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Author Topic: Our Family Holiday Part 1 Lake Cania  (Read 4181 times)

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Our Family Holiday Part 1 Lake Cania
« on: January 13, 2012, 05:47:19 AM »
Lake Cania
With the excitement that a new destination brings we headed north-west along the Burnett Hwy with Cania Gorge in our sights as it has been a well talked about place for many years within our family as a place to visit. After arriving and setting up camp at the Cania Gorge Tourist Retreat we had no time left but to kick back, meet some other fellow campers and anglers and get some good oil on how the lake has been fishing with beer in hand. With some real positive reports I was confident and encouraged for my family to experience some good fishing.
Sun broke on another day and we were all up early with plans on exploring parts of the gorge which were just spectacular. After just on 10kms of hiking and bush walking and a spot of lunch it was time hit the water. With mud maps drawn to likely areas to check out thanks to a couple of friendly anglers I met the night before and mates prior to us arriving, we set off mid-afternoon to have a look at the lake and to see if we could find some likely Bass willing to take a lure. Met by a very strong southerly wind and not being able to control the boat using the electric, we opted to do some trolling, targeting these likely spots we marked, to no avail. We did find one spot that had fish holding off it, but they were completely shut down which was becoming increasingly frustrating. Plan B was executed and we went exploring when we found a small gentle sloping point with weed on one side and deeper water on the other finding fish holding at about 15 feet. Crossing this point for the first time, one lure got hit twice and on the third hit, finally a hook up resulting in our first Cania Bass. Within the next two hours that followed we had landed approximately twenty Bass ranging from 20cm to 35cm with some runs producing double hook ups which made it even more exciting.
New ground was explored for the next day with Saratoga in mind after our gun lure was wrecked from constant abuse which had its’ bib destroyed. Memories to last a life time and stories were told as we drove back to camp with the setting sun, exacerbating the rich colours of the sandstone cliffs of the surrounding gorges which made for a great ending to our first day of holidays.
Day two saw us again being met by another glorious day, not a cloud in the sky, lighter winds and the decision was to explore more of the gorge in the morning while the temperature was still at its lowest, however we were feeling a bit saw from exploring the gorge the day before. Knowing we had a 7km walk in front of us we hit the track as early as possible, immediately noticing how diverse this country is on either side of the gorge. Sandstone cliffs with Bloodwood trees with rainforest areas on one side and rocky escarpments with Grass trees scattering the hill sides with more forest bush land on the other.
Come late afternoon again we headed for the lake, not before stocking up on some more lures and ice at the kiosk at Cania Cottages. Our plan was to hit some of the upper reaches of the bays on the lake with Saratoga being our target species. It wasn’t long before we found quite a few however they weren’t willing to hit the boy’s surface lures with full blooded strikes. Guiding the boys where to cast saw them excited at the prospect of landing there first Toga with many follows and big boils as they chased their lures back to the boat. Unfortunately their opportunities were dwindling when I tied a Zara Puppy to my line and cast my first lure for the day. After two twitches I found myself attached to our first Cania Toga, passing the rod the youngest boy, Chris, so he could experience the fight which saw the feisty fish jump several times before we had the fish boat side.
With only about an hour and a half of day light left we opted to see if we can find some Bass for the boys, hitting the spots we managed to find fish holding off yesterday. The saying ‘Never two days on a lake are the same.’ couldn’t be any more true and found ourselves searching new territory again, however we knew that the Bass were holding in about 15 feet of water throughout the entire lake which made it easier. It didn’t take long before we found another gentle sloping bank that was holding fish and within this small window before the sun set on another day we lost count of the Bass we’d caught after twenty-five fish with several double hooks and action a plenty keeping the family busy including myself as guide and decky. We left the Bass still biting as we called it a day with a tally close to 30 fish being caught for the short time we had on the water.
Day 3, and the Burra’s had us up early again calling us to drag ourselves out of our swags at 4.00am. Camp duties were on the agenda for the morning which also saw us take a quick trip into Monto for extra supplies and fuel for the tub for the afternoon’s session. Dea and the boys also managed to get a sneaky walk in too at a lookout close to the park before we hit the lake again for the afternoon.
After noticing a boat trolling where we had our hot session yesterday we bought it upon ourselves to explore more of this beautiful lake, heading more towards the timbered area at the back end of this fishery. It took all of about two minutes before we landed our first Bass for the session and the fishing that proceeded would have been any Bass anglers dream as we landed about 30 plus quality Bass close to the 40cm mark within a couple of hours with double and triple hook ups. As the sun got lower in the western sky we thought of targeting some more Togas in which the boys experienced multiple hits on surface from these more than reluctant fish. A visual spectacle was experienced watching these prehistoric fish roll over our lures, however none of the fish were willing to take any of our presentations.
We returned back to camp to get ready for tomorrows journey to Mackay where we’ll catch up with some great friends, Stu, Shelley and family to see what Lake Kinchant has to offer in the way of those Silver Freight Trains known as Barramundi and those darker coloured Brawlers, the Sooty Grunter. The only damage at Lake Cania was the loss of about five lures which was a small price to pay for the fishing we had experienced.
Our time at Cania would have to be one we’ll never forget, where stories will be told around many campfires in time and memories to last a life time.



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Re: Our Family Holiday Part 1 Lake Cania
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2012, 09:03:33 AM »
Good stuff Dave sounds like you had a great time at both dams with your family,I have great memories of my daughters young years at Cania she got her first surface bass there 45cm and her first Toga on fly on a fly she tied herself at 9 years of age in 2000 gee the years go by fast,got to get to Kinchant one day I've fished most of the others but never that one

Paul

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Re: Our Family Holiday Part 1 Lake Cania
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2012, 02:37:38 PM »
Great report mate!
I've only fished Cania land based (so I could say I had fished it) but been through there for a look many times when on work trips. Love the look of it.

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Re: Our Family Holiday Part 1 Lake Cania
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2012, 10:41:06 PM »
Well done Dave, glad you got onto them. Love that dam.

Cheers Andrew

 

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