How to catch a Yella

[fishyman]

ok guys here is the thing, after being to NPD 3 times for 2 PB bass, i know want to break another milestone and get my first yella on lure.

what should i be looking at? will they hang around deep like the bass or will they be up in the grass more?

what lures size/color wise should i be throwing in the hope of a yellowbelly.

any help on how to jag a yella in NPD would be appreciated

[kriso]

i know sweet fa about fresh fishing but from what i have been told the yellas are normally up in the grass, as for lures i would just keep using the same type your using for bass.

[bretto]

Only ever caught two yellas at hinze dam but both were taken hard up against grass trolling shallow diving lures as slow as possible whilst still keeping the action of the lure going.

When I lived in victoria we caught alot at the base of large stumps in about 2 metres of water bouncing small stumpjumpers and spinners along the bottom in the murray river and lake mulwala.

[Terry H]

dang typed out a response, hit reply and timed out. now I lost the post:(

I'd agree with Bretto

All the yellas I have seen at NPD have been hard up in the grass or edge of the banks. Lures like CK40 have been shown to somehow avoid grass while keeping their action and have (well Lee has) bagged a few yellas. Other than that the old faithful spinnerbait works beautifully through the grass.

Sometimes they can be rightu p against the bank, Lee felt one hit his leg as it shot off from about thigh deep water.

[Feral]

Generally Yella's love a snag or a hole and are lazy buggers. But in Dams they get a bit more agressive, particulary those with no structure, they will get into what they can, usually weed beds or sunken grass etc, and will actually come out for a lure. In the river you pretty much have to belt them on the snout. In rivers I've seen them caught on one side of the boat, move to the other side of the boat nothing, move back, fish again.

[flatty_catcher]

Beleive it or not when I was a kid I used to have a mate who fished for YB on lures.

He would find a spot then thrash it for an hour , and beleive it or not he would get a fish.

Funniest thing I seen him do was peg rocks around the snaggs to well "wake em up" I guess, but it worked.

I have never fished for YB on lure, I used to catch them on shrimps we used to have frozen in the fridge for 2 weeks.

But true story about my mate, he would catch a few in the rivers.

Dan

[EMP]

I was at McGavin one time and it was like 5 PM already when I saw a what looked like a yella kept following my dark blue spinnerbait all the way to the shallow bank. The yella wouldn't stop following the spinnerbait until I got her a couple of casts later.

I've caught several yellas of different sizes already but that time when I could see it following the lure was the most fun.

As to what lure to use and how to specifically catch them, no ideas. The master once told me that to catch yellowbelly, just try to catch bass- then you might just get a yella.

EMP

[Little Grey Men]

Sorry for the late reply... I've caught a few Yellas at North Pine, and heaps out west.

I think the trick with them is to slow the retrieve. If using a spinnerbait, have the blades just spinning. Using lipless baits or bibbed lures, slow it down as well.

They do hang around the grassy edges and I've had one follow a lure five times before finally hooking up....that lure was a shallow diving ecogear fat brother.

They can be quite partial to paddletail grubs as well. Hook them onto a beetlespin and your away.

The big fat girls don't fight much but some of the smaller ones I've called for good bass, only to be surprised by yellowbelly.

Basically they'll hit any lure thrown out for a bass. So the lure choice is almost endless.

[Dinodadog]

Yellas seem to prefer the warm water and will move into the grass and weedbeds where the water is not so deep, the warmer water as the day rolls on makes them more active to hunt. They also like dropoffs,ledges and humps or the top of underwater hills. Its best to make a few casts and countdown your lures to find out where these are. + all the above