Terry gets into the Bass - Oct- Nov 2011

Still not much fishing for me except for one trip with Stewart chasing Kings. That report will go up later this week. However, Teryy has been getting into some quality bass (as he usually does) and he's sent through this report:

"Its been awhile since I have done a fresh water report. In the lead up to the bass season ( back on the 1st September ) I’ve been stocking up on fishing gear & some bass lures: hardbodies , softplastics , vibes, spinnerbaits the list goes on, there is so much on the market these days. These style lures catch bass in all conditions whether its rivers or dams.

Its always good to have various types of lures to cover all your basics & colours as well . Bass fishing can be very difficult some days, so trying out a variety of lures & colours is a must, just to see what works on the day.

Rods & reels, these days there are plenty to choose from, but only recently I purchased 2 rods - Pflueger Trions, 6ft 1-3kg . These rods are ideal for casting under overgrown trees & getting into some very skinny water. The reels I have are Shimano Stradic 1000's and they are just perfect for the outfit. I have 4lb & 6lb on these, which is perfect for targeting bass.

Now lets go for bass!

In the last month or so I have been getting out in my kayak in various locations & even in new waters. Sometimes we have to work very hard to get to some unique water ways ,whether we have to drag the yaks over rapids or rocks & let me tell ya it ain’t easy, tho' if your getting fish it really makes it worth while .

This year with the amount of rain we have been getting, most rivers are getting a great flow of water through them ,which is great for the bass to migrate back upstream from the salt. There have been some descent bass getting caught in the area that I fish & I was keen to get amongst them .

So after a very long paddle & arriving to perfect bass ground, I wasn’t wasting anytime, I cast a spinnerbait under an overgrown tree, right into the depths to the bank watching carefully for any sudden hits on the line, as the spinnerbait helicopters down into the depth. With a very slow retrieve & a few bumps through the sunken timber I was excepting a solid hit ,but it wasn’t to be .

One more cast & this should really fire up the bass , as they are very territorial, sure enough the line came up tight & I was on. The thing I like about spinnerbaits is that they can be worked very slow to really fire up the bass when they aren’t in the mood.

I kept on plugging away into the deep shadows & came up tight again . Geez they fight hard don’t they? Whether its a biggen or just a tiddler, they have an enormous amount of power. No matter what size bass you catch they are just beautiful to admire.

The bass in the last few trips have been quality & I can’t complain. When they are in the high 40’s 0r mid 50’s they are trophy fish that you’ll never forget for a long time, not for me anyway.

Just really looking forward for the weather to warm up & the insects are flying about . This is a great way of visual fishing, using top water lures. It can be retrieved in all sorts of ways imitating a wounded insect & bass can’t resist. Just be alert for an eruption.

So if there is a fresh water river near you, it might be worth taking the kayak & doing some exploring, you’ll be surprised whats out there !

cheers, Tezza"

Thanks for the report Terry, we'll have to get together and get into a few bass soon. Happy yakkin', everyone!

cheers,

Cid