MAROON DAM Fun bass fishing heats up as spring conditions arrive
SOMERSET DAM
WITH the weather really warming up, the bass have started to school up and become very active.
Large schools of bass have been found around the flats at Queen St and past Kirkleigh around the start of the timbered area.
The bass are very active and biting on a wide variety of lures, including tailspinners, vibes, soft plastics and ice jigs.
The bait fishos will see some great success on live shrimp in these areas.
Remember the bag limit is two bass per person.
There are a few redclaw also showing up. THERE has been some great fishing here this week, with some nice-sized bass coming on soft plastics and a few on spinnerbaits around the timber.
Early morning is the best time to fish to the weedy edges, with natural-coloured soft plastics rigged on a quarter-ounce jig head.
As the day goes on, you will find the fish schooling a bit more or suspending around the timber, which is when live shrimp or worms will work well, along with rolling spinnerbaits around past the trees.
BOONDOOMA DAM
SPRING time has really been good for Boondooma.
There have been some great catches of bass and yellowbelly throughout the dam.
The best catches have been bass up the Stuart Arm just before the start of the timber using light coloured soft plastics in about 20ft of water rigged on a 3/8 ounce jig head.
The yellowbelly have been biting well out from the rocks on the left hand bank at the start of the Boyne Arm.
Purple spinnerbaits and Jackal TN60s have worked best.
Throughout the main basin there have been many schools of bass located that are biting well on tailspinners and soft plastics.
Once located, the fish are quite active until you start releasing the fish back into the schools.
Live shrimp will keep them on the bite longer.
COOBY DAM
THE warmer weather hasn’t quite had the effect on the yellowbelly as what it has done with the bass.
There are still a few good-sized yellowbelly coming out of Cooby on the Ecogear Zx Blades and on salt water yabbies, but the numbers aren’t there yet.
Most fish have been targeted in around the 25ft mark just out from the yacht club and over off the northern wall.
CRESSBROOK DAM
CRESSY is the pick of the lakes to fish in the local area at the moment.
Early morning is seeing a nice edge bite with bigger bass feeding tight to the edges.
Natural-coloured spinnerbaits have been working, along with suspending lures, up until about 9am when they start to then move out deeper and school up at the ends of main lake points in about 30ft of water.
Natural-coloured soft plastics and tail spinners have worked best, and for the bait fisherman, live shrimp and worms will get the bass into the boat.
LESLIE DAM
IT IS very spot-specific at Leslie.
Some anglers are bagging out
Fishing with Kris George from Fish ‘n’ Bits Bait & Tackle
and others are coming in with none.
Locating the fish first is key, and that comes down to having a valid fish finder, knowing what to look for and where to check once located.
Most anglers’ success has come on salt water yabbies and live shrimp, or for the lure fisherman, it has been fishing vertically with Ecogear Blades and soft vibes.
CONDAMINE RIVER
THE Condamine is still a bit dirty, but there have been some nice fish caught around the Cecil Plains area from anglers fishing out of kayaks, mainly on hardbodied lure-like stump jumpers and Viking lures along with casting spinnerbaits.
For the land-based fisherman, saltwater yabbies and live shrimp have seen some good success.