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Chasing Trout Number 500

By Adrian (meppstas) Webb

Seeing as I only needed another seven trout to reach my season target of five hundred, I headed back to the tannin waters to hopefully catch the required number of fish. My main problem was that my lower back wasn't all that good. Still, I decided to go and see if I could get it over and done with today.

It was just after midday when I hopped in the stream and started to fish my way upstream. This was a big mistake because, after the recent rains that we had, there was heaps of debris in it. Even though I did have a couple of hits from trout, I knew that it wasn't worthwhile continuing on any further. So, I hopped out and took a twenty-minute walk to another stretch of water downstream.

By the time I reached my entry point it was 12:55 pm. The lure of choice to start with here was the Mepps #00 Gold Aglia, the same little lure that's done well in the tannin waters on previous trips. In the first two stretches of water not a lot happened. I had one hit from a trout and that's as far as it went. I went for a change of lure and the lure I changed to was still a small #00 Aglia, the only difference being that I went for the copper blade, mainly because the water here was at a lower level which made it lighter in colour.

It wasn't all that long after the lure change that I hooked the first trout of the afternoon. It didn't stay on all that long, in fact two solid head shakes was all that it took to toss the spinner. It wasn't all that long after that when I hooked and landed the first trout of the spin session. A small brown trout was the first fish of the day. Just like the trip that I had yesterday, after catching the first trout I was catching one every four to five minutes, with most small fish.

After catching the fifth trout and knowing that I only needed two more to reach my five hundredth for the season, I lost the next two trout that I hooked! This was a little disappointing. I really wanted to catch two more trout because my lower back pain was still there and not easing off at this stage, even after taking a couple of painkillers when I left home. It wasn't all that long after losing the two trout that I caught the sixth trout of the day. Once that one was landed, I knew it wouldn't be all that long before I had the trout I needed. It wasn't long at all. Just two casts later and the trout I was after was hooked and landed. My five hundredth trout was in the net! The target that I set at the start of the season was reached and from here on every trout I catch would be a bonus.

Once I had reached my target, I did think about calling it a day... but made the decision to continue fishing. It was a good decision to do so. The little Mepps copper Aglia was still doing a great job on the trout as I slowly fished my way upstream. I was catching trout at regular intervals, which was great. I was also hooking and losing a few as well, not that I minded as most of them were small fish. The main problem I was having was with my lower back, but I still wanted to catch a few more trout before I tossed in the towel. I had a couple of Panamax in my shirt pocket, so I chewed on them and stuck to the fishing, which turned out to be a good decision.

From there on I caught and released quite a few trout and it wasn't until I had caught and released my seventeenth trout for the afternoon that I called it a day. I was just too sore in the lower back to keep on fishing, so I really had no choice but to stop fishing in the end. The best trout of the day was the fifteenth fish that I caught, which was a beautiful 525g brown trout, that was in top condition.

Once I hopped out of the river (3:15 pm) I still had a decent walk back to the car and it was a relief to sit down when I reached it too. I know it wasn't the best thing for my lower back, to push myself today, but when one loves fishing the rivers like I do, it's never easy saying enough is enough. It's just the way I am. Once I got home and had a hot shower, sat down, and put my feet up, I felt much better. Tomorrow is another day and I'm sure I will be heading off for another spin session before it's over.

Adrian (meppstas)

Equipment Used During the Trout Season:

TT Red Belly Spin Rods – RBS702L 7’ 1-3kg 2pce
Okuma Celilo Finesse Spin Rods – 1-3kg
Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reels – ITX-1000
Okuma Epixor XT Spin Reels - EXPT-20
Okuma Ceymar HD Spin Reels – CHD-1000HA
Platypus Pulse Mono Premium Nylon Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Super 100 Nylon Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Pre-Test Nylon Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader
Mepps Inline Spinners