Sunshine Coast Bass Fishing.

Posted by TackleWorld Kawana on

Hi, My Name is Thomas Mewes and I am part of the Pro Staff team here at Tackle World Kawana Waters. 

With the warmer months approaching, the Australian Bass in our local waters are starting to fire up. Bass are a super exciting fish to target with their aggressive nature and hard hits, they will leave you wanting more. I have been fishing Borumba Dam and the Ewen Maddock dam lately and have been getting some outstanding results. These Dams are both stocked impoundments and a fishing permit is required to fish these waters, but it is worth every cent when you set hooks into one of the stonkers that live in these Dams. Borumba Dam is located 1 hour 10min drive from the coast, just out near Imbil. With the amazing scenery and great fishing, it’s worth the early morning wake up and long drive. For those who don’t fancy the long drive, I have been fishing the local Ewen Maddock Dam located just outside of Landsborough, and getting some great results. The Ewen Maddock is a propeller free Dam, which means it is only accessible by foot or Kayak. I have been fishing it out of a Kayak lately, and have quite frequently been the only person out on the Dam.

Technique: I have been using a very similar technique at both Dams. For the early morning and late afternoon bite I have been using surface lures, getting some blood pumping surface strikes. Using this technique at Borumba Dam will also increase the chances of a Saratoga by catch. What I have been looking for when working the surface are areas in where the weed bed sits at least a foot under the surface. This allows for the lure to work freely, without getting fouled up. The technique that has worked the best is a twitch and pause action. The Bass and Saratoga are sitting in these weed beds close to the surface, and will come out to smash your lure. For the midday bite I have been finding areas of weed bed where the wind is blowing parallel with the weed bed. I have been working subsurface lures with a slow roll technique just outside the weed beds, close to the bottom. Or you can even troll lures along these edges. The Bass are hiding in the weed bed and coming out and smashing the lures. The best results in the last few weeks have been in shallow bays up to 4m deep. When working these bays, it pays to keep moving and casting ahead of your kayak or boat to ensure you don’t spook the fish.

Gear: The rod and reel I have been using lately to target Bass is the Shimano Zodias 270ML (5-10lb) and a 2500 Shimano Stradic Ci4 spooled with 10lb braid and using a 10lb leader. There is a range of lures to use in the morning, any poppers, or walk the dog style lures around that 65mm have been working the best, the Nomad Dartwing 70mm has been my favourite so far. The subsurface lures that have been doing the damage during that deeper midday bite are the Bassman Spinner Bait in the Purple, and in the White. The Jackall Charablade 14g in the Hanks Wakasaki, Boney and the Brown Dog. The Spinner baits and the Charablades throw plenty of vibration and reflection which entices the Bass to come out of the weeds and smash your lure. Soft plastics and hard body lures can also get great results. Small to medium size minnow style soft plastics in roughly a 3 inch size work great, especially in colours that throw plenty of shimmer and reflection to get the attention of that hungry Bass. Hard body lures around a 70mm size in a suspending style allows you to pause the lure in front of the weed edge to entice the Bass to come out and smash it. 

I hope this information helps you to get out there and set a few hooks into the quality Bass that are found through our local waters. For any more information, feel free to drop in and have a chat and any of our Pro Staff team will be happy to assist.  


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