biggest australian bass

[bradley@ippy]

On light line, i managed to land a 51.6cm bass. i had to scale it off my boots as i left the ruler at home, hopefully its not too far off my mark. Shall upload a photo when i can.

[watto1]

Hi Guys. The biggest bass I have personally (and actually) SEEN were caught up the Clarance Gorge by my wife Mo a few years back. Mo got 2 on small soft plastics which went 64cm and 66cm (fork length) respectively. And no, that was not a typing error! Neither fish had tags in them and both were released unharmed. She caught them off the bank from pretty much under the same rock using a "pumkin seed" soft plastic grub. The fish were in reasonable condition albeit a little on the lean side (post spawn). I think Mo was using 6kg braid at the time. I will try to post up a pic of each fish after I find them. Note that Mo is holding them in against her chest so you can get an accurate idea of the size of them (not holding them out towards the camera as seems to the the trend these days). Who knows how big bass get , or how long they live, but it is obvious that where they live is the key to their size. The Clarance is an awsome system and is probably the historical home of big bass before the dams started producing them. Cheers, WattoMo with Clarence Gorge Bass 64cm fork length.jpg

[Big_Bass_Fisherman]

That's a nice fish watto, but I question your measurements. I used to work at Grafton fisheries, in all the years of sampling the Clarence system the biggest Bass recorded was a 59cm female. It was electrofished upstream from the gorge in 2010.

[Bad_Bazza]

I caught, measured, tagged and had witnessed a 60.5 cm overall length bass on the 14/12/10.
The tag number is U50569 and I am sure that I put photo up on this site. The photo was published in QFM and also is my photo on facebook.
I have been fishing the dams since the early 90's and I can tell you this is the only one I have put in the boat. I can guarantee you that I have had fish as big and bigger on but this is the first one that I have successfully landed in that time.
As you can see they are not an everyday happening!

Bad_Bazza

[Apollo]

I agree with Watto that pockets of systems produce some very big bass which I beleive is a mix of genetics and environmental factors. I know of one spot in the late 80's that produced numerous bass in the mid 60's. We got a 65 and 63 and I later spoke to a fella who got three from the same area in the same size bracket. Would love to go back to that area one day to see if any survived and shut a few of the doubter up by a pic or two against a brag mat.

Either way, they are are a great fish and I still enjoy getting any over 50. Best this year is a 54 out of a river.

Steve

[watto1]

That's a nice fish watto, but I question your measurements. I used to work at Grafton fisheries, in all the years of sampling the Clarence system the biggest Bass recorded was a 59cm female. It was electrofished upstream from the gorge in 2010.

G'day Big Bass Fisherman,
I do understand your skepticism in light of statistical records regarding past tagging programs in the Clarence, but these fish were caught and pretty accurately measured. I have caught some big bass above the falls (below the junction) and as far up as above Buccarumby, but nothing compared to these two.
These fish were caught below the falls in December of 2009. I had to measure both fish by scribing 2 small marks on my rod with a knife as we didn't have a tape with us at the time. Not a recommended proceedure I know (the chaps at GL loomis would be shaking thier heads!). We ran a tape from the butt to the marks when we got home). I mentioned the fish to the fellow who owns the lodge below the Gorge (Winters?) but couldn't show him a pic as we had taken them on Mo's SLR camera (not a digital). He in return showed us several photo's of fish that went over 60cm that had been caught by fisho's up there in the past, I think the biggest at that time was also 64cm (fork length).
The water was very low and the top falls were hardly flowing at all (although there WAS still quite a bit of foam on the water for some reason). The fish were concentrated up the top end on the right hand bank (walking up) and they were bloody hungry. With the exception of one fish, the bigger bass we got that day didn't have tags which I thought was interesting. We only landed one that had a tag in it (which was NSW DPI 019). This fish had a couple of sores and was very very thin (see photo) and so was released immediately with no fuss.
I guess my point is that there are very big bass lurking in various systems and just how big they get is still an unknown factor despite existing data. (Case in point is the size of the barra that were being recorded in Awonga before the floods). Given enough food and an absence of natural attrition (with favourable genetics thrown in) there will always be exceptions to the rules. Stocked bass in the dams seem to be getting bigger (certainly fatter in my opinion) but they have plenty of food and not much to worry about. Clarence bass feed up during the praw season in the lower reaches then they must run the gauntlet of the River, and THEN try to get past the Gorge waterfalls, and THEN all the rapids from there on. Maybe this produces a longer more powerful fish in the Attachment 98437long run?. I for one certainly hope so and hope that they continue to beat the odds that seem to be forever stacked against them.

Cheers, Watto Attachment 98436

[watto1]

PS> Here are the pics of poor old #19 plus a few of the other (un tagged) fish that the Gorge produced that day. Attachment 98438

Watto Attachment 98439

[Mike Delisser]

Come on guys, there's got to be some photos of really big bass sitting on mats or rulers out there (all doubt removed then). We've all heard about plenty of 58's and 60's being caught this year.

Surely there's better than my 55 out there.
Cheers
100_2148.jpg

[watto1]

Hi All,
Finally found the photo of Mo's 66cm (fork length) bass caught at the Clarence Gorge in 2009 (see previous post). She had it up on her staffroom wall at school which is why I couldn't find it!.
This is the larger of the two she caught in quick succession from a deep hole under a rock at the top of the Gorge. No tag in it. Was in good nick (post spawn) and released quickly. Very powerful fighter and went like the clappers!.Check out the size of it's tail!

Attachment 98476

Cheers, Watto

[rayken1938]

watto your attachments do not work for me.
Are the photos on a measurement device?
Cheers
Ray

[watto1]

Mo with 66cm (fork lenght) Australian Bass.jpgRay,
Unfortunately no mate. We were walking the bank and if you know the Gorge it is a pretty challenging walk at that!. We went light (essential gear only) and didn't take the brag mat, so we measured both of those particular fish by putting marks on my rod with a pocket knife (very SMALL marks by the way as I do love my GL2!). I know that this negates any photographic "proof" but that's ok as Mo (wife) is happy as Larry as she knows she got one of those bass that are "stuff of ledgend". We will go back again one day and this time we WILL take a bloody tape! (for mine though, it's not about the size at all, it's the "doing" that gets me every time) Watto

[Apollo]

Agree Watto, I don't fish for others - JUST ME!

[ricksta]

Certainly not the biggest but it's my PB and went slightly over 56cm I caught it in the Hinze last year, cheers Rick

[rayken1938]

Ricksta nice fish on the wand.
There is a photo in the December Bush n Beach of a claimed 61cm. Not the best way to hold a trophy fish swinging it around by the gob.
Cheers
Ray

[wrip109]

I September I caught quite a few bass over 55cms from the Brisbane river. Funny but they seem to have grown each time I tell the story. My biggest now is up to a million miles long and weighing 10 tons...