abt.org.au here in Australia. It can be a daunting task to try to break down a river system to find where the bass will be located. As anglers it is going to take a shift in thought pattern to locate these fish. “Bass in the river behave
down on one spot if there’s enough water, but you need that movement to keep them feeding,” Slater said. Hickson sums it up very simply with an old saying: ‘If there’s no run, there’s no fun’. Staying with your tidal
coming from and where the fish will line up on the structure. It’s all about knowing where the bait will get pushed into first. For Urquhart, the age of a spot can be a telling factor as well. “Bass move up and
Having a range of baits is the key to finding success in river environments. completely differently from lake fish,” Urquhart explained. “During the times ABT are running the tournaments, most fish won’t be schooled up. They will be tight to structure.” Slater stressed the importance of knowing the annual migration patterns of the bass, and where their upper and lower travel limits are. “I really try to work out how far I think the bass will move down in a system to breed, and I try to work out how far back up they will be at any given stage,” he said. “From there I start looking at aerial maps to give me some starting points.” Once you have got an area to start fishing, it’s all about understanding the tides and where the fish will be throughout the session. It starts with a rise, ends will a fall and you need it to move. When asked about how to manage the tide, our anglers’ voices raised with excitement, with all three of them agreeing that an intimate knowledge of the tide is the first key to success. “You need to know what the tide is doing at each section of the river you want to fish,” explained Urquhart. “In big river systems you can have really big time differences in when it will be moving. This can even differ for opposite sides of a bank.” Having tidal movement is one of the triggers for bass to feed, and anglers need to manage this throughout the session. “Bass can move up and
movement will make for a big difference in the amount of river you can cover, so look at planning your session and fish with the tide. “You don’t want to be leap frogging yourself up the river,” Hickson said. “If the tide is pushing out then start fishing down with it and you will find more switched on fish.” GET TO KNOW YOUR A B C Once you have found the stretch of river to start fishing in, and you know your tide in the area, it’s now time to categorise your spots to focus your time even better. Slater begins a session looking for what he calls A, B and C spots. “You want to look for spots with good current pushing on to it, a good amount of shade plus places to ambush prey from,” he said. “These are your golden A spots – the ones you want to stop and focus your fishing on.” Remove the shade and the spot becomes a category B for Slater. They are still worth attention, but he will spend less time setting up for these spots. “I try to focus on a high percentage of A spots and cover water between these key spots. It is all about only spending time on the best spots in a river full of great snags,” he said. While our two other anglers look for the same elements in a spot, for Urquhart and Hickson there are a couple of extra key details they look for. Hickson needs to know where the bait will be
down a river throughout their whole life and they get to know where to stop off for a rest,” he explained. “Old fallen trees will have been used by these fish in the past. Bass can be creatures of habit.” For anglers making a change to the river for the first time, Urquhart has some more wisdom. “Bass are great food for sharks and big cod which means they won’t move far to eat your lure,” he explained. “You need to find the structure they are hiding in.” SKIP IT, FLIP IT, PITCH IT AND MAKE SURE IT’S IN DEEP With the bass sitting tight to the structure, hiding from sharks and other predators, your casting accuracy is going to be tested. “A missed cast will mean a missed fish,” Hickson warned. “You will only get one shot at each fish.” Each of our anglers stressed the importance of taking time to position yourself so you can make the best possible cast. “When I come to an A grade spot I take an extra few moments before I make a cast,” Slater said. “You really need to get it perfect first go.” Urquhart agreed. “You need to get your lure as deep into the structure as possible, and I will use any method of casting to do so,” he said. Both Hickson and Slater believe it’s time for anglers to learn new types of casting techniques.
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