My tips for fishing Wivenhoe Dam written September 2009
Wivenhoe
Dam is an impoundment which dams the Brisbane River near Fernvale in
South East Queensland. I now fish this dam totally different to most
other impoundments due to the presence of fork tail catfish. Thanks to some good advice from Gary Fitzerald of Sweetwater Fishing I have had huge success catching bass consistently by using the following techniques.
Lures
In years gone by when fishing this dam I would mostly use a Jackall TN60 lure, these lures have a huge reputation in the bass fishing arena in Eastern Australia and rightly so as they certainly catch fish. However as these lures have a internal rattle which can attract the fork tail catfish to attack the lure I have started to use similar lures but those without the rattle. Jackall lures have such lures in their range and I tend to use these when fishing Wivenhoe dam.
The Jackall TN60 Silent is available in a limited range of colours, this lure is is exactly the same as the original TN60 but it has no rattles inside the lure, instead it has one solid weight. This gives the lure the same action and feel but without the noise of the rattles being present.
The Jackall Mask Vibe is a similar lure to the TN60 but it is in a soft plastic form. It has a more natural look to it, has a great feel and with the flex from the body of the lure it almost looks like a real bait fish. It comes in a great array of colours, lengths and weights.
The Jackall Tranzam 95 has the same feel, flex and look to it as the Mask Vibe but is a more slender lure and comes in a longer length of 95mm. It comes in a very limited range of colours but having just one or two of these in you tackle box will give you that extra edge when the fishing is difficult.
I have always used bladed lures in Wivenhoe dam, mainly jigging them below the kayak when I have come across schooled bass. I am now using different techniques for these lures and carry a good selection of this type of lure when I fish this dam. Again I like this style of lure as it can be used silent. These lures are more about flash and vibration in the water column.
The Jazz Deka Bokun blade comes in a range of heavy weights, a great array of colours , has four tow points and is rigged with W hooks.
The River2Sea Glassie Vib lure is a made for resin and has a clear through look to it. I happen to have a 65mm version of this lure which was sold a year or two ago, this lure is 20 grams. The ones sold now are 55mm and are 9.5 grams and come in a small range of colours.
The Jaz Rayza 65 blade come in a sensational range of colours, measures 65mm, weighs 22 grams and has three two points.
The Sasuke Blade Jr 8 and Sasuke Blade Jr 11 is from the Jackall family, again comes in a great range of colours, weighs 8 and 11 grams respectively and has three tow points.
The Dual Live bait blade comes in a great range of colours and weights, it has one tow point and is rigged with one treble.
When the fishing on them dam becomes frustrating I will turn to an Ice jig. These are a jigging lure that is used over schooling fish.
The Strike Pro Redfin Jig and Nils Master Jigger are similar ice jigs but the Nils Master version has had a long reputation of producing fish.
In the dam I have tried alot of diving lures with limited success, but after fishing along side my friend Denis on the dam I now use one brand of deep diving lure.
Jonesy Elle and Busy Boy lures are deep diving lures and are proven bass catchers. I only use these lures when trolling on the dam.
I also use a large range of Spinner Baits and Spinner Jigs ranging in size from 1/4 to 3/4 oz over several different brands.I sometime use soft plastics and if this were the case I would choose 3 " Slider Bass Grubs or Squidgy fish 65mm.
Lures
In years gone by when fishing this dam I would mostly use a Jackall TN60 lure, these lures have a huge reputation in the bass fishing arena in Eastern Australia and rightly so as they certainly catch fish. However as these lures have a internal rattle which can attract the fork tail catfish to attack the lure I have started to use similar lures but those without the rattle. Jackall lures have such lures in their range and I tend to use these when fishing Wivenhoe dam.
The Jackall TN60 Silent is available in a limited range of colours, this lure is is exactly the same as the original TN60 but it has no rattles inside the lure, instead it has one solid weight. This gives the lure the same action and feel but without the noise of the rattles being present.
The Jackall Mask Vibe is a similar lure to the TN60 but it is in a soft plastic form. It has a more natural look to it, has a great feel and with the flex from the body of the lure it almost looks like a real bait fish. It comes in a great array of colours, lengths and weights.
The Jackall Tranzam 95 has the same feel, flex and look to it as the Mask Vibe but is a more slender lure and comes in a longer length of 95mm. It comes in a very limited range of colours but having just one or two of these in you tackle box will give you that extra edge when the fishing is difficult.
I have always used bladed lures in Wivenhoe dam, mainly jigging them below the kayak when I have come across schooled bass. I am now using different techniques for these lures and carry a good selection of this type of lure when I fish this dam. Again I like this style of lure as it can be used silent. These lures are more about flash and vibration in the water column.
The Jazz Deka Bokun blade comes in a range of heavy weights, a great array of colours , has four tow points and is rigged with W hooks.
The River2Sea Glassie Vib lure is a made for resin and has a clear through look to it. I happen to have a 65mm version of this lure which was sold a year or two ago, this lure is 20 grams. The ones sold now are 55mm and are 9.5 grams and come in a small range of colours.
The Jaz Rayza 65 blade come in a sensational range of colours, measures 65mm, weighs 22 grams and has three two points.
The Sasuke Blade Jr 8 and Sasuke Blade Jr 11 is from the Jackall family, again comes in a great range of colours, weighs 8 and 11 grams respectively and has three tow points.
The Dual Live bait blade comes in a great range of colours and weights, it has one tow point and is rigged with one treble.
When the fishing on them dam becomes frustrating I will turn to an Ice jig. These are a jigging lure that is used over schooling fish.
The Strike Pro Redfin Jig and Nils Master Jigger are similar ice jigs but the Nils Master version has had a long reputation of producing fish.
In the dam I have tried alot of diving lures with limited success, but after fishing along side my friend Denis on the dam I now use one brand of deep diving lure.
Jonesy Elle and Busy Boy lures are deep diving lures and are proven bass catchers. I only use these lures when trolling on the dam.
I also use a large range of Spinner Baits and Spinner Jigs ranging in size from 1/4 to 3/4 oz over several different brands.I sometime use soft plastics and if this were the case I would choose 3 " Slider Bass Grubs or Squidgy fish 65mm.
Rods and Lines
When fishing the dam I like to have up to four rods with me, but it all depends on the predicted conditions just how many I take. More rods mean simply more options to fish differently. Also if I have up to four options and the way the fish are behaving in the water change quickly I can make a slick change in the way I fish too by having choice of rig. Otherwise its a matter of changing lures on the water to suit the changing behavior of the fish, sometimes this delay could be the difference between getting onto some bass or not. I like to have at least two baitcaster outfits and two spin out fits with me. This is what I am currently using as below.
Pflueger 6' 6 " Supreme Bass Impoundment Bait Caster Rod with a Daiwa Low profile Fuego Bait Caster reel
Daiwa 6'6" Procaster IM7 Bait Caster Rod with a Shimano Curado Bantam Bait Caster reel.
St. Croix SCIII 3S70MF 6'6" Spin Rod with a Daiwa 2500 Sol spinning reel
Berkley Dropshot IM6 6'6" Spin rod with a Shimano 1500 Symetre Spinning reel
The two bait caster outfits I like to use with blades, mask vibes and Transams, the St Croix rod for heavy spinner baits and plastics and the Berkley dropshot rod for casting lighter spinnerbaits and spinner jigs. As blades lures are attached by clips to the leader I will use the two baitcaster rods if I am trolling between spots. Although some people will argue not to use clips I like to use them as if I come across schooled fish I can wind my trolling lures in fast and make a quick change to blades on these rods.
I typically use Fireline in strengths 6 - 8 lbs and Sunline PE braid in similar strengths. I like to use a 16lb leader, Sunline FC Rock Flurocarbon Leader. My joining knot between the leader and the main line is an Albright knot.
Where to look for Bass
When the dam was built, the basin of the dam was totally cleared. So except for the the edges of the dam there is virtually no underwater structure in the dam. When I say edges I mean the where the water meets the edge of the bank, in many parts of the dam you will find the following structure leading into the dam, rocky cliffs, rocky banks, fallen trees, grassy banks, clay banks and gradual grass banks leading into the water. All of these areas may hold fish from time to time. Its important to look at the lie of the land immediately adjacent to the banks of the dam and imagine what it may look like on these edges under the waterline.
Other areas worth while searching for bass are recently flooded areas of the dam, the dam has recently filled over a period of six months or so to around sixty five percent capacity. For a year or two before this time, low areas of the dam where there was no water coverage became dry and soon grass and small weedy scrubs grew on these now waterless areas. As you can imagine small insects inhabited these areas once again so when the dam started to fill mid last year these areas were gradually flooded once the dam started to rise. The bass moved into these once grass lands and picked off the insects that inhabited these areas, this has long finished as the dam has been at significantly higher levels now for some time. But the bass still look for food in these parts as the grass and weedy scrubs still have not broken down and will now hold small crustaceans and bait fish. In recent times I have concentrated my efforts in these parts of the dam and I have scored alot of bass. Good areas to try where this has occurred is Billies Bay, Logan's Inlet, Hamon Cove, Horse Paddock, Biggs Peninsula, Davis Bay and Bellevue Bay.
The Brisbane river once ran through where the dam was built and in the lower parts of the dam from Logan's Inlet down to the wall this channel is marked with orange CSIRO Water Measuring buoys. Now the dam is nearing full capacity the river channel may be up to thirty to forty metres deep. Bass sometimes congregate in the channel but I like to search for bass on the drop offs that lead into the river channel from the the river flats beside the old river bed. Often i will find bass sitting on the drop offs waiting to ambush their prey. Bait fish which is the main food source of bass can also be found in these areas.
Just like when fishing saltwater it is important to look for bird activity on the dam. There are large colonies of Shags, Pelicans and Seagulls on the dam. They are constantly on the look out for bait fish to feed on. I look for these birds on the water, sometimes you will come across quite a large flock of them. I like to paddle up to them very quietly, there will always be bait fish under them and in turn this will attract bass, so remember to look for birds when you are out there, as I said they can be an indicator to fish just as they are in coastal fishing areas.The river flats that are found off to the sides of the river channel often hold huge balls of bait fish and in turn huge numbers of schooling bass. This is another favorite area of the dam I concentrate my efforts on to find schooling bass, river flat areas are typically eight to fourteen metres deep. Once a large school of bass is found its usually party time unless they are shut down.
When fishing the dam I like to have up to four rods with me, but it all depends on the predicted conditions just how many I take. More rods mean simply more options to fish differently. Also if I have up to four options and the way the fish are behaving in the water change quickly I can make a slick change in the way I fish too by having choice of rig. Otherwise its a matter of changing lures on the water to suit the changing behavior of the fish, sometimes this delay could be the difference between getting onto some bass or not. I like to have at least two baitcaster outfits and two spin out fits with me. This is what I am currently using as below.
Pflueger 6' 6 " Supreme Bass Impoundment Bait Caster Rod with a Daiwa Low profile Fuego Bait Caster reel
Daiwa 6'6" Procaster IM7 Bait Caster Rod with a Shimano Curado Bantam Bait Caster reel.
St. Croix SCIII 3S70MF 6'6" Spin Rod with a Daiwa 2500 Sol spinning reel
Berkley Dropshot IM6 6'6" Spin rod with a Shimano 1500 Symetre Spinning reel
The two bait caster outfits I like to use with blades, mask vibes and Transams, the St Croix rod for heavy spinner baits and plastics and the Berkley dropshot rod for casting lighter spinnerbaits and spinner jigs. As blades lures are attached by clips to the leader I will use the two baitcaster rods if I am trolling between spots. Although some people will argue not to use clips I like to use them as if I come across schooled fish I can wind my trolling lures in fast and make a quick change to blades on these rods.
I typically use Fireline in strengths 6 - 8 lbs and Sunline PE braid in similar strengths. I like to use a 16lb leader, Sunline FC Rock Flurocarbon Leader. My joining knot between the leader and the main line is an Albright knot.
Where to look for Bass
When the dam was built, the basin of the dam was totally cleared. So except for the the edges of the dam there is virtually no underwater structure in the dam. When I say edges I mean the where the water meets the edge of the bank, in many parts of the dam you will find the following structure leading into the dam, rocky cliffs, rocky banks, fallen trees, grassy banks, clay banks and gradual grass banks leading into the water. All of these areas may hold fish from time to time. Its important to look at the lie of the land immediately adjacent to the banks of the dam and imagine what it may look like on these edges under the waterline.
Other areas worth while searching for bass are recently flooded areas of the dam, the dam has recently filled over a period of six months or so to around sixty five percent capacity. For a year or two before this time, low areas of the dam where there was no water coverage became dry and soon grass and small weedy scrubs grew on these now waterless areas. As you can imagine small insects inhabited these areas once again so when the dam started to fill mid last year these areas were gradually flooded once the dam started to rise. The bass moved into these once grass lands and picked off the insects that inhabited these areas, this has long finished as the dam has been at significantly higher levels now for some time. But the bass still look for food in these parts as the grass and weedy scrubs still have not broken down and will now hold small crustaceans and bait fish. In recent times I have concentrated my efforts in these parts of the dam and I have scored alot of bass. Good areas to try where this has occurred is Billies Bay, Logan's Inlet, Hamon Cove, Horse Paddock, Biggs Peninsula, Davis Bay and Bellevue Bay.
The Brisbane river once ran through where the dam was built and in the lower parts of the dam from Logan's Inlet down to the wall this channel is marked with orange CSIRO Water Measuring buoys. Now the dam is nearing full capacity the river channel may be up to thirty to forty metres deep. Bass sometimes congregate in the channel but I like to search for bass on the drop offs that lead into the river channel from the the river flats beside the old river bed. Often i will find bass sitting on the drop offs waiting to ambush their prey. Bait fish which is the main food source of bass can also be found in these areas.
Just like when fishing saltwater it is important to look for bird activity on the dam. There are large colonies of Shags, Pelicans and Seagulls on the dam. They are constantly on the look out for bait fish to feed on. I look for these birds on the water, sometimes you will come across quite a large flock of them. I like to paddle up to them very quietly, there will always be bait fish under them and in turn this will attract bass, so remember to look for birds when you are out there, as I said they can be an indicator to fish just as they are in coastal fishing areas.The river flats that are found off to the sides of the river channel often hold huge balls of bait fish and in turn huge numbers of schooling bass. This is another favorite area of the dam I concentrate my efforts on to find schooling bass, river flat areas are typically eight to fourteen metres deep. Once a large school of bass is found its usually party time unless they are shut down.
These are CSIRO Buoys which mark the river channel and record water heights and movement
My Fishing Techniques
My fishing technique is very simple, I will search for fish on the river flats or recently flooded areas. I have spent many hours on the dam in the past six months and I have got to know where the fish hang out.
The most important thing to remember when you are fishing this dam is to make sure you fish fast. Catfish are a slow moving fish and if a lure comes into their zone that is at a slow pace or even idle they will attack it. Where as Bass are a faster moving fish, they will also attack a slow moving lure but to increase your catch rate of bass as compared to catfish it is important that you fish fast. I have been amazed just how many bass I now catch since I have started to fish much faster. The same goes for trolling, if you are catching alot of catfish when trolling it means straight away you are trolling too slow, speed your trolling pace up a little and you will increase your chances of scoring a bass. When trolling I typically paddle at a speed of between three kilometres to five kilometres an hour to make sure I don't attract a catfish to my lure. Also there is a theory that catfish are attracted to green lures and as mentioned before any lure that has a rattle.
The lure collection that I carry with me on the dam is those I have pictured above plus as mentioned a small selection of spinner baits and jig spinners. Of these on a good day I'd be lucky to three or four lures. But when the fishing proves frustrating I may change my lures as many as a dozen times.
I use a good quality sounder to help me locate the bass in the dam. Once I have found schooled fish,a small or large school I will cast to them. I use a marker buoy to mark the spot where I have found the fish on my sounder. The marker makes it easy for me to see when the fish are under the water and aids me in directing my casts to their position. I also believe after the marker buoy has be dropped it may cause the bass to school up near the buoy, like a fish attracting device, I could be wrong but I have had this happen on more than one occasion. Something to remember if you come across a very large school of bass in the dam, mark the spot on your GPS or take bearings to land marks. The school will hardly move from the spot and you can go back a week later and the fish will be still on the mark or very close by.When I have found a school of Bass I will always throw a bladed lure first, typically one that is very heavy.
I tend to favor blades that weigh between 20 and 30 grams. The reason why is that they will give me a very long distance cast and once cast out they will move to the bottom of the water column very quickly. The outfit I select for fishing blades is one of my bait caster rods. Rather than casting straight onto the school I will cast to the sides of it, I cast out as far as I can leaving the bait caster reel in free spool until the line goes slack and I know the lure has hit the bottom. I will instantly engage the spool and start a burn, pause technique back to the kayak. By this I mean frantically winding the reel at full speed for about 6 turns of the reel handle, then pausing this action for a couple seconds and then winding frantically again and so and so on back to the kayak. This gives the blade a darting effect like it is imitating a bait fish darting for cover. If I have not caught a fish on the first cast, the second cast I will cast out a long way again, burn, pause, burn, pause and then free spool to the bottom again, engage the reel and burn and pause back to the kayak again. If I still have not had a hook up I will cast for a third time, wait for the lure to hit the bottom, burn, pause, burn, pause, free spool to the bottom and jig this time rather then starting another burn, pause, retrieve back to the kayak.
More than likely if I am on a school of bass and doing these techniques it very probable I would have hooked a fish after the first or second cast. If after some time I have not caught some bass by using the techniques above or I have caught a few and they have shut down I would change my lure to one of my other silent lure presentations, a Mask Vibe or a Tranzam 95. I like to use these lures in this case as they have a more natural look to them. If the burn pause technique does not work I will position my kayak over the school of bass and jig directly on the school. Things to look for when on a school of bass, the bass will sometimes be positioned mid way up the water column, when this occurs, drop the lure to the bottom and count how many second it takes to hit the bottom, then do a the calculation and work out how many seconds you need to drop the lure the second time to be jigging the lure in their faces. The Blades, Mask Vibes, Transams, Silent Jackalls, Glassie vibe and Livebait Vibe lure can all be worked this way on suspending bass.
My last resort if all of this does not work and I am still on the school of bass it is time to use an ice jig. The ice jig as the name stated is best jigged on a school of bass. When you slightly raise the tip of your rod and lower it slowly the ice jig will move in an arc under the water, sometimes this is just too irresistible to schooled bass and you will be onto a fish in no time.A note on jigging, it is important to have full control of the lure under the water, chaotic lifting of the rod and lowering it may give the lure great action under the water but there will be more of a chance that your mainline will tangle in the tip of your rod and the last thing you need when a fish hits your lure is the line wrapped around the tip of the rod. If this happens you may lose the fish or at worst break the tip from your rod. So a controlled jigging method is best making sure you stay in touch with your lure.When moving in between spots I always troll a lure or two as I may come across larger bass hunting on their own for prey. As I mentioned above I make sure I have a faster speed to prevent the catfish bite.
If all else fails and I can't find schooling bass I will move to the edges of the dam and fish with spinner baits or spinner jigs, fanning casts to the banks in search of bass.I use the same burn, pause retrieve but this time I will add a few hops in the action. I like to use a purple or white spinner bait and if using a spinner jig I will use a quarter ounce jig head with a three inch slider bass grub in a natural colour. Often if I catch one bass you will catch another fishing the edges. I like to use my St. Croix rod for casting heavy spinner baits and my Berkley Drop Shot rod for casting lighter spinner jigs. This is how I fish Wivenhoe dam, if you have any question or queries, I'm happy to help you, contact me here
My fishing technique is very simple, I will search for fish on the river flats or recently flooded areas. I have spent many hours on the dam in the past six months and I have got to know where the fish hang out.
The most important thing to remember when you are fishing this dam is to make sure you fish fast. Catfish are a slow moving fish and if a lure comes into their zone that is at a slow pace or even idle they will attack it. Where as Bass are a faster moving fish, they will also attack a slow moving lure but to increase your catch rate of bass as compared to catfish it is important that you fish fast. I have been amazed just how many bass I now catch since I have started to fish much faster. The same goes for trolling, if you are catching alot of catfish when trolling it means straight away you are trolling too slow, speed your trolling pace up a little and you will increase your chances of scoring a bass. When trolling I typically paddle at a speed of between three kilometres to five kilometres an hour to make sure I don't attract a catfish to my lure. Also there is a theory that catfish are attracted to green lures and as mentioned before any lure that has a rattle.
The lure collection that I carry with me on the dam is those I have pictured above plus as mentioned a small selection of spinner baits and jig spinners. Of these on a good day I'd be lucky to three or four lures. But when the fishing proves frustrating I may change my lures as many as a dozen times.
I use a good quality sounder to help me locate the bass in the dam. Once I have found schooled fish,a small or large school I will cast to them. I use a marker buoy to mark the spot where I have found the fish on my sounder. The marker makes it easy for me to see when the fish are under the water and aids me in directing my casts to their position. I also believe after the marker buoy has be dropped it may cause the bass to school up near the buoy, like a fish attracting device, I could be wrong but I have had this happen on more than one occasion. Something to remember if you come across a very large school of bass in the dam, mark the spot on your GPS or take bearings to land marks. The school will hardly move from the spot and you can go back a week later and the fish will be still on the mark or very close by.When I have found a school of Bass I will always throw a bladed lure first, typically one that is very heavy.
I tend to favor blades that weigh between 20 and 30 grams. The reason why is that they will give me a very long distance cast and once cast out they will move to the bottom of the water column very quickly. The outfit I select for fishing blades is one of my bait caster rods. Rather than casting straight onto the school I will cast to the sides of it, I cast out as far as I can leaving the bait caster reel in free spool until the line goes slack and I know the lure has hit the bottom. I will instantly engage the spool and start a burn, pause technique back to the kayak. By this I mean frantically winding the reel at full speed for about 6 turns of the reel handle, then pausing this action for a couple seconds and then winding frantically again and so and so on back to the kayak. This gives the blade a darting effect like it is imitating a bait fish darting for cover. If I have not caught a fish on the first cast, the second cast I will cast out a long way again, burn, pause, burn, pause and then free spool to the bottom again, engage the reel and burn and pause back to the kayak again. If I still have not had a hook up I will cast for a third time, wait for the lure to hit the bottom, burn, pause, burn, pause, free spool to the bottom and jig this time rather then starting another burn, pause, retrieve back to the kayak.
More than likely if I am on a school of bass and doing these techniques it very probable I would have hooked a fish after the first or second cast. If after some time I have not caught some bass by using the techniques above or I have caught a few and they have shut down I would change my lure to one of my other silent lure presentations, a Mask Vibe or a Tranzam 95. I like to use these lures in this case as they have a more natural look to them. If the burn pause technique does not work I will position my kayak over the school of bass and jig directly on the school. Things to look for when on a school of bass, the bass will sometimes be positioned mid way up the water column, when this occurs, drop the lure to the bottom and count how many second it takes to hit the bottom, then do a the calculation and work out how many seconds you need to drop the lure the second time to be jigging the lure in their faces. The Blades, Mask Vibes, Transams, Silent Jackalls, Glassie vibe and Livebait Vibe lure can all be worked this way on suspending bass.
My last resort if all of this does not work and I am still on the school of bass it is time to use an ice jig. The ice jig as the name stated is best jigged on a school of bass. When you slightly raise the tip of your rod and lower it slowly the ice jig will move in an arc under the water, sometimes this is just too irresistible to schooled bass and you will be onto a fish in no time.A note on jigging, it is important to have full control of the lure under the water, chaotic lifting of the rod and lowering it may give the lure great action under the water but there will be more of a chance that your mainline will tangle in the tip of your rod and the last thing you need when a fish hits your lure is the line wrapped around the tip of the rod. If this happens you may lose the fish or at worst break the tip from your rod. So a controlled jigging method is best making sure you stay in touch with your lure.When moving in between spots I always troll a lure or two as I may come across larger bass hunting on their own for prey. As I mentioned above I make sure I have a faster speed to prevent the catfish bite.
If all else fails and I can't find schooling bass I will move to the edges of the dam and fish with spinner baits or spinner jigs, fanning casts to the banks in search of bass.I use the same burn, pause retrieve but this time I will add a few hops in the action. I like to use a purple or white spinner bait and if using a spinner jig I will use a quarter ounce jig head with a three inch slider bass grub in a natural colour. Often if I catch one bass you will catch another fishing the edges. I like to use my St. Croix rod for casting heavy spinner baits and my Berkley Drop Shot rod for casting lighter spinner jigs. This is how I fish Wivenhoe dam, if you have any question or queries, I'm happy to help you, contact me here
