Bass Fishing, help for newbe

there is a few sites to look at but the two that stand out are ausfish [mostly QLD]
and fishnet. do a search and you should get heaps of info. cheers

Hi there Andrew,
when bass fishing we only carry a handful of lures with us, these are mainly the "Crazy Crawler" and the "Jitterbug". (Sounds like a dance dosen't it?) But these are our favourites and win with them every time. Best fishing time is early morning and on dusk.Preferebly casting from either a boat or canoe into and around the bank or snags/ logs etc. These 2 lures are a surface lure and will produce fish just about evry time if they are present. If you cant get hold of a watercraft of some sort just weave your way along the edges of the water and you'll still have some luck.
There is a trip we do once a year during the warmer months not far from home and that is we get dropped off at Tallowa Dam (NSW) and canoe down the Shoalhaven river over 2 days and get picked up from the pumping station at Burrier, some of the best scenery and bass fishing available there.
Cheers and good luck.unc

AK

www.sportsfish.com.au/

www.ausbass.com/

sweetwaterfishing.com.au/BassArticle.htm

Site Link

AW

Hi Andrew,
Bass occur only in eastly flowing streams from Noosa south. Talking about the eating qualities of Bass is enough to make any Bass man have a heart attack. You see Bass give such immence enjoyment to catch that it is regarded as sacrilidge to kill one. I very occassionaly take one from an impoundment where they are a put and take fishery. eg Glenbawn, . Dont forget their is excellant lure fishing for western natives west of the divide Get yourself some maps( topo if possible) and do some exploring. All the northcoast coastal steams have good fishing and dont forget to buy a freshwater fishing lic. If you call into a D.P.I. office(Fisheries) they will give you booklets on diff. species and methods to catch them. But surface lure fishing is a real buzz.Dont try it if you have a weak heart
Goodluck Pete

Like madfisher, I don't keep wild caught bass. It is getting very hard for them to breed and sustain viable numbers in the wild. They need to travel down to brackish/salt water to breed then back up to fresh again. They do not breed in fresh water. This of course is why they are only found in rivers flowing East from the Great Divide. There is a closed season for wild bass from 1 June to 31 August (when they move downstream for breeding).

With most rivers now having dams and weirs, the number of places with natural breeding is getting smaller all the time.
Fishing for them in the wild is great fun though.

There are heaps of dams stocked with them (and other species) though. In this environment they can not breed, so need to be continually restocked. In Qld you need a Stocked Impoundment Permit to fish in these dams. Most of the money raised through the permits is used to fund restocking. There is no closed season on impoundment bass.

Depending where you are going, there are also a number of dams stocked with barra, which also can not breed in fresh water.

The fact they are in a dam doesn't necessarily make them easier to catch though. Some of these dams are bigger than Sydney Harbour, with lots of places for fish to hide and a lot of water between them. Great fun though.

If you get an impoundment bass, they are great eating. I often take one (the limit is 2 with a size limit of 30cm, but ideally you want one above 35cm if you can. Fillet and skin. Roll in seasoned flour, then coat with beaten egg. Cook on BBQ or in pan with a bit of olive oil. Just about the best fresh water fish around.

Which direction are you heading?

Andrew ,

Like Madfisher and Norm C and most bass fishermen , I don't keep fish I catch .

I think that you need some medium and deep diving lures and some small softbaits as well , if you are going to catch fish consistently - not just surface lures .

If there was one tip about catching bass in rivers it would be , cast your lure as close to logs and rocks etc as you can . They are usually sitting in cover . Then let the lure sit for a few seconds and then give it a couple of small nudges . That seems to drive them nuts .

Cheers ,

Willie .