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Freshwater fun on schooling bass down deep
  |  First Published: February 2016



The reaction bite will slow down this month as water temperature will be around 27-29°C. You will still get some surface fishing in, but you will have to go very early morning or late at night.

Fish will start to school up and go deep this month, and anywhere from 30-60ft or even deeper are places to be searching.

Trolling is still an option, and there are a number of lures that will reach 30ft, such as the Invader or Smak Baga Blitz. You can also use a downrigger, but the other and preferred method is to deep jig. As I wrote last month, you don’t jig the lure, you slowly wind the lure through the schooled fish. You can vary your techniques when fishing deep. Sometimes you can slow wind your lure through the school and the fish should follow the lure up and down, but if they won’t bite, every few turns you can do a faster crank.

I have caught fish out of frustration, where a fish gives me five bites or more but the rod doesn’t load up, and I have slapped the rod tip at the water and have incited a hook up! I have also caught fish mid water while trying to untangle a wind knot. Deep bass fishing is the same as most trades, there is a basic way, and then everyone adds their own twist.

Anglers are always trying to develop new techniques, things the fish haven’t seen that trigger them to bite. Lure fishing for bass can get in your mind. If you don’t like the lure or colour you are using, you usually wind it too fast or cast short, but when you are confident with your presentation choice, everything seems more calculated and you seem to catch more fish. This is why I have the utmost respect for the anglers and the lure makers who persist and develop new lures and techniques.

Most of us just want to go out and catch a few, not spend hours on end trying to make the fish bite. At Glenbawn, try trolling from the point at Yellow Bouy Bay and down to the back of that bay, also from Pelecian Point up to Soil Convesation Bay.

Bait anglers should try deep trees in the mouth of Boat Harbour and Black Boy Bay and in the Boot. Live worms, yabbies or even black crickets and grasshoppers have been the baits of choice.

Fishing vertical with plastics will be at its best from the Main Basin up to the Eagles Nest. In the Main Basin, try Apex Park, Cemetery Point and May Farm Point. There is also reasonable water to the right hand side of the Narrows and the eastern side of Lost Island. Here you will find a line of deep sunken trees.

Another spot I like to fish is just north of Bass City itself, as there is a lot of deep timber in this area. Head into the 8 knot area, fish the edge of the river and follow it down into the back of the Pan Handle.

At St Clair, surface fishing early and especially at night will be productive. Suspending jerk baits and deep-worked plastics around Dog Leg in the Carrow Brook Arm and of the points to the left hand side of the boat ramp have also produced some promising results.

• Peter Fogarty runs the popular Lake Glenbawn Kiosk - offering fuel, tackle, ice and the best food on the lake. Make sure you drop in when you visit the lake for the latest reports. You can also visit them on www.lakeglenbawnkiosk.com.au or call on (02) 6543 8355.

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