OLD
Spring into action at every chance you get TOOWOOMBA
Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com
Spring is my favourite month to be on the water. Warmer days, without the bitterly cold winds, are much more attractive than what winter can dish out. Everything seems to come to life. The plants,
bugs and animals on land are first to show the season has changed. The fish too will change their habits but you’ll be witnessing this more through watching your sounder and how they react to your offerings. Almost all species step it up a notch this month with bigger Murray cod being an exception. They go through
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Cressbrook Dam has been fishing quite well for the past month. The bass numbers aren’t huge but there have been enough to keep most people happy. The fish are being caught around the dam from
will fire up in the deeper parts of the lake this month. The lack of thermocline allows the bass to comfortable sit in 20m of water. Big schools of fish will be found in 10-20m of water out in front of the boat ramp and on the deeper points up Beams Creek. Soft plastics and spoons will be the way to entice the
their breeding routines and have other things on their mind until that’s all over. Of all the fish on offer this month, impoundment bass are my favourite. We can also start chasing their river mates again this month from the 1 September but it is those big fat monsters in the dams that excite me most. After the breeding season, the dam fish
don’t lay their eggs so the females are still full of roe and in prime condition. Across lakes like Somerset, Cressbrook, Wivenhoe and Hinze, 2kg+ bass will be plentiful. All the other bass lakes are capable of producing similar sized fish but they are usually fewer in numbers. Somerset is the true home of the giants and there are plenty
of bass over 3kg and the occasional 4kg+ specimen to be caught. Wi t h COVID lockdowns becoming a part of life, all we can hope for is we have access to the great fishing all over the state this month. I urge you to get out and have a go at every opportunity because you never know when you won’t be able to. Support
the businesses around your fishing destinations. The small servo, kiosk, campground, pub, fishing guide and tackle shop all need to make a dollar during these tough times. If there’s a window of opportunity grasp it and enjoy the great freshwater fishing on offer in Queensland. Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel.
fish tend to hold up on the shallower areas around 10m deep. Despite nailing better numbers close to the boat at this time of year, I still like to fire out a long cast to look for these bigger fish. The Raptor Slow Fall Jig and 30g Slow Blatt will be a good options on these bigger fish. If they aren’t eating it on a slow wind, try hopping the lure across the bottom back
SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Home to arguably the biggest bass in Australia, Somerset is the place to be if you want a trophy-sized fish. I love this place in September. The big bass are catchable in August but if you pick a nice September day to chase them the numbers are usually way better. The fish chew harder this month and can be caught in several locations around the lake. The biggest bass tend to hold at the top end of the lake. This has been a common winter/spring pattern over the last four or five years. Fishing the flats within sight of Kirkleigh will put you in with a good chance of scoring big numbers of big fish. The big ones can also turn up in smaller numbers right around the lake where they will be mixed in with the smaller classes of fish. Kirkleigh area tends to hold them in under 10m of water but as you venture into the lake’s middle reaches around Pelican Point, they can be much deeper in around 15m of water. Wide on Pelican Point, Happy
Clappers and out from Red Rock on the deep flats will be holding bass and there are early signs they will show up in Bay of Plenty and in the mouth of Beam Creek. These deepwater schools are best hit early in the morning. By mid-morning, they start to break up and can be difficult to find again until late in the afternoon. Spoons and soft plastics will be the lures of choice all over the lake. If plastic fishing, paddle tails and curl tail grubs around 75mm long rigged on 1/2 or 5/8oz jigheads, will get the bites when slowly retrieved. Spoons or metal jigs from 20-40g can be used and different styles will perform better under different circumstances. Gang Bangers, Halco Twisties, Nories Wasabi, Slow Blatts and Raptor Jigs are some of the more popular ones. • 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 Boats were finding fish on the deepwater flats out from Billies Bay last month. They were reluctant to bite but spring should switch them on. Good numbers of bass will be on offer with early mornings being a great time to be on the water. Spoons are hard to beat at this time of year as the bass feed up on bony bream. You can also get them using soft plastics, blades, soft vibes and tail spinners. Trollers will also be able to get into the action but may need to dig out their deepest lures. Works were carried out to allow boats to launch from the Billies Bay area so there is no need to travel all the way around from Logans Inlet. This saves a lot of travel time as it certainly adds up when motoring at the 6-knot speed limit. If you are petrol powered, you need to have a 4-stroke or low emissions outboard and travel at 6-knots in all areas when on this lake.
You can lose the big jackets and beanies this month. Big fat bass, like Ian Ryan’s fish, will be on offer. several locations with schools fish of the same class. If you can track down the bigger ones, you can expect to nail several quality fish. The bigger bass are around 50cm long and the average one is around 40cm. A lot of smaller bass
bites. Once fish are located, I like to position myself in deeper water and fish back to them. If they choose to come over and stack up below the boat, they are usually more willing to eat in the deeper water where they will suspend well off the bottom. The bigger
to 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. With the change of season, the dam hours change this month to 6am to 8pm.
Gary’s Marine Centre Mix it up when fishing spoons for bass to see what they want most. Some days it doesn’t matter, but other days spoon choice and technique makes a huge difference. BURNETT REGION
3201 6232
217 Pine Mountain Road, BRASSALL 36
SEPTEMBER 2021
BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY Boondooma is fishing well with plenty of bass holding in big schools in deeper water. Searching in
around 10m through the main basin should reveal their location. Once found they are suckers for spoons and vibes. The bass bite should continue all month and golden perch will start to become a more
regular capture. Most goldens will be taken as by-catch when casting for bass. It is still a bit soon to troll up good numbers on hard body lures but they won’t say no to a live shrimp floated down in front of them.
