Marty and Elise from Tassie getting their first taste of bass fishing landing 1 from 10 encounters. With an unstable barometer and wet, windy conditions, the bass were keen to chase the fly but hesitant to commit to an all out attack.
The fish appeared to be either sideswiping or just mouthing the fly before retreating back to their snag. The end result was 8 missed hits and 2 unstoppables that easily busted the 12lb leader.
Bass can be a tough adversary at times but that’s what keeps us coming back for more. Thanks for a great day out on the water guys.
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October 8, 2023 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Dane with his first bass on fly. Was a pleasure helping you tick Aussie Bass off your list mate, congratulations! Conditions are ideal atm. Plenty of quality fish about.
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October 1, 2023 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Some sensational surface strikes for Shane today on the Dstyles boating 10 from 13 with a few unstoppables keeping our humility in check.
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September 30, 2023 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Mike and Charlie from Ballarat boating 7 nice ones on a cold and windy day.
September 24, 2023 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Love it when a plan comes together for our clients. Glen, Matthew and Sam all catching quality fish on a great golden hour surface bite. These fish were all caught right beside our cabin which can be booked for 3 nights at a time. The cabin is self contained and comes with plenty of serenity!
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January 8, 2023 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Fantastic day on the water with Glen, Matthew and Sam. The boys were new to fishing and Matthew had never used a bait caster. By the end of the day he was skip casting under trees, learnt how to tie new knots and had a ball. It’s a gift to see people achieve a goal. Sam for the win with an 68cm cod off the top
January 7, 2023 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
The boys boating 4 from 7 today on flies and lures with a picture perfect backdrop. Message us to book your trip in the new year.
December 23, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Jeff Forsee AKA
Aotearoa Anglers joining us for the first 2 days of the cod season.
Jeff is a highly accomplished angler and long time fishing guide in NZ so it was a great honour to guide him through New England.
Jeff has an impressive list of captures including peacock bass in Bolivia and taimen in Mongolia, yet he was absolutely captivated by our Aussie native fish.
Kangaroos, emus, cockatoos, turtles and even drop bears adding to the experience for what was a great start to the season.
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December 1, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Jordan and Nick joined us today for one of our ‘Introduction to Fly Fishing’ lessons. It wasn’t long before these guys were casting tight loops across the water. Well done. Very proud. If you’re someone who has been admiring the art of fly fishing but don’t quite know where to start, this trip is for you.
• Learn about fly fishing tackle & techniques
• Learn how to cast a fly from shore
• Learn how to locate fish and present the fly
• Head out onto the water and start fly fishing! Message us to book a trip today!
November 21, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Nothing pays like perseverance. After 4 hours of casting without raising a fish, I could almost smell donuts in the air. Even the guide was saying…”Put down the fly rod Mick cross to the dark side and take the baitcaster. You’ll catch more fish on lures” he said. But the guide misjudged Mick, you see Mick is a fly fisher and a Victorian. Mick had escaped the dictator and could even walk on water. Needless to say the donuts were not needed that day.
September 20, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Tom joining us for some river bass’n today. Plenty of fish taking a liking to the Hideup lures which are fast becoming our favourite crank baits for these river bass.
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September 13, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Anthony and Anton from Melbourne fishing with us this week. Despite the turbid water and the persistent rain, the boys tangled with a number of solid brutes out on the lake. In winter the bass tend to congregate in certain areas of the lake. The trick was to first locate these schooling fish with the sounder. We got the best results from schooled up bass that also had plenty of baitfish nearby.
We chose lures with a bit of vibration and worked them very slowly so that the bass had the chance to locate our offerings in the dirty water. It worked a treat! Was so good to see such fat healthy fish after all the flooding rain. It was truly a pleasure to help the lads tick Aussie Bass off their bucket lists. Very nicely done gents!
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July 23, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Today we found fish gorging themselves in a number of drains in preparation for their spawning run. It appears that all the heavy rain and flood events have been beneficial to the fish, more than a dozen fat pre spawners were landed.
June, July, August our Aussie Bass get busy making baby Bass, so we seized the opportunity to fish the river one last time before the seasons ends.
Over the coming winter months we will turn our focus to the lakes where Bass can often be found schooling up good numbers.
Message us to book a piece of the action.
May 29, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Our favorite freshwater fishing locations in the Northern Rivers are still recovering after the recent record breaking floods. Phenomenal amounts of rain fell in the region causing severe flooding in February and then again a month later. Communities were forced into survival mode as rivers swelled and inundated streets, towns and homes. Whole villages like Uki and Murwillumbah went under water and the cleanup is still underway. The tackle store I work in Lismore the water level was 2m+ over the ceiling!
Whilst the roads are now open to travel to the Tweed River and Clarrie Hall Dam, landslides, potholes and huge missing bits of road are constant obstacles along route. Clarrie Hall boat ramp is buried under thick mud and is presently unusable. The lake is the colour of puddle water, as is the river. The kayak/canoe launching facility in the river has been destroyed by the torrent and washed away. Large sedimentary deposits and debris litter the banks.
On the positive side, these type of flood events can benefit river systems and fishing in the long term. Big flushes like this remove a build up of noxious weeds in the lakes and rivers. When the water in Clarrie Hall clears, the Cobomba weed would have died back considerably. The Bass will be more exposed and therefore easier for the angler to locate and present a lure or fly to.
Similarly, the river will be flushed of weeds, algae and stagnant water. There will be plenty of new snags to investigate that should be loaded with hungry fish! It may be another month or so before the water clears and the fishing improves. So stay tuned for some great Bass fishing in the Northern Rivers once again!

April 17, 2022 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Ray joined us today to test our Native Watercraft Kayaks. Ray is looking to upgrade his fishing yak and was keen to test out the performance of our Slayer 10 Propels. I have been using these kayaks on our charters for over 5 years now and I have found the Slayers to be the ideal vessels for fishing those hard to access remote areas.
The Slayer 10’s are light enough to easily unload from the car and carried to the eaters edge. Using the unique pedal/propeller system, they can be pedaled forwards or backwards quietly with the feet and the hands are left free to concentrate on the fishing. They travel fast, track straight and turn on a dime when you need them to.
The Propel drive system is made from marine grade aluminium and stainless steel and powered by an aluminium propeller. The kayaker is able to pedal either forwards or backwards in an instant without having to pull a string or even lift a finger. This ability to maneuver both forwards and backwards, hands free, cannot be underestimated when it comes to pulling fish like Bass away from structure.
Most kayaks have the angler sitting awkwardly at water level. The Native Watercraft Slayer 10 Propels have elevated seating, providing an arm chair ride to the days fishing. They are fully adjustable and offer an elevated prospective which helps gain insight into the water you are fishing.
Needless to say, Ray was suitably impressed with the versatility and comfort of the Native Watercraft kayaks. He even managed to catch a number of healthy Tweed River Bass in the process.
Book your charter with us on a Native Watercraft Kayak or our Quintrex Boat today on 0409 760 380
December 28, 2021 | Categories: #australianbass, australian native fish, kayak fishing, Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
After a long lock down in Sydney Brian was super keen to get a bend in his rod under the weight of a good fish. A Bass Vampire fly fished on an intermediate line had Brian back in the zone when he pinned this solid Clarrie Hall Bass.
Nicola joined us in the afternoon for her first taste of fly fishing. After an introduction to the gear and some casting lessons on the grass we headed out onto the water It was soon evident that Nicola had a natural talent, casting nice loops across the lake. Message us to book your trip today!
December 8, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Ben from Canberra joined us today keen to beat his personal best Bass. We launched at Crams Farm Reserve and slowly made our way up the dam. Ben worked his soft plastic around the weed beds on all the likely points and banks in search of hungry fish.
It didn’t take long for Ben to tune in to the technique required on the day. The Bass were hitting the soft plastic on the fall and the bites would go undetected unless the line was carefully watched for any ticks or movement on the way down. Sometimes the bass would follow the plastic all the way to the bottom and pounce on it on commencement of the retrieve. This time of year a fast retrieve can elicit the trigger response needed as the Bass must think their meal is getting away.
Ben set the hooks on 3 out of about 10 hits and upgraded his personal best 3 times with 42, 43 & 44cm Clarrie bronze brawlers. Great work mate.
Clarrie Hall is looking great and fishing well. The water is crystal clear, the dam is 100% full and the fish are as robust and healthy as ever. Clarrie Hall is only an hours drive from Byron Bay which makes it the ideal day trip for those staying in Byron Bay looking for a fishing charter.
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November 27, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
A few more golden bonefish nibbles today. After engulfing the fly, the carp head for open water to slog it out. This particular guy was cranky, nearly straightening the hook in his bid for freedom.
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October 10, 2021 | Categories: Fly Fishing, Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Plenty of active fish about today. More than a dozen landed and as many lost. The bigger fish making it back to their snags and stealing the flies on more than one occasion.
#luckycraft Clutch DR and Clouser flies accounting for all the fish.
Got the Covid blues? Time to go FISHING!!! September is the very best month of the year to catch wild river Bass. Book your trip today 0409 760 380
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September 8, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
During the winter months, I like to leave the bass alone in the rivers. This is because at this time of the year the bass move from the freshwater and into the estuary to gather and spawn. It just makes sense to leave them alone to do their thing and make more baby bass!
So winter is a great time to turn your fishing focus to the lakes and dams. The fish in these ‘lentic’ environments are are unable to reach the spawning grounds in the estuary, so they spend their time schooling up and ‘socializing’. If you are able to locate one of these schools on the sounder the fishing can be great.
August 7, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
A big thank you to Southern Cross lures for providing us with some of their lures to try out on the dam. It didn’t take long for the bass to give them the tick of approval. Cant wait for the water to warm so we can test the surface lures out too!
July 12, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Fish of a thousand casts. Cold New England day and no joy until cast 997 young Luke got his first cod ever and on the surface. The smile says it all, bucket list ticked. No monster but such a joy to see someone absolutely appreciate the moment and get emotional. Well done mate you didn’t give up, glad we made that dream come true on a hard day.
June 20, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Peter from Victoria joined us at Hinze Dam today. A few nice ones hitting the brag mat including this 47cm model. Thanks for a great day out on the water mate!
March 14, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
Hinze Dam offering up some gems today…..
With unique features that have evolved over the eons, the Saratoga is a stunning fish!
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February 28, 2021 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »
