Hi Raiders
After an unsuccessful session at Penrith Weir (upstream and downstream) earlier in the week, I took my niece's husband (Simon) to Bents Basin for another go at Bass. He hadn't caught one before and I was keen to see him get addicted. There were plenty of fish at Penrith, but we had fished in the middle of the day, and they were not interested in our lures. I caught my first Bass at Bents Basin many years ago, and have an affection for the place. My gut feeling was that it would produce a fish for Simon.
It was a slow morning. We started around 7:30 am and I managed a small fish and watched a few follows with no strikes. We fished around the boulders, but the water was very clear and not flowing. We tried some upstream pools, but still no luck. The algae was a nuisance because it fouled the lure on almost every cast. I usually only do well at Bents Basin after rain, with some turbidity in the water and good flows. We then tried the weedbeds at the lower end of the basin.
After peppering the water with lures for about 15 minutes, Simon caught his first Bass . It was 35 cm and in good condition. Surprisingly, it did not fight as well as Bass normally do, but he was nonetheless happy to have caught his first Bass and I was relieved because I promised him success at Bents Basin and was starting to worry that I can no longer read the conditions.
A thumbs down to all the people who don't use the bins at Bents Basin. The rubbish and broken bottles spoils it for others.
Tight lines