Australian Bass Deep Water Fishing
As we discussed in our section on Lake Techniques, the population of Australian Bass are limited to south-eastern Australia. The term lake often refers to man-made lakes behind dams rather than naturally occurring lakes.
The techniques used to catch Australian Bass in deep water vary differently from other techniques as they don’t hide away during daylight hours. Moreover, the best season to use deep water techniques are during the summer months when the water temperature heats up, driving them and their baitfish deeper towards the 18°C to 20°C or 64°F to 68°F thermoclines.
River fishing can drop off significantly as the bass move into the lakes away from the heat.
Australian Bass Fishing Hot Spots
Lake Glenbawn is considered one of the best lakes to catch large Australian Bass. Baitcasting is very popular, though trolling can also be highly successful in this lake. The lake is an excellent spot for bass fishing because of the number of sunken logs and trees near the bottom of the lake by the dam. But you should note it’s also a great place to lose your tackle.
The Clarrie Hall Dam is a water reservoir fed by the Tweed River and is the location for the Australian Bass Associations annual tournament. The best time to head out to this lake is around mid-October. You’ll find them in the deep water just before they head off to spawn.
Lake Wivenhoe is a great spot for trophy bass fishing where they can be found as long as 60cm, reaching a near record weight of 8 pounds or close to 4 kilograms. Please note that this is an electric outboard only lake.
Somerset Dam is another trophy Australian Bass fishing lake with bass reaching 60cm (close to 23 inches) and weighing in at close to 4 kilograms or 8 pounds. Like many other man-mad lakes, the lake bed is covered with sunken trees and logs and is great for catching bass and snagging tackle.
Lake St Clair is rather small, but offers excellent action in the summer months.
We can’t recommend enough the value provided in deep water fishing by using a good sonar device. Australian Bass change daily or even several times during the day depending on the current, preferring the thermal level that provides cool water and water that is well oxygenated, which is usually between 64°F and 68°F.
Trolling is a highly recommended method for deep water bass fishing. We recommend the Predatek Boomerang 65 in purple or black. You should also try using deep running lures in lengths to match the depth of the water.
Deep Water Lures
Spinnerbaits and crankbaits are very effective at landing Australian Bass. These both work well in low light conditions, on cloudy days and in the morning.
Surface crankbaits and surface spinnerbaits won’t yield much success in the hot summer months, but are very effective in the early spring when the water is cool.
For the hot summer months, deep divers will yield much better results.
Bloopers have a deeper cup than poppers and create a bloop sound when they’re retrieved. These sounds are designed to appeal to the bass’ sense of territory and they’re need to defend it.
During the retrieve, pause for a second or two and then retrieve and twitch the line. We recommend the Skitterpops, 45 millimetre 65 millimetre Bubble Pop and Pop R brands.
