Bass State of Origin...

[Member]

There's been some talk around for years about where the biggest bass are found....

Some say Lake Wivenhoe or Lake Samsonvale in Qld, others say Lake Glenbawn in NSW produces the biggest bass. Others say the Clarence River takes the title.

So what do you recon it the biggest bass producing location?

Cheers

[Member]

Not sure about this one Fitzy, a mate of mine showed me a pick of a Bass he caughgt in a local farm dam here near Alstonville and he had measured it 63cm to the cut. But as there was not Brag Mat etc in the the pic I have to take his word for it. I've caught some stonker Bass in the Clarence, but as you know impoundment fish nearly always get bigger than natural stream fish. May have to think in terms of two categories?
John

[Member]

Not really.  I've heard of bigger Bass being taken in rivers than in lakes, both in NSW and Qld.  It's only a state vs. state thing and everyone knows that when these things get going Qld alway win anyway.

[Member]

I've caught some stonker Bass in the Clarence, but as you know impoundment fish nearly always get bigger than natural stream fish. May have to think in terms of two categories?

John, at present in the bass records on AKFF ..... the leading bass is from one of the mid north coast NSW rivers, and tied for second are 2 Wivenhoe fish, with third place also 2 tied fish from Wivenhoe, all fish were taken from kayaks and all are on measures

[Member]

OK so after September the 1st I'm off to my spot on the Clarence, no hardship there really

[Member]

John, at present in the bass records on AKFF ..... the leading bass is from one of the mid north coast NSW rivers, and tied for second are 2 Wivenhoe fish, with third place also 2 tied fish from Wivenhoe, all fish were taken from kayaks and all are on measures

 

G'Day Dodge,

Isn't it funny how these things go. Those are abviously from kayakers & the locations are where there aren't any power boats around. I wonder if say a group of tournament anglers records would show something totally different as their biggest; highly likely. I'm guessing places like Somerset & Glenbawn dams would be up there, places 'yakers often avoid or bravely tackle.

[Member]

OK so after September the 1st I'm off to my spot on the Clarence, no hardship there really

Biggest anecdotal reports I've heard of are from the Clarence River.

I'm still not convinced that lake bass will ever get to record lengths, I'm wondering if they too may suffer from fatty livers & die off at a certain point due to a lazy environment & too much food... similar to Sooty Grunter can suffer from.

[Member]

John, at present in the bass records on AKFF ..... the leading bass is from one of the mid north coast NSW rivers, and tied for second are 2 Wivenhoe fish, with third place also 2 tied fish from Wivenhoe, all fish were taken from kayaks and all are on measures

Hey Richo

if that was being updated then that #1 fish would be sitting in about 6th at the moment. The unicorn hunt fish pics are better than that. Now do you call them Dam fish or River fish? that would cause some debate.

[Member]

So what's the base line for this State of Origin fish? Dam fish may often be fatter, but river fish longer. Obviously weight can be misleading, unless you measure some of the dam fish around the girth!! I'm still heading for the Clarence. Nice day on Clarrie Hall yesterday by the way only 7 fish and all under 40cm but very fat.
JD

[Member]

So what's the base line for this State of Origin fish? Dam fish may often be fatter, but river fish longer. Obviously weight can be misleading, unless you measure some of the dam fish around the girth!! I'm still heading for the Clarence. JD

I recon length is the ultimate indicator & easiest to prove in a picture. It's also the way fish are legally determined to be big enough to keep.

Nice day on Clarrie Hall yesterday by the way only 7 fish and all under 40cm but very fat.

Those are good fish for Clarrie Hall Dam 

Fitz..

[Member]

You're right there Firzy, I've pulled a couple 42's out of there in the warmer weather, but every time we get big rain the big girls go over the wall, so we don't get to hang on to the bigger class of fish. The size of the Dam is one of the problems. It's at Toonumbah that seems to yield only smaller fish though.
John

[Member]

Excellent idea Fitz, so the Cockroaches measure their's fork length and we measure our's overall, is that right?

[Member]

Dale, because we have the Clarence we may only need to measure the fork length.
JD

[Member]

I have seen a photo (still at work) of 2 bass that were caught using professional methods and these fish are no word of a lie in the 5-6kg bracket going by their length and pregnant girth. Serious montsers and make you think twice about what constitutes a big bass and their true growth potential. All I will say is they're from the Hunter region. Biggest rec caught fish I've seen from the Hunter region is 63cm!

[Member]

Lately, I have been doing some serious homework in regards to finding launching sites of some particular creeks and rivers for the Qld side that I recon will give the Clarence a good run for it's money come September. 4x4 access only and as for boats finding their way to these places................good luck. They can try but they'll be short of a leg and a prop on their way home.

I have 3 other creeks I'd like to check out before the start of Spring and just hope that all this hard work will pay dividends. One creek surpasses anything I've seen, just hoping that the rain stays away, keeping these creeks clear.

Bring it on!