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But it was hard to ignore the differences between the lives that bass in the Macleay River led from their brothers and sisters sequestered in impoundment’s throughout their range.I’ve only bass fished for the last ten years, but in that time have experienced nearly the full spectrum of their habitats - both natural and contrived. I’ve lured bass from pools in headwater streams that are hundreds of kilometres from the ocean and also from the dark depths of food-rich layers in water storages. Bass have beaten bream to pulverise popping plastics in salt and have also been taken on alternative casts to jewfish while jigging deep river holes.
But it’s hard to find a more beautiful place to bass fish then the upper Macleay. Matt’s Sport Safari took us there in the tail end on the 98/99 season.
Based in Armidale, Matt Graham specialises in hunting and fishing safaris
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- targeting bass and Murray cod as well as furry feral species. And it was from Armidale we set off on one of his favourite trips - paddling the pools and rapid of the Macleay river in Northern NSW.With all access problems settled, it’s a magnificent drive along and then down the escarpment that cradles the Macleay and its tributaries. Top trout water atop the range bears brilliant bass fishing after it has tumbled down the Great Divide. On Matt’s bass trips, his distinctive (and ancient) 4WD zebra-striped Land Cruiser delivers you safe, but white-knuckled, to the bottom. Several days later, it meets you at the end of days of paddling, negotiating rapids and catching bass.
The luxury of this type of ‘through paddling’ wasn’t lost on our party. Matt’s passion for rugby had left him with a broken arm the day before the trip, so willing replacement Glen and keen Sydney basser Ron Rogers made up the amended expedition with the plan to fish down for a day, camp, and then make our way back upstream the following day.
The Macleay’s bass habitat tests all of your bassing skills. The water’s often fast and the fish hold in eddies and pockets that occasionally resemble trout. It’s not a bad canoeing river, either, with long, pebbly runs only occasionally punctuated with rapids that are better to portage than paddle.
Then, of course, there’s the holes. Long bouldery and overhanging banks that are accompanied with a slowing of the water flow. Some of the backwaters just scream bass, and Ron put a few small ‘practice’ models under the belt during the heat of the day.
These bass have probably experienced a lot more in a few short years than a dam bass would experience in a lifetime. Bred in the brackish water with millions of brothers and sisters, only a few of the young make it through the gauntlet of flood, drought, nets, predators and rapids to finally become muscular and aggressive fish in the clean, fast water. Clean water’s usually quite unproductive, biologically speaking, so these bass feed on anything edible - from both below and above the water’s surface.
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If I remember correctly, every single bass of Ron’s smashed a surface lure, with a small torpedo types the pick of the bunch in the fast water. I took my fish on surface fly, with presentation, not pattern the key factor in stimulating a strike.Although small by dam standards, the best fish of the trip - in the high thirties - creamed a twitching torpedo in the dawn half-light and displayed condition that’s typical of these river-run fish - big head, big tail and a muscular body. The clear water cajoles a brilliant bronze to their dorsal side. They are everything a river bass should be, and every one of our fish for the trip was identically conditioned and full of fight.
Matt tells me that on the standard, three day paddle, it’s not uncommon to encounter fish into the high forties. These fish could be quite a handful around the bankside cover!
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With the thought of dragging the two Coleman canoes back upstream against the rapids weighing heavily on our minds, we concentrated our efforts on the first two textbook holes we came across. The productive and picturesque dusk and dawn sessions were punctuated with a comfortable night’s sleep, good food and great company.If you like bass fishing and want to experience some of the best river-bassing left on offer, or try for a Murray cod on the other side of the divide, give Matt’s a call on (02) 6771 4734 to organise a trip.