Red clouds

The sky turned red yesterday evening, and it was beautiful.

Brompton rear sprocket

We get south westerly in the afternoon around here, and to get river from my house, I have to cycle against wind. It can often get quite windy, and it is not easy for a bike with such small wheels and only 3 choices of gears.

So, I have changed a rear sprocket on my brompton from 13T to 14T. It says that this lowers the gear by 7%. I don't know what that really means in terms of the reality, but I did a test drive the other day, and it felt like it was bit easier to travel into the gusty afternoon wind.

I don't think this is still not enough to go up on hills though. Fortunately there are not many hills around Perth, but if I was taking the bike to a trout fishing trip to NZ or any mountain streams, I would have to deal with hills.

I guess, to turn my bike into a hill climber, I will have to change a front chain ring to a smaller one (50T to 44T), but it costs $80 plus all new tools to do the job. In comparison, the rear sprocket cost me only $5. So for now, I will stick with a cheaper solution.

Christmas surprise

One of my graduating students gave me a new fly reel as a Christmas gift. I told him that I cannot accept it as it is too expensive to be something to give to a teacher (let's face it, I have never given anything to my teachers when I was in school).

He told me that it is from his family (who happen to own a tackle shop), and I should take it and enjoy fishing with it. So, I gratefully accepted his gift, and told him that I will catch big fish with it (it is 7/8 weight reel which I am going to use for Kahawai run in April).

Some people say teaching is a hard non rewarding job these days, but it may not be after all.


このリール、クリスマスプレゼントに今年の卒業生からもらいました。ちなみに、僕が高校生の時は、赤点や夏期講習など、先生からもらう物はあっても、こちらから先生にあげた物なんか一つもありません。

「こんな高い物は受け取れないよ」と言ったのですが、家族のみんなからのプレゼントという事なんで、ありがたく頂戴しました（ちなみに、彼の家族は、釣具屋です）。７／８番のリールですので、これを使って４月にkahawai釣りに行きたいと思います（それまでに７番の竹竿を作らなくてはいけませんが）。

The end of year Walpole trip

I went to Walpole with my friends on the weekend.

We left Perth on Friday lunch time, and after a long drive (actually Mike was a driver), we arrived at Walpole around 5:30. We quickly set up our camp, and went to fish for a hour or so. We were lucky that we got in time for estuary kahawai / Australian salmon making their evening run to chase some bait.

They came in a big school and we had a great time catching them on poppers one after another. They were nice size (for estuary dwelling juveniles) and fought hard. They were also nice to eat as we kept a couple for dinner (actually one got stolen by a big seagull when I left it on the bank while I was chasing other fish).

先週末は、友達とWalpoleへ行って来ました。パースを昼に出て、途中で休憩を入れながら５時間掛けてやっとの事でWalpoleに到着。さっさとテントを張ってキャンプの準備をしたら、竿を持って近くのポイントをチェックしに行きました。

暗くなるまで少しの時間しかありませんでしたが、タイミング良く魚の群れ（Kahawai / Australian Salmon)がベイトを追って岸からキャストできる距離に入って来ました。この魚は、幼魚の時は川の河口や入り江で過ごして、４０cm位になると海へ旅立ちます。このサイズの魚でも、そこは海で鍛え抜かれたボディーです。去年NZで釣ったもっと大きな鱒よりスピードもトルクもあります。

Home sweet home

It gobbled my deer hair popper

The reason we go to Walpole is to catch black bream, so we went on the hunt for them on Saturday as we usually do. However, it turned out to be a very tough quest. We moved around different spots and walked miles on flats, but not only we failed to hook up bream, we didn't seen many in the estuary.

It could be something to do with amount of freshwater flowing into the estuary due to a heavy rainfall they had or it was just a matter of fishing at a wrong time and at a wrong place. Whatever the reason, we were struggling to catch bream, and it was reminding us that even a paradise has a lousy day. I eventually caught a small bream in the late afternoon, and I must say I was very happy to get that fish after a long day of a wild goose chase.


西オーストラリアの南にあるWalpoleは、クロダイをフライフィッシングで狙う釣り人にとっては、最高の場所です。クロダイ自体は、パースの周りで普通に釣れますが、パース近郊には、Walpoleにある様なクロダイをサイトフィッシングができるフラットがありません。

そこで、土曜日は、一日かけてフラットからフラットへとクロダイを探してまわりました。ところが、いつもなら魚が入ってくるポイントも、この日はなぜかクロダイの姿がありませんでした。魚がいたとしても、数匹の魚がいる程度で、キャストしてもフライが着水した時点でスプーク。まったく釣れる感じがしませんでした。

数日前の大雨で湾内のコンディションが急に変わったせいなのか、ただ単に潮周りが悪い時間帯に釣っていたのか分かりませんが、他の魚は飽きる程釣れるのにクロダイだけはまったく駄目。午後に行った場所でやっと一匹小さいクロダイが釣れた程度でした。

Our morning visitor


Looking for fish






Lot of tea stained fresh water was coming out of the Deep River.


The whole western shore of the estuary was red.

In the evening, we went out to see if those kahawai would come back to chase bait again, but instead, a big school of herring showed up. As a night before, we were hooking fish after fish for a half hour so, then as sun went down, they disappeared.

土曜の夕方は、前の日にKahawaiが釣れた場所に早めに行って群れが入って来るのを待つ事にしましたが、この日は、Kahawaiの群れは来ませんでした。代わりにherringの群れが来て、目の前はボイルの連続。ポッパーでもストリーマーでも投げれば釣れる状態が３０分程あって、その後はパタリとアタリが無くなりました。

We were supposed to leave around lunch time, so we had a half day to fish on Sunday. Our friend kindly put us onto his lovely boat, and we went to check a flat on the other side of the estuary where we can't get to on foot.

As we were arriving on the beach, we saw a school of bream taking off. We thought it was a good sign, but we didn't see any bream after that unfortunately.

帰る日の日曜日は、釣りは午前中まで。家族旅行に来ていた友達が、朝早くボートで湾の反対側のフラットへボートで連れて行ってくれました。ボートが浅瀬に近づく時にクロダイの群れが散って行くのが見えたのですが、クロダイを見たのはこれだけ。フラットに残ったのは、少々のキスとボラの群れだけでした。

On the way back I got dropped off at a point where I caught bream a day before. I was hoping that there would be more bream in the same area. Although the sky turned into grey and rain came down hard, it turned out that next one hour was the best session of the trip. I not only caught many herring and a couple of small skippy (silver travelley), I hooked up a few breams including one nice fish at the end.

The fish wasn't a monster by any stretch of the imagination, but under the condition where everyone was struggling to catch bream, it was a good catch. As I saw fish swam back to the drop off, I felt content. So I cut my fly off, reeled line in, and started walking back to the camp.

キャンプ場に戻る前に後一つポイントをチェックするという事になり、その前の日に、謎の魚にティペットを切られたポイントへ移動。ポイントに着くと目の前でherringとkahawaiのボイルがありました。そこで、友達二人は、ボートから釣って、僕は、岸からウェーディングして狙う事に。本当の所は、前の日にクロダイを釣った場所をもう一度チェックしたかったからです。

運が味方したのか、ここからの１時間程が、今回の旅行のベストセッションとなりました。雨が降ってきた事が理由か分かりませんが、herringが６匹、クロダイが５匹、それから、オマケの小さいシマアジが２匹釣れました。特に最後に釣れたクロダイは、今回のベストフィッシュ。と言っても、普段の釣りなら驚くサイズの魚では決してありません。ただクロダイが殆ど釣れていない状況、または釣れたとしても手のひらサイズのコンディションの中で、唯一リールを逆回転させる事ができたサイズの魚でした。写真を撮ってリリースした後、もうそれ以上釣る気はしなく、ラインを巻いてキャンプ場に帰りました。

It became cold and wet suddenly.


My fish of the trip

A nice day to wet my pants

It was hot today, and for the second time in this summer, I was wading wet.

Fishing was slow at start, but I started getting hits in the afternoon. I think I got 5 fish with one break off at the end. I didn't think it was a big fish. It could be tailor biting off my tippet or just having a bad knot. After that, the wind and tide sifted, and fish were gone.

It was a nice wet wading weather today.


I don't know how the fish hit a fly to get the fly stuck like that.


Friday sky. It was beautiful but no fish.

Brompton folding bicycle

My fishing friend told me that fish were biting around lunch time last week, so I was curious to find out how it would be like this weekend. However, by the time we finished a coffee break around 11:00, it was already getting too hot.

So I stayed home to work on my new bicycle this afternoon instead.　It is a neat folding bike from England, and I am thinking to use it for my next fishing trip.

今朝は、久々に釣りに行ったのですが、一釣りして、コーヒーブレイクを終えた頃になると、暑くなりだしたので、さっさと帰って新しい自転車をいじる事にしました。

ブロンプトンと言うイギリスのフォールディング・バイクです。折り畳むと、とても小さくなります。

フィッシングトリップ仕様に金曜日に買って来たオプションの荷台を付ける事にしました。チャリンコ屋のおじさんは、「２時間の作業だ」と言っていましたが、なんの事はない、１時間で完了です。

Canon EF 24mm f2.8

Long time no fish

The end of year is always busy for teachers. Marking assignments, doing various paperwork, etc. So, I haven't been fishing for the past two weeks. For a person who fishes as regularly as those local pelicans, it is a fairy long time.

Actually I went out for an hour on Wednesday evening, but fishing was as unexciting as marking a test paper for a kid getting D grade.

Anyway, I got time this morning and the tide looked OK, so I went to fish with my friend, Trevor for a couple of hours. It was nice to be back on the water and to get something on the end of my line.

Speaking of a come back, my Canon D10 came to life again. It stopped working about a month ago for some reason. I left it for while, and when I turned on, it started working again. Lucky me.

Patagonia Watermaster wader

We got a shocking rain storm today. The rain came down like someone tipped a whole swimming pool from the roof top.

As I was struggling to get to my car at school car park, I wished if I had my wader with me. So, today, I write bit about Patagonia's Watermaster wader that I have been using for some years.

If I am allowed to get to my conclusion straight, the wader is well made, but I wouldn't be surprised if it starts to leak within the first 12 months or so.

My first pair had a life of one year and bit, then the second pair started leaking in 12 months. The third pair lasted only 3 months, and I used the next one for 6 months. I am on the fifth pair now. All of my previous waders suffered from the same problem. Leaking along the seam tape on legs. Nothing more, nothing less.

Why do I keep going back to Patagonia's waders?

Because apart from their environmental cause that I support, Patagonia's customer service is excellent. Patagonia has replaced all of my leaking waders (the only thing I paid was a shipping cost to send it back to the factory) without making me feel like I am being a bad customer.

I think based on the premise that every wader leaks soon or later, it is a better to go with ones with a good warranty, so when the wader fails, I get a replacement. Of course, if people make their waders to last, I don't need to get a new pair every year which is clearly better for the planet.

The current model of Watermaster wader has these buckles which can be used to adjust the length of the shoulder belts easily without taking them off. It is a handy option for dealing with the nature's call without taking the wader off (provided you are men).

The only problem with these buckles is that one on the back digs into my spine when I sit on a bench, chair or car seat while I am wearing my wader. It is very annoying and it would have been better if they didn't put these things on the back (use Velcro or something instead).

Other than the problem of their leaky seam tapes, the fabric is very tough. When I was using other waders from different companies, I was getting pin holes all the time. With Patagonia's wader, I rarely get pin holes (apart from getting punctured from barb wire, with those annoying thistles in NZ, and of course barnacles).

As I said, the wader is quite well made and comfortable to wear (apart from the belt buckle). It will be an excellent wader, only if it lasts longer (say 3 seasons).

They use their own breathable material called "H2NO"


Socks are thick and comfortable


A stainless steel hook on the gravel guard. It can catch fly line though.


Speaking of catch, here is my catch on the week end.


It is a interesting book to read about the company's philosophy

Did Canon Timer kill my camera?

Buddhist monk says "everything with a form is destined to break down", and as the Buddhist teaching goes, my Canon D10 failed today.

I have been using the camera for over one year and it served me well in the wind, rain, and under the water. It is pain in the neck though that electric gadgets often get kaputt as soon as their warranties become expired as if they got chipped with a self distracting time bomb.

I saw many SONY walkman got broken soon after their warranty periods finished when I was at school, and like many of my school friends, I used to believe that SONY products had a built in SONY Timer, a kill switch which kicks in as soon as the warranty expires. To be honest, I am still living with my past, and it is the only reason for me to stay away from SONY products even to this date. The irony is that it wasn't SONY Timer this time, it was Canon's.

Anyway, I got a nice size chopper tailor this morning, and I was glad that the camera was able to take a few shots of the fish before started acting funny. I will probably send it to Canon repair mob in Tokyo. I had to get my 50mm macro lens fixed last time, and getting it serviced over there was a lot cheaper than getting the lens repaired locally (I paid about $80 for something which was quoted $300 originally).

It's fun to get this one on my #4 rod. Lucky it didn't bite off 3X tippet.


For tailor of that size being around, no wonder dolphins looked busy.


This was the last shot I took with my Canon D10.


I switched Canon with Pentax Optio another waterproof point & shoot.

Can herring ever feel blue?

I fished Mandurah estuary today to chase some herring.

Although I managed to hook up a few of fish, fish weren't that switched on to chase my flies. I got them on a steamer but I had no success on a popper. There was one fish came up for it. It hit a fly once and it was gone. After that I didn't get anything even switching back to streamers.

Usually it is hard not to hook up herring when they are in their hunting mode. They get so agitated that they hit anything that moves around in front of their nose including a piece of red plastic straw or even bare hook.

It looks like even herring can be in a blue mood from time to time.