Fabulous Lake Glenbawn

[Guest]

It was finally time again for our annual Lake Glenbawn trip.

This year I was accompanied by my able deckie Johnno,good man to have aboard and a good fisho to boot.

Second crew was Smitty and Stephen(reggie rabbit) and finally good friends Geoff and Lyn(Mr and Mrs Dalucius)

Stephen was the only newbie on this trip and hopes were high with good weather forecast and water temp around 21c.

We hit the road around 6am on tuesday and had a good trip to the dam although it rained all the way.We arrived around 11ish after a pitstop at the Caltex at ourimbah.We hastily stowed our gear and rigged up for a hit at the big bass that Glenbawn is renowed for.

Spinnerbaits have been the choice of lure for many trips now and this trip was no exception and we had every colour and configuration imaginable all armed with stinger hooks to snare our prey.Most rods and reels were high end 2500 size with either 10 or 20 lb braid and 16 to 20lb nitlon leaders so to stop the rampaging bass from wiping us out in the trees.

I chose an olive TT 3/8th to start and it didnt let me down with a howling strike on only the second cast of the trip that nearly ripped the rod out of my hands and took a heap of line before the hooks pulled out ,dammmmmm !! it was a very big fish indeed and with our drags almost locked up it takes a monster bass to do that.Not long after we had our first bass of the trip around 38cms and they were in top condition and hitting as hard as I can ever remember.We worked along the eastern shore with plenty of hits and good fish as well and it continued till near dark with our boat scoring 37 bass with a few really nice fish around 43cms.

Next morning we were into em again and more bass and yellowbelly this time with Johnno getting a 48 cm yella and a really fit 43cm bass.The days went on and on and we got smoked a few times with my first lure taking 49 quality bass before it dissapeared into the trees and boom I was busted off.The hits were bone jarring and every fish smashed our lures like they hadnt eaten for months and it was very nerve racking working our lures past known ambush spots waiting for the jolt and then winding like crazy and heading away from danger with the 80lb electric going full bore,this is what we had come all this way for

One particular morning there were cicadas everywhere on the water and suggested to Johnno that we have a shot with the river to sea cicada lures and he jumped at it after I scored one on a the surface lure around 43cms.Johnno plops his lure right next to the trees and it gets smashed and his has his first ever surface caught bass,well done mate.

We caught over 200 bass on our boat and 10 yellowbelly with both Johnno getting his PB 44cm bass and mine matching it.John also got his PB yellowbelly at 49cms and he was really happy with his efforts.The spinnerbaits ruled and most of the fish hit natural colours with a few hand made Johnno specials as well.

We did have a good run with the waether until the last afternoon when we headed out around 2 ish and first cast I get nailed by a 40cm bass and then we get hit by a 30knot southerlie we decided to fish on even though conditions werent great and head up the dam with the waves behind us and were rewarded with some great bass fishing once again and the it was time to head back and as we rounded the corner it looked ugly with huge wind waves that had no backs,we both had our wet weather gear on and our life jackets which we wore most of the time as they didnt hinder our fishing and we felt safer with them on.I hit the throttle and we launced into the air with both of us leaving our seats boy it was messy but we got back safely with on one minor mishap,the leccy was getting shaken so violently that it shook 3 of the bolts out that hold it onto the stern and only with Johns quick action by grabbing onto it we may have lost it overboard.

The company was sensational with everyone chipping in and doing their bit with cooking and cleaning and the whole trip was awesome with such good friends.

Thanks so much Johnno for a top trip and cheers Stephen ,Chris,Lyn and Geoff for making my annual fishing trip another great adventure once more.

The trip home was very pleasent with a stop at Cessnock maccas and home in just over 4 1/2 hours.

Here are some of the better fish that John and I scored.

Cheers Stewy

[olitay]

Wow Stu, nearly 50 fish on one lure! What a trip! Well done mate

[snag]

How good is it up there stewy, some great fishing thats for sure.

Good to see you and the guys getting into some fish and the weather being nicer than crap.

Hmmmmm do i go up again me thinks maybe.

[sadamson]

Just back from a wonderful 4 days at Glenbawn dam.

First I would like to thank Stewy for the invite several months ago .I have never been Bass fishing and had no idea what to expect. Every body keep telling me just wait for the first bass to hit your lure. Hit my lure it was more like the whole forward pack of my beloved bunnies gang tackling it all at once. WOW.

I was teamed up with Chris Smith in his boat. And he taught me so much many thanks Chris.

On the trip up it rained most of the way but it cleared up for our first session that afternoon. After many casts I hooked my first ever Bass and it went a very respectable 38 cm I was wrapped. Finished with 2 fish that afternoon and very happy with my for effort. Up 4.30 next morning hit the water by 5.00 and finished with 8 fish .The afternoon session I got 12 and having a ball.. The sessions started to blend together by the end of the trip I ended up with 39 Bass biggest being a massive 44 cms which pulled like a freight train, and 2 Yellow belly the biggest was 52 cms . Which was my first Yellow Belly. So over the 4 days I scored 39 bass 2 yellow belly what a way to start my venture to the sweet water. So again many thanks to all the crew for passing on your knowlage and making it a most wonderfull trip.

Cheers Stephen (Reggie the Rabbit)

My first ever bass 38 cm

My First Yellow Belly 51 cm

My biggest Bass 44 cm

Edited November 20, 2010 by Reggie the Rabbit

[paul.kenny]

Awesome trip and great report lads.....those Bass must have been real hungry . That is a sweetwater trip most of us dream of and Glenbawn's Bass look like they have enjoyed a good winter. Thanks for sharing your experience.

PS what was the water temperture like for most of the trip?

[robeebee]

that is just unreal guys

very jealous

[The Iceman]

Some great bass there Stewy and crew

Heard similar reports from a mate in a skeeter called twitchin up there plenty of bass on natural coloured spinnerbaits

[Guest]

Awesome trip and great report lads.....those Bass must have been real hungry . That is a sweetwater trip most of us dream of and Glenbawn's Bass look like they have enjoyed a good winter. Thanks for sharing your experience.

PS what was the water temperture like for most of the trip?

Perfect temps of 19.9 to 22.5 during the day and the water was dark with a fair bit of snot weed in close to some banks.

Cheers Stewy

[Dalucius]

Once again we had a fabulous time at Glenbawn.

We left a little later than the others and had a good trip and luckily missed the rain.

We arrived to find Stewy, Johnno , Chris and Stephen had already left for a fish so we quickly unpacked and joined them.

First we spotted Stewy and Johnno and as we approached Johnno hooked up on a nice fish. Stewy was very helpful on letting us know the colour of the day for the spinnerbaits (green) so we headed off.

It wasn't long and I had boated 2 nice fish and Geoff caught up very quickly catching some great fish. Total of 6 fish on day 1.

As the sun set we headed back to the ramp.

Later back at the cabins over dinner we exchanged information on the day.

Day 2 - we headed out on a beautiful morning Geoff caught his first Glenbawn yellowbelly. I cast into the back of a bay and got a wind knot in my braid and said to Geoff "I'll have to get rid of that before I cast again" as the words came out of my mouth the spinnerbait went into the mouth of a bass and snap lure gone the braid broke at the knot. I made up for it later catching my PB 42cm on a Bassman TW series spinnerbait purple red and gold #26.

After having brunch with everyone at the cabins we took to the water again about 3pm. We fished till sunset and caught a total of 6 fish again.

Day 3 - another nice day after a sleep in we headed out about 3pm. We went up a bit further into the dam and fished the eastern side in amongst the timber. We fished a couple of bays then headed over to the other side and fished the rock wall. We caught a total of 10 for the day.

Last day of fishing and the wind was blowing.

With jackets on we found a bay a little out of the wind and Geoff tried an old faithful jitterbug. Smack a hit immediately a nice bass almost swallowed the lure in one gulp. A couple more cast and another bass smacked the lure. By this stage I had had enough of the wind so I just sat back and took in the scenery while Geoff fished he ended up catching 4, me - zero.

We didn't catch as many as the others but I bet we had as much fun. We are learning more and getting better each year.

Thanks Stewy for inviting us once again. It was good getting together with you, Johnno, Steve, Chris and of course Geoff each night for dinner and to exchange the stories of the day.

Donna you were missed, you will have to try and make it next year.

Thanks to everyone for pitching in with the food and cooking. We had plenty to eat well done shoppers.

[johnno]

Well what a awesome trip this year as always with great company.

cheers stewy for a great and enjoyable trip.

for me this trip produced a new pb bass of 44cm and a pb yella of 48cm and my first surface bassPB of 38cm

With the first arvo session was a great settler knowing that they where biting and our plans where correct.

The days where great except one day they where a little shut down but you still got fairly good numbers.

and the last day was a little brezzy but you could stick it out and still get good fish.

the highlights for me are my PB,s. getting most fish that had bricked us back out of snags except 4.1 mine

Every rod and reel i took i landed a yellowbelly and bass on this year.

I only lost 2 spinnerbaits this trip and 1 was of my own doing thinking that the fish where hiding around near where the kangaroos are.

i fired my cast and missed fingering the spool and it was well up into bank and in the shrubs

and the other was a spinnerbait was becoming my favourite and it was also broken. Which needed to be retired but i kept using it and adjusting the skirt but kept catching fish.

Until stewy and i reached a area and us both knowing we get good fish here. Stewy comments i have had some big bust offs here.In 3 casts the rod is nearly torn from my hands and pop bang 20lb braid destroyed on hit.I only got to lift the rod about 6 inches.

also me seeing the hit on the spinnerbait of my pb of 44cm and a 43cm

All in all a great trip which i enjoyed.

Iceman yes we did have a chat to your mates in twitchin which where good to have a chat to.

we also meet some nice people at the ramps.

PS i will download/upload pics later

Edited November 21, 2010 by johnno

[Ray R]

What a fantastic trip congrats to all of you (Team Glenbawn), great stories and fantastic pics, what a great time away...

[Catchin Jack]

Wow, sounds like you lot had a great fishin trip, all those keys in them photos makes me think COTM is gonna be a ripper this month

[Joco]

WWWWWWOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW, great report fellas....

Some of those fish are beauties..... NICE and fat....

What a great holiday you fellas had.... Cant get better....

WELL DONE!!!!

Edited November 21, 2010 by Joco

[slinkymalinky]

Wow Stewy... what a blinder :1yikes:

Sounds like the fish in Glenbawn are so used to you lot now that they just give up and leap into the boat knowing that they can't get away from you anyway.

Some awesome photos and a whole pile of awesome fish.

Cheers, Slinky

[arpie]

Woohoo!! Well done Team Fishraider!! Terrific results, with the hard yards definitely paying out well this trip! I look forward to getting back there again one time with you guys!!

Fantastic looking fish, with a few PBs thrown in, i reckon! Congratulations on a terrific trip & posting!

Roberta

[brendong]

Top trip Team Raider....looks like you all got crunched by some crackin Bronze Aussie battlers!!!

Must get to Glenbawn....BTW thanks for mentioning it a few weeks back mate timing was just a bit out...

[outdoordan]

Well Done Fellas,

Some awesome fish and a great read as well. Congats on the PBs Johnno, they are some mighty healthy lookin Bass.

Makes me want to head back to the wonderful lake glenbawn myself...

[Smitty]

What a GREAT trip that was……and sharing it with a top crew made it even better! They say “time flies when ya havin’ fun” and that week absolutely FLEW past!!! I can’t believe I’m back at work already ggrrrrrr.

Glenbawn really turned it on for us again this year, with plenty of hard hitting, tough fighting Aussie Bass coming over the sides of our boats. We all got fish in the 40s and I recon the average size was a bit up on last year. I was also pretty pleased with a PB Silver of 47cm . It was fantastic to be able to help put Steve (Reggie the rabbit) onto his first Bass – that first hit comes as a bit of a shock hey mate? Steve even managed to find his first Yellowbelly, a big fat 52cm(the best of the trip)…..well done mate , was a pleasure to have you onboard.

A huge thanks to all the crew…you all helped make this trip the ripper that it was.

Here are a couple more pics from the trip.

Cheers,

Smitty…

[Michael Hatte]

Trip of a life time guys, simply amazing fishing!!!!!!

Crongrats to all involved

Mick

[tide'n'knots]

WOW! great stuff guys, some very nice fish there - congratulations steven on your first bass! they certainly shock you when they smash a lure hey.

sounds like a lot of fun was had by all

pete.

[ACIMA]

What a trip guys well done

Bet there were some great stories going around the BBQ'S and out on the water.

Congrats on the great fish and new PB's and there's some great photos amongst the reports.

Brad

[Jewhunter]

Great report Stewy on what looks like a terrific trip!

Congrats on the p.b's boys. Well deserved & I hope you better them next time you're up there.

It sounds like there are still some awfully big bass lurking in Glenbawn.

It's not often that Swordie gets smoked on the gear he uses!

Well done Raiders!

Cheers,

Grant.

[swano]

Great effort raiders,looks like you had a great trip,some fantastic photos of fish and landscapes,well done Regards Swano