Popular freshwater hotspot for quality bass

SOMERSET Dam is fishing well again after a bit of pressure from recent competitions.

Matthew Osley with a quality Somerset Dam bass caught on a Keitech Plastic.

FISHING LINES

SOMERSET Dam is fishing well again after a bit of pressure from recent competitions.

The freshwater impoundment is still producing the goods.

Huge bass and yellowbelly are on the chew. These bass are schooling up on the flats adjacent to the old river bed and the use of a sounder is key to finding them.

Try looking around Bay 13 and Queen Street as these are the areas that produced the better quality fish in the recent Bass Nation Grand Final.

Slow rolling 20g spoons like the original Gang Banger or the Slow Blatt seem to be irresistible to the bass and yellowbelly.

Cast these lures towards the schools and slow wind the lure in with a few subtle lifts of the rod.

If they don't want to bite the spoons try switching over to heavily rigged soft plastics like the Keitech Easy shiners as these are scented and may help get the bite when it's tough.

Meanwhile, reports of squire and mixed reefies are coming from Mud Island and Harry Atkinsons reef.

Baits of pilchards are scoring good results as they will appeal to a wide range of fish species.

If you want to target snapper or other reef species on lures try soft plastics like the gulp range. These are heavily scented and will work in low light periods or in deep water.

Micro jigs are going off at the moment too.

The West Peel Reefs are a great place to try them out with some quality jewfish and snapper coming from there recently.

Other good spots to give jigging a go is the Gold Coast Seaway or the deeper waters of the Jumpinpin. Standout jigs would have to be the lighter Slow Blatts or the Jackall Laser Jigs.

In the rivers, the bull sharks are back on the chew and plenty of angers are getting stuck into them.

A wire trace and 7/0 circle hook is all you need and the best bait seems to be freshwater eel which you can purchase from Charlton's Fishing at Redbank.

When fishing for them make sure the tide is running as the sharks seem to prefer the moving water.

Catch and release is always recommended when targeting sharks as they are an important part of the river ecosystem.

Charlton's Fishing is at 18 Kerwick Street, Redbank.

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