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Harry Watson. BEAUDESERT.
LATELY I've had a couple of days on the dams that demonstrated to me why fishing is like golf: one day you hit 'em as sweet as a nut, and the next day you're a hacker.
Two days out in a row, the bass were hot. On the first day, out of 20 to 30 - all over 40cm - the best was 53cm. All were caught using new lures from the States.
Next day, this guy wants to beat his Personal Best bass (45cm) and his girlfriend’s best (47cm). On the first cast with one of the red hot lures from the USA, I've got a 48cm.
Not to be outdone, Tash, my wife, rats through the box, comes out with this 'thing', and says, "This is nice. Can I put it on?"
Now, I've had this lady on a few charters and learnt that if she likes a lure, it catches fish. Personally, I wouldn't have used it.
Well, within a few casts Tash has a 51cm bass, and hubby is sitting in the corner of the boat, drowning his sorrow in tears. (We lost count that afternoon, but who counts anyway.)
A few days later: a story to write, a weather change and a rise in water levels. The fish are still there, but bite? No way! We try spinnerbaits, plastics, tailspinners and everything else in the box - all for one nice yellowbelly and two bass. (What a sobering experience that was.)
I am writing this column just before the first ABT (Australian Bass Tournament) BASS tournament at Moogerah Dam, and lately I've done a bit of sharing with a few competitors: we've caught a few fish and tried a few techniques, and I hope I helped them out in more ways than just showing them spots to catch bass because that's only a small part of it.
One thing I try to instil is to relax - go with your gut and don't overcomplicate things just because you're in a tournament. They ask me how I think I'll go, and to be honest, I don't know, but I go with a simple plan: catch two fish every three hours of every tournament because this year everyone is wiser and more skilled, and the spoils will be more widely spread. The worst mistake made is to think you are fishing against someone else. You're not! You're just trying to catch bass.
In the USA tournament I beat pros I consider to be much better at technique than I am. Some of them had shown me their techniques, so I felt a bit sorry for them. There's a lot of pressure and a lot at stake in their tournaments.
I pre-fished with a guy over there and we became good friends. The day before the tournament, we caught about 15 spotted bass. He got two around 3lb on a Jig n Pig, and the rest we caught on worms. That night, over the odd beer, he asked me what I was going to use. I said I was comfortable with shaking worms on a darter or dropshot and thought I could get five legal fish a day to fill my bag. He told me he was going to use a Jig n Pig and try to catch his limit of big fish; and if he had caught those big fish, he would be in a new boat. But the odds weren't there. He never made the top 50 (their benchmark), and he admitted to me later he'd made a bad call and should have first got five in the bin.
The pros over there were great. I fished with them, drank with them, they took me to a really 'nice' strip joint one night, and if you asked to try their lures, they'd give you a bucket full. If space allowed, I could tell some great stories about what we did, but I'll say this: all our old jokes and tricks are new over there - or at least they were.
There are several guys on our circuit who could handle the US comps, and they'll probably get to go. One piece of advice I would offer the winner of this year's tournaments is to try to fish one of the lakes where you can learn different techniques, like I did.
Since returning, I've caught some nice bass on some of the plastics, but Murray cod and saratoga also absolutely love the technique. Saras just inhale the bait and swim away with it before you set the hook - then out they come, tail-walking. Cod cruise up to the bait, suck it in and munch on it.
Around the dams in February, it's a good time to nail that big bass either on spinnerbaits or, if it's the thrill you want, on the surface, using fly, lure or soft plastic.
Yellowbelly have been showing up around ledges and in shallow water on points.
Trolling minnows such as Rainbows, Mann's 10 and 15, Horseys, McGraths and Attacks will get you plenty of fish in 10 to 20 feet of water.
If you want big bass or goldens, Moogerah Dam is the place to go, and it's well worth the extra travelling to get there as this dam is THE big bass impoundment of Australia, with your average being around 45cm for a day's fishing, and 50cm bass are fairly common.
Maroon is the place to get a big one on the surface and is fast becoming the No. 1 surface lure dam in the country for numbers and size. With no exit point from this dam, the big fish are always there.
In the Hinze, expect plenty of bass in the upper reaches of the dam, on the top. Spinnerbaits will pull plenty throughout the day, but most will be typical Hinze fish: eager but small.
The greenfish are really firing, and we've been catching some nice cod on plastics. A fun surface lure that has been a real star is the Zara Spook. Surface flies have also been good producers for wand wavers, but if you've got a crook heart, forget it - these fish will get it racing.
Want a big bass or cod? Give us a call at Greenfish Sportfishing on (07) 5541 2996 or 0407 596 814.