Fishing Wild River Australian Bass | Fishing Article

Joe Douglas
Sep 16, 2016
3 min read

Australian Bass caught on a hard body lure

The weekend has almost come and i thought its about time for another bass mission, so i sorted the tackle and loaded the kayak onto the roof of the car. First I checked out the local waterways using google earth and searched for some likely bass territory before heading off to see what i can find. Saturday morning had come, and just as the weather man had predicted, it was a grey and gloomy day with a hint of drizzle in the clouds and a storm on its way which generally seems to provoke the Bass into feeding before a possible flood hits the river. With the front door slamming behind me i was off on an adventure and after an hour of driving down wet & muddy roads i eventually found the track that would get me down to the river and after a few more minutes on the road i finally made it to the bass water. I slid my kayak off the roof, got the trusty 13 Black Omen rod matched with my Diawa Freams put it in the kayak, along with myself and pushed away from the bank and headed up stream toward a very overgrown stretch of river.

I paddled slowly, casting into every snag as i went without any luck. As i paddled further up, the river opened into a big pool that was approximately 1.5 to 2 metres deep. Being so late in the year i knew there would be little reward using surface lures so out came the trusty crankbait. I mainly use chubby style divers that reach depths of 2 meters and in this case it was a perfect match as it allowed me to trace the lure just above the river bed to get the attention of the bottom dwelling bass. A lot of the time it works and this day was no exception. Within a few minutes i got my first hit and it was a big one, but it didn't hook up so i cast against the snag again and as soon as my lure hit the surface there was an eruption of water and the fish was hooked. The bass took off, heading for cover amongst the branches and logs that littered the bank of the river. I was getting the upper hand retrieving some line and getting him out into the open when he tried to take a second run but i had him beat. I eventually got the brute of a fish against the kayak and with one quick swoop of the net, he was mine.

After a quick photo and a measurement I released the fish back to the water. I paddled further up river hoping for another hit like that one and sure enough i caught another bass but smaller in size this time. I kept paddling up and the fish just kept on biting. This particular session lasted about 3 hours and i landed several good fish all over 40cm including a 44 and a 47cm fish. This was without doubt the best bass session i have ever experienced in the sense that it was late in the season and they were all quality fish, which is rare based on my experiences. To me there is nothing better then exploring new territory and finding fishing spots where its just you and the bass. I cannot wait for the next season and im looking forward to finding new locations and having some great adventures along the way. These fish are really awesome and they deserve to live so we should all practice catch and release with all wild river bass that we catch. Until next time happy bassing.