Trip Reports
Oberon
Date:
Sunday, 16 - 18 October 2009
Forecast:
Mostly Sunny, late shower Wind, S to SW, moderate to fresh; Temp, 2 - 10; Barometer, 1013, rising.
What a lucky country we live in. Last month we were blessed with some of the best Salmon fishing the club has enjoyed , which took place on calm seas in balmy conditions. This month’s outing was our traditional Trout Bash out at Oberon, held in freezing winds yet without rain, sleet or snow. From the mountains to the sea; who said fishing was boring? Certainly not ‘Big’ Bob Williams, Andrew ’Stickerman’ Waters, Mac ‘More Meat’ Lyall, Steve ’Bugs’ Bunney, Roy ‘ I’ll tell Mum’ Browne, Shane ‘ Not if I tell her first’ Browne, John ‘Boom Boom’ Ross, Pete ‘ Pierre’ Frere, Murray ‘Broke back’ Keating, Richard ‘Tarzan’ Hassell, Rob ‘Carp Buster’ Harwood, Chris ‘TBC’ Bannerman & Col ‘ Mudlark’ Breeze.

After an uneventful drive via Wisemans Ferry Chris & I arrived to find John Robb already ensconced in a cabin as was Col & Kerry Breeze. Col had already opened his Oberon account, scoring a nice kilo Brown in the Fish river. After a quick trip to town for supplies Chris, John & I , now joined by Sticker & Bugs headed to Kellys Lane to see what we could see. The level was below that of last year even though the Oberon area had enjoyed 3 weeks of rain. Apparently the local power company is syphoning the water out faster than it runs in. Smart. Anyway that was the least of our worries as the wind was quite strong [ not to mention really cold ] & left nowhere untouched. Some of us tried the bay closest to the dam wall while the rest spread out in a westerly direction. The water was a bit murky, the wind unhelpful but with the knowledge that the NSW Fly Fishing Championships were to be held in part at the dam the following morning we thought it best to crack on before the ’Pros’ emptied the lake of fish. Chris fished hard up against the Dam wall & landed a rainbow & dropped another. He persevered for a while before turning his attention to the left-hand bay below the gate. He found success here too, landing a couple more rainbows. Sticker & Bugs were close by & they also had good luck, Steve landing 3 ‘Bows plus a nice Brown while Sticker bagged a pair of rainbows. Boom Boom Robb got into the act, catching his first fish as a member of the CCFR.

Once the sun had drifted below the hills it wasn’t too hard to pull stumps & wander back to the Caravan Park for the traditional Friday night Barbie. By now all the usual suspects were on the plot, with just Tarzan Hassell to make our group complete. Mac & Murray had plied the local rivers, Muzz catching ‘X’ amount of fish at the same location. Col reported the walk in at The Reef to be a long one. Mr Harwood had taken the time to investigate some likely looking water & was sprung by a couple of farmers who clearly didn’t appreciate his presence, which was more than mutual he assured us. Brownie arranged to meet his ‘Outback’ brother Shane here as it‘s nearly equidistant from their respective homes. Not only is Shane a much better fisherman than his brother[ or so he told me ] he’s also nowhere near as scary to look at . I was a bit crook & slow off the mark otherwise I’d have signed him up. Big Bob was accompanied by his lovely wife Anne as was Col with the equally lovely Kerry. Regardless of the female company the lads insisted on comparing their meat. Stickerman’s T-Bone was HUGE but Mac & Murray’s Viking Cutlets were……..MEGA. It ended peacefully with all concerned swallowing their pride. Afterwards it was a time of contemplation, inner harmony, lotus….. Forget that, we sat back & enjoyed a well lubricated session [ we being the un-accompanied later risers ] which started off discussing Trout, then the talk spread it’s wings. If you woke the next day to a better world thank us. We spent most of the night + a few brain cells setting it to rights.

Saturday was the day the comp was at the dam so seeing as that was set to start at 8am we hit the water earlyish. Not that seemed to do any good. One fish was caught at Kellys lane by us [ us = Steve ] while the Pros bagged at least 3. At the Reef the results were equally dismal. Mid-morning we abandoned the dam & most of us went river fishing. Me? I went rock hunting with Chris. Those without rocks in their head like Rob, Roy & Shane went overland seeking good water. After 4 by 4ing up hill & down dale they found Rob’s spot & first glance they though they’d found some big browns. Closer inspection revealed the trout were of the swamp variety. That’s right, rotten @#%! Carp. Rob depleted their numbers by one but as they were near the headwaters of the Cox’s river it doesn’t bode well. Meanwhile Bugs had opened his Aussie river account with a ‘bow at Flat rock. Mac & Muzz hit the Campbell river, scouting around a few of Mac’s secret spots. They saw 2 fish for all their effort which was unusual as the places Mac knows seem to always hold fish. Not this time.

Back to camp & after a restorative cuppa we headed back to the Dam with the majority picking Kellys Lane as the spot. While it was still windy it was nowhere as strong as on Friday & it was warmer too. I went down to a stretch of water Sticker calls ‘Bunney’s Bay’ due to Bug’s success the day before. There I was minding my own business when I was joined what seemed to be half of the club. I wasn’t the only ‘blowfly’ buzzing around that day but being the first to steal the rabbit’s spot allowed me to abuse the johnnie-come-latelies with witty quips about the need for Aeroguard. I won’t bother you with the replies. Suffice to say they were rude & definitely low brow. Things were quiet but the boys fished on. As Saturday night is Chinese Din Dins night all concerned fished hard knowing they’d have to leave earlier than they may have wished. They got their reward with a magnificent rise however nothing the lads threw at them took the fish’s fancy & that’s why they’re called fish; All the good four letter words had already been taken by the time they were named. Sticker did manage a door prize of 2 Redfin but by then it was time to hit the bright lights & social whirlwind that is the Big Trout Motor Inn. After much hilarity not to mention good cheer interspersed with food we wound our way back to camp where once again the night owls saved the world.

An early start was supposed to happen but about half the crew decided their heads were too heavy to lift from the pillow, which left the brothers Browne, Big Bob, TBC, Sticker, Tarzan & the Mudlark to uphold the honour of the club. This they did with Col bagging a couple of ‘Bows’, Brownie & the other Brownie also advanced our cause as did That B@$#%*! Chris scoring a fish apiece along with numerous FTHUs [ failure to hook up ] along the way. Meanwhile back at the camp the rest of us made our way to the new & improved BBQ area, which now sports a micro-wave, a sink complete with washing up thingies as well as a shiny stainless steel bench & heaps of cups & plates etc. There’s even an electric jug. Hoowee, They was certainly thinking of us city slickers when they designed it. Brekkie was a breeze thanks also to the 2 [ new ] gas fired barbies with Murray again showing he knows the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, & don’t we love him for it. On ya, Master Chef Muzz. Due to some faulty time-keeping those dam boys were a bit late back for a truly fresh breakfast but all’s well that ends well. Some used the trip home to chase Trout. Myself, Chris & John Robb took the Wiseman’s route home in order to chase basalt at Mt Tomah. Each to their own.