Yass River a surprisingly good local option

Having never fished the Yass River before, I was imagining all sorts of fishing wonderlands in my head as I drove down the Hume Highway with the Yak humming to me on top.

I wasn’t disappointed; the opening stretch of river was dotted with logs crying out to be peppered with spinner-baits. Upon arrival at the Morton Avenue Bridge  I realized launching would not be a problem but getting the Yak back out was going to be a difficult task with a rocky maze presenting itself from the road to the river at a nice steep angle. But with the early morning sun just poking up its head and lighting up the river, that was a problem I left for future me to worry about.

After gathering my array of weapons I ventured upstream in my little Hobie with the picturesque fog dancing off the water’s surface and the sun gradually burning its way through.  I was welcomed into the rural surrounds of the Yass River by a herd of cattle grabbing a morning drink, no doubt preparing for a big day of moo-ing and what not.

There were so many fishy spots I didn’t know where to put my first cast: sunken logs, overhanging willow branches piercing the water, undercut banks and the odd boulder or rocky section just for good measure. You have to be careful  not to get ahead of yourself which I found myself doing frequently. In trying to make each cast perfect I was thinking of my next cast before the current one had even landed.  So adopting the principle of methodically working over the best and most fishy spots, I let my Spinner-bait slowly work its way through the murky water.

The further upstream I went the more structure there seemed to be in the middle of the river which was good as the structure on the bank was in relatively shallow water. But as I crisscrossed each snag with casts I was still yet to lure a green monster from its lair.

After bombarding snags for the first session with no joy, I was greeted with some very inviting sunken logs, one which was like an upside down dinner table with four legs pointing skyward.

I lobbed out in front of the snag and my lure started its slow decent into the sticky depths. WHACK. “Noooooooo” I screamed in my head (and likely out loud), I’d missed the hook up! In frustration I rushed the retrieve and with hands shaking, I duffed my next cast which was a sloppy flick to nowhere. The next cast was pin-point right where the first one landed. WHACK! WHACK! This was crazy - still no hook up! I twitched the rod tip to bring the spinner-bait back to life and as it shot up and then fluttered back down…WHACK! And yet, there was still no hook up! I knew that there was something down in the depths of that snag that wanted my lure big time!

The third cast was put back in the zone and like the times before I waited in anticipation for the strike. On queue there it was - WHACK! YES! It stuck! Never have I been so happy over a hook up (except when I first got together with my girlfriend Milly)! After a short wrestle out of the sticky jungle I had no problems bringing the green monster Yak-side! Well at 68cm he was hardly a monster but a Murray Cod none the less. After a quick measure and a few pics I watched him cruise back into the deep to tell his friends of his adventure. The further I went the better snags got, and as I came around a bend of the river I was greeted with what looked like a dead tree highway.

On the next hookup a beast turned his head, kicked his huge paddle tail into top gear and had my 30lb braid streaking off the reel. I stood my ground (as best you can when sitting 30cm above the water in a kayak) and with a few clicks on the drag, a few lifts of the rod and some short sharp winds of the handle I was back dictating the terms of this battle. A with a quick measure (86cm) and it was time for us to go our separate ways.

With the cool autumn air rolling in as the sun started to creep its way towards the hills, it was time to head home.  As I peddled past the snags that I had done battle on earlier it was nice to know that I would be back one day to do it all again. Getting the Yak back onto the roof racks proved difficult as expected, but it was all worth it!

Rob Black