Australian Bass local fish species facts and Limits. Bass are a great surface sports fish sometimes mistaken with the Estuary Perch. Pound for pound they are considered one of the best sports fish on the planet. We are seeing increased stocking programs of bass locally as part of the stat governments 10 million by 2022 initiative which is great news for local anglers. This means they can be found in increased rivers, lakes and estuaries across the state. Bass love structure and rock walls and targeting them with ultra light gear with surface styles lures is an amazing form of fishing.
Size & Limits:
Minimum legal size is 27cm, wit a daily bag limit of 5 over legal size
Scientific name
Macquaria novemaculeata
Bait Recommendations:
Scrub/earth worms, yabbies, and insects
Lure Recommendations:
Surface lures between 35mm and 70mm are ideal. Start with small poppers, surface minnows such as bent minnows and pencil lures. You can also try bug imitations such as surface cicada’s. You will also catch them with grub style soft plastics with a very light jig head and shallow diving hard body lures and vibes.
Rod/Rig setup:
Fishing for Bass requires finesse and control to target structure. Therefore your best option is an ultra light fishing combo. We recommend a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo graphite spin rod around 7 foot in length. Coupled with a 1000 or 2000 size reel spooled with 4 pound line and roughly a rod length of 6 pound fluorocarbon leader.
When bait fishing use a 2-4 kilo rod that’s around 7 foot in length. Coupled with a 2500 size reel either a float or small running sinker to a swivel and very fine leader.
Great locations to target them
Blue rock dam, Rocklands
Best times:
Often Bass are more active right on Dawn and Dusk then through the night. During the day they will often seek shelter deep within the local structure.