Senile Decay

[Plaicehunter]

It's always a good idea to clean your reel after use, then put it back in your bag. It's also good practice to carry a spare reel.

Sadly, in my rush to go fishing this afternoon I failed dismally on both counts.

A desperate call home brought my wife and Doug The Dog to the slipway, where the reel in its padded case was expertly lobbed aboard by Mrs PH.

Back to the mark again, I had barely two hours left to fish but managed 10 hits, all on the Megabass Zonk 120 in Cruising Blue.

None of the other four lures I tried attracted any interest.

On a day when the schoolies seemed to be attacking the lure rather than trying to eat it, I dropped four and boated six.

The water here is still a chilly 9.6C and I don't expect more fish, bigger bass or topwater action till it warms up quite a bit.

For now, schoolies deep down will have to do! PH

[Andy135]

Top dangling as always PH! 👍👍

With your success rate I reckon you'll have a really big girl in the boat before long 🤞

[Plaicehunter]

Just now, Andy135 said:

Top dangling as always PH! 👍👍

With your success rate I reckon you'll have a really big girl in the boat before long 🤞

Thanks, Andy! While I'm convinced some big bass stay in the river year-round, most of the fish at this time of year are schoolies. Most of the bigger fish are not yet back from spawning.

I haven't yet discovered how to select the bigger fish; so far it's a question of catching lots of bass and the odd one will be big. My best two last year were 7-10 and 8-6, so I'm hoping for a double this year.

All my bass go back and I fish barbless, which probably costs me a few fish. Today I really appreciated the ease of unhooking, with one treble in my glove and another in the bass's mouth!

This was my eight-pounder. PH

[Andy135]

I seem to remember a theory that the bigger fish lie lower in the water and let the current bring food to them rather than chasing stuff up in the water column like schoolies do. If this is true then a weighted SP like a FBM or SG Sand Eel bumped along the bottom might help to locate the bigger specimens?

[Plaicehunter]

28 minutes ago, Andy135 said:

I seem to remember a theory that the bigger fish lie lower in the water and let the current bring food to them rather than chasing stuff up in the water column like schoolies do. If this is true then a weighted SP like a FBM or SG Sand Eel bumped along the bottom might help to locate the bigger specimens?

I'm not experienced enough to give a view, but all my best fish last year came to surface lures (probably because I fish those whenever possible).

The 7-10 was on a Sakura Mousty, the 8-6 on a Patchinko 125 in 500G. PH