January Bassin' and bream in the Georges River

So another update from Tezza and also a quick report on my pre-fish on the Georges River for the upcoming tournament on sunday...

"Happy New Year to everyone, hope you all had a safe & enjoyable Christmas & looking forward to a bright 2012.

Well finally the weather is starting to warm up, after a few weeks being very unsettled, it felt like August all over again. This is a great time of year, this month & the next, to target bass, as the weather really heats up, hot days & in between balmy nights, breathless mornings & the water being a mirror which means surface action. It doesn’t get any better!

As the New Year kicked in I've been out again for bass, chasing them with surface lures. Being on the water bright an early & a 40 minute paddle one way & the steam coming off the surface, was looking very promising. As I approach a very narrow section of the river it was lit up with life, flying insects ,a few slurps & splashes from the feeding fish, as the morning was breaking through.

A cast into the snag, as the fizzer landed, it exploded with an almighty splash, not even giving me a chance to flip over the bail arm on the spin reel. As quick as I can be turning this fish around, it pretty much stitched me up into the snags. These fish can be very suprising at times with the amount of enormous speed & power they have which shock alot of people.

With an investigation trying to rescue the fish or the lure from the snag luckily it was at hand reach. This fish was quality size. Being alone made things very difficult trying to rescue the fish into the net & cutting the leader. Eventually the fish was on the lie detector at 365mm I was very happy, a quick snap shot & the fish was on its way to its natural habitat.A quick investigation showed I could rescue the fish and the lure from the snag as luckily it was just within reach. This fish was a quality size, too. Being alone made things very difficult, trying to get the fish into the net & cutting the leader. Eventually the fish was on the lie detector at 365mm I was very happy, a quick snap shot & the fish was on its way to its natural habitat.

After the leader was replaced, I was back into action. Another good fish took the liking to the surface lure, though it didn’t get a chance to stitch me up. Even the little guys were having a go. Most of the numerous fish that I landed were averaging 300mm. The biggest was 380mm. In the couple of days that I was chasing them they were shutting down early as the sun was getting high . So getting as many casts in as possible was needed.

Especially in heavily fished areas, they tend to get spooked, though there is no harm in trying for them during the day, just work the lure very slowly. Concentrate in very deep shadow pockets as the bass don’t like sun.

There are a number of surface lures on the market these days , so its important to get a various types such as fizzers, walkers, poppers, etc. They all swim in different ways, so its best to try different lures and see what works best on the day & most importantly, try matching the hatch. Here are just a few of what I use.

As I mentioned in the previous bass report, be very observant and imitate the lure as a wounded insect. Its then a matter of casting under an overgrown tree or snag & be prepared for a sudden eruption. Sometimes as the lure hits the water it gets smashed, other days you have to work a little harder to attempt them to strike. If there is no surface strikes then have a try with divers, spinnerbaits, etc and hopefully they will work."

Thanks again Terry and once more, you've brained those bass. And such amazing locations you get to fish in, too. Brilliant.

This sunday (29th January) sees the first round of the Squidgy Southern Bream Series kick off on the Georges River. Full info can be found here: http://www.ssbs.basinlureandfly.org.au/

Last year there were 84 boats and 26 kayakers, but I'm sure those numbers will be eclipsed this year as now there are also qualifying spots for the ABT Grand Finals up for grabs. The reigning champ from last year is Andrew Death (the Bearded Swine) and I'm definitely out to improve on my 6th place (with a 1.265kg bag) from last year.

I snuck out for a quick pre-fish on saturday and pinned a few with one very nice specimen coming over the side of the kayak. At almost 38cms total length, three of those in the well would do me very nicely. I wont tell you where I got him : P but I'll let you know that he fell to a Squidgy Bloodworm wriggler rigged on a TT HWS hook. He was nice and fat too, and probably just shy of a kilo. Fingers crossed I'll catch up with him again this weekend. With a range of enviroments on offer for the Georges River round (flats, weedbeds, racks, moored boats, bridges, jetties, rocky shorelines), there is ample opportunity to fish whatever technique is your favourite. Hopefully we'll see you down there. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid