Lake St Clair Bass

[LuckyFil]

A short report about a short trip to Lake St Clair. Was visiting in-laws at Singleton and did a quick dash out to the lake one morning this week. Must bring a kayak next time as shore access is very limited partly due to fencing and partly the high water levels at present (91%) meaning a lot of areas have bush in the first 5 meters out in the water making fishing impossible .

Found a few gaps in between trees/shrubbery in the water to cast my spinnerbait and had a few hits but no hookups for the first hour. Tried chatter bait, small SP and cicada lure but the spinnerbait was the only thing getting interest. Moved around the corner into a small bay cast out let it sink then got smashed halfway back followed by a good tussle from a bass of around 41-42 cm, see pics.

Kept casting for another hour and again some half hearted hits and one very solid hit right under a snag near the bank , it took line against some firm drag then nothing! For some reason no hookup, bugger.

Anyway it only takes one decent fish to make good outing and I was happy especially as I missed the big storms that were lurking in the area.

A question for others. Several times in the second hour fish were hitting the surface in groups almost like a school of tailor would in saltwater . I'm familiar with bass "boofs" and did see a couple of those close to shore under trees , but I was baffled by what these other fish may have been. Judging by the splashes some of them were good sized fish. Any thoughts guys?

Fil

[big Neil]

Could they have been Carp Fil? Good healthy-looking Bass, well done.  bn

[R E G I C Y C L E]

Solid bass! Carp are the most likely answer i think. They can be very active on the surface in the morning, especially larger models.

[Yowie]

Nice fish for all the effort. As others have suggested, mud marlin sometimes do the "tailor like" surface attacks.

[LuckyFil]

2 hours ago, big Neil said:

Could they have been Carp Fil? Good healthy-looking Bass, well done.  bn

 

52 minutes ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

Solid bass! Carp are the most likely answer i think. They can be very active on the surface in the morning, especially larger models.

 

23 minutes ago, Yowie said:

Nice fish for all the effort. As others have suggested, mud marlin sometimes do the "tailor like" surface attacks.

Thanks for your comments guys I didn’t realise carp did that 

[bessell1955]

I have been informed that Bass fight very hard in Lake St Clair, how did you find them?

 

[LuckyFil]

13 hours ago, bessell1955 said:

I have been informed that Bass fight very hard in Lake St Clair, how did you find them?

 

Absolutely true. I don't do a lot of bass fishing I'm more saltwater estuary for flathead etc. The bass hit lures like a truck and for their size fight very hard especially once they get over 30-35cm

[Pickles]

A 40+ Bass is a really good fish @LuckyFil, well done mate (love the fight on light gear, so much fun). I’ve never fished Lake St Clair, but there are some quality fish and as you rightly noted “It only takes one good fish…”