Farquar Park - May 2013

Farquar Park by Len Verrenkamp

Date: 18-19 May 2013

Ahh the Serenity! In my opinion that famous Aussie phrase describes Farquar Park to a tee. With access only by boat or 4wd it takes a bit of organisation and effort to get there, however the rewards are worth it. It's rarely crowded (provided you avoid holiday times), you camp on the waters edge and the sunsets across the sand flats and Charleys Island will keep you coming back for more. Unfortunately with quite a few members pulling out at the last minute we were in no danger of crowding the place out and it was up to Col Breeze, Jim Hollett and myself to represent the club for the weekend. Along with us were Jim 's wife Suzanne and a mate of mine Brett from Newcastle who has taken up fly fishing with gusto. Jim and Suzanne travelled down from Bohnock by boat while Col had an eventful trip towing his tinny down the beach with few issues in the soft sand on the Friday - he was helped out by some fellow campers from Raymond Terrace. Brett and myself arrived about lunch time on Saturday and did our usual shuttles to get both the boats and vehicles down to the camp site after a wait on the beach for the tide to recede enough to get through a narrow section. With camp set up and the sun setting it was time to light the fire and settle in for a chat and a drink to discuss tomorrows fishing tactics. After a good night’s sleep in the Taj Ma-ute we awoke to a brisk westerly blowing straight of the Barringtons collecting razor blades on it's way to the coast making 7°C feel like about 2°C. A cuppa to warm up and a quick brekky then onto the water we went. With a run out tide and the wind pushing down river it made for a quick drift and I think I spent more time steering the electric than fishing so we headed up river into Oyster creek to find virtually no wind and smooth conditions. After a few more casts with the Crazy Charlie I started the day with, I changed to an orange and white Clouser and using a cast and wait, strip and wait technique it was snaffled off the bottom by a nice bream in between strips. My first bream on fly went 28cm and to say I was happy was an understatement. A few photos for the record books and it was released to fight another day. With Col deciding to drive out at low tide without the boat on the trailer we took a slight detour and picked him up from the ramp and delivered him back to his boat at the camp ground so he could continue fishing. With the tide now on the make it was time to hit the oyster racks in search of some more bream. Scott's creek is lined with racks of all descriptions and has some of the fishiest looking water in the river, not to mention protection from the wind as well. I also find casting at racks does wonders for your accuracy as the results of a poor cast will mean you are nowhere near the fish or your fly and leader is now wrapped around a nice piece of timber or PVC pipe. Not that it seemed to make any difference today, an hour of prowling the racks resulted in no fish, however there were plenty of signs that fish were there. With time getting away we headed back to camp for some well earned egg and bacon rolls cooked on the camp fire for lunch and a lengthy chat about the ones that got away. Jim and Col both had hits, however no hook ups were forthcoming. Although it was probably one of the smallest club outings ever, the great company and location made up for the lack of numbers. My first bream on fly made my weekend a winner and will be back up there as soon as the weather and water warms up again.