Bass Fishing with the Bass Hunter.

It all started with two blokes and a broken down boat eager for an adventure, something a bit different, out of the ordinary way we are used to fishing.

The night before which was the day we blew the boat motor, Jake had told me that we should try fishing for bass, to which i replied “WHATS A BASS?" I had never heard of them before but being me i said “Lets give it a go”.

There was a river close to where we were camped so Jake and I jumped in my ute and off we went down the beaten track, neither of us knowing where we were going. We eventually found the river but it was down in the valley and far from the road.... We had both agreed that we had come a long way already and that we must fish this river so we continued down the track looking for possible entry points.

After a bit of driving we stopped to contemplate what to do. A car came barreling down the road in a ball of dust from the other way,Jake ran out to flag em down, they stopped and Jake asked them how can we get down to the river, their reply was follow us.

They took us right to the river., one of the most beautiful spots that i have seen.

From where we had parked on the river was a two minute walk to the first hole,not a footprint in the sand anywhere, it was like we were the first people to have seen this virgin water.

We started walking and casting, at that time I was new to hardbodied lure fishing so i was not sure what I was doing but the clear water of the pools made it easier as you could see your lure swim along.

All of a sudden Jake is yelling FISHHH ONNNNN!!! ,he cranked it in with a bit of resistance but not to much trouble. Jake held up the 30cm fish and that was my first glimpse of a bass. It was Bass at first sight.

We walked on further with Jake having caught 3 or 4 fish and me still thinking I was doing it all wrong,we got to the second hole and the water was ankle deep then dropping off a steep bank into the bluest of blue waters, i put a cast along all the willows that were choking the bank,my retrieve was slow and not anticipating much I watched the lure swim along until nearly at my feet and to my astonishment a big bass popped out of the snag and attacked my lure but didn’t hook up.

Jake i yelled,get over here! and within a second he was beside me asking what was going on,I told him then i put another cast into the same place retrieving it at the same slow rate then like the first time this fish had come out and smashed my lure but again no hook up, Jake and i looked at each other in disbelief. I put my third cast in the same spot. I wound that reel as slow as I could to get the fishes attention again and it worked, out he came from his snag at lightning speed engulfing the lure. "HES ON!" i yelled getting Jakes attention even though jake was right beside me.Jake started yelling " wind,wind,wind", as the fish took off heading for a snag further up the bank at break neck speed .I slowed him down before he could make it into the mess of branches and roots. I started to recover line and with a bit of manoeuvring around the bank,I had the fish in the shallows where i had control of him.

I wrestled him up on the sand and got hold of the big golden beauty but still I wasn't sure if he was big for a bass ,not until I saw the look on Jakes face. He was happier than i was. He ran to our gear grabbing the camera and the brag mat all in one swoop then returning to me to get some pictures. Photos done we then put him on the bragmat to get a size. It's nose up against the edge, I straightened him out and looked for the magic number. 54cm tip to tail. Not bad for my first bass and to this day it is still my biggest but I'm just waiting for the day When I come across a bigger model.

Maybe this season!

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