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Bassin.....After The Heat!


Joe K

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It was still like an oven outside at 4pm and with all my gear and rods packed in the car there was no turning back. Arrived at the dam at 5pm and started the long trek to one of my fav fishing holes. After a few casts with the blade I was getting hits with every retrieve but no hook ups. Then, a solid hookup and a 42cm bass poses for the camera. A few more 40cm plus bass are landed and quickly returned to the water to prevent bass heat exhaustion.

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The sun is setting and I'm thinking of the long walk back to the car. The blade is taken hard and my 12lb St. Croix rod suddenly bends to the max on a tight drag and I'm bricked! I'm back casting within 90 seconds and after 2 hops the blade is hit, drag is pulled and I'm bricked again. I swap the 10lb braid spool on the Stella with a 20lb braid spool and I match it with an Ian Miller 20lb rod. I've run out of blades so I use a 32g Japanese bass jig. 1st cast and as I lift the jig off the bottom it is hit and soon we have a 45cm bass beached.

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2nd cast is hit on the 1st drop and it is a tug of war as I pump the bass to the surface away from the snags below. This 51cm fat girl puts up a great struggle in shallow water and is soon posing for the camera.

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3rd cast the jig is hit on the drop and I feel the desperate head shakes as the bass dives for cover. I lift the rod above my head to stop her reaching the snags. I manage to turn her head and pull the bass up and it is soon thrashing in the water 10 metres away. This 50cm bass soon gives up the fight, agrees to a quick pic and is soon back in the water. I have a few more casts and no takers, the big bass have moved on.

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Thanks for the feedback Dino. I have been thinking about the brag mat investment for years so it's time to buy one. I generally only use the lip grip when removing hooks to prevent being spiked after a painful experience with a big yella. Keep cool and happy fishing!

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Head muscles Dino? I'll add that term to my vocabulary. Haha! A thrashing 2-3kg bass or yella is very difficult to hang on to with one hand. In 2012 I was top water river bass fishing after dusk and a nice yella smashed a surface crank and dived deep. After a good struggle he was beaten and I netted him. It just lay there and I thought it was dying. It was a simple unhooking and time was of the essence so I decided to use my fingers instead of pliers 20metres away in my backpack. Big mistake! The yella came alive, my left thumb and index finger could not hold it down. Before I knew it my right index finger was hooked by the back treble and I found myself attached to a thrashing 3kg plus yella with very strong head muscles. Ouch! Note the new found jewellery hanging off my right index finger.

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I've lost count of the number of times I've stuck my thumb in a Bass' mouth with the lure still attached, resulting in the Bass wriggling and ended up with a lure stuck in my finger. It's much easier and safer to thumb grip when there's only one hook, but when there's between 2 to 6 hooks jangling around I prefer to use a lip grip, at least until I get the hooks out.

-Steve.

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Hi Steve! Hmm... It's certainly not a pleasant experience! And it's difficult fishing with a treble hook hanging out of your finger. Haha! With 2 sets of treble hooks in the mouth of a jumping thrashing bass there is no way I will stick my thumb/fingers in its mouth. Sorry, but it's the lip grip for me until the hooks are removed.

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