A fishing trip out west..

[Deleted]

I promised to do a  trip report for my fellow classic van friends..

A good friend, works in a high position in a large American company here in Australia and has a heavy work load at times, plus just a couple of years ago he also had children going through the school system and he never had enough time to do what he loved- fishing. He always said that one day the star's would align and he would have the time to come away with me on some of my trips fishing and camping. Well last year children grow up and work loads changed and the star's aligned !

Thursday - we had been emailing each since our last trip about where and when we were to go. So by today I knew he would be finishing work at 12-12.30pm and would be at my place by 1pm, our last email at 10-30am stated everything was going to plan. But he surprised me and showed up at 12.25pm, I had my ute already loaded, with my canoe and camping gear and after a quick greeting and hugs with my wife we soon had his kayak and camping gear on board as well and at 12.45pm we drove out the gate turned right and headed west towards Toowoomba.

The trip up the range was fine with no problems and just after 2pm we stopped for lunch in Dalby and stretched our legs and backs  and was under way again, we arrived at Chinchilla weir just after 4pm

Attachment Deleted

We drove and looked at the weir itself and then headed to where the camp ground and public area's were, it has a concrete boat ramp and gas BBQ's - toilets, but no water so you need to bring your own. The area is black soil so if it rains or is going to rain think twice before camping here. There is power available for campers/caravans(limited number) and there are no fee's but a maximum stay of 48hrs. The local tourist group ask if you like camping and using the power you are welcome to drop off a donation in the tourist office in town, town is approx. 10klms away.

We soon found a spot to setup camp that had easy access to the water and by 4-30pm we were in our canoe and kayak exploring and having a fish.

Attachment Deleted

We didn't catch anything for the hour we were out but we did get a good look around and had a better idea of the water way. So back to camp for some dinner and laughs, we chatted to a few of the van owners (not a classic to be seen) and found a couple of the vans came from my local area lol. There was lightening in the distance and come 2am we are all out of our camps and vans as the wind is up and that lightening now has thunder attached to it and it's almost on top of us. I think 2 or 3 vans left but we had internet on our phone so I could check the BOM site and see how much rain was coming and it showed only light stuff so we stayed and 30 min's later I was listening to rain drops on the tarp and by morning you could barely tell we had a light shower.

Attachment Deleted

This is our setup just a pair of stretcher tents and tarps - very quick and simple but your off the ground and get a nice comfortable sleep.

Attachment Deleted 

Setup from our camp site, to be continued

[Deleted]

Friday morning,

It is overcast but the weather report states it will be a fine hot day so we hit the water early and after a couple of hours we head back to camp for breakfast and to pack up for our departure at lunchtime.

Attachment Deleted

So a nice coffee and some corn flakes and back to fishing and on the way back to our fishing spot and not long after leaving the edge my rod goes off and soon a nice size yellowbelly is beside the canoe but before I can get the net under him he's off

So no points for me yet but my mate he didn't even have his line in the water as he thought it was too shallow ! Well over the next 2 hours I landed 1 fish and lost 2 plus lost a lure while my friend also landed a fish, he had the lead as his was 41cm and my fish was only 39cm.  

Attachment Deleted

At 11am we headed in and washed up the gear and changed clothes and said farewell to Chinchilla weir but we will be back, very nice place.  We headed into town and had a look around and being a Friday it was very busy so we had some lunch and then went and fuelled the ute and head to our next spot Archer Crossing, after driving for approx. 45min's we arrived to find 2 camp sites that look like people are living here not camping, but with no drinking water or toilets you need to be self sufficient.

Attachment Deleted

It had a nice concrete boat ramp and mowed area, covered seating area but no BBQ's or cooking spots. We put the canoe and kayak in and fishing for about an hour with no fish caught but was a place neither of us had been too so was good to see what it was like.

Attachment Deleted

Well the clouds started to build so we decided to head off to our next overnight camp spot just the other side of Dalby, so 30min's later we are back on the Warrego Hwy heading east.

[Deleted]

Friday afternoon

First stop is Dalby for some ice and some snacks to nibble on while at camp that night and then we head to Bowenville reserve, the problem was there was a lot of water in the ditches as we headed in and out of Dalby so they had gotten a lot of that storm from the night before, and this had us worried about the creek and the ground at Bowenville.  

Well at approx. 4 pm we arrive and the creek is at normal levels and the ground is wet in spots but generally dry so we look around for 20 min's and find a spot to setup. It is the first time I have seen so many people camping here, many of them with dogs and a few living rough, one group had turned a sheltered table into there own area with a caravan on one side and a trailer on another and 2 large tents plus 2 cars. They had dogs and children and looked like they had been there a while, before we left the following day, a council vehicle along with the police had shown up while we were out fishing and spoken to 3 or 4 different camp sites.

I have nothing against people who use a generator but I don't like having them going to 11pm so people can watch TV or DVD's in a camp site !!  leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It was interesting how the local possum worked out if there was a dog around it started growling as it approach our camp then stopped walking and growled again when nothing barked it approached closer and came right up to us so we gladly gave him/her a snack to take and watch it do the same trick at the next camp but it had a dog so it moved away toward another van.

Attachment Deleted

Some stat's on the Chinchilla weir

Saturday morning and we are up early for breakfast and we pack up camp and drive down to the creek for the morning fish, first we have to get passed the 20 odd set lines/rods put out the night before and then once away from the camp grounds we get our lures in the water and around the next bend my rod bends back and goes off after a nice fight a yellowbelly comes beside the canoe and just as it goes into the net the fish throws the hook and flips out of the net before I could lift it out of the water.

I have never lost so many fish before landing them  !  EVER !!!

Attachment Deleted

My friend fishing up Oakey Creek..

Well after a couple of hours and no fish I decide to head back for a coffee and to stretch my legs, while my mate fishes on and while away he gets 2 more yellowbelly and one of them is 42cm so he's in front with the biggest fish. So after getting passed all the fishing lines at the camp ground and boiling the billy, I chat with an older guy in a van nearby and get the news about the police and council doing the rounds, I told him we're packed up and will be leaving when we finish fishing, and he tells me he's been there for 8 days

So my mate has rang me and told me the news about his fish so with that...it's war and back on the water I go and just as I approach him my rod goes off again and this time I'm landing this fish or I'm going to jump and hunt it down

Attachment Deleted

Well, not the longest fish but an upgrade to 40cm so better then going backwards or worst not getting it in the canoe. Well no more fish are caught and just after 11am we call it a day and head back for the trip back home.

Attachment Deleted

A noisy friend..

Well we head to Cooby dam for a look as this will be our next fishing trip but just an over nighter, it's water level is down a bit but still looked OK, went and checked the spot we will camp at and then called into the local tackle store and bought some lollies(lures), stopped at Highfields Bakery for lunch and was back home at 2-30pm.

So when I say I'm going away for a day or 2 fishing, we pack a fair bit in while we're away - feels like we were gone a week.

Also all fish are released un harmed, none are taken, we photograph and release

Cheers Lawrence

[jdmac2312]

Sounds like you had a great time.

[pisces51]

G'day lockyer,

I have never lost so many fish before landing them ! EVER !!!

Are you sure your mate hasn't got some new-fangled technology gizmo that frightens the fish just as you are about to land it???

Sounds like you've had quite an adventure, and packed a heap of activity into a short couple of days. Also look like pretty nice places to spend a bit of time at - if you can get away from the "permanents". Some people sure seem to stretch the friendship in these out of the way places.

Great trip report. Thanks for taking the trouble to post it.

cheers,
Al.

[bobt]

Hey lockyer,

Thanks for the trip report and photos. Glad to hear you had a good time. Sounds like it might be a good spot for me to stop at later on this year.

bobt