Land Based Bass Fishing

Jacob Villani
Jul 7, 2017
8 min read

It all began in the library. Given our empty wallets we figured the free wi-fi the library provided would save us from spending money on credit. So we went in, got our library membership and started uploading new content to the website and to Facebook. Once that was done we left the air conditioned comforts of the library and as i walked out the door i got hit by a heat wave. It was very humid, the sun was high and as i looked further i could see dark clouds on the horizon. Drips of sweat started to form on my forehead in the hot and humid conditions and all that i could now think about was land based Bass fishing. The conditions were too good to pass up. I turned to Amanda, who had Enky sleeping in her arms, and asked her if she wanted to go but she declined, and went on to say that i could go if i wanted to. So i did.

Good Weather Conditions For Bass Fishing

An hour later and had we arrived at our destination. I got out of the car and hastily packed my bag with a selection of bass lures. Then said goodbye to Amanda and Enki, and made my way down the track toward the water. As i approached the river i could tell it had changed drastically since i'd been there last.

This particular river has a very mellow gradient and has enormous amounts of sand in it so when flood water comes down the river, whether it be minor or major flood, it changes quite easily with new holes getting dug out and old holes getting filled in. The last time i was at this spot the two Willow trees you see in the image below were once at the base of a 9 foot deep hole that stretched on for 15 meters. So it goes to show how much rivers change.

I walked down river a mile or so and came across the first pool, which had changed a lot since last time i was there. before it was only 50 meters long but since recent floods it had grown over 150m in length. I wasn’t sure where the bass were holding and given the water was still reasonably cold for bass standards i decided to go with a Nories In The Bait spinner which is a heavy metal lure that would allow me to fish deeper in the water column and give me the casting distance i needed to reach the river bank on the other side. I tied it on and cast it out to the rock wall on the opposite side of the hole, and began a very slow constant retrieve which i use quite often and I’ve found to be very effective on Australian Bass.

I kept casting, covering as much of the rock wall as possible whilst continuing to walk down stream. The next cast was a shocker and only made it 2 thirds of the way across the pool so i let the Nories In The Bait sink all the way to the bottom and retrieved from there, just to see if the fish were holding down deep in the middle of the pool. Just as the lure was passing through the middle of the hole i felt a little tap on the lure. i slowed the retrieve to a crawl and whack, Bass on!! I could feel it was only a little fish but i was happy with that as a start and considering how small the bass was, he fought very hard and deserved a medal for his efforts ;) Obviously i didn’t have any medals but I’m sure he was happy to get away with his life!

After a few more cast’s i had come to the end of the pool so i started making my way down stream to find more fishable water. There was a couple spots i had in mind but given the changes in the river i wasn’t quite sure if they would still be there. After walking a mile or so i came to the section where the few decent holes used to reside, by the base of a few spaced out Willows, and sure enough the holes we all but gone and only mounds of sand now remain.

A little further down river i came across a new dug out section of water that had a stretch of Willows running down one side. I decided that the Nories in the bait may not be the best tool for the job so i sat down and went through my tackle box in search of one of my go to bass lures, the Duo Realis Shad 59MR. Once found, i tied it to the end of my line and started casting amongst the Willows. The retrieve was just a standard slow roll with a couple of subtle twitches here and there.

The first section of water didn’t produce any fish due to me getting snagged up in a Willow tree followed by me swimming over to it to retrieve the lure and by doing so, spooking all the fish. So i walked past the area i swam in and started casting toward the Willows again. I pitched a cast hard into the thickest structure you could imagine and i thought to myself, ‘thats got to result to a fish’. I twitched the lure and let it suspend mid water column. nothing. I twitch the lure again and let it rest. nothing. I gave the reel a dozen quick revolutions of the handle followed by a hard rip of the rod and then let it pause.... KAWAMMO! My rod was fully buckled the moment the bass hit the lure, and lucky i hooked him well away from the structure because this bass was pulling like a steam train, and having no problems making my drag sing which was almost locked up on 12lb line! I finally managed to land the fish, then take a few pics and release it back to the water.

I kept fishing the hole a little longer without any more success so i decided to make a move further down river. And thats where i came across another beautiful piece of water that was lined with Willow trees on one side with easy casting distance from the sand bank to the opposite side of the river.

Only a few casts later my Duo Realis Shad got smashed by another quality bass which hit and fought just as hard as the previous fish! Now my blood was pumping with that feeling you get when everything starts falling into place! My confidence levels were through the roof, so i kept casting and let the good times roll!

By the time i had fishing fishing the willows i had managed to catch another 3 bass which were all around the 45cm mark which many would regard as high quality fish, at least i do!

At the end of the Willow lined bank there lay two Willow trees in the middle of the river that had bass written all over them. I walked over and noticed a submerged log that ran adjacent to the two trees on the sand bank side, with only a small line where the path was clear of any structure.

I positioned myself inline with the safest casting angle and cast the Realis Shad toward the Willow's. It was one of those 10/10 efforts with the lure landing as close as it possibly could to the structure. I let the lure sit there for a moment as the ripples dispersed and then gave it two twitch's and as i did i felt a twitch in my slack line and it was then, being so close to the structure and in a very hairy locality, that i knew it was game on! I struck the fish and my drag started screaming instantly! Pump and wind, pump and wind i went, with my drag was still singing. I hastily cupped the spool with my hand and tried to get the fishes head toward me and it worked for a moment until the fish decided to head in the other direction toward the submerged log, and did so with lightning speed and power. There was nothing i could do now but run along the bank to clear myself out of the path of the submerged log. So i made a dash for it and a few steps into it i tripped over myself and landed flat on my face but still managed to keep my arm high in the air holding my rod and the tension on the line. I sprang to my feet, cupped the spool again and started giving the bass some serious stick! I eventually turned the fish's head away from the structure and in the direction of the sandy bank. The fight had been won but not without some drastic moves and some sheer luck!

I must say i was pretty happy with all that had happened thus far so i sat on the sand quietly for a few moments and gazed down river. I could clearly see a corner in the distance with dark coloured water which i assumed was a rather deep hole. I decided to change lures to something that would get me a little deeper so i went through my bass lures and came across the bigger brother to the lure i had been using, The Duo Realis Shad 62DR which would get me down 2.5 - 3.0 meters. I tied it on and made my way toward the deeper hole.

When i got to the corner i noticed big submerged log running parallel with the sand approximately 5 meters out from where i stood at the waters edge. I cast the lure upstream of the log and started slow rolling the lure alongside it and as i past the structure a with the lure almost at my feet i noticed a bass trailing a couple of meters behind it. I cast out again and this time as the lure was mid way along the log a paused it and let is suspend for a moment and as soon as i started to retrieve the lure again i felt an almighty WHACK, once again followed by the sining sound of my drag. This time i had no option but to cup my spool and pull as hard as i could because if the fish had of got another meter of line off me it would of been Jake 0 - Bass 1! But, lucky for me, i managed to pull the fish out of the snag bring him ashore! This fish was easily the best for the session with it measuring approximately 50cm which is a big bass by anyones standards. Again, i got a quick few pics, de-hooked the fish and released it back to the water.

After that i thought it was just about time to start making my way back to the car, as Amanda and Enki had been there patiently waiting the whole time, but not before a few more casts. And yes, i did manage to get another bass off the same snag on the Duo Realis Shad 62DR ;)

FEATURED FISHING LURES

Below are the colour charts of the fishing lures i used to catch Australian Bass in this particular fishing mission. All the lures are available for sale on our online tackle shop so for more info simply click the images.

- Nories In The Bait Bass 7g

These bass lures are also available in 12g and 18g. Click here to find the heavier models