One of my goals for this summer was to finally tangle with Aussie Bass.
- An example of a fish in prime condition
I have been lucky enough to run into enough of the other natives, and decided that finding these little gems had to happen sooner, rather than later.
The fires finally having subsided in East Gippsland, made it a good time to start thinking about these fish again too.
So many communities rebuilding with fishing and fishing related travel being the primary source of revenue.
The tactics that were recommended were fairly similar to the way we usually target other species like bream or actually closer to estuary perch.
A species that they are often confused with.
Light but strong rods to extract these brawlers from snaggy dwellings, leaders a couple of rod lengths long. One always wonders if we are going too light or too heavy, I found a 2-5Kilo Majorcraft Days and 2500 Stradic Ci4+ , spooled with 12lb tasline and running between 6-12 lb leaders stood up to the test really well.
As always, where we go, the kayaks come with. There is just something really special about being able to sneak into spots that other's with boats or landbased just do not have the means to get to.
There are sooo many systems in Victoria that present this opportunity. One just has to get off one's backside and go find them.
Sinsemilla(who recently bought a kayak), Mazman and I put some work in over the last couple of months and were rewarded with some really pleasant sessions.
- Anth's first ride
- Anth showing us how its done!
- One of the better fish!
- Fish such as this were the norm
- Top water brawlers
Plastic's such as the Zman Slim SwimZ in Motor oil, paired with a revheads jighead or a beetlespin worked admirably well. Particularly when we had to cast into spots that we sometimes knew would be a will full struggle against a fish that did not want to leave its hidey hole.
- Some on cranks too, they really rip off on a HB
- Look at the fins!
Felt really great ticking this species off my bucket list and being with my besties made it all the more sweeter.
Hopefully this virus blows over sooner, rather than later and we can all go back to exploring this beautiful country with our mates.
Tightlines everybody!
- Pleased with all our hardwork!
