Somerset 03/01/08

[russ81]

Hows it going guys

A bit of a late report, Headed out to Somerset on Wed for my first ever freshwater session with a mate from work ,got out to the dam at first light and was in the water working the edges by sun up, even the wind and rain couldn't dampen our spirits. after working the edges for about an hour the first bass was boated coming in at about 45cm, after finding out that my phone had gone dead we released him to fight another day.

The next hour or so was quiet and there was not much activity until my mate caught the biggest fish ever on a TN60 jackal it came in at around 85 kg and was sitting in the back of the boat cursing after i got the lure out of my head we continued working the edges this is when i got angry as my jackal got snagged with no possibility of retrieval. I then switched to plastics as my mate hooked up to and landed a 30cm model.

At about 10 we pulled the pin as the ski boats had well and truly taken over

Overall not a bad day but I think I will stick to my offshore fishing

Russ

[BR65]

Look on the bright side Russ, you dont have to clean the boat.
Whats the ramp and parking like up there, wouldnt mind giveing it a go myself
cheers
brian

[russ81]

Hows it going mate
to tell you the truth it was my first time there and i didnt see a ramp everyone just picked a bit of edge and backed in with most only pulling forward a few metres from the edge in saying that where we launched from was all in good condition

[wrip109]

As at 6th January both ramps, at the Spit, are open. There were wall to wall skiers and jet skies trying to crash into each other over most of the dam.

I spent most of the day in Bay 13 but didn't even get one fish. This could be from the amount of fresh water suddenly dumped in there OR it could just be Somerset - It's a bit like that

Phil

[BR65]

thanks fellas
cheers
brian

[1337]

Just to add to that - I would check out the banks before launching especially if you have a 2wd. When I was up there last ... some areas @ the spit were deceptively soft and very boggy. With the recent rains, I would proceed with caution when launching from the banks because it can be very easy to get stuck. There was a make shift concrete ramp @ the spit and that would be the go to be safe.

[wrip109]

The double concrete ramp and the single concrete ramp are now both open as at Sunday.

I am with you - I would never launch from the bank because I have seen too many people bogged.

Phil

[bassfanatic5]

russ81,
We took a run to somerset on sunday 6th, hit the water at 6.15am by 7.15am we had 4 bass over 53cm in the well and many more 45 to 50 cm fish released. They went crazy on the banks and we even had a couple of double hook ups. The ski boats didn't seem to worry them to much. With the inflow the fishing should be really good for a while.

Cheers Damien

P.S Great to see that much water in the dam.

Wazz with a couple of 53cm friends

[wrip109]

Hi Damien

Where did you fish?

Phil

[bayfisher]

Is there anything those jackals wont catch ::) ;D . Its always good to try new things Russ.

Cheers Chris

[bassfanatic5]

Phil,
We fished the banks around beams creek and brads bank. The stand out lure for the morning was a Jackall tn 60 iyoken sound in Persimmon Juice Silver Gill colour. We found the best retrieve was to cast them into around 1ft of water and burn them back to the boat, the bass weren't interested in slow moving lures and most fish hit within 10ft of the edge.




Cherrs Damien

[wrip109]

Hi Damien

I know the location of:

The Spit
The Hump
Reliable ridge
Wyangi Creek
Bay 13
Queen St
The Bay of Plenty is the one before Wyangi Creek(I think)
However I don't know Eagle's Nest, Beam's Creek or Brad's bank. I asked the Ranger but he wasn't overly interested in giving directions.

Sorry to be a pain in the you know what, but can you give me a clue ? The map I use is at http://sweetwaterfishing.com.au/Somerset.htm


Phil
(I got lotsa Jackalls)

[Flattie Assassin]

russ81,
We took a run to somerset on sunday 6th, hit the water at 6.15am by 7.15am we had 4 bass over 53cm in the well and many more 45 to 50 cm fish released. They went crazy on the banks and we even had a couple of double hook ups. The ski boats didn't seem to worry them to much. With the inflow the fishing should be really good for a while.

Cheers Damien

P.S Great to see that much water in the dam.

Wazz with a couple of 53cm friends

Nice brace of fish in that second pic.

FA

[Mike Delisser]

Pity there wasn't a Bassin comp there on the weekend Damien, but then itn't that always the way it goes, I'll be there Fri launching from Kirkleagh. They've opened up the three lane concrete ramp there for the 1st time in 3 or 4 years.
Iyoken hey, lets just keep that between you and me.
Cheers
Mike D

[bassfanatic5]

Might see you over there Mike, just have to get a few jobs out of the way. The first thing Wazz said to me on the way home was why can't i catch a bag like that at a comp?---- Iyoken? did I say Iyoken?Damn.... They seemed to love them on Sunday though.

Cheers Damien

[Brad Clark]

Hey Damien. If you are there on Friday I will see you there. I also happen to have that very Iyoken TN60. That colour is my fvourite colour in all of the TN60 types. IE FT, Normal and Iyoken.

Will talk to you on the water on Friday if you are there.

Hey Phil, find a likely looking bank and start casting Jackalls. Be persistant and you will catch bass.



'When my wife said I could get a Lab all I got was a dog.'

[wrip109]

Hi Brad

I hope to make it for Friday. I have a little red tinny with an Ausfish sticker on the side.

Phil

[TinarooTriumph]

The Spit!

Guys, dont know Somerset well at all... got family at Esk and Tagalooawah... they seem to own a fair bit of land around there... but they always mention the term 'The Spit' a lot, and they catch some pretty big Bass!!!

Some secret keeper I am!!!

Theo

[Brad Clark]

hi Phil

I have a white 475 Hornet Trophy and should have my wife and daughter with me. If you see me working a bank feel free to drop in and say hello.

Brad

[wrip109]

Hi Theo

Yes, I launch at the Spit. But from then on the bass can be anywhere!... I usually look for a school on the sounder and the cast through the school with some SP's.

I have pulled out some nice fish using this method. However I have never cast into the bank before - so this Friday(I hope) is a chance to try a different method.

Let you know what happens.

Phil

[wrip109]

Hi Brad

No worries...

Phil

[wrip109]

Fished Somerset on Friday for about five hours. Worked the banks for all of that time using various soft plastics, Boomerangs, Hot-Lips, G-vibes and Jackalls.

- Nothing!! (Should I count the bass that was the same size as the lure?)

Good to meet up with Brad in his Hornet, which made by boat look in need of a good lick of paint.

Brad had caught SIX nice bass.

Very nice of Brad to GIVE me one of his fish. I asked him to throw it into my net so that I could say I caught it. Very embarrassing though, the only way to get a feed is when somebody gives me a fish.

So I gave up and went home. Five hours or so fishing in the pouring rain is enough when I am not catching fish.

Still tea was nice - Thanks Brad.

Can't wait for next week to try again.

Phil

[Brad Clark]

Glad you enjoyed the bass Phil. I ended up boating another 6 bass after you left so I ended up taking two home to the wife and daughter as per their instructions. All were caught on sliders and squidgies. I would suggest that with a week of fine weather and the barometric pressure up a bit the bass will go off. Can't complain about 12 bass for such a poor day weather wise though.

[Mike Delisser]

Hey Brad was that you fishing the bank in the first little bay south of Red Rock about 7.30am? I was in the green e-tracker that started just around the corner from there. We didn't get that many (not like you), ours were mainly caught on Spros & tn60s.
Cheers
Mike

[Brad Clark]

Hey Mike, yes that was me. I saw the green boat go past but I did not know it was you. I caught my first bass just after you went past. Had to work hard for the bass I got. I did not leave until 2pm. Went all over the dam.

[wrip109]

I think I need more lures...

Phil
:)

[bassfanatic5]

Brad, Mike,
Didn't get there friday levi and i got up at 3.30 to go and it was raining so we went back to bed. Headed down and fished saturday arvo and sunday morning. Only small fish caught untill sunday around 9.30am when the sun came out then, the big fish started playing again. All on tn60's.