OLD
Better than expected TOOWOOMBA
Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com
Winter is my least favourite time to fish the freshwater. It’s not the cold but the extra effort involved in getting fish to chew. Despite the frosts, the grass at home is still greenish. Maybe it’s not as cold as I think it is and I am just getting softer in my old age. This would help explain the reasonable fishing this year. If it does get a lot colder, the fishing is likely to get tougher but in the meantime make the most of the wintertime action. Winter has been pretty
kind and the fish are still willing to have a bit of a go. The early mornings and late afternoons are my favourite times to fish but the peak in fish activity can vary from lake to lake and the species being chased. The middle of the day is quite productive on some waterways. It’s a case of needing to experiment to see when they want to feed and are most active on the waterway you choose. As a general rule, fish like bass and cod like the lower light periods but you can have a sleep in when targeting winter barra. They can be tough early and wake up more as the day wears on and heats up. Big bass are just around
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Cressy has really surprised me this year. It is usually a hard winter fishery but this year it hasn’t failed to impress. There are still the days where things are tough but those in the know are managing good hauls of bass. Then edges are producing a few fish on spinnerbaits and suspending jerk baits. This is more of a morning activity and don’t expect big numbers of fish. Bass of mixed sizes and even the occasional golden perch will be caught early in the day before the action dies off. Schooling fish will produce the best action but you will need to spend time searching for them. The fish tend to hang in the same areas so once you have done your homework, you can find them a lot faster on return trips. Attacking the schools that have seen little fishing pressure is most rewarding. As soon as boats sit on them for a while they get tough. I’ve seen it time and time again where we can nail a bass a cast and then all
of a sudden the action stops and they aren’t interested in anything you show them. When this happens, it’s time to rest them and move on. The good thing this year has been the amount of locations holding fish. Often there are only a few spots around the lake but this year there have
the corner. August can start off slowly but by the end of the month, they should be chewing well. Somerset is still the home to the giant fish where big numbers of fish over 2kg can be caught. The fatter roed up bass can weigh over 3kg and the giants over 4kg. Across the other bass lakes, we will see better quality well-conditioned fish too. Late August and early September is my favourite time to chase these big bass. I did it a bit tough last year so hopefully there are plenty of 3kg models or even one or two over 4kg this year. Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel. been smaller schools in bays and on ledges and points all over the dam. Maybe they will bunch up more as they feel the breeding urge. Straight out from the ramp and to the left along the first points below the campground is a good place to start your search. There are still a few bass schooling past the Eagles Nest rock
3201 6232
217 Pine Mountain Road, BRASSALL AUGUST 2021
wall but more seem to be holding in the first half of that Cressbrook Creek arm. Up into the Beams (Bull) Creek arm, the bass will start on the first points on the western banks. As you venture into the upper part of the arm, the old creek bed loses depth and the fish scatter across the flats and on the drop off ledges. Spoons and soft plastics
Niki Sticklen was getting in some practice for the big fat bass at Somerset last month. The fish were already in good condition and will be even bigger now.
Gary’s Marine Centre
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If the fish fire up later this month, try working bigger profile jigs through them. The 30g Raptor Slow Fall Jig fooled this Cressbrook fatty.
are hard to beat at this time of year. The average sized fish will be quick to pounce on a Gang Banger spoon or something similar weighing around 20g. These lures are very popular with the locals at Cressbrook. Bigger profile offerings like Palms Slow Blatts and Raptor Jigs will fool the bigger specimens. These lures are great for hopping across the flats and down drop off ledges where bass are holding. If you are working soft plastics, try 3”paddle tails rigged on 1/2 or 5/8oz jigheads. The fish will move from the flats in 8m right out into very deep water. We use this
to our advantage and position the boat in the deep water and cast back up onto the shallower areas holding the fish. The fish will work their way out to the boat and we can then pluck the good ones from the shallows and catch heaps of smaller ones almost vertically around the boat. • Fish’n’Bits in Toowoomba has all the gear and tips on how to chase the Cressy fish. They are an excellent store specialising in all freshwater lures and tackle. The dam hours are 7am to 6pm over the winter months. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY The fishing has been a bit hit-and-miss this winter but still better than a lot of previous years. A few bass and goldens have been caught around the edges on suspending jerk baits but these fish should start to return to the schools as breeding season kick in. Some of the better schools will be found just outside the main river channel. This opens up a lot of areas and locating them can take time if you have no idea where to start. In past years, locations near Red Rock, Happy Clappers, Bay of Plenty and Kirkleigh have held plenty of fish but each year is a bit different so be prepared to spend time looking. The isothermic water allows fish to hold quite deep. It isn’t uncommon to find schooling fish at 14m deep and they will spend shorter periods in even deeper water. This habit is probably more the case towards the end of the month. If you are catching fish from these depths, they should be quickly released so they can power back down. When they are to be kept in a live well, the other option is to release the build-up of gasses by venting the swim bladder with a needle and equalising the air pressure. At the start of August, I’d be throwing smaller spoons
and jigs, 20 and 30g lures are great provided they have a small profile. As the action steps up a notch, I switch to the 30g Raptor Jigs or Slow Blatts, which have a bigger profile. These lures are great on the bigger fish (which tend to like shallower water) if you can find where they are holding. Other lures worth considering are soft plastics, tail spinners and smaller blade baits. • Somerset Fishing has their store based at the area above the day use boat ramp. The store is open over holidays and otherwise from Thursday to Sunday. Orders can also be made online via the website www. somersetfishing.com.au . They have an excellent range of gear suited to fishing for bass and golden perch. WIVENHOE CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, LOWOOD The schooling bass take a lot of time to find as they have spread out into other areas of the lake. Trolling hard body lures will allow you to cover heaps of water while searching and allow you to stumble upon them. Try deep diving lures that reach at least 10m as the lack of thermoclines allows the fish to push a bit deeper. The open water flats outside the main river channel in the Billies Bay area would be the best bet. Try out from the point at Billies and down towards the buoyed off no boating area. If schools are found, they should eat metal jigs and spoons, soft plastics, blades and tail spinners. There are boating restrictions in place. If you are petrol powered, you need to have a 4-stroke or low emissions outboard and travel at 6 knots when on this lake. The only boat ramp in play is the one at Logan’s Inlet so there is quite a bit of travelling involved. It’s a huge expanse of water so keep a close eye on the weather.
