outskirts of NPD

[Tryme]

Dear members

the weather is starting to heat up and been hearing a lot of reports that bass and yellowbelly are producing. However i been on several trips and never seem to have caught anything. use you always catch bass and yellowbelly, that when before the floods hit but things seem to have slowed down a lot.

Heard from a few local that they have been catching small ones and very little. we must be doing something wrong is anyone else experiencing the same thing?

Regards

[Guest]

Hey mate,

have been fishing NPD for the last few weeks, several times a week.

there is definatly no shortage of fish in both the impoundment dam & the river, you just need to pinpoint a good location in which the fish are holding.

Australian Bass are a schooling fish, so you need to find good underwater structure that sits very deep to the bank. this should produce fish.

Australian Bass are usually caught early morning & late afternoon on lures, but will take bait all day.

where as Golden perch are more of a lazy fish, they will feed more actively when the sun is high & the weather is warm.

My advice for you is to keep sticking it out & find a good location, once youve found one fish, there is usally more around in the general vacinity.

hope this helps.

[fenelious]

Mate, what sort of places are you fishing and what techniques and gear are you using? As moses said there are Bass and GP around at the moment so maybe you are doing something wrong. Don't expect people to give you specific locations to fish, but you can get plenty of great advice on techniques, rigs/gear, and the types of locations and structure to target. Maybe give us an idea of what you do and we can steer you in the right direction.

-Steve

[freedomhawk12]

Dear members

the weather is starting to heat up and been hearing a lot of reports that bass and yellowbelly are producing. However i been on several trips and never seem to have caught anything. use you always catch bass and yellowbelly, that when before the floods hit but things seem to have slowed down a lot.

Heard from a few local that they have been catching small ones and very little. we must be doing something wrong is anyone else experiencing the same thing?

Regards

Happy to show u my spots and what I use and how .. But I only fish catch and release. No taking?

[Tryme]

I dont tend to fish the dam itself due to the fact that the area i fish is pretty rough terrain which makes casting impossible at times (and yes its within the legal zones). as to the out skirt i tend to do a lot of explore and there are only a few areas that are accessible for those who know the river pretty well(this is all land base).

I only toss out lures when it comes to freshwater stuff and im throwing spinnerbaits from 1/4-3/8, shallow to deep cranks, poppers and pencils but been very unsuccessful so far.

[fenelious]

I dont tend to fish the dam itself due to the fact that the area i fish is pretty rough terrain which makes casting impossible at times (and yes its within the legal zones). as to the out skirt i tend to do a lot of explore and there are only a few areas that are accessible for those who know the river pretty well(this is all land base).

I only toss out lures when it comes to freshwater stuff and im throwing spinnerbaits from 1/4-3/8, shallow to deep cranks, poppers and pencils but been very unsuccessful so far.

So you're only land based right? I'd stick to sub-surface lures until you're confident the fish are biting, before moving to surface. Try to keep your lures, whether they're bibbed cranks or sinking types, to swim no more than 1m off the bottom. This isn't a rule, but a good starting point to give yourself the best chance at a fish. Have a good understanding of the depth of the water you're fishing in and any sub-surface structure - you need to know this in order to select the right lure. Keep your gear as light as you can - I use 4 or 6lb braid with 8 or 10lb leader. Cast as close to the weed, logs/sticks, and banks as you can; this is where the fish will be hiding usually. ALways try a few big long casts out in the open water too, but concentrate on the snags and structure. Never just stomp right up to the bank and start casting, you'll spook the fish that are in close. Always cover that close water with casts from a distance before moving in. Change lures or keep moving. - If you're not getting any interest don't just stand there chucking the same lure at the same water.

I noticed you didn't list soft plastics or blades in what you're using - these have both been working well (also spinnerbaits and bibbed cranks). Try plastics with pony head jig heads or beetlespins, they tend to work a little better than straight plastics on Bass and GP. Blades are working well too.

Hope your luck improves :-)

-Steve.