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Looking Further Afield

By Ryan Dixon

I have many fond memories when it comes to fishing. Memories of my first marlin tagged offshore, my first mangrove jack, and the smile on a mates face when they catch a personal best fish. For me, it's not all about catching fish every time you go out, it's more about the special places it can take you. With more and more people taking up fishing as their favourite pasttime, I find I now need to start looking further afield to find secluded spots and new fishing locations. Putting in the extra effort, with a bit of research, and taking the time to work out how to get to these spots, can make for some special memories before your line even hits the water.

Being based in Brisbane, I have many different waterways within an hour drive from me, with multiple estuaries, impoundments and land locked lakes being at my disposal. Exploring these different waterways can sometimes be difficult, with limited access for launching a boat and private property not allowing you to explore by foot. However there are a few ways I like to explore these special places, with a kayak, canoe or stand up paddle board being a great way to access the upper reaches of our estuary systems. The mentioned paddle craft allow you to sneak through skinny sections and you also have the option of getting out and carrying them through shallow or dry sections of the creek. They are all very quiet in the water allowing you to navigate with minimal noise, which is imperative when fishing in clear water or skinny sections.

When looking for new spots, many hours of research is sometimes needed before you even put a lure in the water. Google Earth is a great tool that you can use on the Internet, finding new fishing spots with Google Maps allowing you to find access to your chosen destination. Most of the time the easiest spots to get to are normally quite common amongst like-minded anglers, so choosing spots a bit further afield and harder to get to will generally result in the chance for better fishing. Sometimes more remote locations can't be accessed by paddle craft, as thick bush doesn't allow easy access for your craft, so bush bashing on foot is sometimes the mode of transport taken.

When embarking on an exploratory adventure by foot, I make sure I have the appropriate clothing and gear with me in case of any obstacles that I may encounter. Comfortable footwear is a must, with long pants and long sleeved clothing being good for long adventures in thick bush. I take plenty of drinking water on long missions, along with a hand held GPS, a small first aid kit and it is always good to let someone know of your rough location when going remote.

Knowing what tackle to pack can also be a problem as sometimes you don't know what species you are going to encounter. When I fish a spot for the first time, I like to pack a good array of lures as water depth and clarity are unknown until you find your chosen spot. Most of the time I will pack a couple of smaller lures, like the ZMan 2.5" GrubZ and Slim SwimZ, along with a couple of slightly larger profiles, such as the ZMan 3" MinnowZ and StreakZ Curly TailZ. These lures give you the option of a small profiled paddle or grub tail plastic or a slightly larger one.

Suggested colours are Motor Oil and Bloodworm for dirty water and Opening Night or Baby Bass in clearer water. I take a small box of jigheads, with a variety of weights to suit the depth or current that I am fishing. Spinnerbaits, blades and a couple of deep diving crank baits are always good to have in your arsenal, with crank baits being a good option to troll when fishing from a paddle craft, whilst navigating larger areas. The Bagley Deep Diving Shad 07 is a perfect lure for trolling applications in deeper water. ZMan 4" Hard Leg FrogZ and 2.75" Finesse FrogZ are great surface plastics and when rigged on a TT Lures ChinlockZ jighead are a perfect bait to fish across the surface when you have areas of heavy weed or you encounter surface feeding fish like saratoga and Australian bass.

If I am fishing from one of the mentioned paddle crafts I will normally take two rods with me, the first being a 2-4kg Okuma Cerros rod, matched with an Okuma Helios HSX-20 spinning reel and spooled with 6 pound braid. This rod is perfect for fishing the smaller lures mentioned above, while still having plenty of grunt if needed.

The second combo I take, for my larger lure work, is the Okuma Cerros 3-6kg rod matched with an Okuma Helios HSX-30 reel, spooled with 12 pound braid. This is a perfect all round combo that is light enough to chase bream, yet heavy enough to stop mangrove jack.

Exploratory missions can be extremely rewarding, especially when you find an untouched spot. When you are lucky enough to find these secluded spots that hold fish, generally good numbers of fish will be caught as they haven't seen many lures or had much fishing pressure. It goes without saying that if you do the miles, you will get the smiles. Put in plenty of research and planning before an adventure and come up with a game plan to try and eliminate fruitless missions. There are plenty of hidden gems out there waiting to be found.

Gear List

Okuma Cerros Spinning Rod - CER-S-701ML 7' 1pce 2-4kg
Okuma Helios SX Spinning Reel - HSX-20

Okuma Cerros Spinning Rod - CER-S-701M 7' 1pce 3-6kg
Okuma Helios SX Spinning Reel - HSX-30

ZMan 2.5" GrubZ
ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ
ZMan 3" MinnowZ
ZMan 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ
ZMan 2.75" Finesse FrogZ
ZMan 4" Hard Leg FrogZ

TT Lures HeadlockZ jigheads
TT Lures ChinlockZ jigheads
TT Lures SnakelockZ jigheads

Bagley Deep Diving Shad 07

Plenty of water, handheld GPS and first aid kit