Reached Forbes Sagar to find that the WASI member who had booked into the cottage also wanted to fish at Forbes. Since I knew him, I did not have a problem with him joining me in the coracle.
I thought we would do a bit of spinning for murral along the periphery of the lake whilst paddling out to where we cast out for mahseer. Unfortunately, it was 11:30 by the time we reached this place.
On the way, I caught two murrel in quick succession (within 5 minutes of each other, I think). Since the water is still high and the weeds submerged, I opted for a spinner. Not only do I find them more effective but they are easier on the fish as well. With frogs, you need to wait for a second or two before striking, which usually means that the hook gets stuck deeper in the mouth or near the gills.
I started off with a Mepps Long Cast No.4 spinner that I had bought for mahseer, as I wanted to test it. Unfortunately, the first murrel took this deep (never seen this happen) and the hook had to be retrieved from the gills which caused a fair bit of bleeding. I was in two minds about releasing him but did so all the same and I hope he lives to fight another day.
The second murral was caught on the same spinner but cleanly (as has always been the case barring the above exception).
The speed at which the second fellow darted off when released was quite something and later in the day, I was privileged to see at what speeds a murral attacks a lure.
We finally cast out for mahseer at 11:30 and were at it until 1:30 p.m.. During these two hours, all we got was one bite and it had to happen whilst I was doing something else - having a drink of water, this time.
We went back to where the cars were parked. My friend returned to the cottage, the guards to their home for lunch and I forced myself to have two sandwiches and a cup of coffee. What I really would have liked was a couple of litres of chilled orange juice or lemonade and a nice cold shower.
Around 2:45 I got back into the coracle and decided to spin for murral at another part of Forbes until 4 p.m., when I would try for mahseer again.
This time I switched to a silver Mepps Agila No. 4. A few casts later, I saw this blackish burr streak towards the spinner and bang!
I then switched to a dressed red and gold Mepps XD No.3 and caught two more murral on this.
Reached the mahseer casting point by 4 p.m. and tried till 6 p.m. but no joy. Either the mahseer had moved off elsewhere or they weren't interested in my delectable offerings.
Tackle used for murrel is as follows:
Rod: 6'-6" Rapalla Sportman's Classic.
Reel: Shimano CX 2500.
Line: 20 lb. Power Pro (braid).
Next weekend, I have the cottage, so should have a lot more fishing activity to report on. Hopefully...
