Nepean Bass

[Jes]

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

Edited January 3, 2009 by Jezzo

[hobbitt]

Great report, never done the bass thing B4, however I wouldn't discount trying it one day.

Also, rubbish removal.....

Such an easy task, such a shame ''SOME'' find it all too hard, I wonder what these grubs would say if you, or I were to throw our rubbish on there lawn ??

A great pic, one happy angler.

[robeebee]

well done Simon

another fishraider coming soon

[SiNH]

I didnt even know there was fish in Bents Basin.

Might need to check it out soon, did you use soft plastics or hard bodied?

[Jes]

The Bass are generally small at Bents Basin. Simon's fish was caught on a hard bodied lure over the weed beds. at the bottom end of the pool. The fish he caught was "large" for Bents Basin and a good first Bass for Simon. I've caught them on soft plastics and hard bodied lures. Soft plastics often catch Nepean herring as well. My first big bass was caught deep into the gorge about 22 years ago. It was caught on a flopy. Bents Basin usually fishes better after some rain. When we fished, last week, the system was almost cease-to-flow and the water was very clear. We saw much bigger fish down at Penrith Weir but we fished upstream and downstream of the weir it in the middle of the day, and despite a few follows, the fish were not keen to strike in full sunlight. Early morning or late afternoon are probably better prospects.

I didnt even know there was fish in Bents Basin.

Might need to check it out soon, did you use soft plastics or hard bodied?

[troy]

sweet bass mate im hooked on them during the holidays was putting the yak in nearly every morning about 5.30at devlins lane and catching atleast 4 fish a day in a 4 hour period one day i caught 13 nothing over 25cms but who cares 5 mins from home and i had a go at the mullet also picked a good size one up in the first 10 mins not bad for someone who goes out in the saltwater all day and catches nothing cheers troy

[glennmreid]

That's a good size bass. Well done