Fishing trip to Walpole

I went down to Walpole with my friends to kick off the summer holiday. 

We arrived at the camp site late afternoon, and after checking into our 5 star accommodation (the flattest piece of land on the camp ground I mean), we went fishing to get some dinner. 

We got some breams but they weren't big enough for a dinner plate, so we kept a few herrings which came through the channel chasing some bait fish.

毎年恒例のクリスマスホリデー前の釣り旅行に行って来ました。 南へ５時間ドライブして、やっとキャンプ場に到着。地面が一番平でウォーターフロントの一等地にテントを張ると、晩のおかずを捕まえに行きました。

We fished around Walpole next day.  We looked around a couple of flats but fish weren't there.  So, we gave up fishing on flats and fished around drop offs instead.  Again, fish that we caught were small schooling size breams.

次の日は、Walpole周辺を釣りましたが、魚は、フラットに入っていなくて、少々期待はずれ。という事でフラットでの釣りは早々にあきらめて、落ち込みなどの深場を釣りましたが、釣れて来るのは、キープサイズに満たないチビクロダイばっかり。

Fishing was slow in Walpole, so we went off to Albany on the third day to check Kalgan and King river down there.

We got to the spot where Mike caught some fish a couple of months ago, but the place was rather quiet. So, I jumped on my packraft to check the opposite side of the river where I saw many small breams on a flat.

I cast at them but they were only following my fly without hitting it.  I eventually caught a OK size fish along the drop off.

三日目は、釣果がパッとしないWalpoleではなく、さらに車で２時間行った先のアルバニーに行く事に。友達が２ヶ月前に釣った時には良かったという川の河口のポイントを釣りましたが、魚の反応はゼロ。パックラフトで対岸まで漕いで行くと、フラットに魚が入っている場所を発見。ここでやっとまあまあのサイズの魚が一匹釣れました。

After having lunch on the river bank, we packed up and left Albany.  On the way back to Walpole, we stopped at a few places along the scenic route.

２時間の帰路を考えて、アルバニーからはお昼過ぎに退散。 途中おもしろそうな場所を数カ所寄り道しながら帰りました。

On the last day, we decided to paddle a section of the Frankland River.  I set up the packraft while other guys were sorting out their kayaks at the canoe hire.  We paddled out eventually, but we noticed that the wind was getting stronger.

I guess, we were on the river for an hour or so, but after battling with the gusty head wind and having lack of fishing action, we were ready to go back to the dry land by then.

Mike and I were coming back to Perth while another friend was going south to continue his surfing trip. So, we decided to have our last lunch together before our departure. While we were having lunch at a cafe, the dark clouds came through and rain started falling. I thought it was a good timing to leave the place.

最終日は、Frankland Riveをカヤックから釣ろうという事になりました。パックラフトを膨らまして出発の準備が終わる頃に、友達二人は、、川の前のホテルでレンタル・カヤックを借りてきました。

大物が釣れる期待を胸に漕ぎ出しましたが、風が段々強くなって、空模様も怪しくなりました。川には一時間程浮いていましたが、前からの強風と釣果の無さに全員ギプアップ。「町でお昼でも食べて、さっさと帰ろう」という事になりました。

今回の旅行は、魚の数はそこそこ釣れましたが、サイズ的には去年と同じで今一つ。旅の途中で行ったアルバニーの川が面白さそうだったので、来年は、そっちにしようかなあ、と思います。