Mac about the reasonably good results from around that particular area when my line had a strike. It felt at first like I had snagged some weed, but an exploratory tug on the line resulted in the line tugging back. I started to reel it in, and the line went slack. Scratching my head, I continued to reel the line in...and then the fish jumped! The bass of Lake Mac don't usually leave the water, so this was something new I had not caught here yet. I didn't get a good look at it when it jumped, but I had my suspicions. The fish ran around a lot more than the bass tend to do, and he didn't dive to the bottom like the bass do either. Bringing him to the yak I had my suspicions confirmed. I had landed my first saratoga ever!



Mangrove-Mac came over to assist in removing the hook from the net. The toga had spat it in his frenzy, and it took a while to subdue him. Apparently toga like to try and jump out of nets!






The toga was just legal (minimum size is 50cm), but I hear they're not worth eating anyway. Up close they are a nice looking fish. The photos don't do the red spots much justice.

After that excitement the rest of the day was a little slow. We headed up to the palm farm area and continued to cast around. I had a couple of takers that spat the hooks before getting to the yak, and we were rained on a couple of times. Unfortunately Mangrove-Mac posted a doughnut for the day, but he did say he was off to the nearest tackle shop for a baby vibe lure (which I had used all day).

After we landed I cleaned my keeper bass and found something in its gullet that I found interesting.



We suspect this is a bass fingerling, but maybe someone else can confirm who has better knowledge than us. It's not hard to see why the baby vibe is so attractive to the bass.

All in all a fantastic day out. I hope to see more of the saratoga. I can see now why they are a prized sports fish.

Cheers!

Matt (Gemini)