Sweetwater Gorge Bass

[johnny doi]

gday raiders,

went for a bass session yesterday arvo with mate josh.after clambering down the steep hill,we got down to the water.looked good.water was up from the last time josh fished there[monday].to us this meant that the bass should be cruising the newly flooded ground looking for a feed.

we started off at around 4.30pm.the plan was to cast lures around,but if that didnt work,change to bait

[worms i dug up at the parents house].

so we started casting our lures in front of the rapid at the top of the pool where there was some bubbles & foam caused by the flow.i was using a puple&black 45mm pak rat that runs at arond 2-3mtrs,& josh put on a green&black stiffy popper with red cupface.casting to the edges of the bubbles & through them also,we didnt raise any intrest.we did see a big gold flash just under the surface about 5mtrs infront of josh's popper but that was the last we saw of it.while i changed colour lure to a green of the same type,josh started to work the edges with his popper where shadow was forming over the water.within a couple casts,josh is on to a feisty little wild bass of no more than 10cms & barely bigger than the 50mm lure.he went back in probably wondering what heck just happened to him.after a few more casts for no result,we moved along.

we saw some big carp & josh said before the water was up,he saw over 100 big carp in that same part of water where they caught a few.while walking the bank we cast our lures to likely looking snags until we couldnt go any further for no return,so we worked our way back towards the main basin.with nothing happening on lures we changed to the worms.rigged them unweighted & dropped them right at our feet in some snags & weed.1st drop josh is onto another bass around the same size as his lure caught one.josh is onto another wiggler nxt drop & im thinking when is 1 gona take my bait.we moved toward the basin again in search of some bigger fish.josh spotted some bass on the far bank which was about a 15mtr cast.the bass were holding there just out of the main flow behind a little point.we could see there were at least 5-7 fish there milling around.i stuck to the worms & josh put on a weedless rigged frog imatation plastic.i snagged up & lost my leader so i watched josh.he got a couple follows but no hits.he then changed to a fizzer & said he'l try to annoy them into a strike.it didnt happen so after 15-20mins we moved back to the basin where josh & other mate trent got 6 legal sized fish[30cm-40cm].used worms again but this time under a small bobby cork.rigged so worms site roughly 2.5mtrs under float.5mins pass & josh is on again & this one is better than all the 10cm specimens.it went 25-30cm.loosing light by this stage & im thinking to myself,am i ever goin to get one of these buggers.was getting downs but couldnt set the hooks.josh C&R a couple more little ones then calls out IM ON,MUCH BETTER FISH.i run over & give joshy a hand & lip grab the wild river bass after josh plays her out.i pull her out & she's a awsome conditioned fish. we didnt measure her as we wanted to get her back in the drink asap.josh goes around the corner & releases her.josh's previous pb went 40cm that he caught on monday & this one was bigger at around 41-43cms easily.great fish mate.

i end up landing 3 wigglers.smallest barely 2inches & my pb which went 15cms.WOOHOO!! LOL.

we decide to end the session just before its too dark at 7.30pm.it took a good 15mins to get back to the car & i can tell you guys,it wasnt fun climbing back up.im sooo unfit atm & it showed.got to quit smoking these danm ciggarettes.

sorry guys,no pic as josh's camera had flat batteries& i left my camera phone at home because the missus lost her mobile last week.

hope to get out there again in a couple days after my leg mucsles have had a chance to recover.thanks once again joshy for taking me to this awsome spot. cheers mate.

:

beersmile: thanks for reading guys& gals johnny.

P.S. ALL FISH WERE RELEASED HEALTHY & UNHARMED,besides a little %%%%% from our barbless hooks.

Edited October 9, 2009 by fisher doi

[arpie]

Well done Johnny - sounds like an exciting afternoon on the river!! SHame about the 'no pics' but congrats on Josh's good fish! Wild fish always hit harder!

Good to see you trying all the different options, too. They could have been 'on' to any of the ones you chose!

Bet you go back there again!!

Cheerio

Roberta

[Dan1977]

Not wrong there Nortons Basin is a tough climb back up. Gets harder every year. Nice spot though and plenty of rapids and pools to get a decent bass.

TG

[johnny doi]

Not wrong there Nortons Basin is a tough climb back up. Gets harder every year. Nice spot though and plenty of rapids and pools to get a decent bass.

TG

im not sure of the name of the gorge,but it is one hell of a hike up.it might be norton gorge but il have to ask my mate josh to see if its the same place you guys are thinking about.

cheers johnny

[johnny doi]

ive never tried spinners before.iv got some celta type & some tassie devil winged type ones,but i dont have any spinnerbaits.iv also got some jig spin jigheads, blades attached to them & you can put different soft plastics on them.il be sure to give them a go next time.

cheers johnny