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BEING the last month of winter, the fish in our dams are going to be getting ready to feed up on big baitfish as they roe up getting ready to spawn - or so they think. All the baitfish in dams like Moogerah and Somerset will be well off the banks in the deep water balled up. It’s debatable why this occurs in our dams through winter. They either spawn in the deeper water, follow the zooplankton which they feed on, or move out there looking for warmer currents (or maybe all of the above).
Bass caught in early June were already showing signs of roeing up, and by late June big, heavy fish were coming in full of eggs. These same fish were spewing up very small (25cm) baitfish which looked like baby bonies or freshwater hardyheads (I’m not sure if this is the proper name for this species, but that’s what we call them). They are a small, olive-coloured minnow with a very distinct eye; more slender than bonies and rainbow fish, but bigger than a firetail gudgeon.
Many of the bass and goldens caught during August will spit up much larger fish when caught. It’s not uncommon to catch a bass with a 4-5 inch bony bream jammed in his gullet.
Presentations which stay with the fish for longer periods are the way to go this month. Deep fly, soft plastics, and tailspinners would be my choice for this month in the big bass dams. In Maroon, go for jerkbaits as well.
It becomes really hard to give specific locations where the fish are biting when I have to write this report weeks before the mag comes out! In Maroon, for example, there are fish on every weedbed, in all the bays, and in some deepwater locations. What you need to do is have a plan when you get there, such as trying surface lures early, and if there’s no action, trying (say) jerkbaits or spinnerbaits. All the time you are fishing these techniques, watch the sounder for fish shows that you can visit later with deeper presentations if all else fails.
If you fail with the reaction baits mentioned above, it’s time to go to more finesse lures such as plastics and deep fly into the weed or on sounder shows of fish. Maroon can be hard, but you should rarely leave there without hooking a few fish and most times good numbers are encountered. Some days are ballistic - 81 bass in six hours on reaction baits, 15 bass in 15 casts on fly, and eight in eight casts on plastics are some memories from this season.
In Moogerah go with a plan, but the lures are usually bigger, as are the fish. With greater fish size comes the fact that they are not as stupid, but you do get days when you have your well full of 50cm plus bass. On recent charters in this dam we have been catching fish well over 50cm on a regular basis. Towards the end of the month spinnerbaits will start to work in the trees and on the shallow flats. I like 0.5 to 1oz models for this work, even in shallow water. They cast long and can be worked fast which shallow hunting bass like. Try the Greenfish spinnerbaits - they’ve got a proven track record in tournaments and only come in fish-catching colours.
If you want to catch fish the easy, no-hassles way, give me a call at Greenfish Sportfishing (0407 596 814 or (07) 5463 4096) and I’ll take you on the dam and show you how to catch freshwater fish on lures.
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