Dave_

Haha yeah I'm probably more stoked than him and that's saying something! It's definitely going to take some beating. He's having a great time showing me how it's done of late!

Yeah not wrong mate, breakwall jew fishing can be like that. Still a good day, can't complain with the fish I got. Last time we went it was the mrs birthday and all she wanted was a jewie for her birthday and this is what she got.Needless to say she was stoked.

Well the pic speaks for itself. Young bloke gets his first Snapper and out does me again! He's making a real habit of showing me up lately. Caught off Forster a few weeks ago. 6.5kg and 78cm.

I couldn't see any bait in the water but the cormorants were grabbing small mullet within casting distance but I didn't see anyone catch one. I also usually bring live freshwater mullet with me from the Hunter River where I live but due to all the rain we've had the river is up in a big way so I couldn't get any unfortunately.

Quality Snapper mate. My young bloke got one 75cm and just on 6kg the other day on a charter and he won't let me forget that I've never got one that big! Just by listening to him I know how stoked you must be. Well done!

Yeah mate I'm not too sure why you'd think these fish weren't notable catches, some crackers there and all on lures. Nice work, I bet most blokes wish they caught quality fish like these!

G'day Raiders, I went to Stockton breakwall today with the Mrs and the young bloke to chase jew. With all the recent rain there's plenty of fresh water about so I thought it'd be prime time and so did everyone else it seemed. I couldn't get any livies so I busted out my go to plastics and hard bodies and the Mrs chucked out some pillies. However, we had no luck on the Jew. Only 1 small jewie of about 50cm was landed by another fisho off the end of the wall so we decided to change tactics. We got the light gear out and fished lightly weighted peeled prawns in close to the rocks on the rising tide in the arvo and into the night and nailed quite a few nice bream and a few good sized leather jackets which surprised me a bit as I haven't caught them there before. All in all it was a great day with the family and even though the Jew weren't playing, we still caught heaps and could've taken plenty of fish home but all fish were released today.

Nice mate. Always good to see healthy looking river Bass in big numbers. It's been the same here in the Hunter River, not many huge fish but plenty of healthy small to medium size Bass and it's good to see. Well done.

Mate I gotta say Sunline super PE. I've got 8lb and 15lb on my main 2 set ups and it's great all round. Dream casting braid and supple as. As was said before, wind knots are part and parcel with using any braid. Can't really go too wrong with either of those though. Only one I haven't used is Fireline Exceed.

Yeah mate the Taylor Mades are all crackers, especially the un-jointed surface breaker and the basscada in all colours. Both have that huge bib on the front that makes heaps of noise and flicks water everywhere. Interestingly, all the fish hit the lure on the retrieve yesterday as opposed to the pause twitch pause method. They just can't resist that action. These are really quickly becoming my go to topwater lures. This is the Basscada. Surface Breaker is in the fish's mouth up top.

Cheers fellas it was an awesome sesh and the young bloke didn't show me up for a change, I won't be going back to Glenbawn again without stopping there for a flick! I did actually go around to the dam for about 2 hours and walked around the bank near the dead trees but not even a hit. Went back to that bridge in the dark and got that little one in the pic first cast!

G'day Raiders, Another land based surface Bass report and this one may come as a bit of a surprise to some who know my area. If you've ever been to Glenbawn dam you may recognise where I am from the photos but first let me tell you how I came to end up fishing here. Over the last week we've had a heap of rain where I live and the Hunter River is up big time and flowing like a champ so no bass fishing for a fair while. Me and the young bloke fish it almost every day so after 2 days without bass we decided to head to nearby Glenbawn to try our luck walking the banks around the dead trees using surface lures. After we paid the fee at the office we were away but we didn't get far. Just around the bend we crossed the little bridge on the road out to the main part of the dam and on the way over, the young bloke swore he seen what he thought was a bass feeding on the surface in the water below. I did a u bolt and trusting the young fellas eye I got the rods out and BANG first cast I was hooked onto a train that wrapped itself around a snag. I gave him some slack and then fed him the fat and got him out. Nice 35cm bass. Then another at 37cm, another at 38cm followed by about 10 fish between 25cm and 28cm. All fish taken on a Taylor made surface breaker (black back with yellow and green belly) except for 2 smaller fish the young fella got on an un-jointed jitterbug (black and yellow). People were driving past laughing at me because I was fishing in such a strange spot but I guess it shows that if you keep a keen eye and be observant even in the most unlikely of fishing spots you can reap the rewards!

G'day Raiders, Me and the young bloke have been walking the banks again chasing Bass around home in the Hunter River. The weather has been strange (hot one day cold and windy the next) so the fishing is drastically different from day to day but the fish are slowly getting bigger. On average were getting about 4 fish each arvo in the space of an hour but that can increase to 10 or more on a calm, warm evening when there's alot of insect activity. The fish are still most active on the surface in that prime 7 to 8pm low light period with the old Jitterbug doing most of the damage followed closely by the Taylor Made surface breaker. They were very tentative tonight, 8 hits for only one fish. The other species are out in force aswell, Freshwater Mullet are in absolute plague proportions and some of them are truly massive 60cm plus models. I've tried everything to catch these elusive silver bullets over the years with no luck so any help on that would be much appreciated! Also huge Carp jumping clear out of the water like Barramundi for reasons unknown and alot of Sprat feeding on small insects on the surface. But perhaps the strangest species we've caught is the big water lizard that jumped off his log and smashed the Jitterbug! Couldn't believe it! Here's a few photos, not huge but still fun and getting bigger.

Nice work mate. I remember a few years back when I started using plastics (also land based) and Flatties were the first and only fish I got for a while, they love em! There's no better feeling than when you finally get the technique down pat, especially land based. I now get more Flathead on plastics than using any other method, far less small fish and the by catch can be great too although it can be a tad tricky trying to land a Jew or little Kingy off the rocks when your expecting a Flatty!

Ok, sounds like my setup will be fine for Snapper on plastics, I just haven't fished this way before so I was unsure. Really appreciate the help fellas, cheers.

Absolute crackers mate. I'd also love to know what setup you used. I've got a new G-Loomis IMX 7' 8-15lb and a new Daiwa Caldia 3000 with 300m of 15lb on it. I thought this setup would be ok but a little light on for snapper on plastics maybe? I'm going fishing off Forster this weekend so I might take with me anyway.

Don't worry I'm not disappointed they're only taking surface lures, it is the most exciting way to catch them after all! Over the last couple of afternoons I've walked for miles and found some awesome new spots so I'll have heaps more to report soon. They mustn't be letting much water out of Glenbawn because the water temp is very warm and it's flowing nice and slowly so it looks like it'll be a cracking Bass season in the river. There's just something extra satisfying about landing them off the bank without getting bitten by Brown snakes!

Great idea mate, I think I might have some. Big storm brewing this arvo and stinkin hot so I'll give it another crack.

G'day Raiders, The weather has warmed up heaps the last week or so where I live so me and the young bloke have been stalking some Bass the last few afternoons in the Hunter River (Muswellbrook area). All our fishing is land based and so involves walking the banks finding likely looking snags to cast at and we've landed 10 or so fish in 3 afternoons so far. All fish taken have been on the surface with the old jitterbug accounting for most of them. Biggest was at 31cm but the young fella pulled the hooks on a cracker tonight with the jitterbug so theres some big beasts around. The fish don't seem to be interested in any diving lures or plastics just yet but I'm sure they'll fire up more as it gets warmer. Most blokes with kayaks have said that small shrimp are getting most fish at the moment but it's just not as much fun. The young blokes first in the dark on surface scared the crap out of him and now he's got the Bass bug!

Caught this dirty bugger on corn in the Hunter River. I sat the rod in a holder while I was walking the bank fishing for Bass and I heard the drag screaming. I ran a long way downstream to keep up with its huge runs. It was the best fight I've had from a freshwater fish yet. Unreal in the shallow water. Sadly I didn't measure or weigh it so it's anyones guess as to the size of it.

Corn kernels. Best carp bait ever.

As far as Carp go corn kernels are the best bait possible. If I fish for Carp I never use anything else, just fill the hook completely up with kernels and use the creamed corn for burley as it doesn't fill them up and they'll take the kernels as soon as they see them. With Bass on the surface I've found any cicada type lures work best cast right into heavy cover/shady areas and I always count to 10 before retrieving the lure and that's when I get most hits, especially if the current is slow and the lure holds steady. If I don't get a strike I just use a stop start retrieve until the lure is out of the strike zone. If they aren't firing up on the top I usually use small shallow divers and hold the rod tip up high so they swim just under the surface and sometimes I have success when they aren't quite "on" just make sure the retrieve is slow. Hope this helps, I fish the Hunter River all the time and have all my life and this is what works for me. They should be well and truly on by the time you go, good luck.

G'day Raiders, My names Dave, I'm 27 and from Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley. Me and my young fella (12 soon, yep 12 haha) love all forms of fishing, especially chasing bass in the Hunter river and lake Glenbawn and hunting jewies when I get the chance to get away. Most of my fishing is land based and I do enjoy the challenge of landing a huge fish from the bank. I've been a long time reader making use of the abundance of great info on here and have decided to become a member so I can hopefully pass on some of the things I know. Most of my knowledge is on freshwater natives and I keep/have kept most species in large tanks over the years. Check out this inflatable boat caught yella and this other ugly river monster!

That looks like paratya australiensis or freshwater shrimp. I catch them in traps all the time where I live and they're excellent bass bait. Some have nippers and some don't, not sure if that's a male or female thing. They must cross over into salt water at times because I've found them a few times mixed in packets of bait prawns. Infact they are the gun bait for any freshwater native fish and I'm sure a bream wouldn't say no to one either!