{"id":133818,"date":"2016-02-04T21:32:23","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T11:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=133818"},"modified":"2020-10-23T13:13:01","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T03:13:01","slug":"great-south-burnett-bite-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2016\/02\/04\/great-south-burnett-bite-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"Great South Burnett Bite Continues"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Craig Schneider with a great Yellowbelly he pulled from deep in the timber with a 5\/8 fluoro Bassman Spinnerbait (Photo: Matthew Langford)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\" February 4, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Matthew Langford<\/strong><\/p>\n

The holiday crowds have come and gone but the fishing has remained the same.<\/p>\n

Both dams in the South Burnett are fishing the best they have in years. Boondooma is producing some big quality bass and goldens, and BP Dam is producing big numbers of fish of varying species.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking of coming for a fish, you can\u2019t go wrong with either dam. The South Burnett is the place to be for some fantastic freshwater fishing.<\/p>\n

And don’t forget the Yellowbelly competition is next weekend at Boondooma. Should be a great event, the fishing has been sensational. See you there!<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Bill Schloss with a big bass wrestled from the Boyne timber (Photo: Matthew Langford)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lake Boondooma
\nDam Level: 60 per cent<\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dam at this time of year is beautiful early of a morning and there\u2019s plenty of wildlife to watch and enjoy throughout the day.<\/p>\n

With the summer bite patterns continuing, it makes for some exciting fishing on Lake Boondooma, particularly later in the afternoons.<\/p>\n

Lately the trend has been to fish the timbers of the Boyne or Stuart arm with 5\/8 Bassman spinnerbaits or lipless cranks in the morning. During the afternoon target the deeper sections of the dam up near the dam wall with \u00bd ounce rigged Eco gear power shads.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m fishing Boondooma during the summer months, I\u2019ll first start in the timber early of a morning as the fish are in among the trees looking for an easy meal. In the arms, the fish are holding very close to structure and you\u2019ll need to get your lures in as close as you can to get a bite. Look for spindly timber, or big trees out in the middle of the arms.<\/p>\n

Lures of choice for this scenario are, 5\/8 or 3\/8 Bassman Spinner baits, \u00bd ounce jig head rigged with a 3″ soft plastic and any sinking lipless Crank bait. Give your lure up to five seconds to sink down and start a slow wind. It\u2019s important to make sure that you have a lure retriever with you as you will get snagged on the trees occasionally but if you\u2019re getting snagged you know you\u2019re in the thick of it.<\/p>\n

Keep moving from tree to tree or structure to structure and persist as your lure WILL be eaten eventually by a hungry fish.<\/p>\n

Leader sizes are important in these scenarios because it\u2019s the difference between a fish of a lifetime or a broken heart. Fishing close to structure, I use 14 to 20 pound leaders so I have a chance if a fish rubs the line through trees. Otherwise, if I\u2019m in open water I\u2019ll decrease my leader size to 6 to 10 pound as I\u2019m less concerned about a fish dragging me through trees or any structure.<\/p>\n

As I said earlier the fish in the afternoon tend to bite better in the open water when the water heats up. I\u2019ve found that the fish move deeper into the timber as the day progresses and find the fish in the deeper water are easier to target. To find fish in the deep water I\u2019ll use my sounder to sound the fish sitting in that optimal depth of 15 to 25 feet.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m happy that I\u2019ve found a good concentration of fish, I will pull up and begin casting 3\u201d to 4\u201d soft plastics rigged with a \u00bd ounce head. With a big long cast over the areas that I\u2019ve found the fish, I will let the jig head sink 7 to 10 seconds and begin a slow retrieve back to the boat with a couple of twitches mixed in.<\/p>\n

Continue this technique until you start to feel a few taps on the plastic, when you feel a tap its important to keep that slow wind going (without striking) until you feel weight on the line, slowly lift the rod tip until you feel the weight of the fish. At this point the fish will know its hooked and make some great runs back down into the deeper water. Keep your drag fairly loose so that the hook doesn\u2019t pull on the way back to the boat<\/p>\n

Trollers are picking up some great bass and yellowbelly trolling around the deeper sections of the dam, targeting those suspended fish. Make sure to have plenty of deep divers handy, lures that dive 15 to 20 feet will be the ones that get you onto consistent fish.<\/p>\n

Bait fisherman are consistently getting among a mixed bag of fish up in the timbered arms of the dam using worms and fresh shrimp. It may even pay to move to the main basin and let your bait suspend under the boat in that 15 to 25 foot range. Drifting with the wind is a great way to cover water with your bait under the boat. Eventually it will cross paths with a hungry fish or two.<\/p>\n

Red claw numbers are also starting to pick up with some real big ones among them, so make sure your pack the opera houses if you\u2019re coming out for a day or two.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Dam manager Corey Goldie with a stonking 53cm bass from a deep suspended school (Photo: Matthew Langford)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Matthew Langford and William with a catfish that William caught on a soft plastic (Photo: Matthew Langford)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lake Barambah (Bjelke-Petersen Dam)
\nDam Level: 45 per cent
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a similar story for Barambah Dam. The rain came down hard and the dam received almost 60mm of rain but the dam is still sitting at 45 per cent and rising. Barkers Creek is flowing in at the back steadily but it\u2019s only enough to murky the water in the timbered areas.<\/p>\n

Bait fisherman … if you want a good feed of fish then the timber is the place to be. Tie off any trees close to the old creek line and you\u2019re in with a great shot of getting a good feed. Shrimps, worms and saltwater yabbies are the pick of the bait.<\/p>\n

The red claw are moving and there are reports of a few good catches coming in. Most are being caught near any rocky walls or ledges and soft vegetables are the key to getting some big red claw in the pots.<\/p>\n

If your keen on trolling, then I can suggest trolling heavy 5\/8 spinnerbaits, 3\/8 blades or any deep diving hard body in front of the main dam wall, lightening ridge, around bass point or over treasure island.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with these areas drop into the kiosk and ask the team, there always happy to help out.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a lure fisherman like me, I\u2019ve been finding a lot of fish hanging off the deeper edges and steep drop-offs in the main basin early of a morning and late of an afternoon.<\/p>\n

If the steep edge has timber on it also then you\u2019re doubling your chances at a good fish. Casting \u00bd ounce spinnerbaits into these areas seems to be the most productive method. Cast your spinnerbait up tight against the bank and begin a slow retrieve, also target the areas either side or in between any spindly trees. I\u2019ve caught some good bass using this method.<\/p>\n

Not only are the edges producing good fish but later in the day, when the suns higher in the sky I\u2019ve found that the bass move out onto the deeper flats.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve recently had a few sessions with dam manager Corey Goldie on one such flat and we produced some great catches of good quality bass using \u00bd ounce rigged plastics. Long casts, letting the plastic sink to the bottom and using a burn and kill retrieve was the key to getting the fish to hit the lure hard. Lightening Ridge, Treasure Island and bass point have been the most productive areas recently for schooled fish so give it a go if you have the chance.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As I write this report, both dams are seeing a much-needed increase in water level from the recent storms.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boondooma is at 60 per cent and steadily rising, and BP is at 45 per cent and steadily rising. SunWater predicts that Boondooma may reach full storage capacity by the end of this month, which is exciting news.<\/p>\n

As BP is in a different catchment it is also set to rise a significant amount which is great news. With the water influx it helps the prospects of fishing in both dams.<\/p>\n

My prediction is that we will start to see more regular catches of 50+ cm bass come from BP Dam. BP may just become the big bass capital of the country within a few short years.<\/p>\n

Some very exciting times ahead.<\/p>\n

Until next month, tight lines and bent rods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The holiday crowds have come and gone but the fishing has remained the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":133825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[421,3,6],"tags":[1153],"yoast_head":"\nGreat South Burnett Bite Continues - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2016\/02\/04\/great-south-burnett-bite-continues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Great South Burnett Bite Continues - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The holiday crowds have come and gone but the fishing has remained the same.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2016\/02\/04\/great-south-burnett-bite-continues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-04T11:32:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-23T03:13:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/20160204fishing1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"385\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthew Langford\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matthew Langford\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2016\/02\/04\/great-south-burnett-bite-continues\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2016\/02\/04\/great-south-burnett-bite-continues\/\",\"name\":\"Great South Burnett Bite Continues - 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