Great Lake 17/5/2012

I've been meaning to get a report up earlier, but I've been flat-out this past week.....
Scored a day off work late last week, so I decided to head up to Great Lake for a bit of Trout action. With all the Bream fishing I have been doing of late (which isn't a bad thing) I haven't chased a Trout since about November last year! So I was pretty keen....

After checking the forecast at work Wednesday, I couldn't wait to get up there as the weather was looking fantastic - Light NW winds and 3 days until to the new moon which are my favourite conditions to chase our speckled friends in. After a later than anticipated start, I rocked up at Swan Bay at around 10:30 and had the boat on the water in record time. Like I said, pretty keen I was!
First choice was to head strait for the Beehives and try my luck fishing deep with SP's and only managed a couple and had a ridiculous amount of short takes. I then decided to head in to Brown Trout central (Becketts Bay) where I found them to be really on the chew. I worked the shoreline between the bottom corner and the point that makes it's way back out towards the middle of the lake with Black & Gold Hawk Snipers and Smith Panish and nailed probably 8 or so fish within the first hour. Once that shore had been thoroughly "peppered', I had one drift down the main weed bed which is in about 5-7 metres between the point and MacLanachans Island. I was surprised there weren't more fish on it, but still managed a couple on Yep Flappers.
I then worked some 200 metres or so of the shoreline that makes it's way around to the entrance of Todds Corner fishing the same HB's twitched and paused in the first 1-2ft off the shore before it drops away a lot deeper. Long story short, there were fish along here everywhere! Once the shallow section had been fished. I worked my was back, this time fishing parallel with the drop-off using Smith Cherry Blood MD75's in the #04 colour.... This was a deadly method and seemed to get the bigger or should I say longer fish!
I had one more brief look around the island on the way back to the ramp and pulled a couple more 'spotted snakes" and dropped one which was a bit of a pissa.... I cast my floating HB in close, put rod between my legs to light a burner, looked up and a fish took it whilst it was floating on the surface! Rod still between the legs, I tried a big pelvic thrust to set the hook, but was to slow! :lol:
Usually this time of the year when the water is cold and the fish are docile I generally fish the lures rather slow, but it seemed they wanted an aggressive retrieve as at times I was ripping the lure so hard that it was almost "blowing out'...  
All up, I managed to land 22 for the session of around 5hrs. Most of the fish were average to poor (which I was expecting) and I'd say 50% of the fish should have been 4lb plus, but would have only been half that. A couple of "bows were a bonus and one was in fit condition and pulled quite hard! :D
Even if some of the fish are pretty ordinary, it beats sitting at home and you just never know what you may hook into in-between lesser quality fish..... get amongst it!

Cheers - Daz