The boys hit the 'pole

[adidaspeteman]

Every now and then the lure of great fishing in distant places drives you to bite the bullet and hit the road.





Me and Ben (Da-houghsta) had been chatting about getting away down south for a while and with the year quickly drawing to an end I set a date.

Matt (Jugglerman) wanted in as well but he had a great fear to face, the wife. He conquered his fears and told the-all-so-powerful-minister-of-everything that he and the lads are going away for the weekend and she will have to fend for herself with the three kids. Matt got the pink slip to leave but me and Ben somehow got into the bad books for stealing the hubbie... lol.

The destination of choice was easy to make and Bream Mecca Walpole played on our minds for the three weeks countdown before we left.



The Walpole-Nornalup National Park and the Walpole-Nornalup Inlet System surround Walpole. The Walpole-Nornalup National Park is expansive, covering over twenty thousand hectares of wilderness. The Knoll Scenic Drive offers a chance to experience some of the best of the park in one short drive. Stop at the Channels for a picnic and a stroll to the channel connecting the Walpole and Nornalup inlets through the tall karri forest.



The little town of Walpole sits nestled in the centre on the northern side of the Walpole Inlet. There is so much to see and do in the Walpole region - experience the vast spreading views from Mt. Frankland, the mirrored reflections in the quiet rivers, the glory of the wildflowers, the majesty of the trees and the world famous Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk. The Valley of the Giants is an architecturally designed pathway taking you almost forty metres into the canopy of giant tingle trees. According to the Dept of Environment and Conservation; "The park contains 19 species of mammals, 109 species of birds and 22 species of reptile."The National Park also hosts four rare species of Eucalyptus, including the Rates Tingle (Eucalyptus cornuta), Red Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus jacksonii), Red Flowering Gum (Eucalyptus ficifolia) and the Yellow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus guilfoylei).

Friday midday the boys arrived at my house and soon after we were on the road in the rain. The weather forecast for the weekend did not look good….

We were not going to let the rain dampen our spirits at all and I reminded the boys of my theory that I like the conditions a little rough to stir up the water as I believe this gets the bream into a feeding mood.

The drive down was quick and soon we arrived, unpacked and were on our way down the bush track to the Walpole Inlet. Within the first five minutes I hooked up to the first fish of the trip, a nice bream. The water was the colour of coke from all the fresh coming through from the rains. I thought this might make the fishing slow or shut down but the bream were on the chew and we had a great little session with all of us getting into them.





The weather remained grey for the rest of the trip with the rain and wind coming and going but the fishing at both the inlets was steady and kept us happy with bends in our rods. Bream, tarwhine, skippy and both king george and yellowfin whiting were caught from 6 outings.









The killer lure of this trip was the Zipbaits Khamsin Jr DR in any colour. We also used other hard bodies and soft plastics. Ben broke his PB a few times and was happy with his new one at 37cm. Matt was happy with a new bream on fly PB of 36cm. And me, well I was chuffed with the biggest bream of the trip almost nudging 40cm but short by 2 cm.



We got our bream fix with almost 200 fish caught between us.

































I think the boys now share my love of this place and are keen to get back as soon as possible.

[Two Utes]

Well done Pete. Sounds like you guys had a great time. Did you notice how you have to rug up when you go south? That's why l like heading north.....shorts, tee shirt, and sunnies....got them all packed for my flight to Rockhampton tomorrow. Hoping to get onto some Awoonga Barra.

[adidaspeteman]

Haha, we had to rug up. I feel the cold so had many layers on as you can see....

[chewy01]

Great read mate,
though it looks a little cold 4 me..)
chewy.. awesome pics

[Pistol_P]

Really enjoyed that thread adidaspete...

Fantastic clear pictures...and some great fish.

Well done.

Pete

PS. What stick you using for the bream..?

[adidaspeteman]

Cheers, the rod is a 7 foot Nitro Vapor 1-3kg. I blooded it in Walpole with the first fish of the trip.

[Hungy]

some nice fish you got

[ffejsmada]

Good stuff petaman, looked a tad windy also on some days!

Those whiting really savage lures don't they??

Some top shots mate, well done!

Jeff.

[Nath86]

Looks like a great trip there Pete, and 200 fish for the weekend is excellent by anyones standard.
So when's the next trip planned for then?

Cheers Nath

[adidaspeteman]

feb, you want in Nath?