queensland Inspired by lost world

[Phoenixx]

Well after reading the reports about lost world 1&2, I've decided to have a go at a bit of a bush bash to try and find myself my first bass.

I'm going to spend the next couple of days searching maps etc to find a place to hit and head out on Saturday morning. The hiking part of it is not a problem for me as I've done a fair bit of hiking in my time.

As I have never fished freshwater before in my life, my questions is, when looking for spots, what do i look for on the map?? (please don't say water!! ) I'm not asking for secret spots just general help

Do bass live in most freshwater creeks? Is there anything I should be focusing on when picking a spot?

Any help would be greatly appreciated and if there is anyone else interested in tagging along, maybe a ragtag bunch of nobodys can show up the AFO legends like Angus & co

[Manni79]

Awesome approach mate, it's definitely rewarding when you get on to your first fish !!

One thing to look at is the rivers that run from the Dams and search google maps or nearmaps to see what the river looks like obviously if your heading for rivers just off dams there will be a good hours drive i guess. Also on the maps what you will find is that some parts of rivers are covered by trees so there could be treasures underneath that the maps won't show, hence going for a bush bash !!

I hit up a few spots this arvo, didn't really fish, some looked good on the map but once there the water was hard to access, be persistant.

I will leave it up to the experts, especialy if your looking for sppots around Brissy !!

[Phoenixx]

Thanks Manni.

I'm on the northside but don't mind doing some travelling to get into some fun.

How heavy should i be going line wise? I've heard they can punch well above their weight

[ryanyoung]

Hey mate. Line weight is solely personal preference, and also consideration should be given to the type of water. Is it snaggy, rocky etc. If you are casting into snags, it might be wise to go heavier, as for how heavy, read some of Wes and Micks posts for an indication. I personally fish pretty light, and sometimes lose fish as they have a tendency to wrap you around structure. I accept this, as I find there is nothing better than pulling a fish out of difficult water with light line!

Manni has hit the nail on the head. Look for any dam that has been stocked with bass, and then look for creeks and/or rivers running out of them.

Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted ;-)

Good luck mate, look forward to reading your report.

Ryan.

[Manni79]

Last 2 trips to lost world i used 5lb line with 8lb leader. Mind you my biggest Bass was about 30cm

The other boys used very light gear aswell and caught 40/50cm Bass, reading other Bass reports online it has ranged from very light line & gear to gear using 30/40 lb line so i guess it's trial and error and see what works for you !!

Hoping some more experienced guys on here can shed some light !

[Jords]

I have been fishing 4lb braid and 10lb leader, although today i had my baitcaster with 20lb just to see if i could tempt a bigger fella on a bigger lure. I rekon anywhere from 6-10 would be more than enough

[Perky]

Hey pheonixx great initiative getting out there mate and giving it a go.

I guarantee you most guys on here have all done it, and your better for it getting out on your own and learning how to find locations yourself because then you will know what to look for when finding new water.

I use nearmaps, google maps and google earth, and employ pretty similar techniques to what Ryan And Manni suggested. And if you find a landmark google it with "landmark + bass" and see if anything shows up.

Good hunting mate i hope you get onto some good ones and find your own slice of sweetwater heaven.

[mick fillet]

i would look for rapids-oxygenated water and find the deeper pools that these rapids flow into.or flow out of. find the deeper side of the bank or where it edies before the water goes over the rapids.work the edges of the edies or on the other side where the rapids come out. get out off the wash of the rapids a bit where the water looks still on the edges the water can be absolutly hamering through the middle but if the edges are still....Bingo they gota be there resting, if theres banks with bugger all trees along it and just a few select big shady over hanging trees work the hell out of em with ya lure. bass love shade lines wether it be a shadow from a tree or the shadow of a steep bank casting its shaddow across the river,cast out to the shade line and work the shade.

as for line n leader yeah start with the light stuff i used to think that 6lb was over kill till ya start catchin a few in the high 40s-50s then ya start think phew that was close, and ya soon learn that you must have full control of the fight from start to finish to increase ya chances of landing the suckers.

a classic eg. of this was when i was fishin with dan the other day and it turned out to be a 55 or somthing but it gave him curry,the drag was set really nice and he was useing 20lb and mate it nearly got to the timber he had already lost 2 bass to the timber because there was no control on that first run,and the 20lb was to light. i use 30lb i landed all mine for the day,although iam still getting skunked but at least my lines not breaking when being run through the snag.

anyway good luck with the location you choose