LuckyFil Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 I haven't been up the Hawkesbury chasing bass for many years but after all the recent reports of it being a good year I had a trip up there yesterday near the junction with the Colo. Special thanks to @Picklesfor his reports and tips which helped get us motivated. I was joined by brother Steve fishing from an old 10 foot flat bottomed punt with a 5hp motor which limited how far and fast we could travel, not to mention how well we coped with the wash from the wake boats. Luckily only a few out being a weekday. The fishing started slowly as we took a while to get back in the groove of casting bass lures but it wasn't long before we started to pick up a few, initially on deep divers but then on cicada surface walkers and a couple on a spinnerbait. We tried trolling to cover more ground but that only produced one more small fish. So we decided to stop and drift along a cliff with overhanging trees and the sound of cicadas above. It wasn't long before the little bass were whacking the surface lures, although it often took two or three attempts before a hookup. Didn't bother with pics as they were small fish around the 20cm, some tiny and not much over 12cm but cheeky little buggers that hit the lures hard. On one of our last drifts for the day Steve's lure was hit with a mighty boof and we knew this was a much better fish. Out came the net for the first time on the day and a 48cm bass joined us for a few quick pics and the release. . We fished for a bit longer picking up a few more fish around the 25-30cm range then called it a day. I was pleased to see so many small healthy fish in the river which looks promising for the future. The water also looked clean and much better than previous years. Cheers Fil 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 Wow, that is a tank! Awesome fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 That’s a thumper fish Fil, well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lastworm Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 Awesome fish! Did you get a measure on it? Im actually getting sick of the little bass in the Nepean, they are in plague proportions and are so frustrating when using lures with tiny trebles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hucho hucho Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 Great report, awesome fish! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Looks like it was worth it. The big one is a great bass. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 2 hours ago, lastworm said: Im actually getting sick of the little bass in the Nepean, they are in plague proportions and are so frustrating when using lures with tiny trebles. Have you tried changing to a larger single hook instead of the trebles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 2 hours ago, lastworm said: Awesome fish! Did you get a measure on it? Im actually getting sick of the little bass in the Nepean, they are in plague proportions and are so frustrating when using lures with tiny trebles. Yeah it was just on 48cm. Tried to get a pic of it on the measure but it wouldn’t cooperate and we didn’t want to keep it out of the water too long. we crushed the barbs on our trebles with pliers for easier release. Doesn’t affect the hookup rate and better for the fish too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 That is a great fish, well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 That is a a Top fish. Great photos. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Top effort Phil, glad you were able to get onto them and a 48 is a fish to be proud of. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Pickles said: Top effort Phil, glad you were able to get onto them and a 48 is a fish to be proud of. Thanks Bob! I might send you a message later re our trolling failure to see if I can work out what we did wrong. Cheers Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jed38 Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Ripper Bass there. It does seem that there are a few bass in the river. I've just started Bass fishing out of a Yak but have small tinnie as well which might be the go in the future. Can I ask where you launched the boat from? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lastworm Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 6 hours ago, Yowie said: Have you tried changing to a larger single hook instead of the trebles? I’m going barbless to see how that helps, also had way too many close calls with a finger or the inside of my leg. Failing that I’ll be going to singles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 On 1/12/2023 at 4:25 PM, jed38 said: Ripper Bass there. It does seem that there are a few bass in the river. I've just started Bass fishing out of a Yak but have small tinnie as well which might be the go in the future. Can I ask where you launched the boat from? There's a small ramp near the junction of the Colo and Hawkesbury. It's call Skelton Rocks Reserve suitable for small boats only and avoid at the very bottom of the tide as there is sudden drop off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Is that the old Colo River ferry? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Great report and that last bass is a beast! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Great report Fil and a cracker of a Bass at 48cm. Strange that where Bob and I fished there were no cicadas evident, but plenty evident on the roadside trees as we drove back to his place. I would have loved to use my surface cicada lures to catch a few. Cheers, bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 12 hours ago, bessell1955 said: Is that the old Colo River ferry? I would guess so as I noticed some old cables at the side of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 7 hours ago, big Neil said: Great report Fil and a cracker of a Bass at 48cm. Strange that where Bob and I fished there were no cicadas evident, but plenty evident on the roadside trees as we drove back to his place. I would have loved to use my surface cicada lures to catch a few. Cheers, bn Yeah the surface strikes, even from small fish are a quite special. We couldn’t help but laugh at the persistence of some tiny fish whacking the lures. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 On 1/14/2023 at 7:57 PM, bessell1955 said: Is that the old Colo River ferry? Yep that’s the spot, but dodgy at low tide - 6 hours behind Brooklyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 It still has the big drop-off at its' end? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingFables Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Great report and good on you for getting out there. Nothing beats the sound of a big bass smashing a surface lure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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